Philip was placed in the study, still bound by the spell Edith placed on him. When he came back to his senses, he saw Edith was standing in front of him, holding some palistrum wood. She undid the binding spell and Philip was able to move.
"What happened?"
"You should be better...for now...the magic from the palistrum wood counteracted the effects, but it's temporary. After a few days, you'll need more."
Philip looked around. In the mirror in the far corner of the room he saw that he looked more like himself again. Guilt started to wrack his brain as he began to recall his body attacking Elizabeth, and him being unable to stop it.
"I was such a fool...I should've listened to Elizabeth..."
Edith put a hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault..."
"Yes, it is! She told me it was risky, and that there's a lot of sketchy things in that marketplace...if I had just left it alone..."
"I get how you feel, but...the spell wasn't the problem. It works...but without a bile sac of your own, there's no way to counteract the other effects of the spell on the body..."
"What?" He didn't even think of that. Such a giant oversight..."Is there a way to reverse it?"
"I don't know if it's possible...if we can't, then you'll indeed live forever...but..."
"I'll have to live like this? Getting magic from palistrum wood just so I don't transform into...whatever nightmare creature I became? For all eternity?"
Edith nodded. "I'm afraid so, Philip..."
"I can't live like that..."
"I'm...so sorry, Philip..."
Philip looked around. "Where's Elizabeth?"
"She's...gonna be at my house for a bit...she's very distraught..."
"Is she...going to leave me?"
"She said she needed to be away from you until there was a way of reversing the spell. She has Alexander with her."
"I don't think she'll come back, then..."
"It's too early to lose hope. I'm sure there's a way..."
Philip wasn't so hopeful. He was imagining having to outlive his wife...outlive his son...outlive future generations of his family...the thought of that made him want to die...
Months passed, but Edith couldn't find any way of curing Philip. She's had to supply him with more palistrum wood to keep it under control, but she was worried that doing it this way would just make things worse if he didn't have access to it in the future...and she was worried about the lengths Philip might take in that moment to get the magic to control his condition. She had to find a way of helping him...but how?
Elizabeth hadn't visited Philip in that time. She was in too much distress from what happened. She still loved him dearly, but couldn't be around him in fear of something else happening. Edith had been letting her know how Philip was, but Elizabeth still couldn't bring herself to go see him...do I have to let him go?
She had to take some time to ponder that question...but one day, she decided she was ready to make a decision... and for this, she had to overcome her fears and go talk to Philip.
She knocked on the door. The door opened and Philip peeked out. He looked like he hadn't gotten much sleep.
"We need to talk, Philip..."
"I know what you've come to say...I'm...ready..."
"We...can't be together anymore..." Tears were starting to form in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but...it's over...I wanted to be the one to tell you..."
"I'll get going then..."
"You don't have to leave right away...find yourself a place first. I don't want you to end up without a home..."
"No...I'll go now...I know where I'll go...just know that...I will...always love you...for all eternity..."
Elizabeth kissed Philip for the last time and they soon parted ways. He left most of his research, including the portal, and only brought his staff and other essentials, including a supply of magic extracted from the palistrum wood.
Before he left the area, he stopped by the skull of the Titan. He could still hear the voice speaking to him, telling him to journey out towards the heart of the Titan. He felt that if he went there, he would know what his destiny was. Once he made his way to the heart of the Titan, he decided to start building his own house.
The years passed by. Philip had made his home. He was for the most part isolated from the outside world. He would often go out only to find more palistrum wood. After a few decades, the wood was beginning to become a bit harder to find in that area, so he would go to the surrounding towns in search of some. But he'd do his best to avoid Bonesburough. He didn't want to see his beloved Elizabeth aging.
Time would pass by Philip as he dwelled in his small cabin inside the ribcage of the Titan. He was sure that Edith was dead by now, and that Elizabeth was getting up there in age. He longed to be able to age and die with her, but that was only a fantasy in his mind by this point.
After some time...he wasn't entirely sure how long...he decided to go to Bonesburough. He saw his old home. A middle aged man came out of the house with a woman, presumably his wife. Inside the house, he could see Elizabeth. She looked old, looking to be older than her mother Edith was when he last saw her. Meanwhile, he looked more or less the same age he was when he first met her. The only evidence that he was as old as Elizabeth was his graying hair. Two young adults, presumably Alexander's son and daughter, came to visit them. Philip could only watch from a distance, longing to be able to connect in some way to his family, but unable to face Elizabeth. He turned his head in shame and went to find more palistrum wood.
Several more years passed by. He was sure that Elizabeth had passed on by now, but to know for sure, he went to the Bonesburough cemetery in search of her grave. Sure enough, he found it, right next to Edith's. He fell to his knees and mourned the loss of his beloved Elizabeth.
