Chapter 378: Chapter 43: The Empire’s Second Primeval, the Arrival of the Destiny Twins

From primal ignorance to finally attaining true sapience.

The life of the Giant Serpent God Kukudar was a long and complicated story.

But Lince was also thinking.

’Giant lifeforms occupy the top of the food chain from the very beginning.’

’Is there really a need for them to evolve intelligence?’

’The answer is no.’

’After all, the entire world had long been its hunting ground.’

’Whatever it wants, whatever it does, who could possibly interfere?’

Kukudar was a prime example.

After an initial period of risky, ignorant evolution through consumption in ancient times, he later fell into a comfortable cycle of simply eating and sleeping.

For the most part, the creature’s life was smooth sailing.

Was he strong?

As an Ancient Life form that had survived for so long, he was naturally strong.

But he had traded his brains for brawn.

He would devour entire Clans, then try to make friends out of boredom.

During this time, the creature was deceived more times than one could count.

But clearly, such insignificant deceptions didn’t matter.

After all, few beings could outlive him.

In fact, because he was so mindless back then, being his friend often didn’t end well.

As for what happened the last time...

Kukudar was indeed banished.

But, judging by the actions of that Master of the World, after he secretly amassed the world’s power and the power of Kukudar’s Clan to reach the realm of a Main God, his own strength had already surpassed his predecessor’s.

He was even confident he could kill Kukudar.

But that man, a Master of the World, evidently had a streak of misplaced sentimentality.

The reason for this was quite simple.

Kukudar had indeed been a great help to him on his path to Ascension to Divinity.

But Kukudar’s refusal to gain intelligence—his arrogant and conceited unwillingness to accept the suggestions from him and the other Deities to try and understand weaker beings—was something they could not tolerate.

After all, Kukudar was known to eat his friends in a casual fit of anger; his behavior truly leaned toward chaotic evil.

The risk of being his friend was simply too great.

So in the end, they took advantage of Kukudar’s slumber to ambush and severely injure him.

Ultimately, it was that same Master of the World who, out of some sense of pity, banished him beyond the Star Realm.

He originally thought Kukudar would simply roam the Star Sea.

Or that he would flee in fear.

After all, based on Kukudar’s behavior up to that point, his intelligence was worrisomely low—equivalent to a beast with a sliver of reason, but not much more.

But things rarely go as planned.

Perhaps this betrayal truly pushed Kukudar past his breaking point.

Instead, it instilled in him a crazed desire for revenge.

Driven by this desire for vengeance, Kukudar finally started to use his head.

Knowing his Power was insufficient, he began to wander the periphery of the Star Sea, actively absorbing Star Energy.

This went on for a thousand years, or ten thousand, or perhaps even longer.

For an Ancient Life form, after all, with just a little effort, their growth rate is incomparable to that of a Lower-Rank being.

And so, he successfully exacted his revenge.

But in Lince’s view, the process of his revenge was, in itself, an even greater tragedy.

He slaughtered the native Deities and destroyed the very planet that had nurtured him.

With nowhere to return to and nowhere to go, the end result was a giant, depressed serpent!

His self-destructive tendencies peaked.

His reclusive mindset also reached an extreme.

If not for his fear of pain, he might have ended it all. Instead, he passed out for countless years, somehow ended up in the Square World, and was eventually discovered by Lince.

Honestly.

It was hard to say what the future would have held for him.

He probably wouldn’t have committed suicide, though, as he had finally begun to change in the Square World.

He observed everything in the Square World, even spending over a decade learning about the Human Race by viewing the world through their eyes.

So, all in all, the creature had finally attained true sapience!

But as for the extent of that sapience... how to put it?

To Lince, he seemed rather like a fresh college graduate.

The entire serpent was the very picture of ’purity and innocence’.

So, in Lince’s eyes, the Giant Serpent God Kukudar’s life had been truly tragic.

It was a good thing he had run into him.

If he had encountered some of the other, more calculating Ancient Life forms...

...he’d be lucky to only be used as a pawn.

If he were unlucky, it wouldn’t be out of the question for another Ancient Life to devour him and seize his dominion and Law Power.

And so, looking at the giant serpent now...

...staring at the apprehensive yet eager look in his eyes...

Lince couldn’t help but sigh internally.

’But, what can I say?’

’Gaining an Ancient Life as a subordinate without a fight is a pretty good deal.’

’It’s a massive win, really.’

But this "massive win" felt a little awkward to Lince.

’How should I put this... If I accept him, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m like some creepy old man tricking a naive kid.’

’But what else can I do but accept him?’

Lince sighed.

Finally, he looked at the Giant Serpent God Kukudar.

"So, Kukudar, you’ve laid everything bare because you want to be friends with me?"

Lince asked bluntly.

Hearing Lince speak, Kukudar’s anxiety spiked.

He nodded excitedly.

"Yes, Nigredo!"

"Do you think I’m worthy?"

"I’ve grown up now, and I’ve learned a lot about weaker beings—about the knowledge of the Human Race."

"So, please rest assured, Nigredo! If we become friends, I definitely won’t randomly eat your subordinates like I used to."

"Besides, I don’t have any desire to eat weaker beings anymore."

Listening to the Giant Serpent God Kukudar’s naive pronouncements...

...Lince let out a relieved smile.

’Ah, well.’

’His simplicity will make it easier for me to re-educate his worldview later on.’