Chapter 8

The evening breeze blew gently, carrying the remnants of wildflowers that persisted in a world slowly fading away. I sat on a wooden bench that was starting to rot, surrounded by a field of sunflowers facing the setting sun. The golden light swept across this small garden, creating a soft glow on the petals of the flowers that seemed to whisper in the wind.

Alexandria stood beside me, her eyes sparkling. She smiled—a smile that seemed to defy the cruelty of this world. "Beautiful, isn't it?" she said, her voice light, almost like a faint melody carried by the wind.

I shrugged, gazing at the silhouette of the city in the distance. The towering buildings, the neon lights flashing like man-made stars. I knew that beauty was just an illusion, the city hid a darkness that wasn't visible.

"The future could be better, you know? Maybe not like before, but there's still hope." 

I didn't answer. A better future? It sounded like a dream I couldn't reach. As far as I remembered, this world was always dark. Trapped by a fate I couldn't avoid.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the silence of the garden. I turned, and there he was. A young man with jet-black hair slightly disheveled, his eyes sharp and empty, like someone who had lost all emotion. His black clothes blended with the shadows of the evening, making him seem like a part of the darkness creeping through this world.

"Fujita..." Alexandria sighed. 

Fujita stopped a few steps away from us, his eyes fixed on Alexandria and the girl with her. Fujita—that was his name. A man who should have had an ordinary life, but fate brought him down a much darker path. Subject-02, that's what the Helix scientists called him, no longer just an ordinary human.

A mysterious power flowed within him, something that couldn't be explained by common sense. Princeps, a source of power that transcended the laws of physics, had become a part of him—shaping him, changing him. With the Element Black Hole, he was able to create absolute emptiness, devouring anything that dared to approach. Meanwhile, the Element Light, a paradox he possessed, transcended the boundaries of reality, illuminating even in the midst of the darkness he created himself.

However, no matter how powerful his strength was, Fujita remained in the shadow of the true Princeps. He wasn't the strongest, nor the most feared. But he was no longer an ordinary human. And maybe, he himself had forgotten what it felt like to be one.

According to Helix Organization documents, Fujita should have been just an ordinary child, without power, without a great destiny awaiting him. However, his life changed when his body was chosen to be a vessel for something much greater than himself. The Helix scientists weren't just experimenting with flesh and blood. They were chasing something higher, divinity.

With boundless ambition, they sought to combine the sacred essence of the Heart of Eternity, a legendary crystal that had shattered into several pieces. Some of its fragments became the Fragment of Miracles, an arrow containing divine power. While others merged into the Rod of Divinity, leaving behind a fragment known as The Seal of Solomon.

Legend had it that The Seal of Solomon was first discovered by the Umayyad Caliphate during their expansion into Spain, hidden among the remnants of ancient civilization. However, fate brought it into the hands of the Helix Church, which at that time still held tightly to religious values before eventually transforming into a major force in science and technology.

But science and belief often meet at one point, ambition. They didn't just study the power of the ring, they absorbed it. The Seal of Solomon was melted and combined with Dark Matter, a material so abstract it was almost mythical, but its gravitational effects were real, enough to alter the known laws of nature.

However, Fujita wasn't always a tool for Helix. There was a time when he could still choose—or at least, was given the opportunity to defy the destiny that had been written for him.

At the age of 14, he was saved by Anti-Solaris, an organization that stood as a resistance against Helix's mad experiments. At that time, Fujita wasn't just a lost child. He was a weapon, a perfect design of the Helix scientists. They created him for one purpose: to slaughter humans contaminated with Honkai energy, terrifying creatures that were once human, before they were altered by a power that should never have been touched.

However, his task didn't stop there. He was also assigned to kill Anti-Solaris soldiers, Helix's main enemy that stood in their way. Fujita was almost turned into a soulless killing machine, but before that destruction became permanent, scientists from Anti-Solaris took action. They managed to seal some of his power, suppressing his increasingly wild killing instincts.

Was it enough to change him? Or just slowing down something inevitable? Now, under the fading sunlight, Fujita walked closer. His steps were calm, yet brought a pressure that was hard to explain. The main character and the two girls stopped their conversation, gazing at the man who had just arrived.

He didn't come to fight, not to reveal the past they had all left behind, at least not for now. 

"I want to talk to you," he said. 

I raised an eyebrow. "Why me?" 

"You're different," he replied briefly.

I didn't know what he meant, but I stood up too. Alexandria seemed like she wanted to stop me, but she didn't.

Maybe she knew this wasn't something that could be avoided. We walked a few steps away, just far enough for this conversation to be ours alone.

Fujita put his hands in his coat pockets, his gaze directed towards the city in the distance. 

"How do you see this world?" he asked suddenly. 

I was a bit surprised by his question. I thought he would discuss strategic things or battles, but it turned out that wasn't what came out of his mouth first.

I gazed at the scenery in front of us. The city looked beautiful from afar. But I knew better than to be fooled by that beauty. Behind its glow, there was corruption, destruction, and countless secrets. 

"Dark, constrained by a fate I couldn't change."

Fujita nodded slowly, as if he had expected my answer. "I think so too." 

I glanced at him. "You don't believe in the future?" 

He fell silent for a moment, then sighed softly. "I don't know if the future really exists for people like us." 

"What do you mean?”

"I was once a weapon. I was trained to kill without hesitation, to follow orders without questioning. Even after they sealed some of my power, that instinct is still there. I know that one day, I might be used again. And when that happens..." He stopped, his eyes seemed empty. "I don't know if I can still refuse."

I gazed at him silently. I thought I was the only one who felt like the world was a trap. But Fujita... maybe he was more trapped than me. "So, you think you don't have a choice?" I asked.

Fujita turned to me, then smiled faintly, a smile so subtle it was almost imperceptible. "Do you really think this world can get better?" 

I didn't answer immediately. The wind blew gently, carrying the scent of the evening after a whole day of being exposed to sunlight. I looked at the sunflowers around us, their petals still standing upright despite the darkness beginning to envelop them. 

"I don't care about this world. I just want to live my life peacefully... take care of my shop without getting involved in any fights."

Fujita chuckled softly—a laugh that didn't really sound happy. "You're naive." 

He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it with a movement so calm as if the world had truly lost all hope. The small light from the tip of his cigarette glowed for a moment before disappearing.

"There's no future for someone like you." 

I turned to him. At a glance, his expression was still the same, cold, unreadable. But behind his empty gaze, there was something. Something that could only be seen if I observed him long enough.

"So, what about you? You talk like you know everything. What do you really want?" 

Fujita took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. The smoke from his cigarette wafted, carried away by the night wind. He gazed far ahead, towards the city.

"I just want to find my own purpose. Back then, I didn't have a choice. I was made into a tool. A weapon to kill those considered enemies by Helix. I never asked why... I just did what I was ordered. But when I started questioning everything, it was already too late."

He sighed. For a moment, I saw his gaze soften slightly.

.....BERSAMBUNG.....