The First ‘Hero’
"Hey, can you take a look at these adjustments and fix what is requested? I need them back to me for review, pronto."
An office worker looked up from his laptop with a dash of skepticism. If it hadn't been expected, he would have rolled his eyes at the statement. Regardless, he took the file in hand and skimmed through the pages, seeing diagrams that had red circles upon them. He let out a heavy sigh before continuing.
"I recall telling them that those places would be problematic to begin with, but they pushed forward anyways without fixing the issue. They said it would be fine if we left them."
"It's not fine now."
"And they expect me to fix them, when it requires everything to be redone and re-scaled to account for it?"
"It has to get done somehow."
He shot a dirty look at his boss but retracted it immediately.
'Time and time again, they never listen to my input. Not until a fire is lit under their asses for not doing things properly!'
And it never helped that he had a boss that was just as dismissive in taking command of the situation, letting these issues float around until someone above him was complaining. If things had been done properly, then the situation wouldn't turn into a major issue time and time again.
"Anyways, get it done. I have a review meeting to cover this at the end of the week."
Leaving the file behind, the boss ducked away, passing off such responsibilities to his underlings.
'Not like I'll get any credit for fixing these mistakes…'
Still, he was compelled to do it. It was his task, his role, his job. The one square meter cubicle that surrounded him was his identity, his personal space among a floor of similarly-sized work areas. Quietly doing the things that needed to be done was his character. One that was ingrained into him from a young age.
Expectations – his life had been full of them.
Top of the class. Honor student. Prestigious university. Perfect GPA. Distinguished scholar. Expert in the field.
He was asked to excel. And every time, he strove to meet such expectations. Fortunately, he had learned the mechanics of doing so, picking apart what needed to be done to get there in the easiest way. One could say that there was a certain genius to it, but no one said that geniuses had to reveal their cards. It was better not to say anything when it came more easily to him than for others.
If someone knew that he could do so much more with less effort, then he would be saddled with endless requests… just like he was currently.
Having developed a knack for spotting potential functional flaws, he was tasked yet again to fix the poor designs that his coworkers had come up with – the same people that had disregarded the proposed changes at the early stages, when they were more easily fixable.
But now, they had actual prototypes in hand, which constantly failed testing under quality control. He had already said "I told you so" so many times that it had become exhausting.
They never learned. They never heeded advice that would take a bit more effort on their part, pushing forward like it wouldn't be their problem afterward.
And when things went wrong, the 'expert' had to step in and make things right.
'Expert' was a title thrown around haphazardly, to whoever people believed could cover for their mistakes. It came with no extra benefits but a deluge of annoyances instead. It was title given naturally to people who did what they were supposed to do without raising problems all around.
They were also the ones to get the least amount of recognition, as people would constantly 'beat their chests' at how they 'solved' a particular issue themselves. Often, it was an issue due to their own negligence.
If the 'experts' solved the issue instead, then that was 'expected' of them. Their efforts would go ignored, because no fires had been lit where they stood. The perceived difference in effort was an illusion, simply because 'experts' knew how to get things done properly.
That was no different when he was summoned to another world.
The groans of the general populace called for a 'hero' to save them from their enemies. Since he ended up stuck in this new world, there was no choice but for him to roll up his sleeves and wade right into his given role.
But this time, there was no authority above him. He had free reign to request for aid, delegate responsibilities, and see to it that objectives were achieved. This time, he would make his efforts matter.
In this world, 'titles' mattered. The name that he was designated by others, "the Architect", showed a certain faith in his abilities. And he took full advantage of that role to demonstrate results 'his way'.
"Congratulations, Claude. Your leadership among the otherworlders has saved the world of Leguardia. You are a hero to everyone. We are forever in your debt."
"I couldn't have done it without all of you. You are all heroes of Leguardia!"
Empty praise spoken by him. Claude had calculated that their success was all but guaranteed. But regardless, he felt the thrill of victory.
When they had defeated the final enemy, he basked in the cheers of recognition. Everyone knew that they couldn't have succeeded without him... because he made it seem like that was the case. His presence was at the forefront of every plan, his directives on the mind of every combatant. And at the end, he was the one to deal the critical blow to the giant enemy.
It was like he was trying to make up for being overshadowed all the times on Earth. His actions had finally carried the same impact that they should have.
But still, it wasn't enough. He had saved one world from doom, but the world that hung up in the sky, far far away, continued to die. The Earth had long been lost, a victim of people's tendency to inflict self-destruction. He believed that it would have been the same if Leguardia had been left on its own devices.
Only one person noticed how his smile seemed so fake. Only one person knew how empty he still felt, becoming a hero but still powerless to save everything.
After they gained god-like powers, the gears in his head began to turn again. His desire to preserve what had been saved grew even more obsessive. One thought began to run through his head.
'The only way to overturn a fate as large as an entire world is to use the abilities we gained to the fullest extent. The only way to make that happen is if I take on the responsibility myself. Just like what I did toward Leguardia's salvation. It has to be me. There is no other way.'
Yet, one voice dissented.
"You can't keep doing this, Claude! This is not our energy to begin with! The people of this planet may say that we are gods, but we are just leading them on!"
He stared at a visibly angry Sistina, who could feel the emotions of the otherworlders. No matter how much he tried to hide it behind practiced expressions, the hollowness of them was apparent to her. Her power allowed her to see that.
This eventually led to a heated argument, as he refused to let his plans be undermined.
"And then, what? You'll control them? You'll gain more and more power until you can remake the world how you want? Or maybe you want to take that power and revive Earth instead? Can you really go on deceiving them, all those who believe in us?"
"What choice do we have? One spark of conflict and the Earth died. Someone has to sit on the throne to keep that from happening. A world needs gods and heroes. It needs an unquestionable hope to rid any disasters. And once we have succeeded here, we can take what we learned to other worlds."
Unknown to Sistina, he had already begun experimenting with his ability 'The End' to remove the doubts in people's minds. He could cut away their reservations, making them follow his directives. As such, no one stopped to question that he was secretly converting the planet's energy to divine power for themselves, for the sake of restoring Earth.
"You and the others want to do that, then? Well, I don't hear the same harmony within each of you. You are strangers put together towards a common goal. Eventually, someone will fall out of line. Things cannot possibly go your way all the time, Claude."
Once again with that name, every time she spoke it, he felt more and more distance from her.
No one but Sistina could hit the nail on the head. They were strangers before all of this, but she had believed in him all this time until now. She had agreed to accept his plans. She had placed her trust in him, and in turn, got the others to follow along as well.
But since her powers had grown sharper after defeating the final enemy, even the secrets buried in his heart were slowly being unearthed. She found one suspicious strand in the dirt, pulling it out of curiosity. And what came out of the ground horrified her.
She had realized who "Claude" was.
It had to stop.
"Then, I'm sorry that it has come to this."
Claude decided to use 'The End' on Sistina. He couldn't afford any disagreements, not with the fate of everything on the line.
"And I had gotten so attached to you…."
The blade of energy pierced right through Sistina's stomach, hoping to rewrite her existence into someone without doubts towards him. He wanted to silence her ability to connect with him, to understand the pain that he held deep inside. He no longer wanted her to sympathize with him. To tell him that he was needed and how important his work was.
He had savored being the one in the right that he didn't want it any other way.
But then, he realized that the blade drew blood instead.
He watched as Sistina ran away, horrified.
'Why didn't it work?!'
'The End' had failed. It sliced her like a normal blade.
Quickly, Claude chased after her. She ran and stumbled upon the hill. It gave him the chance to try again. He sliced, over and over. Each time, the blade only drew blood, instead of changing her mind. It had never failed like this on him. His intent had never betrayed him like this.
'So why now? Why? Why, why, why, why?!'
Even as he watched Sistina's body sink into the lake, the question plagued him.
It was a question that continued to haunt him, no matter what else he did. Even as he took control of the others, slicing away everything but their core beliefs and turning them into 'divine beings'. Even as the world continued to march to the beat of his whims.
He continued to wonder, 'Why could I not get her views to change?'
And as Sistina finally stood before him once again, why did his arms shake so much? Even after millennia had passed, he had not gotten over it.
The fact that his failures started with her.