Capítulo 235: Busy, once more
[James's Pov]
Landing on top of one of the many mountains after flying for the entirety of the day, I finally allowed my body to rest under the starry sky. Removing my mask, I knew that tonight would be the last time that I would permit myself to be weak.
And with that, I didn't care when the last of my tears fell from my eyes, thinking about the man I still deemed to be our father.
How insane it truly was, for someone who I had barely met to be able to create such an impact inside of us, and more than that, how absurd was it that even a man such as him would have to die for nothing?
It was hard to believe that I had not yet gone insane with all of these artificially created memories swirling inside me, somehow feeling more real than anything I had ever felt in this world.
Or maybe I already was insane. Maybe I just didn't know if I was. Not that it mattered anymore.
Because if there was one thing I knew, it was that I would have to pay my dues. That was the promise that I had made, and that was a promise I would keep.
Turning my eyes toward the capital in the distance, I couldn't help but think of the man ultimately responsible for the death of our father. Fake or not, I couldn't care less. All I cared about was the feelings inside of me that needed to be resolved.
The reason? Because this was the part of the game I was currently playing and this was the part I had chosen to play.
'And yet, I can't just kill him...'
It was unfortunate, it truly was. The fact that I couldn't just waltz into the castle and decapitate the foolish king without suffering some pretty harsh drawbacks.
The king was still needed, or rather, Mensch still needed to keep its power.
If the nation of Mensch suddenly shook, there was no doubt a certain succubus would find an opportunity to strike, and the rest would be a slippery slope. And I couldn't have that happen right now.
Moving forward, I needed both Kurat and Mensch to stand tall, stronger than ever before. Not just to make sure the balance didn't shift, but because if they didn't, it wouldn't be as satisfying to tear them both down.
After tonight, Jotunheim would start its rise and with it, the certain fall of the large nations would become inevitable. And I needed but one nation to stay, and as long as the king of the elves didn't do anything foolish, his nation would be allowed to survive.
Because that's what I decided, and I didn't need any other reason than that.
'I'm going to be busy once more, ain't I?'
With that thought, I put on my mask once more. The mask with the last tear I had left still imprinted on its white surface.
****
[3rd person Pov]
"How... is this possible..."
Sitting on his golden chair, the one known as the pope couldn't understand anything. Not only had Aksel not returned from the border, the one chosen by their goddess had, in the end, merely been James Jackson in disguise?
It didn't make sense. Even more so as he could still vividly remember when the adolescent Zero was taken to the church, how he got a divine message from Theia herself that he was the chosen one. He had literally lived 15 years underneath this very building!
So, how could Zero be the same person as James?
'Theia... please... please explain things to your foolish believer...'
Yet, there was no answer to be found, and there was no goddess to give them.
Having lost not just one of his best friends, but also lost the one he thought to be the salvation of humankind, it was hard for Leo to calm his turbulent mind. But he knew that there was no other option.
Now more than ever was it necessary for him to stay strong, to make sure to protect the ones in need of protection. Something that was, unfortunately, not that easy to do.
Because he could still not leave the temple. He was still blessed and cursed with his life being tied to the goddess herself, and thus he was not allowed to extend his authority upon the mortal world without her permission.
300 years had passed since he last ventured out of the church, a time when the threat of the demons was imminent and he had gone together with the hero to save the world. And that they did.
Together with their companions, they had successfully repelled the demon's advances and forced them back to where they came from. Even the demon king himself had been forced to retreat after fighting with the Lightbringer.
And though he had lost his life, he had smiled to the end, even when Lily the Sparrow had cried tears of anguish over losing the love of her life. A pain so torturous that she hadn't been able to face the light of a new dawn, instead choosing to lay down her own life as well.
In the end, there were now only three people alive from that day, with Leo being one of them.
However, Leo had been alive long before that time as well. Though the others could still have been considered younglings 300 years ago, Leo had already lived through several centuries before that.
But this wasn't like that time. This time, it wasn't clear what was what.
At that time, it was obvious that the enemy was the demonkind and that he would have to fight for the mortal races on Tella for their survival. Now, there wasn't a clear enemy. There had been one, but now Leo wasn't so sure.
Because if Zero and James were truly the same person, would he not go against the words of his goddess by condemning him? On the other hand, if he chose to support him, wouldn't that mean he went against the whole nation of Mensch?
In the end, he simply didn't know.
'Aksel... What would you do?'
****
[Sophie's Pov]
Sitting on the outskirts of the camp, staring up into the starry night sky, I thought that my mind would be a lot more turbulent than it currently was. However, for some reason, it wasn't.
Instead, I felt a lot more focused than I had in a long time.
Though there were a lot of things I didn't know, and I had a lot of questions that I needed to find answers to, it didn't matter anymore. After all, the solution was all the same.
Raising my hand to the sky, I felt as if I finally knew what I was reaching for.
'Strength...'
Though this world was built on absurdity, I still wanted to protect it. I still wanted to protect the beauty and kindness that I knew existed, while at the same time changing the way things worked. And for that I needed strength.
Not just ordinary power, but power immense enough to move people, to influence others. A power that could allow me to reach...
"Sophie..."
Suddenly, throwing me out of my thoughts, a meek voice landed in my ears, a voice coming from a certain princess that had tried her best to get the attention of the man known as James.
"Sarah? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"Shouldn't you?"
Sitting down beside me, she just returned the question to me, forcing a smile to emerge on my face. Sitting in silence, I had a feeling that I knew what her worries were about, and what kinds of worries made her unable to fall asleep.
Despite that, I still allowed her to take the time needed to put her thoughts into words herself.
"Say, Sophie... That... Did you know? That Zero was James all along?"
"I didn't."
"I see..."
Staring down at the ground, this was not the same princess that had sworn to destroy James after what he did to her father. This time, she was merely a sad young woman.
"You know, Sophie... I have decided."
"Hmm? What have you decided?"
Looking at her, I could almost see her eyes start shining differently than ever before as if her eyes symbolized her inner workings. Still, as she turned her eyes to the sky, it was hard to say that they did not carry immense sadness.
"I have decided that I do not hate James."
"But?"
Although one could interpret her words as some kind of confession of love, I had a feeling that there was more to it than that. And as if to confirm my thoughts, she kept on speaking.
"But... he is still an enemy for now. And to reach him, I need to get stronger. A lot stronger."
"So do we."
Suddenly, two more individuals showed up beside us. Two individuals that also wanted to do whatever was needed to reach that one man.
Though Sebastian didn't say anything, he also didn't reject Arthur's words, meaning he also accepted the fact that he was in the same position.
Scratching the back of his head, Arthur continued.
"Though I am still not sure whether or not he is an enemy, I at least want to become strong enough to reach him. Because that's probably the only chance we have to get any answers from him."
"You guys..."
So, with his brilliantly shining smile, Arthur cemented what we were all feeling right now.
"So, let's do it together!"
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