Chapter 31 | Corto Maltese.
As I suspected, the Morningstars didn’t get rich through good deeds. It’s revealed that the Morningstar family used to trade weapons to organizations and South American dictatorships, which indicates they provided what was necessary to keep countries oppressed in exchange for a few million dollars.
That wasn’t what surprised me the most, though. It was the encounter with the younger Morningstars. Adrio, who in the future was capable of manipulating Truman into dropping atomic bombs, destined to become President, yet trapped in the same cloud of misfortune that haunt his family. And Serene. The fact that Y/N confirms she dies young indicates that the family has been involved in tragedies long before. Now we know that the Morningstars forged tragedies at the same time that they suffered their own.
The phrase “If I’m the Morningstar prodigy of the 21st century, Adrio was the Morningstar prodigy of the 20th” encapsulates something powerful. It’s not just about being a genius, It’s about the loneliness of being the last. Y/N is not the greatest of his lineage because he surpassed them, but because there is no one left to compare himself to. Greatness, without a context to measure against, becomes emptiness.
Although of course, we cannot know with certainty if there has been any Morningstar smarter or stronger than him. I doubt it too much. Y/N is probably the greatest Morningstar of all time.
The final scene, where he says goodbye to them on the boat, was something I liked. It shows us how Y/N feels vulnerable and emotional being in the presence of his family members after so much time.
And for the first time in 8 years, Y/N wasn’t the only Morningstar in the world.
Plus, I find it interesting that you confirmed that the story takes place in 2019, which indicates that Y/N born 2001.
Anyway, great chapter.