The Villain's Story

Chapter 854: Black Sea(2).

What is fear?

A survival mechanism? Yes, at the most basic level, fear is a response to danger. It is the very act of your brain sensing danger and alarming you, preparing you for what is to come.

Act now, now!

The message it tells you as it forces you to comply no matter what. Your muscles tighten, your heartbeat increases, your breathing becomes sharp, and your mind becomes both scared and relaxed. The rush of adrenaline in your body carries you to greater heights to combat whatever is coming.

But fear is not a dangerous animal or a cliff. It is much more than that. Different species fear different things. There are many kinds of ’Fear’.

A tiger does not fear any animal that comes before it; it is a predator that stands at the very top, but even a tiger will fear falling from the skies. No matter the sharpness of its teeth and claws, no matter the density of its muscles. It will fear the thought of falling from the skies.

But would a bird be the same? Would a bird be afraid of falling from the sky? Hardly any being capable of flight would be prone to such fear. But what if you put a bird in front of a tiger?

It would cower in fear, for it is simply built into the instincts of an animal like it that facing such a foe is simply suicide. It will rally its wings and take flight, but the tiger will catch it before it does.

There exist many kinds of ’Fear’—the fear of an opponent far above your league, a predator.

The fear of loss, The Fear of Death, the Fear of incompetence, the fear of danger, the fear of heights. Everything is afraid of something.

The definition of fear changes depending on the individual. Some people are afraid of multiple holes, some people are afraid of heights, some people are afraid of losing everything they have accomplished, and some are afraid of death.

You fear failing because failure threatens your sense of worth; it brings you down and down until you think you just can’t go back up again.

You fear being seen, because it risks rejection. You fear the thought of exposing yourself to a world catered to other ideals, ideals that don’t fit with you, or some that you don’t fit in.

You fear pain because it removes control. You act out, you deny everything, and scream for help when you don’t want to. Simply because it hurts.

You fear death because it means the end of all possibilities. You fear it, because you can’t try again once you’re dead.

But every kind of fear can be conquered, except one.

You could conquer the fear of failure, you could conquer the fear of heights, you could conquer the fear of pain, the fear of being seen, and every other kind of fear.

You could accept death. You could accept the meaning behind it and the fact that the end will eventually come.

After all, all that is alive will at some point die.

Everybody is scared of dying, everybody is at some point in their lives, even the overconfident bastard that says death is no obstacle. You can deny it all you want, but deep down, you know you’re afraid.

Many people believe that Death is the greatest fear, that overcoming the fear of something inevitable is the greatest feat. The act of accepting death and no longer fearing it is significant.

However, death is not the ultimate fear; it is simply another fear that can be conquered. There exists a fear even beyond death.

Every living being is afraid of this; it doesn’t matter if he is something that cannot understand the purpose of his life, it doesn’t matter if he is the greatest mind to ever exist. It doesn’t matter if he is a poor slave; it doesn’t matter if he is the son of a rich man.

It doesn’t matter if he has enough power to influence millions upon millions of people; it doesn’t matter if he can split apart an entire mountain range with a single swing of his hand, or shatter a star with a single thought.

Everybody is still afraid of this.

In the house of death, Lanesha, Kulak, and the deceased dragon Shi represent different kinds of fear. Lanesha represents the fear of a cold, desolate death. An empty death, she is the cold you eventually have to embrace as life leaves your body.

But you can stand firm against the cold.

Kulak is the ever-present reminder of death. He is the fear of always knowing that death is always with you, a shadow watching from below, waiting. He is the reminder of the end.

But one can come to terms with such a reminder; one can accept that death is always near and will eventually come.

Shi represented actual Death, the loss of life itself. She was the actual end that awaited you.

But a man can always accept his death; he could die happy, not afraid of the end.

But there is simply one kind of fear built into the very genetics of every being, one that transcends even death. One that you simply can never overcome, only delude yourself in believing you have done so. A primordial fear present in every being.

From the average being to even a godly being. From E-rank all the way to the top, and it is exactly this kind of fear that Valus represents.

It is the fear of the unknown; we are rarely afraid of the darkness, but we fear what it hides, what it contains that is beyond our scope of knowledge.

All life that exists can learn to overcome the fear of death, even if it does not understand death itself and the meaning behind it. Even a hamster can die with a damn smile on its face, accepting its pitiful end.

All life, however, is scared of what it cannot even hope to understand. All life is always scared of the unknown.

All that is intelligent, and all that is not, is afraid of the unknown, for it holds the things that simply cannot be understood, neither by a civilized nor a beastly mind.