Once upon a time, Iran had a ruler known as the 「Serpent King」. His name was Zahhak. He used to be a Prince from a remote frontier tribe before taking the throne. Zahhak was a small and slender but healthy man. Contrary to what his appearance would suggest, he was a curious and kind man at heart. One day, Zahhak fell down a cliff during a hunt and met a witch who called herself 「Grey Serpent」. The witch kissed the Prince's shoulders and his broken legs were healed. Rather, it would be correct to say they were stronger than before. The Prince was overjoyed and asked the witch what she would like in return. 「Grey Serpent」 simply smiled and told the Prince: 「O future King of Kings, your thanks are more than enough. For you will leave the realm of man and bring joy to us all.」 Back then, Zahhak was unaware of what kind of changes were occurring inside of him. The Prince's father, Merdas, would always go out for a stroll at night in the palace's gardens. The King was surrounded by flowers and admiring the Moon when the Prince arrived, excited to tell him about what had happened to him. 「My dear son... what happened to you? You have such scary look on your face.」 The puzzled old man asked to his only son. But Zahhak did not answer. For some reason, the sight of his father wearing a crown and holding a scepter made him feel unusually hungry. His shoulders started to tingle so badly he began to scratch them with his hands. And then—— ——A serpent's head came out from each shoulder. The Prince froze while the serpents, like an arrow, headed straight for the King's neck and bit him. The confused Zahhak composed himself, took out his sword and slashed the serpents—— ——But after cutting their heads, another one would grow from his shoulders. Meanwhile, the King was poisoned by the serpents and had bubbles coming out of his mouth. Zahhak could no longer endure his hunger, and using his sword, he cut this father's head and fed his brain to the serpents. ...That was the moment he became the horrifying 「Serpent King」. Afterwards, Zahhak ordered his subjects to bring him a criminal each night, and he fed their brains to the serpents. Soon after there were no more criminals. To escape from his guilt, Zahhak waged war against the other tribes, defeated them and put them on trial—— ——And of course, he cut off the heads of those he found 「guilty」. The 「Serpent King」 was no longer that small and weak Prince who once died during a hunt. He could tore apart his enemies with his bare hands, and his skin was so hard it could not be harmed by any weapon. The 「Serpent King」's army continued to win battle after battle. He not only unified the tribes but took down the dynasty, and became known as the 「King of Kings」, the world's supreme ruler. Then the 「King of Kings」 put in place strict laws in his country—— ——Every day someone will be sentenced to death. All so he could feed their brain without remorse. And so hundreds of years passed by. The 「Serpent King」 became old, his ways of governing no longer fitted the current era, and he became increasingly more violent—— ——That was when finally a hero finally appeared. The hero led a subjugation force against Zahhak. However, Zahhak was immortal. Even after the hero cut off his head, the serpents continued to live and control his body. 「You damn fools... I've united our nation, destroyed our enemies, killed all the criminals and sentenced corrupt officers to death...」 「And this is how you repay your debt to me?」 「I suppose your ancestors never told you why I'm called the 「Serpent King」!」 ...In that moment, that witch 「Grey Serpent」 showed herself. 「Ahh, poor King Zahhak. You made a grave mistake in the most crucial part. That is why you arrived at this pitiful ending.」 The witch said with a sad tone. Humanity exists to be surpassed. It's the kind of existence that would make one be ashamed of what they used to be once one transcends their own humanity. I gave you a chance to stop being an animal and become human, but you chose to remain an animal. Revolutionaries, I speak of the future. The soul does not respect the human flesh. Our instincts are like the impure flow of river—— ——Only a sea, an existence that transcends rivers and lakes, can accept all impurities without losing itself. O sad King Zahhak, you destroyed your own soul in your attempt to surpass 「humanity」. I thought if your soul were to look down upon your body you would be able to leave the shackles of instincts behind. But in truth your soul was as disgraceful as your body. O pitiful King Zahhak, your soul refused to understand your flesh, so the flesh was dragged away by desire into an abyss. The serpents on your shoulders never desired human brains. All they wished was to help you in becoming a king as soon as possible. Have you not noticed? The wisdom of the brains you ate became a part of you. That is why you became such a strong ruler and an excellent criminal. I called you 「the future King of Kings」 but alas, it seems you did not understand anything at all. Those serpents were only fulfilling your basic desires of the flesh. O foolish King Zahhak, life is deal you can't take back, and you didn't even know what you were trading. I gave you the potential to surpass humanity, and you wasted it 「playing house」. Zahhak, you have no longer the potential to 「surpass humanity」. Let us end this deal here. ...You were a rare specimen, but you are not the 「Super Human」 my Lord wanted. Saying that, the witch threw a dart and stabbed Zahhak's chest. The former 「King of Kings」 made a loud sound as his body hit the ground, and the serpents on his shoulders withered and died. The witch then began to speak of the 「sacrifice」 that took place before their eyes to the confused crowd. ——That is the story of the 「Serpent King」 my father taught me. Until the age of 15 I thought it was simply a baseless legend. But... Esther, I know this is sudden, but this might be the last time I'll be able to talk to you. Our place in the war has changed drastically. The King's army, 「The Immortals」, fell pray to an ambush by the Sacae. The King is probably already...

注：

长生军（Ἀθάνατοι）——这是古希腊历史学家希罗多德（Ἡρόδοτος，约前484年~前425年）对阿契美尼德王朝中央禁军的称呼。

希罗多德将“长生军”描述为一支由重装步兵组成的精锐部队，其人数恰好保持在一万人不变。他声称，在这支部队中，任何战死、重伤或重病的士兵，都会立即被一名新的士兵取代。

然而，波斯方面的记载虽然印证了这样一支精锐禁军的存在，却称其为“伙伴军团”，而不是“长生军”。希罗多德、或是他的某个消息来源，可能是将古波斯语中的"Anûšiya"（“伙伴”）与"Anauša"（“长生者”）弄混了，并添油加醋地自行解释了一番。

 The army has no leader right now and Prince Cambyses is far away in Babylonia. As the High Priest, I must go to the front lines and take charge of the army in place of the missing King. There is no guarantee I'll come back alive. That's why I'm gonna give you these two things. I'm sure they'll help you in times of need. The first one is this drug. If you need the strength to fight, remove the cover and pierce your skin with the needle. You will then gain the strength of the legendary 「Serpent King」. ...「Serpent King」? Yeah, the 「Serpent King」. That legend is not nonsense. The King and me once met that 「Grey Serpent」 witch. We got this drug from her. But... I'm aware this power is dangerous. This is a way of becoming a 「Super Human」—— But it's the worst of them all. Which is why I also want to give you this other thing. It's a transfer device left behind by the previous civilization. If you use it, you'll be able to go back to your former life. My former... life? What do you mean? Listen, Esther... I'm not your real father. Your mother didn't die during childbirth either. I met you for the first time in the den of that 「Grey Serpent」 witch. W-What? It happened a long time ago, when the King was just a Prince and I was a nameless naturalist. In one of our travels, we found a clue that lead us to the legendary witch—— 「Grey Serpent」. We who were fearless explorers, pretended to be believers and made contact with her. Then, we assassinated her. 「Grey Serpent」 had many magic tools in her den—— Among them, there was the machine that gave birth to you. ...Machine? I was artificially made? That I don't know. That machine was special—— At the time we couldn't read any of the letters, but it was clear to us it was counting down to something—— I, who didn't have the responsibility of 「seeing the world as a Prince」 like the King had—— Stayed behind in 「Grey Serpent」's den to study her magic. ...20 years passed by. The magic tools left behind by the witch were certainly impressive but—— Aside from a few words I couldn't understand much of her strange language. When I was about to give up due to my lack of progress—— At the evening of an early Summer, the countdown of that machine finally reached zero. The cover of the machine opened up like a flower spreading its petals, and a pleasant cold breeze touched my feet. ...That was the moment you were born, Esther. Raising you gave a new purpose to my life. I was even able to take a peek at the mystery behind 「God」 and 「Magic」. I suspect you were a kid who was taken away from the hands of time by that machine 「Grey Serpent」 had. Just like the many witches and sages of the past—— You were capable of naturally reading their strange language. I wasn't able to understand that language due to reaching 「enlightenment」 and I didn't build our religion. They were all things I learned from you before you arrived. Thanks to your birth, I learned of the timeless will of an ancient civilization. Thanks to your birth, I learned the concept and value of 「Super Human」. Thanks to your birth, I learned what the opposite Gods are competing for. Esther, child of the stars... You are the genuine 「Son of God」. Even if the Sacae slaughter us all, you must survive at all costs. But father... Let me say it again. No matter what happens to me, to someone else or even the country, you must survive at all costs. In case of emergency, use this transfer device called 「Genius」. It will let you sail beyond time and space, beyond the 「Sea of Mystery」, and take you to the 「world of light」 gifted by the Gods. Because that is the place you originally were from. 「Genius」, you said? Could it be—— ——High Priestess Esther, by 「originally」 you mean you were a resident of this world? ...No. That was merely what my father believed. When the Sacae made their way into the castle, I destroyed all of his research and activated the 「Genius」. The world around me was distorted at an incredible speed, and I began to look for the 「world of light」 my father talked about—— ——But what awaited me was an endless abyss devoid of everything. Even with my eyes closed, I would still see a crack in space. Even with my ears blocked, I would still hear the soft whispers of the stars. Even with my lips sealed, I would still feel an iron-like bitterness taste in my mouth. Even with my breath held, I would still feel as if my throat was burned by a fiery fire and smoke. Even after drawing a Mandala, I would still feel pain in my fingertips as if they were burning. A moment outside the abyss felt like thousands of years inside of it. Space and time lost all meaning. Without a path nor a compass to follow, I was a cracked ego drifting in the void. My body, my soul. My nerves, my brain. My blood, my heart—— It felt like every piece of me was screaming in agony, unable to work properly. There was no 「world of light」 after all. Eternity, infinity, something that keeps people alive forever... It was hell itself. When I got used to the suffering and my body, soul and mind became one again—— I finally understood the truth behind this endless cycle, this endless abyss. It was not a truth one can see with their eyes, but with their heart. That was the heart of a devil, an equation buried by the Gods of Light. I shall end my tale here. The night is upon us, the breeze gets colder, and people enter their deepest dreams. No pain or sentiment. O soul, let us wash away your trivial disgrace and immorality. Only then everyone will be able to greet the light of day once again. Let yourself be devoured by me. Become one with me in death and sleep forever inside my soul. There is only room for 「one」 Super Human in this husk that drifts beyond endlessness and nothingness.