This Thing

I fell into a brief reverie, watching the mass of flesh burn endlessly from Daisy's flames.

I had thought only vengeance lay dormant in my heart. ...But I realized other emotions were mixed in as well. So, I watched it silently, then shook my head.

There's no need to dwell on something that's completely over.

There was no way to undo it, nor any reason to. So, just as I was about to leave, abandoning the hesitation that had arisen, a Black Orb caught my eye where the mass of flesh had been.

*The Source of Power.*

My gaze naturally gravitated towards it, as it was the very thing that had popped out as a reward when I'd defeated the Dullahan. As I picked it up with a hollow laugh, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind.

*If I had acted differently... would the outcome have been different?*

I don't know. Elysia had only intended to use me, and I had only clung to Elysia to fill my own emptiness. So, even if I had acted differently, the outcome might not have changed.

Even if it had changed, those were assumptions that could no longer be realized. I shook off all thoughts, gripped the orb, and decided to return to where my comrades were.

* * *...