Chapter 198 - The End
Nero's form turned to normal as he let out a grunt with a groan.
Nero turned at Pavel and Rhea with his left eyes still closed and bleeding. Then, he glanced at the sand igloo and looked at the wall blocking the way to the carriage in which Emilia and Asteria were sleeping.
"Pavel!" Rhea yelled as Pavel's body began to disintegrate.
Rhea's hand passed through Pavel's body as it broke down. She looked at Nero with tears in her eyes, but she couldn't speak anything and started choking on her breaths.
However, Nero could tell what Rhea was trying to say.
Pavel tried to hug Rhea one last time, but his body turned into golden ashes and withered away with the air.
"Nooo!" Rhea yelled and hugged Pavel's clothes tightly.
Nero lowered his gaze and turned around. He started walking away but stopped when he heard heavy footsteps following him.
He turned around to see Rhea running towards him with tears in her eyes.
"Are you not even going to say anything?!" She shouted.
"Are you not going to shed even one tear for him?"
Rhea repeatedly stomped her fists on Nero's chest while wailing for Pavel's death.
"He always cared for you. He always gave priority to your commands. Even when he was dying, he was trying to save the carriage! Are you that heartless to not even say a single word on his death?!"
Nero stood there quietly with an emotionless face.
Rhea placed her head on Nero's chest and muttered, "At least… try to comfort me…"
Nero placed his hand on Rhea's shoulder and pushed her back to make some distance between them.
He took a deep breath and finally opened his mouth to say: "You are asking the wrong person for comfort."
He turned around and walked to the wall with a slight smile on his face. Then, he placed his hand on the wall and shattered it.
Confused as to what Nero meant and baffled as to why he was smiling, Rhea looked back to see Pavel standing there with a grin on his face.
Rhea's eyes widened as she stood still for a while and tried to comprehend the situation. She slowly moved forward and reached her hand to Pavel.
She was afraid to touch Pavel, thinking it might be an illusion and that he might disappear if she touched him.
Her hand stopped right in front of Pavel's face, and she couldn't dare to touch him. However, Pavel moved forward and hugged Rhea.
"Just say something already," Pavel uttered.
"Is… it truly you?" Rhea stuttered as she asked.
"Yeah."
"Is this a dream?"
"No."
"Am I dead? Is this afterlife?"
"No, idiot."
"Then… how?"
"I don't know," Pavel replied.
Rhea inspected Pavel's body from head to toe and touched him all over to get a proper feel of him.
"Are you okay?" She asked with an anxious look on her face.
"Yeah. I feel great, almost as if I am alive."
Rhea jumped on Pavel and kissed him a couple of times before saying, "You are alive!"
Nero had used the skill 'Resurrection' to revive Pavel and to use that skill, Pavel had to die. However, Nero himself wasn't sure if the skill would work on Pavel or not. But he was glad that it did.
Nero walked to the carriage and placed his hand on the handle.
He remembered Asteria's condition and sighed in frustration.
'I need to do something about her too.'
He slowly opened the door and saw Emilia and Asteria were fast asleep.
"It has been almost 8 hours, so the effect of the sleeping drug should be wearing off soon."
Nero decided to let them sleep for a while and glanced at the sand igloo.
'How is Arnold doing? Has Sophi healed him yet?' he wondered.
"My left has also started twitching for some reason," he muttered.
Although, he had a faint idea as to why his left eye was twitching.
After a while, the sand igloo broke, and Sophia stood up. She looked at Arnold in Rosemary's lap and uttered, "Take care."
She glanced around to look for Nero, but he was nowhere to be seen.
After walking for some distance, she saw Rhea and Pavel under the tree.
She rushed to them and was surprised by what she saw; She regretted approaching them.
She quickly turned around and ran to the opposite side of the tree.
"Sophia! Wait!" Rhea called out.
Sophia stopped after walking some distance and waited for Rhea.
"I am sorry for interrupting you two while you were having—"
Rhea interrupted Sophia and uttered, "No, we are sorry. You have nothing to apologize for. We shouldn't be doing something like that in the open in the first place."
Rhea's face flushed a little as she remembered everything again.
"So, you were looking for me?" she asked.
"Ah! No, I was looking for Zeus… wait." Sophia raised her brows and asked with a puzzled look on her face: "Why is Pavel still… you know…"
"He disappeared and came back. Although, I am sure brother Zeus did something to save him." Rhea chuckled and asserted with a distant smile on her face: "He has always been like that."
"Where is he, by the way?" Sophia asked with a curious look on her face: "I searched all over but can't see him anywhere around."
"Did you check your carriage? I see him going in that direction," Rhea replied.
"Thanks."
Sophia walked a few steps and commented, "You two can continue your session but make sure no one is around."
Rhea's face flushed as she nodded and hurried over to Pavel under the tree.
"So he managed to save Pavel, huh?" Sophia muttered.
'As expected of my Zeus, there is nothing he can't do.'
Sophia rushed to the carriage, but she couldn't see Nero.
"He must be in the carriage," she murmured. 'What is he doing in the carriage, though?'
She opened the carriage door, only to see Emilia and Asteria sleeping.
"He isn't here…"
Sophia glanced in all the directions, but she couldn't see or sense Nero.
"Where did he… go?" She wondered with an anxious look on her face.