When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a familiar place.

Quiet, cold, and desolate. Wherever I turned, it was the same.

It was the endless darkness I was greeted with every single night since before I could remember.

There was no path to follow, no exit to leave, and no signs of life.

In the pitch-black land where nothing could be seen or heard, I was alone staring into the abyss.

'No, I'm not asleep'

I turned around sensing a presence behind me.

'And definitely not alone'

However, nothing was visible in the darkness. The presence I had felt vanished without a trace as if it was just a hallucination.

*rumble* *rumble*

All of a sudden, the ground started to rumble violently.

Thunderous roars were heard as the land underneath my feet cracked, splitting into pieces.

I lept onto a piece of land so as to not fall into it and surveyed my surroundings. The land I was standing on moments ago was entirely pulverized leaving only bits and pieces of stones floating amongst the lava.

Scorching hot magma flowed in between the gaps like the rivers of fire in an active volcano.

'What is happening here?' My brows furrowed in confusion.

Leaving no time to rest, iron chains emerged from the lava and levitated in the air searching for something.

"!"

In a matter of seconds, I was surrounded and held down by the chains, my entire body burning in a chasm of hellfire as if I'd been thrown in the dungeons of Niflheim.

The red hot chains were burning into my skin until I was subjugated and bound themselves to beams of stone that sprung from the ground.

"ARGHH!"

Beats of sweat dripped down my face as I desperately tried to hold in my screams. The pain was all too real to disregard it as a mere dream.

The temperature had significantly increased because of the lava, so much that when my sweat dripped onto the chains it instantly transformed to steam.

When I tried to break free from the bonds it became tighter, and I couldn't move. Running my eyes over the restraints I realized that it must be imbued with magic. If not for that I would've easily snapped it without much effort.

Then I observed the inscriptions on the beams.

'Those symbols...'

I have seen them before.

They were identical to those on the podiums used by the Serpents during their sacrificial ceremony. Though they were covered by blood, there was no mistaking about it. This could not be a coincidence.

Before I could think further, I sensed the same presence I felt before.

Only this time, it was intentionally making its existence known.

When I searched in that direction, a huge lump appeared on the lava as if a creature was submerged under it. The creature advanced in my direction pushing away the hurdles along the way and stopped in front of me.

*swoosh*

Slowly, the creature rose from the magma to reveal a pair of menacing slitted golden irises that showed no signs of hospitality to the intruder in its domain.

"hiss... hiss..."

Soon, a giant serpent with scarlet red scales was towering over my head.

The serpent had dark armor-like thick scales covering its head with sharp elongated fangs protruding through its mouth. That, in addition to carved horns acting as a crown over its head, the creature had a close resemblance to the dragons of the eastern continent.

Instantly, I was able to recognize the identity of the creature.

It was the serpent god of desire, Havu.

The god was exhibiting every bit of magnificence that it was, as perfect as the sculpture worshipped by its followers.

Havu hissed while carefully examining me. The serpent god was determining whether I was a prey or a predator.

Either way, I was trapped.

The snake flipped its tongue back and forth as it got closer and closer. A drop of its poison would be enough to kill an army of men in seconds.

Still, I was unfazed.

"hiss..."

"..."

Even though the shackles around my body were searing, I stared back into Havu's eyes without an ounce of fear.

"hiss..."

"..."

The deity who was calmly assessing the situation suddenly slithered back and spread its enormous hood as if it was threatened.

"HISS!"

Hissing loudly, Havu got in a defensive stance. The fin-like hood attached to its body expanded amplifying its formidable appearance twofold.

The place I was trapped in was controlled by the god, thus when it was threatened it reflected on the surface in the form of rapid firestorms.

With no means to defend myself, I watched as Havu charged towards me to attack.

"HISS!"

But just as the snake was about to collide, it dispersed into red smoke and went right past through me like a ghost.

I was completely engulfed by the red smoke. Whatever it was, the smoke was making it harder to breathe.

"AHH! URGH!"

Bit by bit the smoke settled on my back imprinting the image of a serpent as it burnt through my skin. The chains tightened around my body as I struggled to break free.

"Haaah... Haa..."

The scene changed and I was back in the void, still chained to the beams.

I finally remember.

Havu might have disappeared, but it did so before placing the worst curse in history upon me.

With each second, I could feel the excruciating pain in every part of my body with the snake holding a firm grasp of my heart.

Bringing out of the worst fears of its victims to loosen their resolve, the god would feed on the mana in their hearts until the soul ceases to exist.

This was the effect of the Serpent Curse.









There is not a single person in this world who has no fear. Even the strongest of warriors have their own hell filled with nightmares and apprehensions.

For me, it was the emptiness in life I constantly felt.

Thus it made sense of where I was confined. In this place, there is no passage of time. Just an endless void that stretches till eternity.

Unfortunately, this was not a nightmare from which I could wake up and go about my day.

Every single cell in my body was writhing in pain as I fought against the curse that was slowly but steadily stripping the mana in my heart.

No matter what happens, I should not lose consciousness. Because if I did, I would cease from existence.

Then, something strange happened.

"... grace... hill"

I don't know how or when. But I started hearing voices.

"....bring... Cliff... son.."

"...curs... god..."

At first, they were faint, but then gradually became clear till I could be certain of who it was.

"How?! How could you let this happen?!"

"Madam it was His grace's orders to..."

The first one was my mother's voice that was filled with anger followed by a distraught Ezra trying to explain the fate of her only son. Seems like Ezra was the ill-fated one to break the news to Mother.

How is this possible? How can I hear them talk when I'm stuck in this place?

*clang* *clang*

'Can you hear me?!'

Pulling on the chains as much as I could, I tried to communicate with them. I was still in the void, yet could hear others talk like they were just beside me.

Is this an illusion? Or is this another mirage in which the curse is trying to make me lose my mind?

Just when I was out of breath, I could feel my mother's hand sweep through my hair. It was not just her, but I could fully sense my surroundings.

All of my senses were restored. However, I could not move an inch or speak a word.

While I was making sense of my circumstances, the Frost estate was in an uproar.

*crash* *crash*

The sound of glass shattering was heard in the distance. It was easy to guess the person responsible for the ruckus.

"Madam! Please calm down!" An unknown woman's voice tried and failed to console her.

"Calm down? Calm... what do you mean calm down!? That is my child lying there helpless!"

Archduchess Selene Frost, my mother, who was an otherwise stern and dignified person would turn into a monster when it came to her family.

From the flow of their conversation, I was able to surmise that it had been a week since I was cursed.

And they have been unsuccessfully trying to break the curse since then.

Currently, I was bedridden in my room with the healer from the imperial palace being chased out of the estate by my mother after he failed his task.

"Bring the pope, bring the goddamn army! I don't care whatever it takes. I want my child back the way I left him"

"But the Emperor..." Hesitated the man unable to stop her from going on a rampage. It was probably the healer trying to appease her anger.

Mother on the other hand was in no state to listen to his pleas.

*crash*

The vase she threw missed the healer's head just by an inch.

"That man should not be using other people's children for doing his dirty works. If it is 'oh so important' he should get his hands dirty once in a while!"

Right when she was about to throw a candlestick, their conversation was interrupted by Herbie announcing the arrival of High Priest Thesser.

By the time High Priest Thesser entered my room, Mother had cooled down to a level and exited the room leaving only the attendants behind to address the priests.

"Is there any way we could break the curse?" asked Nathaniel Woodlock, the butler of the Frost residence and my personal secretary.

"I wish that were the case" High Priest Thesser spoke in a solemn voice.

"We have done everything we could to keep him alive... maybe when the Saintess comes out of seclusion we might get an answer. So till then, have some faith"

Nathaniel silently let out a sigh, hearing the High Priest Thesser's words.

Shortly after the priests from the Temple of Eir, those from the Church of Theodore arrived. Although there was hostility between the two religions, the priests ignored each other and proceeded with their duties.

Owing to the difference in holy powers between the Saintess and the priests, the latter's efforts had little to no effect on the curse.

Nonetheless, it reminded me of a crucial piece of information that might be valuable.

Back when Orme Leviatan explained about the Serpent curse, she stressed that in order to keep the victim from seeking ways to break the curse, they will be kept oblivious to its effects till the very end.

That was not the case for me.

Since I was responsible for sabotaging the Serpents' ceremony, the Serpent Priest used his own life as a means to complete the last part of the curse instead of the orphans.

Maybe it was because of that difference in scale that the curse had an unexpected side effect.

As a result of which my body fell into an eternal sleep whilst the mind remained conscious despite the fact that Havu had descended on my body.

The people around me went on with their daily lives unaware of the fact that I was still able to perceive my surroundings.

Alive but dying at the same time, I was being held a prisoner in my own body. All the while feeling the snake on my back feeding on my soul.







Days went by without any progress.

Every morning, I had the same tedious routine.

After Herbie finishes the dawn refreshments, Priests from the Church of Theodore and Temple of Eir arrive at a fixed time. Occasionally they were accompanied by the mages from the tower, who like to chat about hot topics in the capital.

Through them, I was kept up to date on the events in the capital.

While the specifics were withheld, a call was made to the public promising wealth and fame to whoever it was to break the curse holding the future Archduke of Frost captive.

As a result of that magicians, healers, and doctors from all across the continent flooded into the Frost estate.

Once that was done, I was left alone till the cycle repeats again.

If it were anyone else, they would have succumbed to the paranoia of endless nothing.

In the midst of the chaos, war broke out between the Frost Duchy and Esdel Marquisate.

To defend the borders, the Archduke and Archduchess had to leave the capital entrusting their comatose child in the hands of the vassals.

With the heir to the Northern domain in a critical state, the social circle was ablaze with rumors.

As the sole heir of the Frost Duchy, if I were to meet an unforeseen death, the next in line for the position of the Archduke of Frost was Count Vesser.

In a futile effort to inherit the duchy, Count Vesser attempted to dissuade public opinion in his favor, feigning compassion for his only cousin.

In order to solidify my position, Nathanial and the rest of my aides selected a marriage candidate with the ability to stabilize my position till I regained consciousness. It was more of a mutual exchange of interests between the two families.

And within a month preparations began for the young duchess's arrival.

To me, marriage was a mandatory part of the responsibilities that came with the position.

I had no expectations. All the bride had to do was exist till the crisis was rectified. Even if she wanted more wealth once the curse was broken, I was ready to accept her demands as long as she fulfilled her role as the future Archduchess.

Eventually, it was the day of the new bride's arrival.

All it took was a signature and a seal. Without a ceremony, officiant, or exchange of vows, I was married to a bride I had not met before.

The morning went by as normal when I noticed a subtle change in the atmosphere. The usually crowded room fell dead silent as the doors to my room opened.

A women's voice said, "No way"

"You have got to be kidding me"

It was a voice that I would never come to forget for the rest of my life.

Surprised. Confused. Perplexed. And disbelief.

A lot of emotions in a single statement.

"The male lead?"

She was the only daughter of the Ashford family who had entered a political marriage in exchange for financial support for her County.

Angelica Ashford.

Now, Angelica Frost.

My wife.