'There could be a lot of reasons...'
'Limited knowledge, abilities, time, technology, and so on.'
'And if that were to be the case, then I couldn't blame them.'
'But that's not it.'
'At the end of the day, these limitations are just excuses too.'
'While they are limited strictly because of the uncertainty of their situation, they weren't threatened to the point of extinction.'
'They didn't experience any real invasions, the attacks that occurred happened outside of the Last Bastion. Meaning that if they chose to not send anyone outside the protective bubble, nobody would've died.'
'Now that I think about it, the hardships and challenges these Heroes faced mostly happened within Humanity's territory. Most of it was internalized conflict. But the result always ended up with them sacrificing their lives to strengthen the protective bubble.'
'Isn't that shady?'
Ashtin pursed his lips as he holstered his guns. He looked in front of him, witnessing the blazing mess of demons writhing in pure agony as his thoughts gradually closes to an ugly conclusion.
'They could've achieved so much more if there weren't people who deliberately tried to discredit them. They could've done so much more if they just tried hard enough.'
'Yet they didn't.'
'All of them succumbed to the pressure didn't they?'
'Someone or some people pressured them and indoctrinated them to become martyrs. Their deaths were glorified, paraded as a noble cause to poison the minds of the future generations, breeding more martyrs in the process.'
'This minimized their potentials and limited their achievements, which in turn, stagnated the growth of humans even more.'
'It had been thousands of years since the invasion began, many heroes rose and fell yet the progress of humanity only amounted to this much.'
'It wouldn't have been suspicious if humanity's being constantly pushed to the edge of extinction but they're not.'
'Most of them were happy to peacefully live within that protective bubble because so long as they stayed inside, they'll be safe. After all, this trend continued for a very long time so it had become somewhat given at some point.'
'Humans are a progressive race. Creatures that sought after perfection no matter how unattainable it might seem. Yet for a race like this only have this much progress even after thousands of years? That's a red flag if I have ever seen one.'
'Because see, Humans here can cultivate, unlike my previous world. Out lifespans are longer and there are materials here which don't exist in my previous world, this on top of magic as well, yet the fact that progress here is slower compared to my previous world just doesn't make any sense.'
'At this point, I can already tell that there's some real shady shit going on behind the scenes.'
Ashton's gaze hardened.
'It's the Federation isn't it?'
'It has to be. After all, they are the ones that have the trust of the public and have access to resources. It'll be very easy for them to apply schemes that could seriously affect the future trend for Humanity itself.'
'Oh, I don't like this...'
Ashton clicked his tongue and re-applied his buffs. He pulled the hood of the cloak on and began making his way deeper into the tunnels.
His thoughts were chaotic at the point, but he still has enough attention to spare for his surroundings. He wanted to have some semblance of control over his current emotions yet he's unable to due to the revelations that are occurring to him at this very moment.
It's hard to act like nothing's wrong. As much as he wanted to stay positive and trust the authorities, he really couldn't right now.
Yes, he also thinks that he's being a little bit unfair. After all, it's not like they can explain themselves to him right now, given where he currently is.
'But this ties back to my discoveries too...'
'If my theory ends up being right, then Humanity's in danger.'
'If, say, those who move behind this scenes, also knew I know. Then their plan is simple.'
'Controlled casualties...'
'Since these races see us as cattle to be raised, then they're surely playing the part of pastors. Raising soldiers to send out to feed them to invaders.'
'This method allows them to prolong the life expectancy of humanity as a whole. They're probably hoping that the invaders will eventually get sick of each other enough that they would start fighting each other, hoping for it to evolve into a full-scale war.'
'They're playing the long-con.' Ashton concluded, 'Trying to outsmart the invaders and outlast them whilst hiding.'
'It is a smart and commendable plan but ultimately stupid. Why? Because they're gambling at the cost of complete extinction here.'
'The winning condition would be if, and only if, whoever the winner of the war between angels and demons retreat once they're done.'
'The world's probably fucked beyond recognition at that point but in the end, Humanity lives on. That's the only win condition I can see here, and it's not even a lucrative victory either.'
'There are so many ways this could fail. This is a very dangerous gamble with a very tiny chance of winning. Betting at an actual lottery would be infinitely better compared to this.'
'What if the winners didn't retreat? What if the war will never happen unless Humanity's eradicated? What if an accident happens? What if the Angels and Demons decided to void the agreement if there's even an agreement, to begin with?'
'Actually, the last part already occurred didn't it? And it cost us City M. Millions of lives, lost just like that.'
'That protective bubble didn't protect shit.' Ashton spat. 'The 'Revenants' as they called it, swaggered inside of it like they own the place and just took a solid chunk of humanity's population just like that.'
'Isn't that what happened?'
Ashton's thoughts turned more chaotic.
'God, I never wanted to be right so bad in my entire life, yet I had this sneaking suspicion that I am.'
'I hate it. Oh, I hate this.'
Ashton bit his lips and took a deep and calming breath.
'Humanity's fucked.'
Ashton didn't really like where his thoughts took him so far but he can't help it.
As it turns out, he only needed one revelation for the puzzle to start piecing itself together.
He hated the idea so bad yet he can't deny that there are proofs around him. He was so naive at one point that he felt sick upon learning about everything now.
Again, so far, these are all just speculations for now. Although Ashton was already treating it as the cold hard truth of the world, deep down he's still hoping that this wouldn't be the case.
He wanted to have faith in his race. He wanted to believe in their hearts, yet it's also because he is human himself that he can't deny that the possibility of him being right is absurdly high.
Humans can be really cruel to themselves. He would know, he had seen it a lot in his previous world.
Then again, this begs the question: What would he do if it turns out that he's right?
Would he dismiss it entirely and do whatever he wants to ensure his survival? Or would he help them?
This stumped him, surprisingly.
The question felt so heavy for him that it caused him to stop in his tracks. In the end, he couldn't continue exploring the tunnels right now because he just wasn't in the right mindset currently.
He'd just end up hurting himself if he continues. He should call it a day for now and just relax.
...and that's what he did.
He went into the Grand Library and saw Aria waiting for him. He smiled at her weakly, trying to placate her worry but he knows it wasn't working.
Ashton needed to be alone right now. And Aria knows this.
So, she just nodded at him and let him have his space for now.
Ashton went into their shared room, he lay down on the bed stared at the ceiling. Letting his thoughts direct themselves.
What will he do if it turns out that his assumption was correct?
Would he ignore it or stretch an arm out to help?
Both had pros and cons, neither is right nor wrong. And this is what makes it more difficult to answer.
It's dizzying to think so far ahead right now. He only has two choices yet it feels a lot for him to be completely honest.
'Is this what they call the Curse of Knowledge? I don't like it. It's not fun to deal with.' Ashton mused in the middle of his train of thought.
He's more or less right. Knowing a lot of things isn't always a good thing. Sometimes, being knowledgeable is a curse. This is why they often say that Ignorance is a Bliss.
It's a little too late to be ignorant now so he just had to deal with this it seems.
Right now though...Ashton really can't answer this. It's too much for the little him to handle.
He's fifteen for crying out loud. Right now, he's should be worrying about teenager things, not decisions that will decide the outcome of a whole damn race.
Yet, he's also cursed by not being a normal teenager.
Though for now, all he could do is do what he can. Find a way home and see what things are like there. Once he confirmed it, it wouldn't be too late for him to decide anyways.
'Alright, enough of that I guess. Time to make it up to Aria.'
