Mass epic develops seeking relief from reality (8)
I believe the answer is:
escapism
'relief from reality' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both acts as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see a link between them that I don't see?
'mass epic develops' is the wordplay.
'develops' indicates an anagram.
'mass'+'epic'='massepic'
'massepic' anagrammed gives 'ESCAPISM'.
'seeking' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for escapism that I've seen before include "seeking to avoid reality" , "Tendency to avoid reality" , "Preferring fantasy to the realities of life" , "Sim space (anag)" , "Avoiding reality by fantasising" .)