Cain believed Eric was dead.
He hit both him and Rubra with one of his strongest attacks.
There was no way the reality could be different.
Rubra was sure Eric was alive.
He protected both her and himself from the attack of Cain with a shield of rock.
Leaving himself take just enough damage to make their clothes burn and their faces scarred to trick Cain.
At this moment, in Ouroboros, Eric was both dead and alive.
35 seconds elapsed from when he pricked his hand with the poison.
In this situation similar to that described in the example of the Schröedinger cat, he was both and neither of them.
In fact, after Rubra feigned to return to life and thanks to Cain's mana and her racial trait, she suddenly perceived something strange: the body of Eric was empty.
His body was in a state of apparent death, without any soul inside.
When she was aware of that, the worry and desperation she was acting out before were now real.
She was at first unsure how to act or what to think anymore.
The plan Eric told her about before didn't include any of that.
She felt her strength leave her legs, and her hands touched the Earth.
*He was just supposed to stay in a stage of apparent death, not leave his body without any soul!
If this is the situation, isn't he actually dead? *
40 seconds passed.
*How can he leave his body in the first place? *
Her mind was like a leaf that abandoned the tree that gave her life nutrients in the middle of a storm.
She felt alone again, the same way as 200 years before when she couldn't do anything for her parents.
Rubra thought training herself double the time advised by her uncle could help her not feel that way ever again, but the past repeated itself, and the cause of all of that was the same person.
Rage raised in her body as a flow of lava found its way to the Earth's surface, and then she exploded it against the Red Dragon:''The family members you took away from me, I'll make you pay for it with your life! ''
Cain didn't know Rubra never died in his attack and was actually hearing his monologue about his previous deeds.
For this reason, he thought she was referring to the male human, mixing the singular for the plural, and answered with a tone of voice that wanted to express his stern love for her:'' That male is wrong for you: he wanted you to leave the forest and be exposed to the dangers of the outer World.''
Then finished with:''In this moment, you must focus on growing strong to avenge your parents!''
Rubra now knew the truth about that monster in front of her.
She could feel the hypocrisy and lies in his words.
His care for her was fake.
The only point she could agree on was her need for revenge.
45 seconds passed, and something just short of a miracle happened: Eric's body regained his soul.
To be more precise, it would be a miracle to anyone apart from Eric.
Raising himself from the ground while dusting himself off and cleaning the dust from his tattered clothes with a little but fast water ball.
He seemed slightly ticked off, for whatever reason, but steadied his face and, with a slight grin asked Rubra:'' Did you start the party without me? ''
For a second, no one moved, Eric was waiting, but the other two were lost in their thoughts and didn't know how to find the way out of their heads.
Then Eric found himself on the ground with Rubra on top of him.
She was on the point of crying, but her smile could light the night.
Her joy was so clear and intense that Cain felt out of place himself.
*I definitely lowered my guard around her. *
Eric thought, unsure if he had to be happy or not about that, but Rubra stopped the movements of his mind.
Her smile disappeared for a moment, and she said to him with a voice low from the pain:''I couldn't feel your soul, I felt lost like in the past. ''
The chest of Eric split apart from her words and the silently falling tears whose weight seemed increased thousand fold.
He knew it wasn't the moment to talk.
While cursing Nemesis in his mind for her intermission, he told Rubra while caressing her face:'' Don't worry, I'm here now.
I'll tell you later. ''
Rubra started smiling again when she felt his touch, and all her previous worry vanished like snow to the sun.
Her emotions were now at bay.
Only her rage was slightly over what she felt after knowing the truth about the past.
Suddenly a voice loud as thunder spread around the sky:'' Ahahahah, for an ant to survive after my 'Glowing Judgement of Armageddon' that sure is interesting! ''
Eric was slightly annoyed by the loud noise, but his thoughts focused on another detail.
*No, don't tell me. * Denial
Cain continued:'' For you, unaware of the truths of the World, be honored to witness my real form.''
*Please, everything but that! * Anger
Reality sometimes told jokes in unexpected manners.
Then the now charred plane where the three of them were, was filled with smoke as if in a theatre, then he appeared.
Eyepatch on his left eye, bandages on his forearms, wild fiery red hairs long till his waist.
To this point, Eric was already covering his eyes for the secondhand embarrassment, but that wasn't all.
Depressed, regretting all the time he wasted trying to defeat an otherworldy chūnibyō he started bargaining with reality.
*Maybe, he only likes the style?! *
His remaining clothes though completed the story: he wore a cape over a tuxedo-like jacket, but his abs were uncovered, decorated by an eye-catching scar.
Cain started showing a white flame in his left and a black one in his right hand and concluded while saying:''I'm the Red Dragon of Destiny, the Dark Dragon is caged in my right hand and the Light Dragon's house is my left hand.''
Timing his words with the disappearing flames he smiled:''I'm the Dragon Hero which will decide your destiny! ''
As if relishing in the aftertaste of his own words in the air, he closed his right eye before covering it with his right hand and moving his mouth as if eating his words.
*Yes, that's a worthy introduction! * were the thoughts of Cain.
Eric was almost on the point of collapsing on the ground: the emotional damage was too heavy.
His thoughts were totally different from those of the dragon.
*If this continues any longer, I'm going to lose.
He's a real Chuni. *
Acceptance dawned on him.
Will he ever be able to overcome this grief?