Chapter 381 - The ‘Hero’s’ Vow

“You are looking quite drab for someone that has achieved so much. But then again, that boundless ambition is the reason for the result now.”

The Origin Goddess, Sistina, stood before the two Claudes, one stuck in the past and one that was a culmination of the ones before him. It was clear who she sided with.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you bound to Leguardia?” the Architect asked.

“The same way as this one’s friends arrived here – an artificial body created for me. Quite ingenious, but it would have been something achievable by you if you had only stopped to weigh your options with others.”

“It was not one at the time….”

“But it is now. Yet you choose to ignore it and continue with your plan. You remain in the past. As always, you forget that your way of doing things alone makes you short-sighted. Even if it is a solution, it is not always the only one. With time, things change.”

Despite the harsh tone, Sistina’s expression was soft. Like she was still willing to accept the Architect as he was. She bent down and offered him a hand.

“That stubbornness was why I believed in you from the start. I knew that you would succeed where I fell short. And you did. But at some point, you also needed to stop. To let things play out a little. Maybe we could have come to an agreement if you had done so. But here we are, face to face again, the result of countless lifetimes passed.”

The Architect suddenly grabbed her hand, gripping it tightly. He went to his feet and bridged the distance between them in an instant.

“There you go again, being kind to everyone. Offering me a hand when I killed you and did everything I could to prove you wrong! How am I supposed to act when you treat everyone the same?! How am I supposed to know how you really feel when you can see so much of me, but I can see none of you?!”

The two gods looked at each other, very much like they were merely human. Two confused humans stuck in a messy relationship where neither one knew where the other stood. They had saved the world and continued to exist for a very long time, and still, the distance between them remained the same. Their time had been frozen while they were gods.

Sistina bent forward and put her forehead on the Architect’s.

“I know. I know that everything you did has been with me in mind. Thank you, but I never wished to be free from the burden of looking after everyone. Not when I could do nothing but watch as things continued down the destructive route that you had decided on. Call me a coward, but I did not have the courage to act, not until I found something to put my faith in. Regardless, if it was you, or the people of Leguardia, or people that came after – I could not face you until I had a way to make you see another path.”

“Quite the training arc it took – thousands of years, was it?” Claude interjected. He had barely come to understand just how much had transpired.

“Enough time for history to forget about us,” she replied.

The world of Leguardia had gone into ruin, burying the kingdoms of the past in which the first heroes existed. Borders changed as the planet became drained of its resources, until only a small portion of the lands still bore fruit. This was the area that Sistina fought so hard to preserve with her remaining power – the small collection of nations in a desert of white lands that was otherwise uninhabitable. She had injected her influence on the group of Electi that had been programmed by the Architect to do his bidding. And finally, they had broken free from his grand scheme.

The current incarnation of the Architect had harnessed the powers of the others through Sistina’s help. The Resonance Stones that were imbued with her ‘Power of Connections’ had given him the ability to channel them into one body. Such combined powers could finally topple a force that had run unopposed for so long.

And now, it was time to settle things.

The Architect sighed at the reality before him. It was a confrontation that he had dreaded ever since that one mistake.

Claude approached the two of them, a blade of energy drawn. The power of ‘The End’ could sever anything that he wished for, making even the gods vulnerable. Seeing this, the Architect tried to back away, but a hand gripped his other wrist. He looked back to see Sistina shaking her head.

Purple energy snaked from her hand and up the Architect’s wrist, locking them together. He tried to muster up the strength to tear her away, but it suddenly fizzled out. The same happened when he kicked off the ground to make a speedy getaway.

Each power that he called upon was cancelled as he called for them. He looked back at Sistina, who smiled impishly like she was denying him a request.

“Your connection to them has been blocked. What I have given can be taken away. And the voices that you have taken into you are telling me to do so. That is the only power that I have. My strengths are all of your strengths. My weaknesses are all of your weaknesses. Together, we are ‘whole’. And together, we will embrace ‘nothing’. It is time for us to go. Our stay has been extended much farther than needed.”

Like a ghost that was holding onto her murderer, Sistina restrained the Architect as Claude approached. He had no one left to turn to. His companions had now rejected him, and even the one who summoned him was now keeping him chained.

He could only rely on himself, and his power of ‘The End’.

Taking his right hand off Sistina’s wrist where he grabbed, he summoned a white blade. Rearing back, he thought to cut her down once again.

But then, he saw her eyes, the same as they had always been. She was the girl he had sworn to help. And somewhere along the line, he had forgotten that simple promise.

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The Architect opened the door to a dark room, light spilling in and revealing a girl that was face down in bed. Try as she might to muffle them, her sobs were the only noise in the silent room. He couldn’t blame her. He couldn’t believe it himself.

Not long ago, they had looked up to the stars and found out that the Earth had fallen to destruction. Likely, most of the population had died already. And with everything in chaos, the remainder would perish in the aftermath. A collection of societies that created so many weapons to combat each other had crumbled once one of them kicked the balance off-center. It seemed ironic that the power they sought so hard for had been their undoing.

When everything burned in a sea of fire, what was there left to save? The Architect had seen entire projects fall apart in the same way – unnecessary conflict between the members leading to self-destruction.

But the girl on the bed was not crying over something so simple. She had loved the Earth, even if her time there ended tragically. She had hopes of going back at some point. She only hadn’t because of her duty.

Seeing this, the Architect couldn’t help but think that he would do everything he could so that history didn’t repeat itself.

‘If I take control, then we can head right for the solution. If I lead, we can at least keep this planet safe. And then… I will find a way.’

The Architect was determined to make sure everything fell right into place, so that their victory would be engineered by design. He had been given that responsibility as the first one called to Leguardia by Sistina. He vowed that to the crying girl before him.

“I will see this through the end, no matter what it takes. You have that promise, my dear Sistina.”

Unknown whether she heard those worlds amidst her sobs, he turned around and went back to planning for the future.

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The blade of divine light fell from his hands, disappearing into nothing. At the same time, the purple blade struck him.

Had everything he had done been merely for his own sake? Had greed consumed him this whole time?

It certainly felt so. That was why he couldn’t strike Sistina with intent. It had been all for her. All so that she could see her beloved Earth once again. That was what he kept telling himself. But he secretly wanted to be selfish.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if he had been able to return as well. Their time on Leguardia had benefited them both. The Architect could go back and face the struggles of the past, carrying the figurative medals and accolades that he gained. And Sistina had grown into someone that could connect with others.

Moreover, they had each other as support, making his desire to walk the Earth by her side ever stronger.

He wanted to take her hand and pull her back there, but they had not counted on it being destroyed while they were away. If Sistina didn’t want to sacrifice Leguardia to do it, then he would play the villain instead. He would erase the reasons for her tears with his own powers.

Only… he hadn’t considered how much Sistina would reject his decision. He hadn’t considered how shaken up he became after being rejected.

The goal to restore the Earth consumed him after she disappeared, and with that, he slowly forgot his purpose. He made excuses to justify his work, and what was left of it.

The Architect stared as the purple blade of energy went right through both him and Sistina. Their roles as gods in this world would be over with this. His incarnation, Claude, would steal their powers and finally ‘correct’ everything.

Leguardia would return to being a prospering planet filled with mana across the world. There would be no more danger of dying lands that shrank over the generations. But in exchange, Earth, their home, was forever lost.

As the Architect collapsed, feeling his powers escape from his body, a flood of disappointment enveloped him.

He had kept the hope of Earth alive for so very long. But perhaps, it was always meant to be. Just like him, the world was flawed to begin with. A planet couldn’t survive under the will of a single person, and neither could his ideals.

As the darkness came for him, he felt warm. Sistina fell with him, cradling his body. Even if she hadn’t fully forgiven him, it was a nice final gesture.

But then, that warmth spread across his entire body, pushing away the darkness.

The Architect’s eyes popped open, feeling that his strength had returned. He looked around, unable to muster any powers, but his injuries having disappeared.

Before him, the divine powers that Claude stole weaved around and spiked into the ground. Greenery spread where it all touched, his palm planted upon the Earth like he was trying to feel the pulse of such massive energy.

More green spread farther and farther, until they were now in a pleasant meadow. The Architect could see it slowly chase after the horizon.

Moments passed by as Claude rejuvenated the surrounding area. All that time, the Architect wondered why he was doing so. Hadn’t he arrived to stop the Earth’s revival and save Leguardia?

“Haven’t you realized? There is no way one of your incarnations would stop short if there was a path forward. You may have given up on others, but he rallied everyone together to solve what you couldn’t.”

The Architect turned toward Sistina in surprise.

“All this time-”

“Claude and his friends had every intention to save both Leguardia and Earth. The best way to defeat an enemy is to remove the reason for any opposition. They have found a way to make everyone’s wishes come true.”