4.7) Heart of Steel

It was an early morning at the university campus. The birds were chirping their songs as if to reawaken the world, the local squirrels were running across the sidewalks without fear of any pedestrians, and the patches of tall grass occasionally rustled with mystery. The sky was not yet bright and the morning gray welcomed anyone who had gotten an early start to this new day. It was looking like a quiet and peaceful day like any other.

But on that particular morning, there were two new faces in the neighborhood.

They had arrived.

Victor and Abigail had traced the burst of energy they had detected weeks ago to an alleyway behind the bus stop of the university campus. Abigail was calling someone on the phone while standing in the middle of that alleyway, while Victor remained seated in the front passenger seat of her SUV.

And Victor stared down at the dagger in his hand.

This was what he had found at the temple where he discovered that the Power of Infinity had already been taken. This dagger–which he unofficially labeled as the Tenth Anomaly–existed for the sake of absorbing the power of infinity from a body and redistributing it into another body. He understood how to use it just by holding it, just like how the Leviathans knew how to use their anomalies just by maintaining physical contact with the tools.

Soon, he would use this to stab the thief that stole the power of infinity. And before Abigail could object, he would stab himself to give himself that infinite power and escape this doomed universe. He would finally transcend humanity, after all these years.

Eventually, Abigail got back inside the driver’s seat, ending the call as she closed the door.

Victor spoke. “Who were you calling? Alice?”

She turned her head and frowned. “Alice can’t speak, remember?”

“Oh. Right.” In the end, he always ended up trying to forget what had actually happened to her. While Abigail voluntarily learned ASL in her free time to converse with her after the accident, Victor remained distant and refused to listen to anything involving his sister. Even so, Abigail had forcefully taught Victor basic ASL despite his relentless contentions that it would never be of use to him.

Abigail sighed. “I was on a call with a Leviathan back in Oneiros. You know Amon, right? The guy with the axe?”

“... You mean the guy who wants to split me in two? Yeah, I guess. Sure,” he said.

“He took my post after I left, and he just told me this: apparently, there’s a killing spree going on that’s directly targeting the officials and the aristocrats of the city.”

“What’s the difference between that and all the other horrible things that happen there?”

“This is different. It’s targeted. Planned. Someone has a vendetta, and…”

She sighed. “... I’m pretty sure I know who it is. And I’m worried.”

“Okay?” he said, confused.

“What do you mean ‘okay?’ This is serious!”

Victor frowned. “No, what’s serious is that the world is going to end soon. We’re trying to save the world and you’re getting distracted. Again.”

Abigail took a deep breath, as if about to go off on a rant–but she exhaled deeply, seemingly restraining herself. “Fine, alright. Let’s just focus on the task at hand.”

She looked down at the dagger in his hands. “Well, look at you. You finally got your own anomaly. It’s like a smaller, cuter version of my own. Heh.”

“Oh, come on.”

She grinned. “Still. You secretly wanted to be a Leviathan when you were growing up. Maybe this is just one step closer to fulfilling that wish, hm? Maybe if you save the world, they’ll let you be one of us.”

“With this niche thing? Oh, come on. This dagger is going to be useless after we get this over with. And besides… I’m no Leviathan. Far from it. And stop being so casual about this: if everything goes horribly wrong because we screw up, nobody wins. Nobody. Do you not understand?”

The grin on Abigail’s face faded. She leaned back deeply on her chair, crossing her arms.

“I’m sure everything will be fine. We can handle it. I’m confident.”

“You’re not worried at all? What if we fail?”

“There is no what if, Victor–I’m not thinking of failing. We have to succeed here for the sake of the world. There is no room for failure.”

For the sake of the world… huh.

Even now, Victor’s mind seemed to flicker between his lies and the reality of the situation. Being with her, talking like this… made it seem as if he was one of the heroes trying to save the world. He was almost believing his own deception. In fact, it still wasn’t too late to just forget about all of his plans. She would never even know what he had been planning, if he would just let her take full control of the situation. Victor had absolute confidence in her–he knew that she would be able to successfully save the world if he didn’t sabotage her. He knew her relentlessness and overwhelming willpower.

All it would take is a single mental switch. That’s all it would take to drag himself out of the game for a few days and let her handle it. He could just force himself to not act–he had enough willpower to do that. Then this dilemma would be over. But that would, without a doubt, leave him with an endless pain in his heart. He would live the rest of his life knowing that he forfeited an eternal and untroubled life. He would have forfeited infinite potential.

Both paths led to pain. But one of these forms of pain was temporary and would last until his heavenly rebirth, while the other would last until his mortal death. Yes. His mind already knew this. He had been over this cycle multiple times throughout the past few days. But the loop was perpetual–his heart continued to waver.

But now time was running out. They were already here at ground zero. All that was left was to find the thief. A single mistake caused by his wavering heart could cost him everything.

His mind had already turned into steel–it was now time for his heart to follow. It was time to sever his ties with the last person that stayed with him after everything.

He took a deep breath, then whispered. “Hey, Abigail.”

“... Yeah? What? Are you getting cold feet?”

Don’t let her joke her way out of this, he thought. Steel your heart, Victor Truman.

“I have to tell you something. In case I don’t get to tell you.”

“... Okay. Go on,” she said softly. “I’m listening.”

“Thank you.”

“... Huh?”

Thank you for staying with me all this time. For believing in me. For caring for me. You were always patient. And even when I screwed up, you still believed in me. You believed in my ideals when no one else would. And even to this day, you carry out your justice in the name of my ideals. You even took care of my sister in my place. You were the best friend that anyone could ask for. And I wish… I wish we could have been together. I wish I could have given you more. But I couldn’t. Not because you weren’t enough–but because I changed while you remained steadfast in our shared beliefs. I loved… I love you. Everything about you. And…

Abigail tilted her head, confused at his silence.

“... And… I’m sorry,” he said, finally closing his eyes.

“Sorry for what?” Abigail asked.

Victor remained silent. Seconds passed.

Abigail spoke with concern evident in her voice. “Look, Victor. I don’t know where this is coming from, but you have nothing to apologize for. At least not to me. I’m perfectly fine.”

He could feel her reach out and rub his hand, as she would often do when he was feeling down or nervous.

But…

“... Your hand is really cold,” she said.

He opened his eyes.

His heart and mind were one.

There was nothing left to sever besides his own mortality.

And perhaps by fate–as he glared past Abigail and out the driver’s side window of the car, he watched as the final piece of the puzzle landed right onto his hands.

A man with white hair and dark skin was leaping across the rooftops of the campus buildings, heading toward the city behind them.

He smirked. His eyes focused. 

The stage was set.

All that remained was victory.