Chương 396: Losing Control

Eskar watched the walking mountain disappear between the trees. The Dragon Turtle had retreated without much trouble, and its defeat had been obvious from the moment the two True Dragons met. Honestly, Eskar was surprised the fight had lasted as long as it did. The serpent had been better in almost every way. The turtle had size and weight, but neither helped much against something that was stronger, faster, and able to control the water around it as easily as breathing.

A faint smirk crossed Eskar's face as the branch beneath him shifted.

"Come to watch with me, huh?" He didn't bother looking back.

"More like I came to see if I needed to help." Eskar glanced over his shoulder. Korin stood behind him, but something was wrong. His massive body was shaking, and his hands were clenched tightly at his sides.

"Scared?" Eskar looked back toward the forest.

"Of the dragon?" Korin asked with a quiet laugh, trying to sound casual.

"You know that's not what I'm asking." Eskar turned his eye toward him.

"How long have you been holding them back?" Korin's smile disappeared. He stood in silence for a while before finally looking down at his hands.

"I thought it was getting better," he admitted.

"But since we started this expedition, they've been getting worse. They keep talking to me, and lately, it's getting harder to ignore them." Eskar watched him carefully.

"That sounds painful. What are they saying?" Korin didn't answer right away. His eyes drifted toward the ground, and the strength seemed to leave his face. For a moment, he looked like he wasn't even seeing the forest around him. When he finally spoke, his voice was barely steady.

"It's my father." His fingers tightened.

"They keep telling me that..." He stopped and swallowed hard. His eyes began to water as he fought to get the words out.

"Was it really my fault? I couldn't control myself, but I was still the one who killed him. It was my body. My hands. Even if those voices took control of me, I was still—" SMACK. Eskar's hand struck his face. Korin froze. He stared down at Eskar in shock, one hand slowly rising toward his cheek. Eskar's expression remained hard, and his single eye didn't move.

"What makes you think you deserve to sit here and feel sorry for yourself?" Korin said nothing. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Do you really think those voices will leave you alone if you give in to them? If you keep letting them break you down, they'll take control again. And when they do, someone else might die." Korin's expression faltered. Eskar looked away for a moment before speaking again.

"Is this how your father would have wanted you to live? They used your body to kill him. Do you really think he would want you to spend the rest of your life blaming yourself for something you couldn't stop?" He scoffed quietly.

"Don't make me laugh." Eskar turned back toward him, his voice losing some of its earlier edge.

"I don't know what a great father is supposed to be. I never had one. But I know where this road leads if you keep walking down it. It will destroy you." He stepped away from the branch and faced Korin fully.

"So, Madrose, I'm going to ask you one thing. Are you going to keep doubting yourself until those voices take you again? Are you going to let them turn you into someone you don't want to be?'''' Or are you going to fight them? Push them back and make them understand that your mind belongs to you?" Korin stared at him. Despite being several times larger than Eskar, he suddenly felt small. Eskar wasn't trying to comfort him, nor was he pretending that everything would be fine.

He simply spoke with a kind of certainty that Korin couldn't ignore. After a moment, Korin gave a bitter laugh.

"You think it's that easy?" He straightened to his full height, towering over Eskar.

"You think they'll just leave me alone because I reject them? These are the same voices that made me kill my own father. Why would they listen to me now?" Eskar slowly looked up at him.

"Do you really think they'll respect you if you keep acting like a coward?" Korin's eyes widened. Eskar turned away and glanced down at his missing arm.

"If you want control over something that powerful, you have to prove that you're stronger than it." He lifted his gaze toward Korin.

"Just look at me." Korin followed his eyes. He couldn't deny what he saw. Eskar had lost an arm and an eye, yet he was still standing in front of him. He was still fighting, still moving forward, and still acting like nothing in the world could force him to stay down. Korin clenched his teeth.

"So how did you lose those?" Eskar raised an eyebrow.

"And how did you get that new heart?" He gave Korin a faint smile.

"You're curious now? My whole speech didn't get through to you, but that one sentence did?" Korin gave a small nod.

"Yes." His voice became quieter.

"I'm scared, Eskar. If those voices take control again, I won't be able to stop them. I could hurt you. I could hurt everyone here." His hands started shaking again.

"My father was a Paragon. Even he couldn't survive the power I have." Eskar stayed silent for a moment. Then he let out a slow breath.

"Korin. I know things are hard right now, but believe me when I say this." His single eye hardened.

"I would tear you apart before you ever got the chance to hurt anyone." Korin stared at him. For some reason, those words made him feel safer rather than worse. He grabbed his own arm and lowered his head.

"... Thanks." Eskar blinked.

"You're thanking me?" Korin nodded. A strange laugh escaped Eskar.

"I'm threatening you, and you're thanking me?" He shook his head in disbelief.

"Have you really fallen that far?" Korin's teeth clenched.

"Shut up. Do you have any idea what I've—""NO!" Eskar's voice cut through the forest. Korin froze. The anger on Eskar's face was sudden and raw. His remaining hand curled into a fist as he stepped forward.

"Do you have any idea what I've been through?" His voice shook.

"Do you know what it's like to be tortured? To have your own father try to kill you every single week?" Eskar took another step, his breathing growing heavier.

"Do you know what it's like to die just to get where I am now?" Korin said nothing. Eskar's fist trembled at his side.

"And do you know what hurts the most?" His voice cracked, and the anger in his face began to fade.

"I will never know what having a real family feels like." The forest fell quiet. Eskar looked away as the anger slowly gave way to something much heavier. His expression softened, but the pain in his eye remained.

"You at least had a beginning." His voice was quiet now.

"You had someone who loved you. You had a father. You had a family." He swallowed.

"I never had any of that." Korin's expression softened as he listened. Eskar stared into the distance. For the first time, he looked less like the fearless fighter Korin knew and more like a tired young man carrying wounds that had never really healed.

"So don't stand there and tell me your whole life was a living hell." His voice was almost a whisper.

"You don't know what that feels like."