Chapter 1453: Return
"You guys wouldn’t be able to endure the attack... you would be erased or at least all of your skills in a matter of seconds," Elisabetha explained. "If you guys want to help, leave the pocket dimension and help the others since they are outnumbered."
That was a good idea... so Rain opened the portals again, and then the former lords began to leave. Before long, those who were very wounded began to enter the pocket dimension instead of waiting to suffer too much damage.
"It doesn’t seem like he fulfilled his promise of making time pass faster in that dimension," Elisabetha said. "He just wanted to irk you to try harder."
"He did that... and he died thanks to it, somewhat," Rain said as his arms began to regrow. "Despite that, he didn’t look even a bit regretful. Since he finally found something that he found interesting, he should have felt a bit compelled to live for a bit longer."
"Maybe considering his life experience, he probably wouldn’t have found the same amount of Joy as he did by fighting with you, and he didn’t want to dilute the power of those memories either," Elisabetha said.
This phenomenon is called habituation. Essentially, it’s the process by which we become desensitized to repeated stimuli over time. Our brains are wired to adapt to our environments, and when we’re exposed to the same stimuli repeatedly, our response to it gradually diminishes.
One reason for this is that our brains prioritize novel or unfamiliar stimuli. When we encounter something new, our brains pay close attention to it, processing it more deeply and producing a stronger emotional or physiological response. However, as we continue to experience the same thing repeatedly, our brains become accustomed to it, and the novelty wears off. As a result, our response to that stimulus becomes less intense.
Another factor at play is sensory adaptation. Our sensory receptors can become less responsive to constant stimulation. For example, if you’re in a room with a strong smell, you might notice it when you first enter, but over time, your sense of smell may become less sensitive to it, and you’ll no longer perceive it as strongly.
"Anyway, he was a moron... but annoying enough to make his army keep going even without him," Rain said. "At least everyone will get stronger, and I will recover my parameters and then some."
The fight against the dark sentinels lasted for a while, and Rain had enough time to heal himself before most people had the chance to see him while he looked like a complete mess. Despite the odds, they didn’t suffer any casualties... It seemed that using space magic to avoid taking damage helped everyone last a bit longer, even more than the time that Rain lasted against Hilo.
"Ugh, this is so annoying... how come you defeated him faster than we defeated his army?" Terra asked. "By the way, you look terrible."