Chapter 19: Aftermath

After saying those words, Catherine felt as if she had finally decided on what her purpose was gonna be in her new life.

'While I can't get involved just yet due to fate, I refuse to allow the place I just called home to die because of some white-horned aliens that think they can devour planets. I will protect my new home, no matter if I have a fight against self-proclaimed Gods.' Catherine thought to herself.

She then opened a portal to exit the Mirror Dimension, though the first thing she saw shocked her to her absolute core.

While the Terracotta Warriors had all fallen apart due to Moryo being completely defeated, the body of a certain animal shocked her to her core.

She saw many of the Snakes grieving while the other animals like Katsuyu and Gamamaru stood in silence while watching to pay their respect.

She flew towards the ground, right beside Izzy, and began to rub her on her back.

"How did he die?" she asked Izzy, as she didn't believe that someone as powerful as the Black Snake Sage would easily die against the Terracotta Warriors.

"I left my back open when one of the warriors caught me off guard, Father pushed me out of the way of the attack, but the attack hit him on his underbelly where he doesn't have scales and killed him." she said in between her sobs as she blamed herself.

"Your father would not have saved you if he didn't think it was worth it. He believed that you were ready to carry the burden as the Snake Sage if he sacrificed himself for you." Catherine said while still rubbing her back.

"Liar!! My father would never sacrifice himself for a foolish reason like that! We are the Snakes of Ryuchi Cave!! We were born to be cold-blooded!!" Izzy yelled at Catherine.

Catherine hated to see the snake she thought of as a sister show such intense emotions, with her thinking of a spell that can call a soul to the land of the living for short periods of time.

"Audite Mihi Ancient Phasmatis, Quod Succurro Is Turbatus Animus (Hear Me, Ancient Spirits, And Help This Troubled Soul)!!" Catherine yelled.

Right as she finished, a white light appeared, and in front of them stood the Black Snake Sage, though he did appear to be transparent or see-through.

He looked up and saw Catherine and his daughter looking at him, one with happiness and the other with boredom, causing him to immediately yell

"Why am I back here!! I was enjoying the Pure Lands!" he screamed in anger.

"Because your daughter seems to believe you didn't love her and is now having an existential crisis. Now talk to her." Catherine finished before walking away to give them some space, after which she headed towards Gamamaru and Katsuyu.

"Is Moryo taken care of?" Katsuyu immediately asked as Catherine walked over.

"Yes. We won't have to worry about him anymore, and I'll ensure I don't have to ask for your help for any others." Catherine said with a smile.

"What do you mean? Are you saying you are going to take care of any demons like Moryo on your own?" Gamamaru asked, worried about his new friend.

"No. I'm going to build a faction of my own, one similar to the three Great Sage Lands, however, our sole purpose will be for guarding our planet against interdimensional threats." Catherine answered.

However, before she could continue, she felt the summoning spell begin to falter as the Pure Lands began to pull on the Black Snake Sage's soul.

She walked back over to see the two hugging, causing her to take another jap at the Black Snake Sage as she said "Now look at that, I didn't know this cold-blooded serpent could give hugs."

He quickly jumped out of the hug and walked directly in front of Catherine, however, instead of attacking her, he spoke "Thank you for giving her closure, and protect my daughter for me."

Catherine smiled as she said, "You don't even need to ask."

The Black Snage Snake then smiled as he dissipated and returned to the Pure Lands.

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