3.3

The state of Eden

“Alright, I will do it”

With those words, the meeting came to an end. Willow was of course uncomfortable about this whole ordeal, Hiro accepting to be operate upon and all. Nevertheless, the Herald had made his decision and she would respect it.

“At least let me be there for you, Herald!”

“No, I don’t want you to see something like that”

With that, the girl left without an objection although she was bitter about that. Hiro looked at Suiren, wondering whether he should send her away or not. In the end, he decided she may need a bath after all and sent her off.

Now onto the chopping board, he entered Owain’s workshop. His mind filled with memories of that time on the cold table, writhing in pain. Inside Victor was sitting sipping on a cup of cocoa.

“You look nervous”

Hiro could remember that sadistic smile. His body remembered every incision, every cut. Even now the pain was still vivid.

“Well, it’s not every day one gets cut open”

“Oh, about that, don’t worry that was just a lie”

“Eh”

“Just a surface observation is alright”

“I figure you would have done that already when I was unconscious after the battle”

“I could, but I prefer to have permission if possible. Now shall we start?”

Hiro took a sit and held out his right arm. The doctor didn’t even look at it. Black smoke rose out of him and into the young man’s limb. It felt a bit funny.

“Why did you say that then?” Hiro asked.

“I said what?”

“That you would cut me up, was that just to rile Willow up?”

“Yes, your guess is correct” Victor cleared his throat “But it’s not because I think low of her. Willow is a talented individual and I have a great deal of respect for her”

“Is it just for her reaction then?”

“Partly yes”

Hiro waited a bit for the doctor to continue but that never came. Victor didn’t want to reveal his reason and the young man wasn’t the pushy type either.

But it did make him think of Willow. He just met her but the girl went out of her way to be defensive about him. She held him with such high regard and Hiro couldn’t understand why. He looked up at Victor who was now looking down at his right arm, still emitting black smoke.

“Um, can I ask you something?”

“I would be glad to answer”

“It’s about Willow, I want to know more about her”

“Well, I am certainly not an expert on that but I will try my best”

Victor looked at Hiro and smiled gently. For someone so reviled, his bedside manner was excellent.

“It feels so wrong to say this but… I want to know why she is so… concerned with me. Why me? I have never heard her refers to Malcolm and Conrad as Herald and they’re so much more qualified”

“That’s because none of you are officially a Herald yet”

“Wait what?”

“That title comes with great power and accessibility here in Eden. To be declared as the Herald. You must be approved by one of the Divine themselves”

“Then why does she keep referring to me as such?”

“Mr. Hiro, that’s mean she trusts you. Willow believes that you have what it takes, that you could save us all”

“But why someone like me? I can’t do anything, I am just a programmer, none of my skills are suitable here in this world? What about Malcolm, he may be a bit harsh, but that boy is way more qualified than me? Then there is Conrad, he didn’t have any power but managed to best that Roman guy! Willow never called him Herald even before she knew that he wasn’t chosen. Why someone like me!”

Hiro had mini outburst, all of his confusion boiled up to this point. Inside, Momo-chan remained silent. While he was confused as well, it was nowhere near this level. No, this was not even confusion, just a severe lack of confidence.

While Hiro had never been particularly confident, it was nowhere near this level. The voice truly dreaded the next six years of his life.

Meanwhile, Victor listened to the rant, truly listened to it. The doctor placed his hand on Hiro’s shoulder.

“She, Willow, is desperate. Because of that, that girl placed such a pressure on you”

“Desperate?”

“Yes, I believe she had told you about the problem we are facing right?”

“Uh, she did say something about the monster, the Fallen and some sort of communication blackout that is going on”

“Well, that’s just the tip of it, the full truth is so much worse. I trust you will keep what I say next confidential” Victor looked at the young man firmly “Willow’s father, the Divine Gottfried is dying”

“What!” [What!]

“As you have no doubt noticed by now, we have no shops or any concept of trading or selling here compared to your world”

Hiro had noticed that the tavern never took anything for its service. All the food and drink there were for free. The young man didn’t find that strange though, this was a small town after all, sharing like that may not be too surprising. But it seemed like this was applied throughout the continent.

“That’s because giving and sharing and working for the Divine are ingrained in each and every citizen. They would work according for their profession not for personal gain but for the country as a whole. The fruits of their labour are then divided and spread out to every region”

Momo-chan: [Now this sounds a bit familiar]

“The capitals make sure that everyone is provided for plentily while saving the surplus for emergency. Because of that, instant information transformation is vital in rationing. That is accomplished using mana as a form of long way communication and information collection”

“How does that even work?”

“Mana made up everything in this world and its contains information about everything. It is also always moving from one form to another before returning to its original, a natural cycle. A person’s mana could tell you all about him like his personality, identity and consumption. Gottfried, as the Divine, use his body as a vessel to filter all mana in this world, enabling us to study the information it contains for rationing and other purposes”

There was a lot of ‘how’ and ‘what’ to be said here but Hiro got the gist of it. Kind of.

“After shouldering that task for more than a hundred years now, Gottfried is exhausted both mentally and physically. He has deteriorated to the point of no return and will expire eventually. So we are all running blind here”

“But don’t you have those past data to study. There must be a pattern”

“Of course, that’s why Eden hasn’t collapsed yet. But all that information doesn’t take into account the chimeras that arise after the blackout. We don’t know where they are hitting us and the damage done. Every place here has enough resources for all sort of emergency but it will run out. We also can’t tell what the materials sent will be used for and there isn’t enough surplus”

Victor sighed, the air had become rather heavy in here.

“To make matter worse, the Fallens are assaulting the Divines’ brethren everywhere. Their numbers are endless, but we won’t know about any attack until it’s too late”

Hiro felt a bit uncomfortable when he realised that the word ‘endless’ was used literally. He witnessed it himself, another Suiren, facing against him.

“Mr. Hiro, you have spent quite a time here in our world. What do you think of our people?”

“Um, I… find that they are very helpful and enthusiastic”

“Do you think they are happy?”

“… From what I have seen, yes”

“That’s right, only those at the tops and their families, including Willow, could see how bad it is out there. So it lies on them and only them to shoulder all the burdens to ensure the people could be… happy”

Victor looked straight into Hiro eyes, his gaze pierced into the young man’s soul.

“Mr. Hiro, Willow is under immense pressure. She cares for her people, for her country, for her Divine and all of them are falling. What probably frustrated her the most is that there is nothing she could do. That’s why I said she is desperate”

“And so she clings to me…”

“Mr. Hiro, that girl didn’t do that just because she is desperate. She truly believes in you and not only her but me as well. Conrad told me he holds you in high regard and I am sure Malcolm feels the same”

“Wait Conrad said that?”

“Actually what he said was ‘Hiro is a good man’ and I would like to interpret them as he has high opinion about you”

Hiro: {Now that is quite a leap there}

Momo-chan: [But still, that contains more words than everything I had heard coming out of Conrad’s mouth combined. Maybe Victor’s speculation isn’t that far off]

Hiro: {I sure hope so}

“I… don’t understand, what did I do? I am just a… dude. I can’t fight well or anything”

“That’s exactly why, your physical is definitely below average”

“That hurt…”

“And yet, when that monster attacked, you were the first to risk your life. Weren’t you the one who used himself as bait, just to save a town you barely knew?”

“That…”

“Me and Willow only heard the story but it was still inspiring. And the way you best the beast in the end. Not everyone could think of that while in peril. So don’t belittle yourself, Mr. Hiro”

“Thanks”

“There’s more, however”

Hiro was not used to being praised this much at all. He was actually blushing a bit, just like a little kid. The young man held up his hand in a futile attempt to hide that.

“You somehow converted a Fallen. Never before has an ability of that kind appeared. Even all the Divines could only smite those masked people. But you, you are different. And in our dark time, that power was certainly a gift from god”

Victor rolled Hiro’s sleeve back down, having completed his inspection.

“Before, we could use man to control the elements, never a being’s will. Until you arrive, I believe when you learn more of this power, you could even remove the limiters within us all… Anyway, Mr. Hiro, it is completed, you could go now”

“Thanks…”

Hiro took his leave, his mind heavy with thoughts. Victor final words to him were more ominous than just a praise. The thought of having control over a person’s will didn’t excite the young man one bit.

No matter what kind of person one was, Hiro wanted to know his true self, he wanted to understand, not to control. His heart ached just thinking about Suiren.

Hiro wondered if he would ever learn who she really was.

But still, he would use this power if needed. It was Suiren, after all, who bested most of their attackers. It was this ability that save him from her to begin with. Even though it brought him no pleasure, Hiro was ready.

That, however, wasn’t what he is most worry right now though.

His mind casted back to Victor. An universally reviled being that the young man couldn’t see why. The heretic was just a kind old doctor to him… or at least he appeared to be so to Hiro!

If he truly existed when the Divine first appeared, then the man was now over a century old. A powerful being Victor but he was still a local. That meant he was also bounded by the limiter that affected everyone. A limiter he kindly reminded that Hiro might have the ability to remove.

It seemed like the young man should be more vigilant.