Ashton felt chills...
The hairs on his body stood on end as he stared in clear disbelief at the silhouette looking with uncanny accuracy. Cold sweat poured down his back as he felt his head pounding with sinking realization.
As much as he wanted to not believe this, call it all a fat lie, at the very depth of his mind, a voice tells him 'I knew it!'
This was a fucking nightmare. No...it was reality. The truth of this ugly world that he lives in. The miserable fact that he's now aware of.
"You must be in a state of shock or disbelief right now." The person said, "I won't blame you. I was like that too when I discovered this as well."
"You can call me a liar all you want. I won't blame you for not believing a word I said. In fact, I won't even blame you if you chose to walk away from all of this and continue to live your life in feigned ignorance."
"Though, at the end of the day, in one way or another, sooner or later, this ugly truth will eventually surface again. Nothing can be kept as a secret forever, not even with you being dead."
"If you're still here, I commend you. I know how difficult it is to stomach this truth. You're a brave one for staying. Though, only time will tell if that bravery can get you somewhere."
The lips of that silhouette's face curled slightly upwards, then they said:
"Since I already pointed out who the fat sheep are, then it's pretty much given that the leading figures of the Dawn of Hope Federation signed this agreement. Though, if it comforts you, the decision hadn't been easy."
"Despite their purpose being tinted and muddled because of the number of casualties they suffered, there were still a handful of people who inherited and lived by the federation's true purpose. Those people followed the footsteps of their predecessors faithfully and would rather be destroyed rather than voluntarily give-up."
"A brutal conflict occurred because of opposing opinions with one side consenting to the agreement against the other side who clearly doesn't consent to it."
"Blood flowed and in the end, the group who consented to the agreement won the fight. The other side was outnumbered, to begin with. Still, even with that in mind, they chose to fight for their ideals even if it meant dying on the hill they're standing on."
"Who was right? Who was wrong? Well...Does it matter?" The silhouette shrugged. "At the end of the day, the two sides wanted the same ending, humanity's survival. It's just that one side chose to endure the humiliation, for now, to bid time while the others chose to remain steadfast and inflexible, keeping their thoughts transparent in hopes of inspiring others."
"Which side was right? Which side wasn't? The answer to that is neither in my opinion. Both sides wanted the same ending, what differentiated them was the execution."
Ashton couldn't help but agree with those words.
"Because the real inheritors of the federation's true purpose died in that battle, history had taken quite a turn from the point forward. The original intent and purpose of the Dawn of Hope Federation were now dead. It was then replaced by something new..."
" 'Enduring Victory', this what the remaining people established. Choosing to bow their heads before the oppressors to ensure the longevity of humanity. 'Endure' the humiliation for now so that Humanity can heal and raise another champion that will bring the ultimate 'Victory'."
" 'Endure' the bleak horizon for now, patiently bide your time and be steadfast, for eventually, the 'Dawn' will arrive and the 'Morning Sun' shall rise again, that which becomes the symbol of Humanity's true 'Victory' against invaders."
"...thus, the Dawn of Hope was no more. From its ashes, rose the Morning Sun Federation that you know of today."
Ashton was reeling after receiving one revelation after another. He felt the world spinning around him and also felt like everything started making sense now.
"From 101st Hero that's recorded on your History Books up until the most recent one, there is but one trend that connects them all. And that is the fact that they all chose to sacrifice their remaining lifespan as fuel to strengthen the bubble of protection that keeps Last Bastion safe."
"However that...is a fat lie. None of them did that. They weren't allowed to do so. If they did, they wouldn't have been hailed as a Hero, just some unknown nobody with delusions of grandeur."
"Why you ask? Cause the Morning Sun Federation won't allow it. As the hailed pillar of the current human society, they have eyes everywhere. Similarly, since they agreed with the pact, they have to keep their end of the bargain."
"Because of that, they have eyes everywhere. And similarly, they have candidates to choose from."
"When a decision was made, everything else becomes easy after that. They wouldn't hesitate to use their accumulated resources to make sure that they have the candidate's undying loyalty."
"To that extent, they wouldn't hesitate to get rid of people who might pose a problem to their plans. Variables that needed to be settled with are dealt with extreme prejudice. All that to ensure that their candidate will follow whatever it is that they plan for them."
"Once they have the candidate's absolute loyalty, they will make them sign an agreement which basically forces them to sign their lives away. If they agreed, then they will use resources to make sure that said candidate will grow just like how the Celestials and Hypogeans would like them."
"Once the promised date arrives, that's when the truth is revealed. The federation will do their best to make their sacrifice a martyr in the eyes of people as they go ahead and do it all again."
"As for the sheep? Well...do you need to know what happens to them? Are you that curious? You can't be that dense right?"
Ashton remained silent. He didn't need to ask cause it was already obvious what the answer is. All he can do is lament inwardly at their fate.
"This all sounds bad if I put it this way, but it doesn't mean that the Morning Sun Federation likes doing this either." They stated, " 'Enduring Victory' remember? Those politicians are two-faced people, old and sly foxes but most of them genuinely meant well."
"By catering to the demands of the enemies to honor the pact and by playing the role of being the antagonist to their race, these bastards were able to hide their true intentions to fool those stupid invaders."
"They might've sacrificed the Heroes they raised by it doesn't mean that they're forgotten them or lost everything that they contributed to humanity as a whole."
"In truth, with the excellent acting which could even fool themselves, they managed to save everything that the heroes contributed for Humanity right the nose of those pesky invaders."
"See, there were times when the inventions and discoveries of certain heroes were a little too impressive that it poses an actual threat against the invaders."
"When the Invaders discover this, of course, they will demand said discoveries to be terminated, or else they will launch an attack. It's not like old foxes can hide this either because those pesky invaders can come and go as they please in our territory."
"Because of this, the old foxes had to do something. Cause, again, by the end of the day, their purpose is clear and they know what ending they want. So, as they try to purge all achievements of the Heroes and make sure that the status quo remained unchanged on the surface, they built something where they can keep copies of those to make sure that when the time comes, they'd become useful."
"That...is how the Grand Archives was born." The silhouette stated as they gestured at the rows of bookshelves behind them.
"All of the books you see here contain the life's work of all the Heroes that have served humanity despite their miserable ending."
"This place contains the hopes and dreams of humanity, patiently waiting for that someone to see them and use them as they see fit. Those Heroes might be dead, but their story lives on in this place."
The silhouette then suddenly floated down and stood face to face with Ashton.
A faint light illuminated their face and all of sudden, their face was revealed. And this face...caused Ashton's eyes to widen in shock.
"You may be surprised but I'm not." The man shook his head and chuckled to himself. "You know me, I know you. I also know 'when' you are."
"What happened to you was sad, I'd admit. It is something that we never expected. I was the one who told Leon to pass the key to you since I know you'll eventually come here."
"Truth to be told, I'd rather not leave this kind of responsibility to someone so young like you but at this point, we no longer have many options."
"From now on, the Grand Archives will be managed by you. What you do with it, is completely up to you. I have faith in you."
The man smiled and started fading, before he completely disappeared, he said:
"Good luck, Ashton West."
Said by one Alexander Highdragon - the First Hero.
