The Monarch

Thoth never expected that Kayden would be capable of reaching this level of strength, not even in his wildest dreams. In all his predictions, the chance of this happening existed in only a single scenario. The point was that it wasn't a scenario in the sense of having multiple paths for it to occur but rather…

Out of all the scenarios, every single moment of Kayden's life had to be perfect to lead to that ending. Every tiny second of his existence had to coexist perfectly for him to be able to reach that level of strength and…

"I want to die." Thoth looked at Kayden and repeated the words he had only said to a few people, "All the lives I take are for this. I've seen countless geniuses and monsters, countless generations and events." Thoth's tone was that of a weary being, someone who no longer sought to live and just wanted to rest permanently.

"I've already been a father, son, grandfather, master, mother, daughter, grandmother..."

Thoth took a deep breath, closing his eyes as if searching his memory for fragments of who he had once been.

"I have been a hero, a villain, a tyrant, and a martyr. I have commanded armies that conquered entire worlds and, in other lives, I was the last survivor of forgotten civilizations. I have loved like no other and hated with the same intensity. I was the one who led people to glory and the one who condemned them to oblivion. I've been worshiped as a deity and hunted as a monster. I wrote laws that shaped eras and broke those same laws when I became strong enough to realize how fragile they were."

His voice carried no regret, nor pride — only an absolute, silent, ancient weariness.

"I have lived as a simple man, as a primordial creature, and as a formless concept. I have been hope and also fear in the hearts of countless generations. And, in the end, none of these versions of me were enough to satisfy or free me. Each life only added more weight, more memory… more exhaustion."

Thoth opened his eyes, looking deeply into Kayden's, with a faint, almost extinguished glow, like a star that, after shining for millennia, was finally accepting the fate of being extinguished.

"How strong are you really?" Every time Kayden thought of Thoth's words, he reflected on this. Thoth had always been at the top in every world he visited, but he had also always been at the base of every society.

Thoth had once been a genius capable of completely annihilating Kayden's existence, but he had also been an ant that wasn't even able to look him in the eyes. These were many different extremes, but… to achieve that, it required a degree of power that Kayden doubted even a common god could reach.

"That's something you'll have to figure out, Kayden." Thoth said nothing more and disappeared, leaving a book behind.

Kayden wasted no time and pulled the book towards him using a thread of mana. It was a tome of regular thickness; its cover had a wooden tone with leather. It looked extremely old. It smelled of dust and death, but also of life and cleanliness — a rather strange contrast. Kayden opened the first page.

"For all of Thoth's final plans, the sage." That was the only thing written on the first page.

"What is this world?" That was the title of the second page and it contained some of Thoth's information and observations. There were dates written on it. It was obvious to anyone that Thoth had been learning and recording everything in the book.

"This world appears to be infinite. I've been walking through it for millions of years and haven't yet been able to find even a single creature. I don't even remember the voice of another living being. This book will be a collection of memories for the mage who finds my body in this endless world."

Kayden became thoughtful right at the first paragraph. Was this world really so vast that Thoth could walk for millions of years and find no one? Or had he actually been here before societies even rose?

"I found a god." The next statement took Kayden completely by surprise. "His strength was admirable, a perfect god, but… his arrogance was ridiculous. At this moment, he lies dead in an immense pit of black lava."

"This world seems to be a final path, a final plane for those who proved themselves worthy. The question is, am I the only worthy mage that has ever existed in all multiverses? Something feels wrong in this environment."

"I found the first society after tens of millions of years. They are beings with four arms and four eyes, very different from my wings and golden markings. Their ruler is an extremely powerful god; even I was afraid to face him."

"He is dead, and his society doesn't even suspect it. I will try to develop it until I can get a partner. Their average strength is insane, but their potential is extremely limited. Probably none of them will be able to become a god on their own."

"It took a few billion years until the first mage with potential emerged. His form is also strange and doesn't match any of the mages of this environment. His appearance is a complete mystery to me. I decided to adopt him and named him Hypnos. This society no longer has any use for me."

Kayden stopped reading at that moment as he organized his thoughts. This book was beginning to open up insane ideas in his mind. The first of them was about Thoth's age. He… was probably older than the celestials. Not only that, but he was one of the pioneers of this immense world. Moreover…

Hypnos was his disciple, his first disciple in this world. There was the hypothesis that they were not the same person Kayden knew, but there was also the possibility that they were — and that was even more terrifying. The number of coincidences necessary for Kayden to be in the same environment as them at the right moment in his life was insane.

The next paragraphs were all accounts of random moments that happened in Thoth's life. The funniest part was that these events had insane gaps between them — gaps of at least a few million years. It was as if during this period absolutely nothing else had happened.