The World Serpent

Back in the Clan of Noir, the Officials of the Clan were having a gathering. They were discussing the future paths the Clan of Noir could take. With the reveal of powerful foreigners, the Officials within the Clan knew that they should establish good relations with the outsiders. For relations to be established comes with something called reputation. Reputation determines how one or they would react towards someone or something.

A Clan with a Reputation of invading would have bad relations with outside foreigners. A Clan with the Reputation of being strong but not violent would make it tempting for outsiders to have a good relation on. That was the subject the Officials within the Clan of Noir were discussing.  While discussing that subject, they also discussed their future plans regarding the current foreigners. 

The three powerful foreigners from the outside, No information regarding them could be found. The only thread was simply the information about the Clan of Monstre discovering their world. Sending their most powerful warriors to establish a portal to that world, only to fail and gain the attention of the Rulers from the foreign world. From that accident alone, the powerful foreigners seemed to be determined in causing the downfall of the Clan of Monstre. 

"The three of them are extremely powerful. A single one of them could rival the Lord of Noir, and with three of them on the line, it won\'t be a question on how they could decimate the Clan of Monstre but when. It was fortunate that we didn\'t have any history of invading anything. Otherwise, we wouldn\'t gain their attention and be the first ones that get decimated." 

An Umbra Official said with a calm voice. What he said was rather correct. It was a coincidence and luck that they managed to avoid a wall of misfortunate. If not for the words of their ancestor, they would have fallen and started invading other foreign worlds like many others. It appears that their ancestor was a lot better than they had recently expected. 

"To have such a long-term prophecy about the future of the Clan of Noir. No wonder he was known as the Progenitor. We were fortunate to have such an ancestor that takes the future into a consideration." An ancient voice echoed from an Old Official. The Officials started talking about the Ancestor and were praising him for his eternal decree. But before they could continue, Zella\'s words echoed. 

"Now, let us talk about the ancient clans. They have been invading foreign worlds for a long time. It has been rather a part of them. They wouldn\'t stop even if we told them about the existence of powerful foreign beings. It would simply amplify their greed, and there is nothing we can do about it. So instead of talking about the ancient clans, let us talk about the safety of our clan."

Zella said with her calm and serene voice. The Officials of the Clan of Noir nodded along with the Lord of Noir upon hearing her words. Silence enveloped the entire hall for a second before Zella continued speaking with her soothing voice. One wouldn\'t expect such a tone from a former warlord who had conquered for the clan. 

"I believe that all of you here had known about the recent rumors. The Secret Backers of the Clan of Noir, I thought that it would take at least a month for the information to escape, but unfortunately, the people here have loose lips." Zella started gazing upon the Officials with a serious expression. They couldn\'t do anything other than be silent about it. Not invading wasn\'t simply the cause of the downfall of the Clan of Noir. There were many reasons, internal reasons. 

"Anyhow, since the information had escaped. It wouldn\'t take a while for the ancient clans to have heard about them. They would probably accuse us of building an alliance with outsiders. We might get hailed as traitors as a result. But we can also use this to make them realize the weight of what they were doing. The Power of those outsides." 

"Regarding the safety of our clan, As I said before, warring isn\'t the only answer but a shortcut to the fastest and bloody one. There are many ways of thriving other than killing. I have learned that during my time as a General for the Clan of Noir. I have visited towns and cities outside the ancient clans and what I see was an evolving world."

"Despite our strength and power, we have been falling behind. We rely on our power, nothing more, nothing less. That is also when imperfections of ourselves appear. We need to transcend from an ancient clan into something better. There is no reason for us to stay as an ancient clan. After all, the World of Exterreri is something better than this." 

Zella\'s words echoed in the clan hall. The Officials of the Clan of Noir found themselves thinking about her words. They didn\'t leave the Clan that much. They have completely concentrated within the Clan, some of them managed the cities and kingdoms, but that was it. There was no personal interview of the kingdoms and cities they ruled. 

The ancient clans considered themselves as higher beings than the weaklings below them. They were higher beings. That was a fact as they were monsters that no one could defy within the World of Exterreri. But that doesn\'t mean that they should stay in their old ways. That would be contradicting the ancient clans\' motto of evolving. Staying violent wouldn\'t be evolving. 

Zella had learned a lot of things during her time as a general. She regretted every single moment of it. She had killed millions and decimated dozens of kingdoms and countries. Along with her army, during the warring period, her hand was full of blood which was why she abandoned her duty as a general and retired. She was tired of such ways, so she focused on other ways.

Visiting the places she supposedly conquered, making them thrive and learn from them, understanding their culture and mindset, along with the people themselves. That was the things Zella had done after her retirement. She had learned a lot of things, as she had said. She was simply tired of the bloodshed she had seen and caused. She wondered about those violent than the Clan of Noir and the horrifying things they had done to the foreign worlds. 

The Foolishness of arrogance that seemed to be thriving within the ancient clans should have been quelled the moment it was born. But it was cultivated into something worse. It was even corrupting her Sister, who was supposed to be better than her. Zella considered herself a failure. She could invade but not defend, which was why she didn\'t consider herself as a Lord candidate. 

Before they could continue their talk, the door leading to the clan hall opened. A young girl revealed herself opening the door, and it was Keres. She had a serious expression plastered on her face as she entered through the clan hall. Most people thought that she would cause trouble once again, like always. Such has been a common occurrence for the Officials, Zella, and the Lord of Noir. 

It took a while for Keres to arrive in front of the dark figure sitting on his throne. Zella was standing right beside her father and was waiting to hear Keres\'s words about her untimely arrival. Keres took a deep breath as the Officials around her waited for the words to escape from her mouth. But what happened next was something they didn\'t expect. 

Keres bowed and spoke with a calm voice. "Father, Older Sister... Please, I want myself to get exiled from the Clan. I want to leave the Clan and explore the World of Exterreri." What came after that was the gasping shock of the Officials. Even the Lord of Noir and Zella were quite shocked after hearing Keres\'s words. 

The Lord of Noir found himself clenching his fist, Zella instantly noticed it and asked with her serene voice. "Why do you want to exile yourself, Keres?" 

"Older Sister, I am not fit to become the Lord of Noir. The current me is not suited to become someone like Father. I want to experience the World of Exterreri myself and learn from it. I won\'t back from my choices, so I hope that the two of you can agree with it."

Keres answered as a smile slowly formed on Zella\'s face. Even the Lord of Noir lost his anger and calmed down. Zella nodded in understanding and spoke with her soothing voice. "I believe that you should make your own choices. There is no need for you to seek our approval. You can always back when you think you have learned enough. If not, then you will continue treading the World of Exterreri and experience it yourself." 

While that was happening, far away from the Clan of Noir, back to the location where the Short Spar happened. Persia and Drya stopped fighting and found themselves frozen. They couldn\'t believe what they were seeing. The beauty hidden under the veil revealed itself. The ounce of fighting spirit they had, which was fueled in flames slowly dissipated. 

What replaced it was a wonder.

"I never thought that this Cold, Dark, and Ugly World could hide such beauty under its black veils. I guess that I underestimated its wonder." Persia uttered with amazement.

"Let\'s stop fighting, for now. I\'m pretty tired from exhausting a lot of my energy. I\'ll have to enjoy this beautiful view of the World. A glamorous scene about the hidden beauty of the World of Exterreri.." A smile formed on Drya\'s face.