Journey to Become the Zenith

An Experiment Called a Hero

”What do you mean an experiment?”

Videl’s question came out almost immediately.

The words were simple, but the way she spoke them betrayed how deeply they had struck her.

Her voice was quieter than before, as though she were afraid that speaking too loudly might somehow make the answer worse.

The clearing had become strangely still.

The violent surge of mana from earlier had finally faded, leaving only a faint pressure hanging in the air.

The grass around Videl was flattened from the force she had released, and several leaves still drifted lazily through the space between her and Niklaus.

The contrast was almost unsettling.

Everything around them looked peaceful.

Videl’s mind was anything but.

Niklaus watched her silently for a few moments.

His long black hair shifted gently in the breeze, revealing crimson-golden eyes that carried an age far beyond his youthful appearance. The faint dragon-like wings behind him were folded against his back, unmoving.

He had expected this question.

In truth, he had been expecting it since the moment he began explaining the Natural Hero.

But there was no easy way to explain what he had learned.

Some truths were not difficult because they were complicated.

They were difficult because the human mind instinctively rejected them.

Niklaus finally exhaled.

”When I got the strength that surpassed that of a hero, I was able to glimpse into a world above this one. Only divine beings and those of similar levels of power could even glimpse into that realm.

”I learned that Natural Heroes were simply an experiment created by some of the beings of that upper realm. They wanted to create the perfect replica of the first true hero. The one created by the Universal Emperor. The one who eventually broke free from its control.

”They implant the power and personality of a hero into a random child. Then they watch.

”They wait to see if that child can become the same as the true hero.”

The words settled into the clearing one after another.

Then silence returned.

Videl stared at Niklaus.

For several heartbeats, she didn’t blink.

She couldn’t.

Her mind had caught on a single phrase.

An experiment.

A random child.

The power and personality of a hero.

Those words kept circling through her head.

She had heard many explanations throughout her life.

She had heard stories about destiny. Gods. Heroes. Monsters. Blessings. Curses.

She had been told that some people were simply born different. That certain individuals were chosen by fate. That others carried powers for reasons no one could explain.

But never this.

Never had she considered the possibility that someone could look at a living person and see nothing more than a test subject.

A variable.

Something created merely to observe what would happen.

Videl’s fingers slowly curled against her palms.

Her nails pressed into her skin.

She barely noticed.

”So...”

The word almost escaped her lips.

But she stopped herself.

Her throat tightened.

What was she supposed to ask?

She didn’t even know where to begin.

Was her childhood fake?

The thought came so suddenly that it made her stomach twist.

She remembered herself as a little girl.

She remembered the people around her.

The lessons.

The training.

The things she had been taught.

The things she had believed without ever questioning them.

Were her instincts fake?

Were they really hers?

Or had someone decided what she should feel before she was even old enough to understand what feelings were?

Her breathing became shallow.

And then another question came.

One that hurt even more.

Was her desire to protect people something someone had placed inside her?

Videl’s sapphire eyes slowly lowered.

She remembered the first time she had thrown herself between someone else and danger.

She remembered the fear.

The adrenaline.

The way her heart had pounded against her chest.

She remembered thinking that she couldn’t just stand there and watch someone get hurt.

That feeling had always seemed so natural.

So undeniably hers.

But now...

She didn’t know anymore.

Were all those moments when she had thrown herself into danger actually hers?

Or had someone written that instinct into her from the beginning?

Videl swallowed.

Her lips parted slightly, but no words came.

If Niklaus was right, then the question wasn’t simply whether she had been controlled.

It was something much worse.

It was whether there had ever been a Videl who existed outside that control.

Her chest tightened.

She hated that thought.

She hated it more than she could express.

For years, she had believed that whatever flaws she possessed were hers to overcome.

Whatever strengths she had were hers to sharpen.

Every choice she made belonged to her.

Even her mistakes.

Especially her mistakes.

They were proof that she was a person.

A real person.

But if someone had placed a hero’s power and personality inside her before she could even understand the world...

Then where did she begin?

Where did the person called Videl actually start?

The question frightened her.

Not because she didn’t have an answer.

Because she was beginning to fear that there might not be one.

Niklaus watched her quietly.

He could see the change in her expression.

He could see the questions she was struggling to put into words.

For a moment, he considered saying nothing.

Perhaps silence would have been kinder.

But there was no kindness in hiding the truth.

Not anymore.

Niklaus continued before the silence could swallow them completely.

”I’m not sure about some of the things they said, like the Universal Emperor or about the true hero...”

He paused.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he searched through memories that were centuries old.

”...but I think the reason for the discrepancy that you are feeling is because you are going against the ideals that were implanted in you from birth.”

Videl’s eyes lifted slightly.

Niklaus met her gaze.

”This is all just an assumption of mine based on all the things I have seen and experienced.”

His voice remained calm.

”I’ve spent a long time trying to understand things that were never meant for someone like me to understand.”

He gave a faint, humorless smile.

”And I’ve been wrong before.”

Videl said nothing.

Niklaus looked toward the dark sky for a moment.

”I’m not really sure if what I’m saying is even close to the truth.”

His expression became serious again.

”Unless those beings explain themselves, this is all that I can tell you.”

There was no arrogance in Niklaus’s voice.

That was perhaps what made his words more frightening.

He wasn’t claiming absolute knowledge.

He wasn’t pretending to understand the entire structure of existence.

He was simply giving Videl the pieces he had gathered throughout centuries of experience.

Pieces that didn’t form a complete picture.

Pieces that nevertheless fit together far too well.

Videl remained silent.

She stared at the ground between them.

A strange emptiness had settled inside her.

Not peace.

Not acceptance.

Something colder.

Something she couldn’t name.

The breeze passed through the clearing.

A few blades of grass brushed against her boots.

The leaves of a nearby tree rustled softly.

Somewhere in the distance, a bird called once before falling silent again.

Videl didn’t seem to hear any of it.

The entire world felt distant.

As though she were standing inside it while somehow being separated from it at the same time.

She lowered herself until she was sitting on the ground.

Her movements were slow and almost mechanical.

Niklaus didn’t stop her.

He simply watched.

Videl pulled her knees slightly closer.

Her long blonde hair slipped over her shoulders and fell around her face.

Some strands brushed against her cheeks.

She didn’t bother moving them.

Her sapphire eyes stared at nothing.

The ground beneath her felt strangely cold.

She could remember so many things.

People she had helped.

People she had failed.

Battles she had fought.

And every choice she had made along the way.