Closure Elusion

*Ba-thump ba-thump*

"W…what?" Hade stuttered, wondering if he had heard right.

Nobu was… dead?

Just... like that?

Even as Dedric proceeded to narrate what he'd been up to for the last few months, how he'd come to locate the Dark Sage and their ensuing fight during which he came dangerously close to losing his life, Hade was more or less disconnected from all of it, hearing a still ringing in his ears.

He did not know what to think, or feel... To rejoice or to mourn.

Yes, knowing that the earth had been rid of that scourge named Nobu should've given him joy. He should've leaped for the sky and kissed the stars one by one in blissful ecstasy.

And yet, at this moment in time, all Hade felt was an empty, gnawing sensation in his heart.

'What… is this ugly feeling?' He frowned, clutching the left side of his chest.

He should've been happy, or better yet, relieved. And yet…