I see… So the Constellations are finally moving.
The snake's eyes glazed over for a moment, as if he disconnected himself from his mind, then returned to a sharp gloss.
Hello Jason, your questions require insight into things you don't fully understand.
But to answer them, I shall say that starborn are beings born outside of the influence of constellations. Like the world that was once your home.
I thought back to my old life for a moment. A life of grey lines and sad nights.
I shook the depressing thoughts out, reminding myself that he said other world."Is there a way to return? I was sent here without any questions, so I'm kinda lost here…"
Only those who live above the stars get to decide where they go. We mortal beings live down here, hoping for a chance to commune with stars, they live amongst them.
For one fleeting moment, I thought back to all the things I left behind in my past. I didn't have much. My parents died when I was 5, leaving me to live with my best friend for the next 10 years of my life.
My worldly possessions only consisted of books. They carried me through the emptier part of my childhood.
Truly, the only thing I wish I could do is wish my friend a happy life…
"Ok." My eyes flushed from the sad look they were carrying, now holding a hard resolve. "How do I get out of here?"
The snake and I spoke for a short while, going back and forth about strange topics revolving around the world we were currently in. He described it as a pocket realm, a place that holds the past of a star from the sky.
These pockets record the past and replay it until it's been shifted to its desired outcome. At that point, it will start to ascend into the star it was created by, releasing the ascender.
To escape this particular one… Well, the snake had no clue.
"If I knew how, I wouldn't have been stuck here for a millennium."
I asked the snake about the Obsidian tower, but he had never seen it, which was strange.
I stared up at the sky, looking past the sun and into the heart of my star.
What was it that it wanted to change? Nothing was repeating, no shifting landscapes, no dire problems, just the ever-changing beasts, waves, and the giant flying thing that attacked me.
My thoughts turned into the night, and the small snake coiled around my arm.
Young one… surely you're not eating those berries every day, right? The snake looked into my eyes with a hint of disgust. There are edible ones on the other side of the island.
I glanced down at my hands, green, gooey berry guts spilled along them. My body had gotten used to the taste after almost a week of only eating them, with the occasional foxbat part.
The Stag didn't last long before the maggots got to it, only lasting the day I killed it.
I pulled the snake up from my arm, its face sitting a few inches away. "You… Why didn't you mention that before I ate these?"
The snake presented to cough, clearly trying to shift my attention away. We shall go in search of those tomorrow. More importantly, He turned his head to the night sky, the stars glistening in his eyes. It may sound rude, but could you help show me your star?
I turned my attention from his words to the sky, finding the point where the reds faded into blues and purples, right under the leftmost line of stars.
The snake paused in its search, looking at my eyes. I see… You are indeed very special.
"What do you mean by that? I thought everyone was chosen by stars?" I asked incredulously, It's not every day a giant talking snake complements you.
The star that chose you, it's one of the forgotten stars, A star that hasn't chosen a mortal since anyone can remember.
It allows partial dominance over space. You seem to use it subconsciously, but maybe one day you could use it to your will.
I gawked at his words, spatial control? Like… Teleporting? Flying? My thoughts scrambled as the little kid in me couldn't help but think about the possibilities. "Wait." I paused, "How do you even know what it does if no one can remember it choosing someone…"
Brat, did you forget already? The snake hissed I, am the great snake of time! The being who presides over all the constellations! The hydra of the night sky! Ouroborus!
Yeah, that adds up.
Even if time forgot, I will not, because I precede time itself. I know, it's a foreign concept for a mortal. The snake kept lingering over its words, obviously enjoying the attention.
It has been trapped here for a long time, maybe he's lonely…
Brat, keep thinking those thoughts, and I'll remove them from existence.
Yep, definitely lonely.
I quickly scooped up the poor snake, coddling it like a baby. "It's ok, you don't have to be alone anymore, I am here for you," I spoke in the most appealing tone I could make, pretending to flirt with it.
Human! Unhand me! You aren't worthy of my time, and that means something because I have an infinite amount! T-That means you're worth less than zero! Ha!
Ignoring it completely, I laid down with the snake spooned in my arms, its warmth running along my body. "Sweet dreams, be-a-u-tiful."
AAAHHH! Please, Star of knowledge, please remove that from my mind! I will donate this young one as payment! Please!
Alas, the star just twinkled at it in silence, seemingly enjoying its suffering.
Ahhhh, I see. This is divine punishment from the stars… Well, I suppose he isn't the worst partner to have.
Soon, the embers of the fire gave way to the cold blanket of the night as the two cuddled under a rock, hiding from the world above.
Dew tickled my nose. I sneezed hard enough to startle Ouroboros from my warm grasp.
My eyes still groggy, I panned to my side, taking in a vision I probably would only get once. The body of a god.
The snake I was expecting to be here was replaced by a beautiful woman.
Scales glistened along her skin. Pearlescent white hair gliding down to her waist. Her face sparkled under the rising sun, blemishing it with shades of pink, orange, and white.
I quickly looked away, noticing something even weirder. She had no clothes.
"What's wrong, child?" Ouroboros spoke with a smooth, feminine tone.
"Yo-you're a woman? The great snake of time is a woman?" I asked, not believing my reality.
"Ah, human. Don't tell me you've never seen a woman's body before," Ouroboros, now understanding the situation, smirked devilishly. "Also, who said I couldn't be a woman? Honestly, it makes more sense that I am, as a male, I can't produce offspring in case I die."
I cornered the useless thoughts about her in my mind. Reminding yourself that she's infinitely older than you calms a lot of nerves to go away.
"Could you manifest some scales over… those regions, please?" I spoke with an exasperated tone.
With her nose pointed to the sky, she gave the most deflating answer you can get from a woman, "I guess the youth still can see my charms, you're awfully cute when you're flustered."
I went back to ignoring her, beginning my daily routine. Sift the fire, and any dry coals are stored between some rocks to help make the next fire.
Check if anything triggered the snare lines I made with vines. Nothing.
Check the storage of… rancid berries. Yep, untouched.
I peeled my eyes back to where I could hear Ouroboros humming to herself.
"You said there were good berries somewhere, right?" I asked, voice thick with hunger. "What else have you seen here?"
She tilted her head, as if weighing what to share. "I have seen many beings come and go in this pocket."
Her eyes glimmered faintly. "Yes… I recall them now. Giants that brushed the treetops, jaws as long as their bodies, arms no thicker than twigs. Fish that could swallow what lives now whole… and that flying thing."
The images drifted through my mind, oddly familiar.
"There was another," she went on, amused. "A small one. It ran like a bird but had no feathers, scales like a lizard, hair like yours. One toe curled above the others."
The description snapped something into focus. My stomach went cold.
"Ouroboros," I said slowly, "did any of them have… three horns on their face?"
She blinked. "You know these creatures?" Her curiosity sharpened.
"Yeah," I breathed. "If I'm right, they're not myths. They're extinct animals, monsters, from my world."
The forest seemed to hush, as if listening. The pocket wasn't a strange island at all. It was a memory of a world long dead.
"Dinosaurs," I muttered under my breath. "Great."