The Monarch-Chapter 696: Thoth

Chapter 696: Thoth
Once again, time passed, and Kayden witnessed the birth and death of empires. He saw geniuses who completely defied logic, most of whom had been created by him in the dark. Kayden had been acting from the shadows for billions of years; his existence had become practically eternal in that world.
Just as in some cultures there existed the presence of both god and devil, in that world Kayden had become the demon — a being who appeared whenever he wished and granted favors. Kayden chose not to do anything openly during that period, since his strength was uncertain.
He was able to use only a small fraction of his former power; he was incapable of employing all his strength as before. That meant he sometimes encountered potentially dangerous situations — yet, at the same time, not really. Kayden could force his soul and fight with a power similar to what he once had, but the problem was that it was unstable.
Kayden was unable to maintain one hundred percent of his strength for long. His mind would quickly grow heavy, his body would become a burden, his ideas disorganized, and his control pathetic. That made it possible for him to perform only a single full-power strike.
"I’m trapped." Kayden came to that conclusion after a long time in that world. It was the same as long ago. This place was terribly powerful in the end — it had survived absolute chaos and completely reborn itself.
The laws here had become even more chaotic. It had become almost twice as easy to study the laws and foundations of existence at that moment. That allowed many gods to be created within this world, and they were quickly expelled. The issue was that something was missing in them.
No god ascended completely to the real world. None of them could even come close to rivaling the Divine King, nor could they cause any damage to the world in the same way. They were strong — but some details were missing, some key points that truly made one superior.
Kayden sat at one of the edges of that world, thinking about what he could do. His mind had completely accepted that he was doomed to remain in that place for practically infinite time.
To leave that world, there was only a single path — two, if Kayden were still at his peak. The first was simply to become a god. That was not such an insane notion, considering the world he was in — a world where everything was tremendously superior, where the ease of grasping the laws was absolutely insane.
With his former talent, Kayden would be capable of doing that after some time. It would take him a long while, but he was slowly mastering the karmic law. And at that moment? He was literally incapable of understanding karmic laws. They were simply far beyond his capacity.
The problem was that this was practically the only real path for him to become a god. All other methods would make him just another common peak god — one capable of reaching the fourth or maybe fifth level, and then being forgotten by the world like all the others. He would be unable to go beyond that.
The second method was the simplest: Kayden merely had to throw himself against the barrier and test his luck. The other side was a combination of the laws of Chaos and all others. Kayden had had strong contact with them before — he would be able to survive on the other side with a little luck. But once again, the same problem was his current capacity.
His mind was completely deteriorated. His talent was not even a shadow of what it had been. His conclusion after all that time was obvious — he had to do something about that. He had to return to his peak.
Long ago, Kayden had received a karmic law directly upon his arm. One of the sensations he experienced during that time was that of being alive and dead simultaneously — of being destroyed and constructed at the same time. That gave him a few ideas, given the state he was in.
"Kayden?" A voice called him, and when he looked back, he already knew exactly who was speaking.
"Thoth. It’s been a long time."
Thoth stood before him. His form vaguely resembled that of a human, but it was evident he was not one. His body was composed of an ethereal glow, as if made from solid mist mixed with fragments of golden light. Instead of a defined face, there were only two deep, luminous eyes filled with moving constellations. From his back extended thin veils of energy that floated like torn wings, and each step he took left traces of runes that dissolved into the air.
This was one of the most powerful versions of that god Kayden had ever seen. Without any doubt, he understood that this was one of the absolute peaks of Thoth’s existence — even more remarkable considering that what stood before him was merely a mortal.
"We thought you had died after consolidating your Eternal Law," Thoth murmured while thousands of thoughts ran through his mind. The first of them was how weak Kayden had become.
Before him stood only a shell of what this man had once been. He couldn’t even reach one percent of the strength he had at his peak. But... the eyes — those damned eyes of Kayden — were the same. Those eyes were unforgettable to Thoth. How many times had he gambled against Kayden and been utterly crushed by his predictions?
"Eternal Law?" Kayden raised an eyebrow. He had no idea what Thoth was talking about. "I don’t remember that."
Thoth drew forth a specific law from that barrier — a law that, the moment it appeared, bowed before Kayden’s presence. A law was bowing to a mortal. Kayden could feel that law completely. He was able to understand it entirely with a single glance, simply because...
"The Law of the Monarch of Oneself," Kayden murmured as he looked at his path in the form of law — a conquest that once again placed him at the absolute peak of all existence in terms of achievement.
"Where have you been all this time? Do you have any idea of the impact your action had upon existence?" Thoth looked into Kayden’s eyes and asked two questions filled with pure curiosity.