Chapter 386 Plague Of Regret

"Comet," Cassian said.

"Those sparkling flames! Every moment, they burn away the space they touch, contracting and contracting and contracting it! Just by existing for long enough, it'll continue shrinking space until the world collapses! It's the ultimate manifestation of Entropy! A hallmark of the end!" Comet laughed.

"Comer!" Cassian yelled.

It seemed the attention of the maddened, girly-boyish figure was acquired as they tilted their head with a smile, "Hm?"

"I can't handle him while holding back. If I start trying, I'll kill him. Then all of this would've been for nothing—a concept more evil than murder: wasted effort," Cassian said calmly, "So, you handle him."

"Do I haveeeeeee to?" Comet accentuated their words almost in a pout.

"Think about it. Right now, whatever that form is, it's only the infancy of something greater. Perhaps an egg, incubating through the heat of battle–if we don't put an end to this little game now, things are going to get even more out of hand than they already have," Cassian explained.

Comet sighed, "Fiiiiiiiine."

Once the lollipop-sucking figure set their sights on taking action, they warped through the sky with seamless mastery, crossing the boundary of chaotic flames between themselves and the raging Dragonheart instantly.

"Across the world with you, Emilio Dragonheart," Comet looked up at him, speaking with the lollipop in their mouth.

There was no resisting what came next; spatial forces ripped him from the ground he stood as he was flung through a blurred flash.

Whatever it was, the authority manifested through direct contact with the hand of Comet seemed to usher in the riptides of the universe itself; a force that tore away the transcendent transformation that had enveloped the Dragonheart, freeing him from the bestial rage.

It was disorientating, but fast, not taking more than a couple seconds before—he crashed.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you—!" He yelled to the beyond.

Repeating those words, he nearly reawakened the daunting path of his system before–his head unexpectedly smacked against a rock-solid branch upon his high-speed descent, knocking him unconscious.

Unable to perceive what had happened, he found himself laying upon colossal leaves that were large and heavy enough to support his own weight.

Jumping up-and-down from the branches above were monkeys of much smaller size, possessing tiny horns of their own as they squealed and called out, spectating from high up.

'A horned gorilla? A devil ape? Either way, it's picking a fight with me–I happen to be in a bad mood, unfortunately,' he thought.

If it wasn't confirmation enough yet, now he was certain he was in the infamous Continent of Demons.

"RAAAAGH–!"

The gorilla roared as it beat its chest, producing echoing thumps as it used its boulder-like fists to hit its own torso, challenging him as the apes that watched above from the trees surrounding the clearing seemed to cheer in excitement of the coming duel.

"You picked a bad time."

Without any hesitation, he cocked his fist back as his knuckles were imbued with a swirl of wind around it that stifled the noises of the monkeys and brought the horned gorilla to a pause.

As he slammed his fist forward, opting not to even make direct contact with the horned gorilla's torso, he used the monstrous wind pressure of the punch to blow the burly ape back; the shock wave parted the foliage, launching the gorilla far into the unseen depths of the jungle.

Leaving the section in front of where he thrust his fist carved up and steaming, he looked up at the horned monkeys that sat on the trees, holding his fist up, "Any of you want to bother me?"

Witnessing the massive alpha of the pack be easily blown away, the monkeys yelled and scattered through the trees.

"That's what I thought," he sighed.

It was only after repelling the apes that he looked up towards the foreign sky above him, finding tears welling up again as recent, repressed memories finally came to light, causing him to slump down.

"...Mother..." He said quietly as tears trailed down his cheeks.

It was no different than if he were a child; the loss of a parent, one so fundamental to the man he was today, was a loss that left a spot in his heart vacant. Left alone and stranded, he had nothing but his own thoughts as he sat there in the faraway jungle, constantly remembering in vivid detail the taking of his own loved one's life.

Though rationally he knew it was the work of the enemy, in his mind, fresh in grief and abundant in despair, he blamed himself relentlessly–thinking again and again of endless scenarios where it didn't need to happen.

"If only I listened", or "If I reacted fast enough"--these thoughts plagued his mind as he slumped against the tree, holding a heart of lead in his chest.

Lost in his own thoughts, sinking into self pity and lamentation, he sat there for hours and hours, allowing night to arrive before the humid, light rainfall picked up into a full shower, pouring down.

The dirt around him loosened into mud with the continuous downpour, leaving him soaked as his blonde-and-black tufts of hair became drenched, hanging down as rain ran slick down his skin.

'It feels like I'm never free. This perpetual loop of tragedy and violence that seems to follow me everywhere I go. Is it impossible for me? Is it impossible to just...be happy?' He questioned.