'Fuck. It's really here.'
Eli stood there on the cold kitchen tile, back pressed against the cabinet, hand trembling violently beneath the warm, tiny weight curled in his palm.
The creature glowed faintly—soft blues and purples shimmering like a heartbeat—its body no bigger than a long noodle.
And still, Eli couldn't shake the feeling that he was dreaming.
Or hallucinating.
Or finally losing his mind after everything that happened.
Because he saw it die.
A giant serpent—an SS-Class monster—had been blown apart in front of him.
He saw the explosion.
He saw the chunks.
He saw the slime.
He saw it fall apart like any monster would—
But apparently, they didn't kill it.
Not really.
They killed its size.
Not its existence.
Eli swallowed, throat tight, staring at the tiny creature curled into his palm like some kind of smug, glowing pet.
An SS-Class boss surviving wasn't impossible—far from it.
Especially since this serpent was the first SS-Class boss in existence.
