SUPREME ARCH-MAGUS

“Please, give me the honor to carry one more. If there’s something I can do, ask it now. I insist.”

Muni Naga didn’t answer immediately. His gaze turned inward, and silence fell — thick and ancient.

Only after a long pause did he speak, voice lower than before.

“There is… something.”

Kent straightened, attentive.

“But if you hadn’t insisted, I wouldn’t have dared ask,” Muni Naga said, walking slowly toward a dark cabinet embedded into the far wall. He placed his hand upon the surface, and it glowed in response to his aura.

The cabinet opened with a soft sigh, and from within, Muni Naga retrieved a small storage orb, no larger than an apple. He turned it over in his hands, staring at it like one might look at a sleeping memory.

“You must not be startled,” he whispered.

The orb flashed — and a shape emerged.

A small serpent, no longer than an arm’s length, coiled tightly around a miniature drum no larger than a human palm. Its tail, a sleek, dagger-like point, shimmered gold with fine glowing spikes.

The serpent floated in the air, hovering like a curious wisp. Its cobra hood expanded and collapsed, revealing small rune-scales etched like ancient calligraphy. Its head darted side to side, eyes scanning Kent warily, before subtly hiding behind Muni Naga’s shoulder like a child hiding from a stranger.

Kent stared in quiet awe.

“What is this?” he asked. “A spirit weapon?”

“Not quite,” Muni Naga said softly. “This… is my son.”

Kent’s breath caught. “Your… son?”

Muni Naga nodded, eyes distant.

“His name is JoJo. Born to me and my wife—during a time of celebration, yes, but also despair. My wife… died during his birth. The energy imbalance affected JoJo. He was born… not like others.”

The serpent peeked again, bobbing his head at Kent with a wary flicker of its tongue.

“He couldn’t take a stable humanoid form. His cultivation path collapsed before it even began. His bones twisted. His mind was sharp, yes — too sharp perhaps — but his body was… incomplete.”

Muni Naga rested a hand on JoJo’s drum gently.

“I couldn’t let him fade. I’m a forgemaster. So I did what I could.”

His fingers trembled as they touched the etched skin of the serpent.

“I used my deepest craft — infused him with eternal soulsteel, forged a communication drum to let him channel his thoughts through vibration. His tail was reshaped with celestial alloy, refined with void venom from a dead realm. Now… he can survive. Not quite a beast, not quite a weapon. Somewhere in between.”

Kent’s throat tightened. The air suddenly felt heavy with the sorrow only a father could carry.

“Is… is he conscious?” Kent asked.

JoJo blinked, then vibrated the tiny drum once. A faint hum resonated in the air.

“He understands more than we think,” Muni Naga said. “And though he cannot speak as we do, he feels. Deeply.”

Kent stepped forward, reaching a hand out slowly, carefully. But JoJo immediately hissed and zipped back behind Muni Naga’s shoulder.

“Still shy,” Muni Naga smiled sadly. “He’s been with me all these years, hidden, safe… but lonely.”

He turned to Kent.

“That’s why… I ask you this. As my last favor.”

Kent looked into the old man’s eyes — the ones that had seen centuries of pain, loss, and patience. There was no ambition behind the request. No grand gain.

Just a father… asking a stranger to become family.

“Take him with you,” Muni Naga said. “Let him see the world, let him serve, let him grow. He was meant to be a divine guardian, Kent. I couldn’t give him that path. But maybe you… you can.”

Kent’s heart stirred. He looked at JoJo again — a gleaming, floating child of steel and venom, created not out of ambition, but love.

He knelt down.

“JoJo,” he said gently. “I know I’m a stranger. And I may not be easy to understand at first… but if you come with me, I promise I will never treat you as a tool. You’ll have my protection, my respect. My bond.”

The serpent peeked from behind his father, blinking.

The drum on its back vibrated once, twice. A low rhythmic tone, almost like a heartbeat.

Then, slowly, JoJo floated toward Kent — wary but willing — and landed gently on his shoulder, coiling into a small spiral. The dagger-tail tucked behind his back.

Muni Naga’s breath hitched.

“He’s… accepted you.”

Kent smiled faintly and bowed deeply.

“Then from this moment on, I swear to carry him as your son, not as a weapon. As my companion — and your legacy.”

Muni Naga knelt beside Kent and extended a trembling hand toward JoJo.

The little serpent slowly floated toward his father. He nestled against Muni Naga’s cheek, nuzzling with his cold, smooth scales. The sharp dagger tail trembled faintly, glowing dimmer than before.

Muni Naga chuckled, rubbing the base of JoJo’s hood with aged fingers.

“Don’t be scared, my little one. It’s time you saw the sky. The stars I used to tell you about… the trees your mother dreamed of showing you.”

“This boy… he’ll protect you like I did. No… even better.”

JoJo let out a soft hiss and coiled himself around his father’s wrist. The drum on his back vibrated with a deep, melancholic hum — like the last note of a lullaby unfinished.

Muni Naga smiled despite the ache.

“I know… it’s hard. But the forge isn’t your world anymore. You need to fly where metal can’t hold you back.”

The dagger tail lifted slowly and stabbed gently into the air — a sign of restlessness, hesitation, perhaps… fear.

Kent stepped forward and placed his hand gently over JoJo’s smooth head. He infused a bit of his soul energy — not to dominate, but to reassure. To tell JoJo he was not alone.

The drum vibrated again… once… twice.

Then the vibrations grew into a pattern. A rhythm. A sound.

And then, for the first time… words.

Faint, like whispers through wind-chimes. But clear enough to make Kent’s eyes widen.

“Will… I be safe… with you…?”

Kent looked directly at JoJo, the beat still faintly pulsing against his palm.

He smiled.

“Yes. I swear it.”

The drum quieted… and then pulsed again, softer now, calmer.

“Then I will go… but I will miss my father.”

Muni Naga turned his head, eyes shimmering with tears.

He kissed JoJo’s small head one last time.

“Go, JoJo. Make your mother proud. And if the stars ever sing your name… I’ll know you’ve become more than I ever dreamed.”

JoJo slowly floated back to Kent’s shoulder — not just a burden, not a weapon… but a promise.

–

-Any expectation from JOJO?!

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