Above her were stars. Through the eye of her telescope, she saw them, strewn out across the sky. In her telescope's viewfield, they appeared to be contained within a round mechanical hole. If she swivelled her telescope, adjusted the knobs lightly like so, she could point out constellations. To her, the constellations were the Goddesses' work, their hands playing, assembling the stars into a myriad of shimmering, twinkling images. She marvelled at their beauty. But she knew she couldn't focus on the stars. No, she was here to search the stars, to find something much more exciting.
A shoulder-bag rested across her chest. She slipped it off, pausing from her watch to rifle through the contents. From the bag she found her knife, her tablets, the scripture. The latter was what she pulled out; A large, dusty parchment piece. It was covered in symbols, the hieroglyphics of Medusa. Just looking at it gave her a surge of pride and confidence. Scholars had worked over this text for centuries, trying to crack the code of the ancient Goddesses, their languages all differing and ever-twisting to their desire. But she had solved it, had puzzled over this particular script for months before revealing its secrets. And now, she was certain she would discover whatever it was these hieroglyphics had tried so hard to cover up.
She gave it a cursory read through, two or three times just to be certain. On top of this hill, overlooking the capital city of Knossos, once the moon had risen and the stars shone brightest, she would find the Pyramid. A triangular artifact would illuminate itself within the sky, and with it, the Pyramid would come. Within the Pyramid, she would find the Goddesses. And then they would grant her ascension. She would admit, she did not know what ascension was. In fact, she was nervous if she was even truely worthy for that, whatever it promised. But surely, if the Goddesses were within this Pyramid, then it could only be a good thing.
Placing the parchment back into her bag, the Gorgon slid over to the telescope, adjusting the knobs and looking through the viewpiece with growing anxiety. What if she were doing all this for nothing? Would she ever be forgiven for mistranslating it? Her commissioner wouldn't pay her for false information. Instead, she would most likely be discredited and seen as a fraud. No, she needed to be right. She had to search the skies.
It was then she caught it. She recoiled back a little, hearing her Hydras squirm at the sudden movement. The white serpents coiled around her head, and she patted one, reassuring them it was alright. No, she had probably seen just a smudge on the glass, mistaking it for a triangle. She bent down to look through the eyepiece again. There it was. A bright, glimmering triangle, hovering under the stars. Its blue frame shimmered as it entered through the sky. She was suddenly aware of how immense it was, of the sudden pressure in the air as it moved down towards the surface of her planet. She backed up from the telescope, no longer needing the tool, her blue eyes wide as the Pyramid sank towards the earth.
As it neared where she stood, thousands of feet above her head, she thought she saw the bottom open up. The Pyramid seemed to open, its mouth dislocating like that of a snake's jaw, and the inside humming and glowing with bright blue energy.
She held her head, her Hydras squirming under her claw, hissing out as she lost her balance. Her head felt dizzy, and she sank to the ground, curling up as her eyes flickered, then floated shut. Darkness took over her vision, and she felt numb, unable to move, unable to think, the Pyramid floating above her...
Daboia awoke with a jolt. Her head slammed against something hard and she hissed, leaning back. Everything in her vision seemed to blur and distort, her breath rolling out like fog, smudging the glass in front of her face. She wanted to raise her hand, but her arms felt like lead, and her Hydras seemed to flop lifelessly in front of her face, blocking her vision. The Gorgon whimpered, her forehead burning from the impact, feeling useless and unable to do anything but lay there. She could, however, toss her head a bit, and that thankfully made it easier to see.
Wherever she was, it was bright, overwhelmingly so. Everything appeared to be a green-blue color, but too mechanical to simply be a part of the jungle. No, this was definitely not the same hill she had stood on moments earlier. Through the fogged glass, she could see strange shapes all around her. It was all vaguely exotic, disorienting, like waking up in an alien hospital. She very much wanted to scream, to panic and slither into a corner somewhere, but she could barely lift her head now, and her tail could only rattle slightly in protest.
At some point, Daboia heard a voice. It did not seem to speak her language, but it was indeed a voice. She wondered if it was a Goddess. Afterall, she could only conclude she was inside the Pyramid now. Perhaps she had ascended. But she didn't feel any different. Once the voice finished speaking, she could hear some kind of gas expel from inside her tank, feel it against her skin. A smoke seemed to fill her tank. The glass squeaked, dislodged, then slid open, landing with a loud bang on the floor as the pod opened.
Groggily, the snake-woman found the strength to sit up, her Hydras also stirring before rising up as well, both Gorgon and her serpents alive once more.
