Many snakes typically make their nests underground. Random, I know, but I remember watching animal documentaries, especially about snakes, and thinking about how limiting it must be for those little babies to live in a cave until they are finally ready to leave. I wonder, what if some of them weren't ready to leave the den? What would life be like for that poor individual? Who would have to learn to survive in such a harsh world without arms or legs, only their mouth to defend them?

We're going to a time fondly remembered and loved by the people, but in a part of society that is empty and forgotten by them, I mean, it's somewhat remembered, but incredibly despised. The plebeian part, the filthy and unnecessary part, everyone steps on it, made of dust and dirt. Those who are there are basically the living dead struggling for life. Tell me, when you look through those lenses, isn't it fair to say it's like the underground of society?

Underground, a young boy lived. He had no mother, no father, nor siblings. Well, he did have parents, but one disappeared and the other died, and now the boy found himself alone, so small. The poor child was afraid of everything. He had grown up seeing so much that he was terrified of everything. He feared the guards who roamed the streets and beat him if he looked at them the wrong way. He feared not being able to eat, or that on the day he did manage to find food, someone would steal it from him. He was afraid of how exposed he was to all dangers as a child living alone.

He walked through the city market, scouring the ground for any scraps, leftovers, or anything that accidentally fell to the ground. But if he wasn't careful, the stall owners would kick him out if they noticed what he was trying to do. So the pup born underground crawled around searching for food, still learning to hunt, and couldn't have high hopes.

An apple! What luck! And it's good, it must have fallen from some stall and no one noticed. How nice. Now there's at least a little more food for that sad day. What joy, it was his happiness.

"Hey, kid." The poor pup lowered his guard, not yet understanding how the world works and that predators and prey must always be alert to each other. When he looked to the side, who did he find but the fruit stall vendor glaring at him with disdain and hatred? He looked at him as if he wished he would disappear, as if his hunger and poverty, as well as his existence, were a huge inconvenience. "Who allowed you to take that? Are you going to buy it? If you don't have money, get out of here."

"I don't have money, but it's on the ground, it's dirty. No one will want it. Please be a good person and at least give me that." Oh Kesna, you're still a pup, you don't know how to control your venom yet. If you expel it too strongly, you'll lose your prey and won't be able to eat.

The man, enraged, took the apple from the boy's hands and struck him, belittling him and saying that the dirty fruit was worth more than ten boys like him, reminding the boy how fragile his existence was.

Then Kesna was left lying in the alley, thinking about how he could protect himself. He was a small snake pup, with no arms or legs to fight against a mole that attacked him. All he had was his mouth but didn't understand the power of his venom. The child realized that if he continued living that life, in that place, in that way, he would die. So, to survive, the little serpent had to start hunting.

Let's start with the simplest: patience.

Instead of immediately expelling the venom, little snake, why not analyze? Coil up and, patiently, look for an opening, a weakness to strike.

Oh little boy, sit at a distance from the stalls and observe the customers, the vendors. Look for an opportunity, an argument, something where your venom might work well.

You start to notice and memorize the number of customers passing each stall, their positions, ethnicities, clothes, heights, and especially... genders. And you note how the apple vendor receives more women than men, women who, when you investigate and analyze, you see are mostly married. And as the little snake observes, he discovers the apple vendor's secret, a secret that I believe doesn't need words to describe, does it?

And telling the right little birds, the information spreads, the dominoes fall, and in a trail of chaos and intrigue, the big mole that guarded the apples is out of the way. There is so much to worry about that he wouldn't even notice a child taking apples from one side to the other.

Now, snake, you know how to use your venom. Your mouth is your greatest weapon, and by expelling it just right, every opponent falls, and their prey becomes vulnerable. The boy understands this, and thus, he grows underground until adulthood, when he realizes that the underground is dangerous and ineffective, and that he must go outside if he wants a real life.

How about moving up to the castle? Infiltrating among the nobles and getting to know them? There it will be harder for you to cry or be hurt. If you play your cards right, you won't go hungry, you won't feel despair, you'll be safe, no one can hurt you. There won't be any danger of anyone disappearing or dying, you won't have to see those you care about growing colder and colder. The eyes staring into nothing as the soul leaves the body, and you, so small, are forced to be there watching everything happen right before your eyes. Seeing the dead eyes stare into the living eyes and vice versa. The difference? The living eyes retain the image and don't forget.

So every time the eyes close, your father's hard, cold body vividly comes to your memory, and you remember your promise that you would never become like him. Because that terrifies you more than anything.

But if you really want to feel safe and move out of the underground, you need to understand that above the ground, animals are bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, and more dangerous. If underground you dealt with contracted and tiny beings, outside, the giant and relaxed animals will prove to be a huge challenge.

But that's the interesting thing about snakes; they can shift and adapt their jaws when necessary to swallow prey larger than expected. In other words, adapt your language. The man should coil up and observe how the high-class people talk and what they talk about.

Ah, politics is something well-debated by everyone. Even marriages and children are political agreements. Learn as much as you can about the subject. You heard that the king has an interest in duels and competitions, so pay attention to learning as much as you can about the topic. You need clothes and money to start. Well, you know the whole underground. If you move the right strings, you might even have friends who can give you something. People will get hurt along the way, but what can you do? It's for your survival. You are a snake, and every snake is a carnivore. Your only weapon requires people to get hurt and fall so you can live.

Outsiders see you as cruel, but if we enter your heart, Kesna, your terror is perceptible. When we go back to the past, we see that your mother left you because a child would hinder her from getting food for herself. Your father died because he trusted and got involved with the wrong group of people.

Kesna had only known darkness since the moment he was born, and the trauma was ingrained in his mind. All he wants is to survive, and nothing more. He doesn't want to go hungry, be killed. He just doesn't want to cry, doesn't want to be used and abused as a disposable object.

Trauma is an interesting thing. It's basically a memory, a sensation, and a reaction that is marked and automated within your mind and body. It becomes part of you and never completely goes away, no matter how many years pass. A part is always with you, as real and concrete as an instinct.

And the more you are exposed to similar situations, the more it will spread and gain strength, like the root of a tree. And look, the deeper the root is underground, the stronger and more supported it will be.

In summary, it's a simple mathematical calculation for Kesna: being a plebeian = living underground and trauma = tree roots. If your traumas only gain more strength underground, then if you want to be happy, you should stop being a plebeian. That's Kesna's mentality. He only does what he does because of trauma. But no one understands this. No one understands that he steals to live. No one understands that he kills to live. No one understands that he has to destroy and poison everything to live. No one understands how unjustly he is treated.

Now, inside the royal palace, for the king's birthday, the man finally managed to infiltrate. He prepared himself, knew each of the nobles present at that moment, thinking about whom he should strike to get the biggest prey possible...

Wait, there was a lady he didn't know. He could have ignored her and focused on all the others he had investigated and explored, but the truth was that it bothered him to have a loose end, not knowing who that person was and what dangers she might pose. But using only the tongue, snakes are capable of assessing unknown terrains, so he just needed to go up to her and speak.

While talking to the beautiful lady, Kesna found that she was much more interesting than any of the creatures living above ground. Her name was Petunia, and her interests weren't aligned with the typical pursuits of the upper class. She was passionate about philosophy, history, and had extensive knowledge of medicine, despite being a maiden and having no obligation to learn such things.

It was extremely interesting that, before he knew it, the man was completely fixated on the topic, her voice, and her demeanor. She was so different from the rest, so much more forward and wild. The perspective she offered was far beyond the box society had shoved his mind into.

But Kesna's mind was quite astute, so it didn't take long for him to realize that the woman in front of him was like him—a native of the underground who had ventured into the world above. That's why he didn't recognize her; she was nobody, just as he was several steps ahead. Before long, he began to develop an interest in Petunia.

They started talking more and more, danced together, and dreamed together—all in one night. Hours passed like minutes, and they became very close in such a short time. But it was no surprise; they understood each other so well that you could say they were one. How much closer could they get? On their first night, they even kissed in the middle of the ballroom, with lights and music filling the place, while the animals around them grazed and walked on the lawn, oblivious to the two snakes having their own romance amidst the grass.

But Petunia, they forgot to tell you that there are other snakes with venom, and that the mouth is their greatest weapon. Kesna went to get a drink for both of them, but in reality, he went to the guards and reported the presence of the little snake. Before the lady could realize, she was being called and dragged to prison, screaming and cursing his name in tears.

Why, Kesna? You were getting along so well. Didn't you fall in love? Why did you turn her in even knowing how hard it was to get there? It happened that when Kesna kissed her, he began to imagine a future with the woman—marriage, children, traveling, being happy together. But his heart pumps blood to his brain, and his blood is poisonous. Perhaps because of that, his brain also became poisoned. While visualizing the future, he remembered that they could kill her and their children. He remembered that they might use her to reach him, and he realized that, just like him, she was also a snake. Before she could betray him, he needed to protect himself from her.

Better to be safe than sorry.

Better to be inside an oyster, alone and protected, than in open water, being devoured by all the predators. And you are praised for your cunning. You detected a nobody at the king's birthday—a great skill of yours. You are then honored by the king himself. You are accepted as a close friend, and with the right moves, your lie about being a noble soon becomes reality. Kesna gains lands, servants, and the friendship of the king himself. He trusts you so much that you are now appointed the royal advisor.

This gives you power, but it's a problem because power in the hands of a paranoid coward is like a machine gun firing in all directions. If you suspect a noble or a commoner of plotting against you, you use your influence and inject your poison until they fall in some way. But it's not just enemies; even those you know would never harm you could be used by others or accidentally reveal things about you. So always be careful with what you say and who is present. It gets to a point so dense that your poison becomes a gas, enveloping the entire kingdom and infecting everyone. Little by little, everyone finds themselves entangled by the cunning advisor. Everyone knows your name, and now you have a reason to fear for your life.

Amidst a party, you handle the preparations. It's another king's birthday, but a few years ahead. You carefully monitor every guest, every food, every drink, and every environment. Moving your tongue and mouth to be aware of everything, tasting the cups the servants offer you.

"G-G-Good evening, sir." A voice called from your side. It was a little girl in a beautiful white gala dress, although there was a stain on the skirt. Her straight black hair flowed down her body with a tiara on her head. She looked at you with her brown irises, and her body language made it clear that she was shy about speaking to you.

"Oh, good evening, little miss. How can I assist you? Where are your parents?"

"Uh? Th-They're right over there, s-s-s-sir..." Amidst stuttering and panic, she pointed to a couple chatting across the hall. Kesna recognized them immediately. It was a lord from a neighboring kingdom, and if he wasn't mistaken, he had about six daughters. The girl must be the youngest, but her nervousness made him a bit wary. "Anyway, you... well... um... how do I put this... could you tell me where the bathroom is? I accidentally spilled some pie on myself."

"Of course. But, if you don't mind me asking, why are you so scared?"

"It's just that... if my father finds out I stained the dress, I'll be in big trouble. It's new, you see? But I also know who you are, so I was afraid to speak out of turn."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"Well... everyone is afraid of you, and I include myself in that. I've always been a big coward, you know? I can't stay as serene and calm as you." Serene and calm? Yes, indeed that was the persona he wanted to present, but inside he was similar to that girl. And something very strange happened; while talking to her, he had flashes of memory of his father's death. They came before him and destabilized him greatly. As he observed that pathetic girl and her phobias, each moment came to his mind as if summoned by a spell.

"Is it a gift to be like me..."

"I imagine so. It must be nice not to have anxiety, to lie on a bed without having to check all the windows and doors first to make sure no assassin has come to kill you. You know... I wish I could be like you, unshakable, happy, surrounded by friends you can trust, living luxuriously and relaxed. Oh, how I wish I could be like you, sir."

With each compliment the girl gave him, a memory came to his mind proving that he was none of what she said. A memory reminded him of how alone, sad, miserable, and fragile he was. A memory showed him that he was inside an oyster, in the dark and cramped. Which reminded him of a coffin, underground. The man was dead and only realized it now. He started to sweat cold and have breathing failures; they came with such force, those damned memories. GET OUT OF HIS HEAD. Feeling unwell, Kesna left the girl and went out of the hall to the bathroom, needing to regain control of his body, but the dizziness and nausea persisted, his head and stomach started to ache, until he began to cough, and blood flew from his mouth, staining the entire wall.

"What's... happening to me?" The man asked, his lungs growing weaker and failing.

"You are dying." The girl was there, she had followed him and now watched him with a serene face.

"Did you... do this to me?"

"No. It wouldn't be genuine if I interfered." The girl said, a comment that made no sense to the man. "Anyway, what matters is that you are going to die, Kesna. You built a good barrier in your desperate life, but someone managed to find a way to poison you."

"Poison? Does that mean I'm going to die? Quick, call someone, girl."

"Kesna, only you can see me." As she said this, the girl's eyes turned from normal to milky, a sight that caused immense terror in Kesna. What kind of creature was this that stood right in front of him? "You're trembling even more, is it the poison, or are you just this miserable?"

"I-I..." There were no more words, the snake had no power left as it was terrified. What was happening? Kesna had control over everything, was secure, should be fine, but within minutes, he was dying and hallucinating.

"You never had control over anything." The girl said directly and dryly. "You were born a cowardly failure, and because of that, you lived your life in a way that led you to die at this moment. You can't even tell me who killed you because you suspect everyone. I really hate existences like yours."

He didn't respond, only cried. The astute man had no control over anything except his illusions. A human would never be safe from danger no matter how hard they tried; perhaps the only way to find peace would be to stop seeing danger everywhere and just live life with the hope that everything would turn out fine.

"But that's why I'm here, to make someone worthless like you notice me. Kesna, why don't you help me kill courage? If you destroy that virtue, everyone will be like you, you won't need to worry about trusting anyone anymore, because no one will be trustworthy. I warn you, you cannot refuse."

Kesna could no longer speak; his tongue had swollen, and he was choking on it, with an uncontrollable, filthy, and horrible feeling taking over his heart as he looked at the girl. He didn't want the whole world to be like him. But he was so afraid, so terrified, that there was only one hope to get out of there; he had to obey her.

"My name is Lily. I name you Kesna, The Viper, your despair is your cowardice, and your hope is to destroy courage for me, so that I will leave you in peace. You will be one of my generals, and then you will grasp your hope."

She vanished, and he died, in an extremely painful and suffocating manner. And the saddest part? No one really cared afterward.