RE:WRITE

42.0 Zero_Chapter 12: Intentions

I'd learned a lot of things on the Hill outside Reneste. A lot of things about this world, about its people and the lives that they lived, the challenges that they faced. Their hopes, their dreams, their struggles and their joys.

I'd also learned a lot about myself. Not just about my powers or my Ability. No, I'd learned a lot about who I was as a person.

Sure, I'd learned what my identity was in the hearts and minds of the people of Erath. I was Fate. The ever present force that dictated their lives. I was feared and worshiped. Hated and respected. Loved by some, detested by others. For most people, I evoked a mix of conflicting emotions and I understood that. I understood how they saw me and what I meant to them, which helped me understand my position in Erathan society.

But perhaps the most important thing I'd learned about myself, was who I was as a person. My personality. What made 'Kairo Mezai,' 'Kai Zero.' The emotions I felt. My beliefs, my wants, my desires. I'd learned it all.

On the Hill, I had learned who I was. And it had been a meaningful experience.

Was I pleased with who I was? Of course not. Some aspects of my personality disgusted me. But then there were others that I could objectively praise. But no matter what I'd learned, one thing was clear to me; I was not the kind of person who could let the evils of this world weight down on his conscience.

After all, I had made this world. All of the problems facing its people were, in a way, cause by me.

However, I wasn't naive enough to think that the people of Erath were completely innocent. The bonded laborer system was not of my design. It was not something I had made.

But I had to share some of the responsibility for it. The Air kingdom initially hired laborers to offset the loss of mana crystals from the bottom of their floating island. At first, they'd mined the crystals because of their insatiable desire to improve their battle capabilities because they had discovered the crystals' potential for war.

But then they realized the value of the crystals or the 'Breize stones,' as they'd come to be known, in other aspects of life and had used them to fuel their economic and industrial development. The crystals were to the people of Erath what oil and gas was to the people of Earth.

And their actions had proven that analogy.

So a part of the plan I had made on the Hill included a way for me to undo the mistakes of the Air kingdom. To free the laborers and to rescue their economy from its absolute dependence on the crystals. But like the rest of the plan, there were some restrictions and considerations to bear in mind.

After all, I had to look at the bigger picture. Since I was the only one who could see it. And speaking of the bigger picture...

Map.

A map of Erath stretched out in front of my eyes. I focused on the capital of the Air kingdom, Laput. Houses had crumbled and roads had cracked apart. The city was in shambles.

I zoomed in on the palace, towards the throne room. The tower was lopsided and a huge chunk had fallen out. The roof of the attic had caved in but the throne-room had avoided a similar fate.

"Did you find them?" asked the woman wearing goggles.

"No, my Goddess. We could not find any trace of them," said the old lady with her head bowed low.

The Goddess sighed. "As I suspected. If those two have teamed up, we cannot expect to find them. Even my hands are tied."

The queen regent looked up. "Forgive my insolence, oh exalted one, but is it really true? Are the Hero and the Demon Lord really-"