Betrayed, I Met The Demon Lord

Chapter 103 - Kota & His Mom

[You have died.]

[Your consciousness shall fade to nothingness shortly.]

'...So, this is it, then,' Kota thought, his words swallowed by the oppressive void. He looked down, or at least he thought he did—there was no body, no ground, no light. Just an endless abyss, suffocating and silent. Even his thoughts felt muted, as if the void itself sought to extinguish every trace of his existence.

'...'

'Varolia probably won't come to pull me out of this; I doubt she could even if she wanted to,' he mused somberly, his thoughts drifting to the memory of his arrival in this world.

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Over a thousand years ago—Kota's first day after transmigrating..

'So, I have an immortality skill?' he thought, staring at the status window floating before him.

Active Skill: [Undying Repossession]
Description:
You are able to possess a person you kill, taking over their body. Be warned, the cooldown for this skill is 50 years. Choose your targets wisely.

'This skill sucks so much ass,' he sighed inwardly. 'Though, I guess it doesn't matter. I have no one in this world anyway. No one... except Varolia.'

The thought of her brought a faint blush to his cheeks. 'All I have to do is what she asks. To never fail. She despises failure. She's warm... but only to the competent.'

His fists clenched. 'My "original" mother could be warm to anyone—anyone but me. It didn't matter if I was competent or not.'

A bitter memory resurfaced: his mother's teary eyes watching him leave through the portal. He pushed it away; denying it ever happened.

'Good riddance. That's what you're probably saying right now, huh, Mom?' His gaze turned skyward, almost as if he could see her face in the drifting clouds.

'Well, I'm saying it too.' His jaw tightened. 'I'm in a place now where I'm valued for who I am. Where I'm praised for doing what's required. Where I'm loved. You'll see, Mom. You'll see how much I could've done for you—if only you'd broken that damn bottle and actually looked at me.'

His teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached. 'I'm not worthless to her. So I'm not worthless.'

The sky above seemed to mock him, but Kota didn't flinch. He glared at the clouds, defiant.

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Back in the darkness...

Kota stood still in the void, the memory fading. The battle against Van Hellix was hard-fought, yet he'd lost. Wrath and defiance had fueled him until the bitter end. He'd been competent. He'd been enough.

And yet... as the oppressive silence wrapped around him, Kota oddly understood what he was feeling now. It wasn't rage. It wasn't frustration.

It was something else.

Acceptance.

"So, I am worthless, after all," Kota muttered, his voice empty, his expression hollow. The oppressive darkness crept closer, swallowing him bit by bit.

'If I managed to fail Varolia, of all people, then I am worthless. Period,' he thought bitterly, his gaze fixed on the void. The crushing silence pressed against him, drawing out a familiar image—a face he hadn't seen clearly in centuries.

'How strange,' he mused, his tone detached even in his mind. 'In this moment, just before I'm lost forever, I can see your face, Mother. I'd forgotten how you looked, you know? Time blurred the details, but now... now it's clearer than ever.' The face grew sharper in his mind's eye, drawing closer as if reaching for him.