"I would rather be free than happy"
Those were the words I heard them argue. An interesting discussion. Which is more important? Freedom or happiness?
My eyes darted around the room, inspecting the reactions of my other classmates. A mixed bag it seemed. Some agreed, some disagreed, some agreed only slightly while others understood his points but had their counterpoints to put forward.
We let him speak first and then finish before putting forth our own thoughts. Such a thing would make my high school class shook even though it's considered basic decency here which it should be.
No one else triggered that sort of mixed reaction as they presented their interpretation of the question. The person who spoke first was named Maxim Bezeir. He was the unspoken leader of our group. Outspoken, honest and humble. He knew how to find a middle ground when our group was split between a fiery debate.
His weakness? He can't stand to blame anyone but himself. If things go wrong, even when it objectively isn't his fault, he automatically assumes that he should've done better. That if he prepared for everything and did everything, nothing bad would have happened. A sacrificial mindset to say the least.
Our class has around ten people, including me. Not many but a smaller group usually means you're closer to everybody.
I've noticed something interesting about this school. I don't know whether it has something to do with the school itself or this being a new world entirely.
It very much represents the "old money gothic dark academia" aesthetic.
Some of the outfits here I swear I saw on a Pinterest board in my past lives. I guess it's to be expected. In my second life, I was transported years before Sunny was going to be born and now I'm in a whole new world entirely. What's next after this?
Everything looks like a high budget movie set or something straight out of a book. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if a club called "The Dead Poet's Society" sprung up. I don't mind it, in fact I like it, it's just jarring.
I went from watching dark academia TikToks and scrolling outfit recommendations to just living it. So what's life like you may ask? Just a lot of work. That's it. Pretty clothes, pretty people and pretty schools don't cover up the academic aspect.
At the same time, isn't that what got many attracted to this aesthetic?
I find myself immersed in daydreaming when a certain notification interrupts me.
[Daydream Manipulation]
[2]
[Users can enter and manipulate the daydreams of oneself and others, including modifying, suppressing, fabricating, influencing, manifesting, sensing, destroying, and observing daydreams. They can detach target from their immediate surroundings, blurring and partially substituting reality by a visionary fantasy, especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts, hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass, and experienced while awake.
In some cases, the user's power extends to the real world, causing the daydreams effect to manifest in reality and even pulling someone from the waking world into the daydream]
These triggers are really erratic. At least I managed to confirm my theory. Now I just have 15 left…. Sigh.
That was my two classes done. I think Enid still has another I wait and lay under the Sakura tree I asked her to meet me at. It's a nice day. A cool breeze too and it's not that hot or too cold. On days like this, I could easily fall asleep under the shade of those pink petals. That's before I lost my ability to feel tired.
A single pink petal unchains itself from the tree and falls slowly to my face, landing on my cheek. I wonder how many petals you'd have to be covered in to actually feel any pressure from them.
[Pressure Immunity]
[3]
[Users are immune to pressure, meaning they are immune to damage from being crushed, smashed, or flattened. They can also survive in high pressure environments or low pressure environment such as high air, deep water, the vacuum of space or high gravity]
Son of a-
I hear the sound of footsteps come near and my awareness metre jumps to one. I close my eyes and relax. I wait for Enid to reach the Sakura tree. While it's a bit far, the trek shouldn't take that long. I heard about the tree when I read about it in one of Kastor's journals. There's this myth about it that any two people who confess to each other under it will be destined by fate to be together, forever. Frankly, it sounded ominous but I felt it was the perfect place to really start my experiment.
Enid sat down next to me and for a few moments were just…. There. Just enjoying the world around us. We are so focused on what we could've done better in the past and what will happen in the future that it is very rare at times when we choose to live as we do, in the present.
Enid: What did you want to tell me?
Kastor:…..
I wait and choose my words carefully. This is a critical moment after all.
Kastor: What do you think of this city?
Enid: Of Versol?
Kastor: Yes.
Enid: I don't have much to say about it. It ranks as one of the most developed in the Surlunn Empire. At the same time, it's the least connected and most isolated, being right across the western peninsula of the empire near the coast.
Kastor: What do you think of the city itself?
She stops to ponder my question before answering.
Enid: Living here isn't particularly difficult…. For me at the very least. It solely depends on who you are. My family is quite wealthy so I can enjoy luxuries such as going to this school and having personal bodyguards protect me on my way here.
Kastor: Don't you think this city has a problem with crime?
Enid: Of course! With the amount of villains each week there seems to be more heroes which in turn forces the villains to become stronger, smarter and better than their predecessor who ended up being imprisoned. As villains get stronger, more heroes get involved and it becomes a vicious cycle.
Kastor: Why do you think so?
Enid: There's probably some underlying reason for it and I'm sure many factors play into the high crime rate. My best inference would probably have to do with corruption.
I didn't respond, and Enid took it as her cue to explain her reasoning.
Enid: Versol while being technologically advanced and affluent in terms of talent produced, it is highly dependent on corruption, corporations and unethical practices to maintain the status quo. This city was built on it.
Everyone knows how it goes.
From the burning of Sun Worshippers in the second millennium, Versol being built as a port and hub for slave trade, the raven blood spillage causing detrimental effects to our water system that still affects us today, when Duke Ayven went mad and nearly sterilised the Versol's whole population in his quest for racial superiority, Prince Zarak-mat's conquest levelling this city to the ground, the countless invasions from the Resharai Caliphate to the south, the Iron Horde to the north and the Leviath Dynasty to the east and south much more.
Bloodshed, hatred and selfish acts of violence and destruction for the pursuit of self beneficial greed is in the blood of humanity but in Versol, it's the heart. Heroism, especially at the higher levels, is both a very profitable career but also ticks all the boxes for being famous, wealthy, powerful and respected.
The top heroes are treated with the same respect as an entire nation would be.
Without crime, without villains, without evil, there is no need for heroes. Heroism makes up around 27% of Versol's income. That's the statistic I've heard from my father. That's only counting foreign agencies that send heroes to other cities and nations. The number would be much higher if we tried calculating Versol itself.
Money is always the reason. It's more profitable to let crime run rife through the streets day and night than it is to actually keep the peace, safety and security of its people. After all, if you're rich enough it's not much of a problem for you and those types of people are the only ones they care about.
Kastor: They?
Enid: Anyone with power basically. You need funds for everything. It isn't the hand of the monarchy or the blessing of god that makes the world go round, it's money. You remember the leader of the Violet Party? The one running for district governor seven months ago?
Kastor: I do, but I want to hear what you have to say.
Enid: He was pretty popular. Good speaker and a family man. Until people found out he had been paying local crime syndicates to get rid of his political rivals and even target their families. What was even more ridiculous was that every candidate was doing this. Some were even directly part of those syndicates. Another candidate tried poisoning the former one to "speed up things" or whatever he thought that meant.
Kastor: I remember…. You ever wish it would change?
Enid: It will. Once we finish in two years, I'll go to law school and then work to change things. That's what I want to do.
Kastor: How noble.
Enid: Not noble, necessary.
Kastor: You think you can?
Enid: I have to. At least one person has to.
Kastor: I mean do you think you can fix it even with all that you've said? You'd need an immense amount of power, money and time to be able to change what is essentially a fundamental core of Versol.
Enid: Hah, you sound like my father.
Damn.
Kastor: It's not that I don't believe in you. I'm just curious if you have a plan.
Enid: I understand you. It's not a simple problem, probably not something I'll be able to achieve in my lifetime but maybe I can lay down the foundation for another Enid, to come to this realisation, maybe decades, centuries of millennia later and take it on to themselves to fix it. To fix this broken system.
Kastor: But how can you fix something that's working as intended? This system was never broken, this is how it was made to be.
Enid: So what do you propose I do?
Kastor: Work outside of it.
She has a confused but curious look at my suggestion.
Kastor: I don't mean give up on your dream, no, keep doing what you're doing. I know as long as you're still passionate about this goal you'll make progress with it. That's the Enid I see in my mind at least.
Enid:..Thanks, that means a lot coming from you.
Kastor: What I meant is that sure you know the technical aspects of it but don't you feel it's wrong to be waiting around doing nothing?
Enid: Stop reading my mind. I just got over that feeling ):
Kastor: I have a better way of removing that feeling. By actually doing something while you have the time to do so.
Enid: You don't mean-
I turn around, my white mask on my face and look at Enid.
Kastor: So Aurora, Juturna or Empanda? Make your choice.