Revenge of the Serpent

Epilogue 2

Theodore recalled his battle against the sun god Ra. It lasted for many unknown weeks, perhaps years, with both of them pushing themselves to their utmost limit. None of them refused to go down even after they'd depleted their mana reserve using whatever spells were possible within the Lawless World.

Ra had gained the upper hand once due to Theodore's injuries, though after he'd bided his time until his natural healing factor fixed his bones and wounds. He rained down a barrage of spells on his opponent and ended the long battle with a swift strike of the Void Blade, completely severing his ties with the Divine World, and thus completing the execution.

The sun god would never be able to reincarnate or move on to a new vessel, his soul would wander around Duat until the Divine World issued out a formal punishment for the god's essence, in any case, Theodore would no longer cross paths with him anymore.

Afterward, memories that Ouroboros warned him about came flooding into his mind. Theodore even regretted asking for them to be returned once, but nonetheless, he pushed through and kept himself stable.

It was truly a fate worse than hell. Stuck in nothingness, unable to resist, unable to call for the ones he knew outside. He'd already promised that he would return, and yet he could no longer tell them that he couldn't.

What he felt at that moment wasn't the fear of death that was to come with the Lawless World's collapsed, but the feeling of regret and pain. He thought he wouldn't be able to see his loved ones ever again. His mother. His father. His best friend. All of them would live on knowing that he wouldn't come back, yet still silently hoping that he would return some day.

Theodore remembered that he tried to use his little brother to end his own life, but Ian resisted and fortunately managed to stop him. He recalled how much he cried out all the bottled emotions he'd been holding on to for several decades. Even though they were memories, he could still feel what his past self had back then, so vivid that it seemed like all of it had happened yesterday.

Thinking back on it, Theodore couldn't help but be reminded of what he'd accomplished. He was resurrected as a snake, grew to become the most powerful monster in the world, transcended mortality and killed several gods. All of it sounded like a dream to him, and yet they were all real, his unbelievable crackhead of a story.

It made him laugh, and then it made him wonder. Maybe this was how gods coped with the endless pain from immortality. Find something that they enjoy and not think about it too much. Theodore questioned whether he, who was human, would be able to do such a thing.

But what was the point of pondering so much about it?

He might as well spend his time with his friends, those who have limited lifespans unlike him. He needed to make up for the time he wasn't able to go to places Merlin wanted to drag him to. He needed to officially finish his education and get a job. "Maybe not that." He chuckled to himself as he watched the memories unfold before him. There wasn't anything much left by then, and he knew that it wouldn't be long until he woke up.

And just like that, the slide show of his missing memories came to an end. The jigsaws fit themselves into their respective spaces, and it was time that he returned to the waking world.

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Jolting up from his seat, Theodore's eyes adjusted to the lights around him. The smell of varnish wood and luxurious perfume entered his nose, and soon after something large tackled him from the side. It shouted nonsensical words in his ears, though his dazed mind couldn't realize their meanings. His eyes landed on a familiar figure, a woman, still wearing the same goth-like outfit ever since the day they had met.