Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Beyond Fate

Reason to Live

Pentelas Region
High Maktha Wildwood

Sora:" Maktha Wildwoods...another place I'll need to revisit when I have time."

Finally reaching Maktha Wildwoods, we stand over an edge that has lost some of its flooring, looking over the ruins that is Maktha Wildwoods.

Eunie:" Man, those Moebius mooks... They make my feathers stand on end. Ending people's lives like it doesn't matter. Urgh. What a sick joke."
Riku:" There word for people like that. Know what Nopon say?"
Sena:" No idea. Tell us?"
Riku:" Supervillianpon."
Noah:" Riku...what does that mean exactly."
Riku:" It mean extreme bad guy. Opposite of Heropon."
Sora:" Hm."
Noah:" Ah, ok. I get it now."
Manana:" Meh-meh...?"
Eunie:" Wassup, Manana?"
Manana:" Then, are Noah and Mio and friends...supervillianpon?"

She surprised everyone with what she said, how she calls them "Supervillianpon" as well. While not exactly true, it was still evident that the others had killed other Kevesi and Agnian troops to survive.

Lanz:" You're labeling us?"
Manana:" Labeling. Because friends used to end lives also! That not make them Supervillianpon?"
Eunie:" I mean... It's not like we ever had a choice or anything. It was them or us."
Manana:" So when no choice, not fall under definition then?"
Lanz:" None of us ever fought because we wanted to. It's just how it worked. How people worked, and the world."
Manana:" So... World is supervillianpon!"
Lanz:" Whuh?"
Manana:" Since it make everyone do nasty things! World is bad guy!"

This one sentence managed to get everyone to just think about things. The world, the people, everything around them...

Noah:" The world...is bad? I never thought of it like that."
Lanz:" Now that you mention it, what in the world are we even here for?"
Taion:" I wouldn't strain your brain too much."
Lanz:" Sounds like *you* have."
Taion:" What gave you that idea?"
Lanz:" Cut the snark, just tell me!"
Taion:" The end-point of it is...suicide."
Lanz:" Say what?"
Taion:" If you don't want to hurt others, you'll end up denying your own right to survive. Eventually, you come to the conclusion that the world may well be better off without your presence. The only resolution then, is to erase the self. To die. See? Pointless.
Lanz:" Isn't that taking it too far?"
Noah:" The world doesn't just vanish because you've closed your eyes."
Lanz:" What?"
Noah:" What's your take on this, Sora?"

They all turn to me, hoping I can shed some light to this and to push away some concern. I take a deep breath, knowing what I will say may not be what they want to hear.

Sora:" Everything that's been said so far is correct."
Noah:"..."
Sora:" I want to clarify something, Manana."
Manana:" Yes, Sor-Sor?"
Sora:" I've also killed in this world, so I'm also a Supervillianpon."
Lanz:" But it was to protect yourself, protect us!"
Sena:" Yeah! If you hadn't, we would've been the ones who-"
Sora:" So as long as someone has justification for it, killing is still acceptable?"
Mio:" Sora, that's a bit-"
Sora:" It doesn't matter if I had a good or bad reason, killing is still killing. I still took a life. I killed a Moebius and a Squire, I killed so many Amalgamations, but I can't just give up now. I'd be disrespecting those I have slain if I did."
Manana:" So, everyone is Supervillianpon no matter what?"

I kneel down to Manana and pat her head gently, wanting to comfort her as I continue speaking.

Sora:" Just because we kill doesn't mean we're bad people. We still feel emotion for someone's death. Like we said, we had to take lives to protect our friends and that will stick with us forever."
Eunie:" But isn't that the opposite of what you said before? You just said it didn't matter if we had a good or bad reason for it, we still killed other people."
Sora:" Yeah, well I'm a hypocrite."
Taion:" But...that just goes against it. It doesn't matter if there's a reason for it but we must accept that it had to be done?"
Sora:" Yep."
Noah:" The fact that you're this casual means you thought about this a lot."
Sora:" ...Yeah."
Mio:" Sora, can you explain something?"
Sora:" Sure."
Mio:" What did you mean by "We still feel emotion for someone's death"?"
Sora:" What I meant was we still felt emotion for when someone dies like sadness for their death. Or perhaps a different emotion like happiness in taking lives for another reason entirely."
Noah:" So...what happens if you don't feel anything for a persons death?"