Pillar of Yita

Kaka saw the faintest glimmer of light reflecting in his eyes, like a bright arc, flashing within the pupils of a boy who claimed his greatest life aspiration was to become a high school girl.

For a moment, he suddenly turned his head and asked the short-haired girl beside him, ”What do you think is the reason people fight?”

The girl hesitated for a moment, twiddled with the ends of her platinum blonde hair, and answered as if it were a matter of course, ”Of course, it’s to win.”

”My understanding is different from yours,” the boy said quietly.

Anlan was taken aback and looked at her companion with some surprise.

”Human conflict stems from animalistic instincts, competing for living space, for breeding rights, for the power to continue the species. Even the most docile herbivores will fight to the death when the breeding season arrives. We may all be the descendants of the victors in this long-lasting competition.”

Kaka’s eyes were clear as he said, ”But can we always keep winning?”

”I... don’t quite understand what you’re getting at. What does this have to do with our current mission?” Anlan asked, confused and a bit annoyed.

”It’s unrelated, just a spontaneous reflection,” he said.

Kaka pointed ahead, ”You see, what you’re looking at could be the demise of a guild, a historical shift on Fenris Isle, and this time, we’re again on the side of victory. But can we always be this lucky, or might we lose everything in the next moment?”

”Mysterious guy, standing on the side of victory has nothing to do with luck. It’s because we’re strong enough that we can always stand on the victorious side,” she retorted.

The boy scratched his head and let out a rueful chuckle, ”But no one is invincible, Anlan. Why did you join the Jiefulite Red Cloak Team? Because you were strong enough?”

”Of course,” Anlan frowned and turned her head away, looking at the dark side of the ridge. She was an outstanding ranger, and the moving Blood Oath Alliance Anlan members, creeping forward from a hundred meters away, were as visible to her as red spots in thermal imaging. ”So you see, weaklings can only join trash guilds like the Blood Oath Alliance.”

The boy laughed, ”No, what I mean is why didn’t you join Silver Vislan or Elite instead?”

”Are you looking for a fight, Kaka?” Anlan ground her teeth in irritation. If she could have joined the top guilds in the China Region, would she still be a member of the Youth Training Team in the First World?

But Kaka didn’t seem to care and went on, ”So you see, you’re not strong enough either. Just as you see these people, those stronger than you will look down on you.”

In his darkened vision, the members of the Blood Oath Alliance’s brigade had stopped in the distance.

As Kaka turned his gaze in another direction, behind the rocks over there, another Anlan squad had entered their designated position. At that moment, a rustling voice came from the communicator:

”Mr. Kaka, we’ve arrived. The strength of the Rain Listener’s members should be quite similar to ours. We didn’t dare make significant movements. Can you tell me their exact location?”

”A17,32,017.”

Kaka closed one eye and simply reported the coordinates.

”Thank you, we understand,” came the voice of gratitude from the other end of the communicator.

Kaka hit the mute button, then continued, ”Let’s resume our previous topic. Now that you’re no longer the strongest, can you guarantee that you’ll keep winning?”

Anlan raised her voice in annoyance, ”I can’t, but somebody can. There will always be someone who is the strongest.”

The boy looked up at the vast night sky.

”You’re mistaken, Anlan. When you are not strong enough, you might think you are. But once you cross that threshold, you realize you’re not as strong as you thought. The stronger you get, the more aware you become of your weaknesses.”

”Your vision grows alongside your strength. Are you strong enough now? But there will always be someone stronger than you, like Loofah, God Hater, Princess Sophie—countless others.”

”But even reaching their level, are they strong enough? Far from it. Even Loofah isn’t the strongest of all. And even if someone is, can they truly be unbeatable?”

The girl frowned and shook her head. Who could claim to be invincible even at number one?

In this world, is there such a thing as a hundred percent certainty?

”So no one can be undefeated forever, except maybe gods. No, perhaps not even gods. From a pantheon to monotheism, even gods live hard lives,” the boy spread his hands, ”Since we can’t ensure a hundred percent certainty, then what truly decides our fates is that one percent chance. ”

”That is to say, we could be lucky to win ninety-nine times in a row, but if we lose once, everything before it becomes meaningless.”

”In the end, what determines our fate is luck; those who have won up to now are not strong because of their strength, but because they are lucky enough.”

”It’s quite real, isn’t it?”

Anlan raised an eyebrow, feeling something was off but not knowing how to counter it at the moment.

She said quietly, ”Isn’t that a bit exaggerated?”

”Perhaps,” Kaka replied nonchalantly, ”but everything’s uncertain. There’s always that elusive chance, and statistically, no matter how small the probability, as long as the sample size is large enough, it’s bound to happen.”