Ethan’s legs burned as he practically sprinted across the Oxford campus, the image of that writhing, miniature serpent vanishing down the drain still vivid in his mind. Each breath was a ragged gasp, mirroring the frantic beat of his heart. The strange mark on his wrist throbbed with a dull, persistent ache, a constant reminder of the unholy connection he'd forged. He needed answers, and he needed them now.

He’d thought of the police, even considered a doctor, but dismissed both ideas almost immediately. How could he explain this? A tiny snake birthed from black bile? A serpentine ring that induced hallucinatory visions? He'd be locked up faster than he could say 'primordial deity.'

No, he needed someone with knowledge, someone who wouldn't immediately dismiss him as insane. Professor Alistair Armitage, a specialist in ancient mythology and pre-Christian religions, was his only hope. Armitage was known for his eccentric lectures, filled with esoteric details and outlandish theories, yet he commanded respect for his deep understanding of obscure historical texts and forgotten belief systems.

Ethan practically burst into Armitage's office, a cluttered haven overflowing with books, artifacts, and the lingering scent of old paper and pipe tobacco. Stacks of tomes threatened to topple from every surface, casting long shadows in the afternoon light. Armitage himself was hunched over a large, leather-bound volume, his brow furrowed in concentration. He was a man of advanced years, his face a roadmap of wrinkles etched by years of study and contemplation. His silver hair was perpetually disheveled, and his spectacles perched precariously on the bridge of his nose.

"Professor Armitage, I need your help," Ethan blurted out, his voice laced with desperation.

Armitage looked up, startled, his spectacles nearly falling off. "Good heavens, Blackwood! What's the meaning of this… this invasion? Is the library on fire again?"

"No, sir, nothing like that. It's… it's something I found. Something… ancient." Ethan pulled out the silver ring, the serpentine carvings gleaming dully in the dim light. He hesitated, unsure how to explain the bizarre events of the past few days without sounding utterly mad.

Armitage’s eyes widened as he took the ring, his fingers tracing the intricate designs with a surprising gentleness. The professor remained silent for a few moments, his gaze shifting between the ring and Ethan's face, and the professor's expression grew increasingly somber. He set the ring down carefully on his desk, as if it were a fragile and dangerous object.

"Where did you find this, Blackwood?" he asked, his voice suddenly grave.

Ethan swallowed hard. "Near Windrush Hill. A hidden dig site… my grandfather found it, I think. He left notes, cryptic notes about… something hidden there." He briefly recounted his discovery, the vision, the creature, and the mark on his wrist, trying to remain as clinical as possible, though his voice wavered with a mixture of fear and disbelief.

Armitage listened intently, his eyes never leaving Ethan's face. When Ethan finished, the professor remained silent for a long moment, his face a mask of deep concern.

"The Windrush Hill… your grandfather… I feared something like this might happen," he muttered, more to himself than to Ethan. "Your grandfather delved too deeply, I always suspected."

Ethan's heart sank. "You know what this is?"

Armitage nodded slowly. He rose from his chair and began pacing the room, his hands clasped behind his back. "The symbols… the serpent coiled in an ouroboros… it's unmistakable. This ring… Blackwood, this is a relic of the Cult of the Great Serpent."

"The Cult of the Great Serpent?" Ethan repeated, the name sending a shiver down his spine.

"A pre-Christian cult," Armitage explained, his voice regaining its professorial tone, albeit laced with an undercurrent of urgency. "They worshipped a serpentine deity, a being of immense power and unimaginable cruelty. They believed this… Great Serpent… held dominion over the primordial darkness, the chaos that existed before creation."

He stopped pacing and fixed Ethan with a piercing gaze. "They believed the Serpent could be summoned. That its power could be harnessed. But at a terrible cost. The complete enslavement of humanity. They believed in power through servitude."

Ethan felt a chill run down his spine. "Servitude? You mean… sacrifices?"

Armitage nodded grimly. "Rituals. Dark magic. They sought to become conduits for the Serpent's will, to transform the world into a reflection of its serpentine nature. A world of cold, unfeeling order, where free will is extinguished and replaced with absolute obedience."

"And the ring… it's a key?" Ethan asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"Precisely. A key to unlock the Serpent's return. A focal point for its power. A tether to our world." Armitage pointed a trembling finger at the mark on Ethan's wrist. "That mark… it's a sign, Blackwood. The Serpent's Signet. It signifies that you are now bound to this entity. It's through you that it can manifest."

Ethan felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He looked at the mark on his wrist, now throbbing with a burning sensation. He was a vessel, a conduit for an ancient evil.

"What do I do?" he pleaded, his voice filled with despair. "How do I stop it?"

Armitage sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping. "I don't know. I wish I had a simple answer for you, Blackwood, but I do not. The cult was eradicated centuries ago. Their texts are scattered, fragmented, often deliberately obscured. The knowledge to combat this… it's almost entirely lost."

He paused, thinking hard. "But there might be something. The Bodleian Library holds a collection of rare texts, including some fragments recovered from the cult’s last known stronghold. They are heavily restricted, of course. The university deemed them too dangerous for general access. But… I might be able to pull some strings. We need to learn everything we can about the cult, their rituals, their weaknesses."

"And what about the Serpent itself?" Ethan asked, fear creeping into his voice.

"That is a question that has haunted scholars for generations, Blackwood. The Serpent’s nature is not fully understood. Some believe it to be a literal entity, a being of immense power trapped between dimensions. Others believe it to be a metaphor, a representation of humanity's darkest impulses, the desire for power and control. Regardless of its true nature, its influence is undeniably real, and its return would have catastrophic consequences."

Armitage walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a thick, leather-bound book. He opened it to a page filled with strange symbols and diagrams. "This," he said, pointing to a complex pattern of interlocking circles and serpentine figures, "is a representation of the Serpent's influence. It shows how it seeks to infiltrate the world, to corrupt and control everything it touches."

He closed the book with a snap. "We are in a race against time, Blackwood. The Serpent is growing stronger, feeding on your life force, preparing to fully manifest. We need to find a way to sever your connection to the ring, to banish it back to the darkness from whence it came."

He looked at Ethan with a mixture of concern and determination. "I will help you, Blackwood. But you must be prepared for a long and arduous journey. The path ahead is fraught with danger and uncertainty. You will be facing an ancient evil, one that has been waiting for centuries to return. You must be strong. You must be brave. You must be willing to sacrifice everything to stop it."

Ethan nodded, his face grim. He didn't know if he was strong enough, brave enough, but he knew he had no choice. The fate of the world, it seemed, rested on his shoulders. "I'm ready, Professor. What do we do first?"

Armitage turned back to his desk, his eyes scanning the cluttered surface. "First, we delve into the library. We must uncover the secrets of the Cult of the Great Serpent. And then… then we must find a way to break the Serpent's Signet, before it consumes you entirely."

The professor picked up the silver ring, his face etched with a deep sense of foreboding. He looked at Ethan, his voice filled with a newfound resolve.

"This is going to be a very dangerous undertaking, Blackwood. But we must succeed. The world depends on it." He paused, then added in a low voice, almost as an afterthought, “And I believe your grandfather would want you to.”

That statement was a hammer blow. Ethan was doing this to honour his Grandfather, as well as to save the world. It gave him strength, resolve. He knew what he had to do. The creeping dread still lingered, but it was now mixed with a strong determination. He would not let this ancient evil win.