The Guardian Of The Multiverse: A Hero's Burden

Being Human

(Marvel, DC, images, manhuas, and every anime that will be mentioned and used in this story are not mine. They all belong to their respective owners. The main character "Karito/Adriel Josue Valdez" and the story are mine)

The past few days in the commune had been... eventful.

That was one way to put it.

Everyone seemed to have gotten comfortable inside Viktor's little "utopia," and Adriel couldn't exactly blame them for it. Vi, Jinx, and Isha had all settled in faster than he expected. Even Vander, still trapped in that monstrous body, seemed calmer here than he had been anywhere else. The commune was quiet, safe, and full of people who did not look at him like a beast waiting to snap.

For Zaun, that was damn near a miracle.

The place was comfortable.

Peaceful.

Warm, even.

Adriel wished he could say the same for himself.

Because right now, standing directly in front of him, was a very excited Sky testing her new body.

Her new old body, technically.

It was an exact replica of the one she had before the Arcane reduced her to ash. Same face. Same hands. Same voice. Same nervous, bright intelligence in her eyes. The only difference was that now, she moved like someone who couldn't quite believe movement belonged to her again.

She flexed her fingers.

Lifted her arms.

Touched her own face for the hundredth time.

Then laughed.

Softly at first. Then a little louder, because the sound itself seemed to surprise her.

Adriel watched from a short distance with his arms folded, pretending he wasn't feeling anything about it.

He was.

A lot, actually.

If he was honest, he would admit that this deviation had been worth it.

Because the smile on Viktor's face was something that could warm anyone's heart.

Before this, Viktor had looked like a man living on purpose alone. A man who believed he was doing the right thing because if he stopped believing that, everything holding him together would collapse. He had been calm, driven, and painfully certain in that dangerous way Adriel had seen too many times before.

But now?

Now Viktor looked like a person again.

Not fully healed. Not untouched by what had happened. But present. Grounded. Human in a way he had almost forgotten how to be.

Sky's return had done that.

She had pulled him back from the edge without even trying.

And Adriel could tell Viktor knew it.

There was something different in the way Viktor looked at her now. Less distant. Less consumed. Less like his mind had already moved three theories ahead while the person in front of him waited to be noticed.

This time, he was noticing.

This time, he wasn't ignoring Sky in favor of Hextech. He wasn't brushing her aside because the work was too important, too urgent, too close to breakthrough.

He had been given a second chance.

And, to his credit, Viktor looked determined not to waste it.

The moment itself had been overwhelming.