[...Brother?]

"Hm?"

[Nothing, just checking if you're okay…]

"I'm fine, Ian. Aren't you too worried about me?" A soft chuckle followed.

[It's been quite a while since you killed him.]

A lighthearted laughter rang out in response. "A while? It felt like it was just yesterday!"

[...It's been a few centuries, brother.]

"Oh, really? Time sure flies~"

[But only here, in this space, the outside world probably hasn't changed much.]

"I see…but why did you bring that up?"

[Brother, did you forget already?]

"...Forget what?"

[What's outside…Did you forget that this isn't your home?]

"But this 'is' my home though,"

[No it's not!]

"..." There was a moment of silence as if he couldn't find the right words to say, or perhaps he was shocked that his brother suddenly shouted out like that. "It's not like I can leave…I've tried a bunch of things, and these chains are still on me."

[...Then is this a win? You killed Ra and got your revenge, but you're stuck here, unable to leave or tell anyone about it?]

"Is there anyone I could even speak with?"

[Yes!] Ian's voice was shaking, it made him flinch as a sudden ache pierced his chest. He never liked it when his brother sounded like he was about to cry. [I…I've never met them…But you at least have a mother.]

"A mother?" A scoff came after. "Ian, how would I not know if I have a mother or not? I can't recall ever seeing her."

[Of course you can't, you idiot!]

"Huh?"

[You…You…] Ian had to pause between his sobbings, and the sword quivered uncontrollably within his embrace. [Isn’t there anything that you can remember?]

"...I just remembered fighting him here, that's all."

[I don't even know what would happen once this place collapses.] Like a death flag, Ian's words caused the space around them to shake. [Once you run out of chaotic energy…The Lawless World will disappear, and you and I might die with it.]

"..." Another few seconds of silence passed by. "I'm sorry."

[I'm not scared of death, brother. It's just…I don't want 'you' to die…]

The Chains of Destiny hadn't shown any signs of breaking down even after he'd defeated Ra. Maybe it was his fate to die after all. What can he even do to stop it? Those 'voices' he used to hear a lot had also stopped. It was as if he'd been the one to imagine them in the first place.

'I can't remember a thing…' He frowned. Was he sitting or standing? Sitting, probably, his legs would get tired by that time if he was truly standing. It was getting more and more difficult to gauge the dimensions of his surroundings as the Lawless World slowly broke down.

It was dark on all sides, so he couldn't tell whether he'd actually closed his eyes. 'Well, whatever, I guess.'

"Thank you for being here with me, Ian." He could feel that the world around them was distorting as he spoke. At most there was a minute left until the Lawless World collapsed.

[...You know, you—] Ian stopped himself from speaking his mind. [Never mind, it's not important anyway. Brother, I'm the one who should be thanking you. You freed me and returned my purpose.]

"...You're not a sword."

[Hm?]

"Ah, I just spoke what came to mind…It sounded like I've said something similar in the past, haha."

[...Well, I guess this is goodbye.]

'BOOM!'

Ignoring the violent shake and the sounds of cracking glass. He put on what must've been the brightest smile he'd ever made. The words that he tried to utter were buried beneath the thundering sound, and soon everything disappeared.

.

.

.

'It's been six months…' Merlin sighed while carefully positioning himself on top of a tree, in his hands was a bow seemingly made of fire, nocked and ready to use at a moment's notice.

Monsters were still infesting different areas of the earth, however, with the blessings of the gods, getting rid of them had become a lot easier as compared to before.

It took a few months until humanity was able to fully accept divine power. As a result of Ra's forceful invasion, Earth was on the verge of breaking apart. But the reward far outweighed the efforts taken into giving humans more weapons to combat the monsters.

However, Hina the High Priestess, who's now under the guidance of the three sisters of fate, had announced that the monsters had settled too deep within the human world for them to get rid of completely.

Meaning there was no time for humanity to rest despite the prominent threat having been taken care of.

Merlin looked up at the sky. "Apollo."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

[...Yes?]

"Any news from your side?"

His best friend had done a lot for the gods, so in return they're working desperately to find his whereabouts, especially Apophis. It wasn't surprising considering that she was his mother.

[Apophis detected some changes within the cosmos…Apparently it was a sudden spike in chaotic energy…She put it as…'A bomb of chaos exploding in the middle of already high-concentrated chaos.']

"...Huh?"

[Exactly.] A tired sigh followed. [She'd never been good with explanations, though at least that's a lead.]

Merlin's attention shifted towards the ground. His eyes had picked up some movements in between the bushes. It was the reason why he was back in the Delphi Forest: monster hunting. He still needed to make a living.

Without hesitation, Merlin let his arrow fly straight at the target. He couldn't see what was there or what he was hunting, all he wanted was something to sell for a big price.

'SLICE!'

"!!!" It was too fast for him to register, but the moment he heard that his arrow was cut, he activated Shadow Warp and hid within the tree's darkness. "Wha, what was that?"

[How am I supposed to know? We can only communicate, not share vision.]

Merlin peaked his head around the tree. "Those are…footsteps, human footsteps? But there shouldn't be anyone in here."

"So it was you who attacked me."

"AH!" The Shadow Warp got dispelled the moment he lost focus, the darkness unraveled and revealed who it was hiding. Merlin could feel every muscle in his body tensed up from the sudden jumpscare, after all, not a single footstep was heard when the person got closer to him.

Upon further inspection, his eyes went wide as he stared at a familiar face. He looked the same just when he'd last seen him, the only difference being the golden chains that coiled around his body. "Theodore?"

"...You know me?" The other party looked equally surprised.

"Huh?" Merlin frowned, a hint of worry shone in his eyes. "Of course I know you! Is this how you greet your friend after so long?"

Theodore scoffed. His expression clearly spoke of his disbelief. "Friend? There's no way I have a friend."

Merlin's jaw dropped. "What do you mean!? Did you hit your head somewhere?"

"Apparently I lost my memories while fighting Ra," Theodore spoke in an apathetic voice, it was as if he didn't care at all. "Well, seeing that you know me. Care to tell where this is?"

"..." He was lost for words at that point. Merlin knew his best friend the most, and he could tell at a glance that Theodore wasn't pulling a childish prank. His cold, impassive eyes gleamed with a slight hint of pride, but they also had a spine-chilling savagery. They were Theodore's eyes, though at the same time, they weren't his. "This is Earth—or…I guess gods call it the human realm."

"Human realm?" Theodore's voice was barely heard. His rounded eyes swept around his surroundings for a moment. "I see, no wonder I sense barely any divinity. Although…"

[Ah f*ck—] Apollo's voice rang out. He sounded like his soul had jumped out of his body. [He, hello.]

"The human world can handle such a large-scale blessing from an entire pantheon?"

[Ah, that was all because of you.]

"Huh, sorry, I don't remember." Theodore shook his head.

[You should come to the divine world and get yourself checked out.] Apollo said with an anxious voice. [I already called Asclepius and Apophis, all of us had been waiting for you, especially your mother.]

Theodore and Merlin looked at each other. "Seems I have to go, nice to meet you."

"...We've already met."

"Perhaps. We'll see after I get my memories back." And with a flash of green, Theodore disappeared once again.

Merlin continued to stand there even when everyone was gone. It was as if he'd been frozen in place from the revelation. His best friend, whom he'd been with since childhood, had completely forgotten about him. He knew it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help but feel bitter about it.

"Well, at least he's back." A smile formed on his lips as he turned around. He would leave the forest after he caught a monster, though maybe that was just his way to keep his mind off of things.

.

.

.

Theodore appeared in the middle of a maze-like garden, surrounded by walls of flora on all sides with nothing but a small wooden house and a tea party set up nearby. He wondered if he'd come to the right place when suddenly a woman bursted through the shack's door.

"Theo!" She called out to him, and before he could even see her face, he found himself buried in a tight embrace. Her entire body was trembling as she slowly ran her fingers through his hair. "Oh thank the heavens, you came back alive…I thought…I thought I sent you to die…"

"Uh," Theodore carefully stepped back from the unforeseen hug. His eyes locked with hers, and he could see the swirling emotions hidden within them. She looked as if she'd been holding back from crying this entire time. It made him hesitate to speak his mind. "...Who are you?"

The woman bit her lips, her eyebrows knotted into a concerned frown. She blinked away the tears and spoke in the calmest tone she could muster. "I'm your mother, Theo. The name's Apophis. Did you really lose your memories?"

"It seems so." Two men walked out from the house. The one that'd spoken was a refined young man wearing white toga fastened with a snake-patterned belt. "Sit down for a moment, Theodore. I need to get a look at you."

While he was hesitant to listen to strangers, Theodore complied. He walked over to the chairs and allowed the man he presumed to be a doctor examine him.

"How is he, Asclepius?" The other man spoke, he was fairly aged but not enough to be considered old. He looked fairly similar to Theodore with black hair and bright green eyes.

Asclepius only looked at him, yet he somehow managed to respond with a clear diagnosis. "He lost a lot of his divine power…I can barely tell that he's a god, not to worry though, they can be recovered over time. It's just his memories…seemed to have been sealed by something?"

"Sealed?" Apophis frowned and stepped closer. She softly brushed her hand over his forehead. Her furrowed brows arched down even further when she straightened herself. "It really is sealed…But, from what I'm seeing, Theodore sealed it himself."

[Actually, it wasn't him.] The sword by Theodore's belt quivered. It gathered everyone's eyes, though only its owner and Apophis seemed calm about it.

"Theo, can I take a look at that sword?"

Theodore narrowed his eyes in distrust. "What do you need Ian for?"

[Brother, don't worry, you used to know them.]

He still was hesitant to hand over the Void Blade. Ian was his only companion during his time stuck in a lightless void, he didn't know what he would do if he didn't have him back then.

Nonetheless, he unsheathed the sword and passed it to Apophis. She only touched it for a few seconds and a sinister energy flowed into it. Theodore didn't make a move though, after all, he was most familiar with that power. '...So she is my mother.'

The Void Blade gave off a radiant glow as Apophis let it float in the air. It slowly shifted and took the shape of a humanoid. As it hovered down to the ground, the blinding light dissipated and revealed a small young boy. He looked like a child replica of Theodore.

He had long black hair that stopped just above his shoulders and his violet eyes emanated the same chilling aura. He wore a black toga with gold outlines and a pair of saddles made from black leather, despite having the appearance of a child, he looked dangerous to approach.

"Ian…?" Theodore was surprised. Out of all the things he expected a 'stranger' to do, he never thought she would give his brother the human form he so desired.

The boy cleared his throat. "I will be explaining now…My brother asked me and uncle Ouroboros to seal his memories."

"Ouroboros?" Apophis frowned.

"His memories are currently kept with him, and it was supposed to stay that way since I wasn't sure if we could exit the Lawless World with Brother's strength." Ian continued as he looked at Theodore. "...We had to resort to such methods because Brother wasn't…doing too well. His body might be that of a god's, but his mind was still human, so he asked us to seal his mortal memories away."

“You kept that from me?” Theodore stared at Ian.

“I’m sorry brother, but I had to…” Ian gave an apologetic bow. “I wanted you to recall at the last moment since I thought we weren’t going to live.”

"..." Apophis looked at her son with tears glistening in her eyes. She pulled a chair over and sat down. "Do you want me to retrieve them?"

"Is there a need to ask?" Theodore tilted his head. "Of course I want to remember. It seemed that I was very close with all of you, and I can't even recall them."

"There might be some bad experiences in there," Apophis gently brushed her hands against his. "You were the one who asked for them to be locked away in the first place. Are you really sure about it?"

Theodore chuckled. "Whatever happens I guess. I'm sure it'll be fine."

His supposed mother didn't say another word, nor did anyone else around them spoke. She carefully placed a hand on his forehead, letting an uncanny aura flowed from her skin and into him. After only a few seconds, his eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and soon everything went dark.

.

.

.

Theodore was startled awake by the chatters in front of him. He looked around and found himself standing in a familiar pitch-black space. It was the Lawless World, his home and his prison.

"—If I lose it now, wouldn't that mean everything was for naught?"

There was another Theodore in front of him, he was sitting down hugging Ian the Void Blade while muttering to himself like a madman. Only those who could actually hear the voices would know that he was talking to the sword and a certain someone inside his head.

[That is true, but your condition doesn't look well.] A man he didn't know he knew spoke up. He had a gentle low voice often heard from noblemen in movies. Even though he thought they were strangers, for some reason, he managed to recall his name: Ouroboros.

[Brother, please hold on…I, I'll try to find a way out!]

"You know that only I can get us out," The Theodore of the past let out a broken chuckle, how long had he spoken for his voice to become so hoarse? "I have nothing left…I used it all on Ra, we're stuck here."

[Theodore, you're only making this worse.] Ouroboros muttered with worry in his tone.

"Then what do you suggest we do!?" Theodore was about to say something, but then he cut himself off with a shake of his head. "Sorry…I didn't mean to shout…"

[...Any human staying in an endless void for several hundred years would've lost their minds by now. You're holding out strong, Theodore.] Ouroboros tried to reassure him.

"Because I have you guys…But I guess that wasn't enough." Theodore sighed. "...Just do it."

[Do…what?]

"My memories. If it's because I'm human that I'm losing my mind. Take that away, erase it, seal it, whatever you do. I, at least if I'm going to die, I don't want to die a broken man."

Before Theodore could hear anything else from his past, the image distorted and changed until everything disappeared entirely.

"So you made it out."

The sudden voice made him flinch with surprise. He turned around and found himself standing face to face with…another him. There were barely any distinctive features that separated them apart, though the other one did have blood-red eyes.

"You…" Theodore frowned. There was a sense of familiarity, but at the same time he couldn't recall who this person was.

The other him chuckled. "I often introduced myself as your…subconsciousness. It wasn't entirely a lie, though. I did say once that we would become one of the same."

Theodore's eyes went wide, and suddenly a memory passed through his mind. "You're…Ouroboros?"

Ouroboros smiled. His question hit the mark perfectly. "Pieces of your memories are returning by now, yes? This leaves only the ones that I personally kept sealed. I will ask you this, though: Do you want them back?"

"Of course!" Theodore blinked. "Why would I not want them?"

"Because they recorded the rest of your torturous hundred years inside the Lawless World. From what happened during your battle with Ra up to the point where you asked for your memories to be sealed." Ouroboros remained softly smiling, but his voice was filled with solemnity; he didn't seem to want to give the memories to him either. "I showed you a little bit of it just to help my case in changing your mind now. But if you so desire…I shall return them all."

Theodore went quiet as he thought about it for a moment. However, he didn't ponder on his decision for long. "They are my precious experiences. I would need to stay alive for longer than that anyway. That could prove to be useful when I need to adapt to it."

"...Very well then." Ouroboros' expression never changed as he snapped his fingers. Dark mist flowed from beneath him and slowly made its way towards Theodore, it coiled around his body until it engulfed his eyes in darkness, plunging him into another trip down the memory lane.