Once the shackles were removed, he was free.
Seeing the very thing that had confined him reduced to ashes, the swamp ant felt an inexplicable ease in his heart, then he faced a grim issue: what was his path forward?
"Sorcerer Ivan, thank you for giving me this opportunity for liberation. The swamp ant will always remember it."
"That's alright. You have been with me for so long, contributing much effort and suffering much hardship. You deserve this."
"No, it is your kindness that has done this. Had it been someone else, the swamp ant would never have seen the day of liberation."
At that moment, the swamp ant's emotions were extremely complex.
He pondered a lot: there was lamentation, resentment, joy, confusion, and so forth.
