Chapter 899: The Hero's Crusade
[Moments Earlier]
"At long last..."
Adonis stood before the massive Magic Circle that stood at the inner sanctum of the Chamber
of Ancients, his gaze completely fixed on the runic letters and ancient alphabets used in constructing the intricate formula.
He remembered just how difficult it was for both he and Lucielle to figure out how to configure it to their specifications.
However, this time was going to be different.
'I remember everything! I remember exactly what I have to do in order to get the same results as last time!' Adonis grinned to himself. 'I just need time...'
And, time was all he had at the moment.
'Everyone is too busy focusing on the Exhibition. There's no one to stop me here.'
With that train of thought, Adonis set aside all his baggage and worries, choosing instead to focus entirely on the work at hand.
He did away with his pathetic disguise as a Dragon, allowing his pure golden hair to flow beautifully without the restraint of a horn getting in the way. The disgusting tail that stuck to him vanished, and so did his wings.
Within seconds, he had reverted back to his original form-the Hero Adonis.
"Haa... let's begin."
It took hours the last time-grueling hours that were bought through the sacrifice of his dear friends and comrades.
Rey was among those friends...
However, thanks to his knowledge of the past, he didn't need hours any longer.
Minutes were all that was required.
As such, the whole process-embedding the equation into the Magic Circle, and ensuring the gateway stabilized-took nearly one hour to finalize.
Fifty-six minutes to be exact.
"It's finally done..." Adonis chuckled as he stared at the crackling Magic Circle that stood before him.
His months spent as a Dragon had finally paid off.
As much as he felt waves of happiness rise from within him, he couldn't also ignore the pangs of pain that swirled even deeper in his heart.
'I... didn't want to resort to this, everyone. But, there really is no other option here.'
Too many people had died, and so much had gone wrong.
'I underestimated the Dragonfly effect and made so many terrible decisions. My mistakes, as well as the tragedy of this reality... I will atone for them all by regressing once more.'
Adonis could only hope that he wouldn't have to do this again.
He could only pray.
'Here goes...' Inhaling deeply, Adonis prepared to undulate his suppressed energy in order to activate the Magic Circle and provide sufficient energy for his travels.
The last time, it was a combination of Lucielle's energy and several Mana Crystals that provided the energy, but Adonis had become so powerful that he could do it all by himself. He had been preparing for this for months, after all.
'Once I release all this energy, there's a high chance I could be detected... no, wait... the Chamber has a barrier that hides it from external interference.'
As such, no one from the outside was going to sense his energy output.
It wouldn't matter if they did, though.
'I'll be long gone by then.' He smirked, already releasing bits of his power.
Before he could continue with his task, though-
"Adonis...?"
-He heard a familiar voice.
Adonis felt his body freeze, with his eyes trembling as he felt the presence of two people in the vast hall.
"Rey... Lucielle..." He whispered, feeling the urge to turn back in order to look at them, yet refusing with all his might to do so.
He didn't-couldn't-allow them to break his resolve now.
"Adonis, what are you doing here?" Lucielle's voice echoed in the air, causing his body to grow even stiffer.
How could he possibly look at her face now?
Adonis took one step forward, determined more than ever to go on with his task and reset the current timeline. He had already played this scenario hundreds of times in his head, and he already knew the choice he was going for.
'I... I can't allow myself to stop now!'
The deaths of Eric, of everyone who perished due to his incompetence, still haunted him to this very moment. He constantly had nightmares, witnessing their dying moments over and
over again.
He wanted it to end.
'I... I can't be distracted by the present...' He took another step forward.
"Adonis! You're not even going to say any-?!"
"WHAT IS THERE TO SAY?!!" His loud voice suddenly echoed in the hall, causing a shockwave to spread throughout the chamber.
At this point, he could no longer resist the temptation.
He turned away from the Magic Circle and looked at his friends-Rey and Lucielle-standing side by side.
"It always had to end like this, huh? The three of us here again... the two of you standing side by side." He whispered to himself, his voice barely audible to anyone else who could have
possibly listened.
'Now that it has come to this, I can't back down.'
Clenching his fist and hardening his resolve, Adonis addressed the stunned faces of Rey and Lucielle-not as the friend they knew-but as the Hero he needed to be.
"Do not interfere, both of you." He began. "I am trying to change all of this... the present, the
damned future..."
"W-what are you-?"
Rey held Lucielle's shoulder, stopping her from finishing her query. He sighed as he stared at Adonis, completely calm as he uttered the next words.
"You're trying to regress."
Those words hit the nail on the head, causing Adonis' eyes to twitch slightly. However, he did
not break his composure.
"Yes... yes, I am."
|| ||
Lucielle's shocked face, and Rey's calm expression haunted him, but he remained resolute.
"Don't you understand what this means? I can save everyone! I... we did this before- together! If no, when I succeed at this, we will have Eric back... and Billy, and everyone
else who perished back then."
"Adonis..."
"I've done it before! I know exactly how it works! I just need you all to trust me! I won't fail
you this time!"
"... Adonis..."
"You two can even come with! Rey, you have more than enough energy, right? This time all
three of us can go together!"
"... No..."
"We can be a team again! We can do it the way I wanted us to from the start." At this point, Adonis was smiling, his wide eyes leaking out tears as he poured out his emotions. "We... we
could really save everyone."
He stretched out both hands, trembling, begging his comrades to take his hands.
The reason he didn't tell them about all of this sooner was because he didn't want to burden them with his responsibility, but since they had figured it out on their own, it was only right for him to present them with a choice.
-The choice to accompany him.
"The formula will have to go through revision, but since you're here Lucielle, we can work on
it together... like old times. We'll accommodate the two of you, and with all of us regressing,
we can change a lot more and save our comrades."
"Adonis..."
"We can save the worl—"
"No, we can't!" Rey's voice suddenly pierced the air, his glaring eyes focused solely on Adonis
as he made the declaration.
"We can't, because there's no such thing as Regression!"
*
*
*
[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. What a heated conflict this has become...