Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 223: Chapter 223: Echo of the Desdemona [2]

Chapter 223 – Echo of the Desdemona [2]

Cassius froze mid-action, allowing the constructs to close in, surrounding him on all sides.

However, by that point, he was no longer in the mood to entertain these constructs.

He lifted his right leg slowly, almost demurely, then violently slammed it down onto the surface of the arena. The ground throbbed like a full bag of flesh struck by a fist, then crimson and white essence erupted from his leg, spreading through the whole arena in a single breath.

Before any of the constructs could get too close to him, the entire ground turned to ash, creating a wide, gaping pit that sank deep underground.

All of them fell in, their arms flailing uselessly in the air.

With his precise control over fire, Cassius created a platform of fire to cover the pit, sealing it off while sending down enough heat to melt those scraps of metal.

Without paying any more attention to the constructs’ fate, as if they were nothing but little inconveniences, he turned his attention back to the 12th ancestor.

”You created Earth?” He echoed again, still unable to believe his own ears.

Maybe he was dreaming.

Earth was his previous world.

It was where his mother, father, sister... where everyone he knew had lived and grown up.

If Earth had been created by his ancestors... didn’t that mean the humans within it had been created by them too?

What about him?

He was here in this world after dying... were other earthlings in the same situation as him?

In this world?

’No... no... it doesn’t make sense!’

But what if it did?

Then his family... were they here? His friend Kaden? What about Katherine?

Cassius’s heart began to pound hard in his chest, his eyes wide as he tried to comprehend the full extent of what had just been revealed to him.

”Why do you look so surprised? They really didn’t tell you? Oh my, did I spoil the news too early?” Albert said with a laugh. ”But why didn’t they tell you? It’s not like the creation of Earth was anything mind-blowing. Not with me, Albert Desdemona the Great, here!”

”Why?” Cassius croaked, his voice strained. ”Why did you create Earth? What about the people who lived there? Were they...”

He gulped, his hands clenched into tight fists.

”...real?”

The 12th ancestor fell into a sudden, strange, still silence at the questions. Cassius couldn’t see him, but he knew his ancestor was glaring at him right now.

After a couple of breaths, as if coming to a decision, he answered:

”That’s certainly not mine to answer.” Albert replied with a carefree chuckle. ”And my dear boy, you clearly can’t take more than this. What a weak descendant we have. Just the creation of Earth, and he’s acting as if we’ve done the greatest thing!”

He paused, then laughed even harder.

”Why, I mean, of course, yes, we did do a great thing. We accidentally created a whole new power system with that creation, after all.”

”I can take it.” Cassius insisted. ”I can take the information. Just answer me. Isn’t that the reason you’re here? To answer me and tell me what to do?”

His voice took on a hard tone; impatience, fear and frustration all mingling together, forming a rather ugly image of him — one the 12th ancestor witnessed.

”That’s where you’d be wrong, my dear boy.” Albert answered, taking no offence. ”We have no obligation to answer your questions, though doing so would help you. But then again, only if we do it at the right time. And as for telling you what to do...”

He cackled, loud and unrestrained.

”...what are you, my dear boy? A little child? Now that I think of it, how old are you?”

”...18.”

”So young! But of course, perfect for learning!”

CLAP—!

A clap echoed, and Cassius found himself in an entirely different place. He was in a strange room, its walls of an odd stone riddled with markings.

He looked around, his eyes settling on a hissing, crawling, glaring sea of snakes.

Cassius slowly took a deep breath, suppressing a shudder.

Some of the snakes were pristine white, others purple, and others still, crimson. He even saw black ones with purple tattoos.

They were numerous, their sizes varying greatly.

But behind all these snakes was an enormous one. A white snake, its scales so beautiful and perfect they shone in that dimly lit space. And across those same scales, crimson tattoos swirled, forming shapes and patterns that evoked a feeling of the Everlasting in anyone with enough mind to grasp it.

”You’re 18, my dear boy.” Albert continued, breaking the daze Cassius was in. ”You’re old enough to make your own decisions. We’ve done everything we could. We even sacrificed a part of ourselves to create your Aspect, {Legacy}. But we’re not here to tell you what to do. We’re only here, of course, Cassius, to teach you and guide you.”

Cassius fell silent, unable to say anything.

”But in the end, everything else lies in your hands. Walk your path, and you’ll learn more...if you don’t die along the way.”

He paused, then let out a deranged chuckle. ”But we ought at least to teach you the nature, culture and history of our Family. I’ve taken the easiest thing to teach you. Hopefully I chose right.”

”Teach... me?”

”Exactly.” Albert said. ”I’ll have you know, if you’re too stupid, I’ll kick you out. I don’t acknowledge a stupid descendant. I am Albert Desdemona the Great, after all!”

Cassius stopped himself from saying anything inappropriate, looking at the snakes still watching him.

”What will you teach me that requires me to be here?”

”Our language.” Albert said with a sense of gravitas. ”The Ouroboros language. Don’t ask me why Ouroboros, it’s a name chosen by Lady Third.”

”What’s the use of this language?”

”Stupid boy, because it’s our language! Now get going! I learned this language when I was only four months old!”

”That’s clearly not possible, ancestor.”

”Don’t apply your mortal logic to me. I was born blessed with talent and mind. I could talk while I was still in my mother’s womb! Bless her soul, she was freaking out when I whispered from inside her. What a mother she was! Bless her, with me, Cassius.”

”Yes, yes. Bless her soul.” Cassius said lazily. ”Will this take long?”

He sighed under his breath, deciding to just go along with the situation.

He knew his ancestor wouldn’t answer his questions this easily anyway.

”Time is slower in my abode, Cassius. But don’t waste it. Now that you’ve come, the reserve of essence my true self left before disappearing is running out.”

Cassius looked at the snakes in front of him, hearing the excited hiss of his Innate, telling him it would be easy with its help.

Only then did he realise that he only understood his Innate because it spoke through intent and not words.

But the Innate was linked to the First Snake, and thanks to that, it was indeed far easier than he had initially believed.

He didn’t know how much time passed, only that it did, and at one point he was deep among the snakes.

It was oddly enjoyable.

He began to learn fast, watching the strange symbols the snakes drew and reading the book he found there, prepared by Albert.

Cassius read and read, then learned and learned.

His Adaptation worked wonders. In no time, he was able to read basic sentences.

Now he went further and decided to study the marks on the walls.

He walked slowly, brushing his fingers over the strange patterns, taking in the sight of a snake opening its mouth to devour the whole earth.

Cassius continued.

He saw the same snake, this time larger and more imposing, ascending straight to the heavens, its eyes filled with deliberate terror and hunger.

Cassius took the time to appreciate the beauty of the markings.

”Oh, are you reading my masterpiece?”

”...”

”I’ll have you know I spent one year inscribing all of this.”

”One year?”

”Well, one year and eight months. But let’s not count the months.”

Cassius rolled his eyes and ignored his ancestor, continuing to inspect the walls.

The more he did, reading the strange language written beneath the images, the more he understood.

Then he arrived at the next image...the same snake again.

But this time reaching a size and beauty that Albert Desdemona had clearly struggled to capture in its grandeur.

Yet even with his ancestor’s obvious struggle, visible in the roughness of the edges, Cassius felt a pressure upon his soul, strangling him from within the moment his eyes fell on it.

He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to look at the image, and saw the snake curling in on itself... eating its own tail.

BADUM—!

Cassius’s heart skipped a beat, his mind going hazy under the power.

”Don’t force yourself.” Albert warned. ”I used my {Commands} at a high level for this one. You’ll get hurt.”

Cassius didn’t even bother to answer.

He lowered his dilating eyes, reading the words scribbled on the walls.

By this point, he was good enough to piece the strange symbols together into something comprehensible.

”He was born when nothing else had been.

He devoured until nothing remained but Himself.

Yet He remains.

Infinite. Everlasting. Self-Sufficient.

He is the First Snake. The Father of Legends.

And...”

Cassius gulped, slowly kneeling on the ground, the pressure far too heavy for his own existence to bear.

”...the Husband of Desdemona.”

—End of Chapter 223—