Chapter 404: Error 404 (Sorry couldn’t help myself)

I desperately reached out once more, attempting to reassert control over the cosmic mana within the gate. Yet, to my growing frustration, it refused to obey my commands, as if bound by forces beyond my comprehension.

"Damn it! Now what?!" I exclaimed, my mind kept racing for alternative solutions. What else could I do to halt the big ugly bastard from coming?

A sudden crash resonated through the air, drawing my attention toward my grandmother's fierce struggle. She fought valiantly against the trio of elders, every clash unleashing shockwaves that flattened nearby floating islands. Despite the immense power that surged through their confrontations, neither the elders nor my grandmother dared to endanger this particular island. Their motives, I knew, were vastly different, but for now, it was an advantage we needed to exploit.

An idea, however desperate, crossed my mind. Could I teleport the entire gate and the impending menace beyond? It was a risky move, but I pondered, "Wait, can I teleport this entire thing?" My gaze turned to the towering gate before me, my resolve hardening as I considered the peril we faced.

"Fuck it, what's there to lose at this point?" I muttered, unwilling to submit to the bleak situation. Bracing myself, I began to draw upon an immense well of cosmic mana. A thread of power descended from the sky, attaching itself to the gate. Though met with resistance, as the gate's inner mana threatened to draw my cosmic resources, I continued to pull more and more.

The gate seemed to possess a protective force field, a barrier that thwarted my attempts to teleport it. Cosmic mana emanating from within the gate conflicted with my actions. "If it's just the mana," I thought, "then I can try to overwhelm it." Determination surged through me as I pulled ever more cosmic mana. The thread expanded, enveloping me in a radiant purple glow.

My soul space filled to the brim with cosmic mana, forcing the other elements to retreat. A vast pool of cosmic energy pulsated around me, and the sacred Dragon statue in my inner world seemed to be at the heart of this transformation.

Cracks materialized within the space, and the distorted world blurred before me. The gate still stood resolute, so I channeled more and more cosmic mana. The realm groaned and disintegrated, but I was resolute. My entire being connected with the cosmos in an unprecedented way. I was no longer a mere conduit for cosmic mana, but had become a manifestation of the cosmic forces themselves.

"Stop him! He's going to doom us all!" Celestine's voice, faint and distant, reached me, but her words were barely coherent amidst the cacophony of space tearing apart.

"ARGH! No! NO!" a cry of pain pierced the chaos, and I "saw" one of the elders succumb to a sudden space rift that opened before him. He had no chance to react, vanishing into the void.

My grandmother's laughter resonated madly, and her vengeful gaze fixated on Celestine. She shouted, "You did this!" and lunged toward the now panicking Earth Dragoness.

The last of the Fire Dragon Elders hastily retreated as more space cracks tore the realm asunder. Groaning and crumbling, the entire reality fell apart around us. Islands plummeted into the abyss, but I was no longer concerned. My focus remained on the gate, which still emitted a faint, shimmering light.

The luminosity of my body and my soul space pulsed with intensity, causing me to wince as a sense of pain washed over me. I could feel the other elements struggling against the overwhelming cosmic mana, and my soul space itself was locked in a relentless battle to preserve itself and contain everything within.

The battle within my soul space raged on, each element fighting for control, but cosmic mana held an unrelenting grip. Water mana struggled to regain its dominance, but the resistance proved futile. Earth and lightning elements were equally impotent against the overwhelming cosmic energy. The darkness elements, in their scarcity, made no significant difference.

It was a struggle I keenly felt, an awareness of the elements waging a silent war. The control had slipped away from me, beyond any hope of retrieval. The floodgates of cosmic mana had been thrust open, and now I was no more than a passenger, swept along by forces beyond my mastery.

There was a paradoxical realization; the Gate, the source of our current catastrophe, would likely cease to function after this cataclysm. The shimmering threads of cosmic mana tethering it would be depleted. But this small comfort paled in comparison to the sobering truth – the realm itself was on the brink of oblivion.

For one final time, I turned my gaze towards my grandmother, locked in a frenetic duel with Celestine amid the disintegrating fragments of the world. My vision blurred, distorted by the rending tears in the fabric of space.

A distant roar reverberated, muffled and distorted, an ominous harbinger of an imminent and overwhelming force. I sensed dozens of presences, far away, united in a coordinated effort. Yet, their fate seemed grimly predestined. It was unlikely any of them would live to witness the fruition of their assault. In that moment, a bitter chuckle escaped my lips, a gesture of despair.

I didn't wish to die. In the face of the crumbling realm, it became painfully clear that I wasn't prepared. I had no desire to be a sacrificial offering for some grander cause, nor to perish in a war that had raged long before my birth. I yearned for life, for the chance to live, to experience the world's wonders.

Yet, as the realm disintegrated around me, time had run out. The inescapable, immutable forces had their hold, and no plea or lamentation could alter the merciless course of destiny.

The 'creature,' with its obsidian bulk, had finally traversed the threshold of the Gate. Yet, alas for this colossal bastard, it had ventured too late. Only a fleeting glimpse of its massive form registered in my senses before the appearance of more apertures and rifts within the fabric of reality obscured my vision.

Amidst the chaos of fracturing dimensions, I could perceive the creature's anguished roars and the palpable resonance of its torment. And that gave me a measure of solace, the faint satisfaction that at least this monstrous entity was not emerging unscathed from its own recklessness. Its suffering, resonating within my final moments, seemed a small yet satisfying revenge against the unfolding catastrophe.

A surge of pain reminded me that time was slipping away, that I stood at the precipice of my soul space's demise. The other elements that had long held the cosmic mana at bay had reached their limits, and the once-unrelenting grip of the cosmic energies could no longer be restrained.

Amidst the disintegrating fragments of my inner world, I couldn't help but mutter softly to myself, a confession of regret and self-reproach, "Ah, I really messed up, didn't I?" The culmination of all I had inadvertently set in motion weighed heavily upon me, the ultimate realization of the unintended consequences of my actions.