[Somewhere at the Dessert—The Same Night]
Darkness.
An endless suffocating darkness, deep beneath the earth, far beyond the borders of Zahryssar... An ancient sanctuary slumbered. The walls were carved from black stone, stained with centuries of dried blood.
Thousands of oil flames burned with eerie green fire; the air itself smelled of venom. At the very center...a colossal obsidian throne stood upon hundreds of serpent skeletons, and heavy footsteps echoed through the cavern.
Every Black Serpent immediately knelt.
"Greetings, Black emperor."
Their voices became one; the Black Serpent Emperor walked past them without a single glance. His long black hair flowed behind him.
His crimson-black robes dragged across the stone floor like flowing blood; his black eyes held no emotion, only death.
Azhrakaal slowly ascended the throne, then...he sat.
Silence.
