The Cosmic Snakes
by Shane Poo
Diterbitkan September 2026
Disunting oleh Anh Thu Truong Nguyen
Novela fantasi, 127 halaman
dalam Bahasa Inggris
ISBN: [belum tersedia]
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In a distant galaxy on a planet named Ennwari, life follows the rhythm of the rare Pearleweed Harvest, a decade spanning cycle celebrated and feared in equal measure. Most believe the world is all they’ve ever known — but the truth is far stranger, and far more dangerous.
Everest and her best friend Rainie are ordinary school-girls in a quiet village by the forest, their days filled with books, laughter, and half-forgotten stories of old. But when a routine errand to their school’s mysterious underground library leads to the discovery of an ancient secret, everything changes. Hidden beneath layers of history lies a cosmic thread connecting their world to others — and with it, the legend of the Cosmic Snakes, entities said to twist fate and bind the very fabric of reality.
Drawn into a race against time, joined by unlikely allies including the unpredictable Phyllis and Mykonos, the friends must navigate ancient mysteries, dangerous conspiracies, and a growing threat that could unravel their world — and the worlds beyond.
Will they untangle the truth before the 212th Pearleweed Harvest? Or will the Cosmic Snakes claim another cycle of history lost to the dark?
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I. Under the library
In a far galaxy, there was a solar system similar to the one here in the Milky Way. There was one habitable planet there, which also has one moon like the one over here. The planet was Ennwari. There were many different worlds in that same place. People in each world never knew about other worlds because the worlds never meet. But the first and second worlds got connected since the year when second worlders accidentally created pearleweed, a plant with all parts that could be used.
Every part was edible. The fruits and flowers could be used to make soap. The leaves were used to make a type of fluffy yarn, the stem when cut would make some types of parasitic insects go away. The roots, besides containing a lot of glycogen making this part of the plant the one most oftenly eaten, also contained some liquid with much less density than water. It made anything coated by it float. Pearleweed could only be harvested every ten years, which was why since pearleweed existed they created a calendar called Pearleweed Harvest Year. Now, it was getting closer to the year of the 212th pearleweed harvest.
A blonde and soft yellow-eyed girl was walking through school during lunch break with her red-haired, yellow-eyed best friend. They were Everest and Rainie and each of them were carrying a heavy box full of books to be returned to the library. Their school wasn’t really a big one since it was built in a village near a conifer forest, but the library was actually gigantic. Most of the library was underground because there wasn’t really much space if it was all above ground, like the school.
“Our box is heavier than usual today, don’t you think so?” said Rainie.
“Yea, it’s always like this. When we take a box of books back home it feels so light, like I’m actually just carrying a single cell.” replied Everest, “But every time we return it, it feels like we’re actually carrying a whole biosphere! Probably because we actually don’t wanna return it?” And they laughed.
A white haired boy with dark gray eyes bumped into Rainie’s box and made it fall. Some of the books dropped on the floor.
“Eh? Hey, it’s you and Rainie!” said that boy, whose name was Oak. He was Everest’s brother, two years older than her. “You guys are still reading planet stuff?”
“Why not? It’s actually much more useful and interesting than your whole universe and outside planet stuff,” said Everest, helping Rainie pick up the fallen books. “Don’t you remember when we were smaller?”
“I don’t care, so I won’t remember.” said Oak. “And I don’t actually care what you’re reading, so Imma go.” He walked a few steps, and went back again. “Oh yea, Rainie, do you mind leaving your books first, I need to return something to you.”“Sure,” said Rainie, “I’ll catch up with you later, Evie.”
“And I’ll join you guys later,” said Oak to the two boys who were walking with him before. Then, he and Rainie left.
The boy with extremely spiky light brown hair and grayish blue eyes, picked up a book and said, “Oh, so this is where it is! You guys were borrowing it?”
“Yea,” said Everest, still returning the books that fell to the boxes. “That book is very interesting, we’re returning it today so you guys can maybe help with Rainie’s box and you can borrow that book about dangerous chemicals.”They finished putting all the fallen books in Rainie’s box, and started going to the library. It was a silent walk. The birds were chirping outside the windows and the wind was running through the trees.