Chapter 4 - Fate

Darkness fills the void, as it grew larger and larger to the point the far end could no longer be seen. No, no matter how sharp your vision is, nobody can see the unknown. Everything, from every direction, has become the unknown. However, in the middle of all darkness, a person stood brightly, and as brightly as he became, the void and the world soon regained its colour.

"Hm?" Quagmire, after a long slumber, slowly opened his eyes. Unfortunately as he opened his eyes, what he saw was darkness. It was as if he was staring at an abyss as the abyss stared back at him. Panic started to envelop his heart as he desperately tried to find an answer to his situation.

"!!!" Quagmire opened his mouth and heave a breath of air, to no avail. He couldn't find any air to breathe, and so he started to suffocate. With all his power, he attempted to force his hands to his neck to assist himself in breathing. However, he wasn't able to move. In fact, it seemed that he does not even have a body.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. Quagmire has long forgotten to breathe. Even the thought of moving his non existing body was no longer in his mind. Just floating aimlessly in a sea of darkness. Questioning his existence, he found no purpose.

'Maybe this was my punishment? Punishment for leading my men and thousands of civilians to their deaths? What can I do? If we evacuated, thousands of civilian would still die! Isn't it better to die protecting them?' Quagmire questioned and shouted in the sea of darkness, although he has no body, nor even a mouth.

'Or are you telling me that it is better to save what can be saved and abandon those that cannot be saved? If so, where are the honour and integrity there?!' Quagmire as he talked more and more, the more agitated he became.

'No…' Quagmire was suddenly hit with a realization that wiped off his welled up anger.

'I am just an incompetent commander. Yes! That must be it! I am just an incompetent commander. If someone more competent was in my place, they would have been able to predict everything and made better decisions that what I did. Yes, that must be it!' Although he realized an answer, sadness could be felt in his voice.

'hahahaha! I see, I see. So I understand now.' At this point in time, Quagmire was slowly losing his sanity.

'I see, I see. No matter what I did, I would have still lost. Thousands of people would still die. After all, that was just my fate. I can't really do anything, as I am born as just that.' Quagmire begun questioning again, but this time, to make himself bad.

'I guess my fate was to just float in a sea of darkness, unable to do anything but to stare at the people that I have killed and died by my hands within my memory. Such a cruel punishment, for something that fate has decided upo-' Quagmire reflected, but he was suddenly cut off.

"Are you sure that it was fate that has decided it upon you? Do you truly believe in such meaningless words, such as some higher being making a plan for you to go through in your entire life?" A womanly voice spoke.

"!!!" Quagmire was shocked at the words he heard. It was the first thing he would have heard since waking up in such a place.

"What else is there?! If it wasn't fate, then how such a thing could happen?! That just means before I was even born, everything was already predetermined based on the environment!" Quagmire was becoming agitated by the intrusion of such foreign thoughts. Yet, he failed to notice the fact that he could now talk.

"You might have been influenced by the environment you or another person grew up with, but who said you cannot influence the environment itself as well? The womanly voice spoke in a motherly tone.

"!!!" With a single thought, Quagmire's entire thought has been utterly shattered

"Is that truly even possible?" Quagmire, seemingly resisting the temptation of agreeing.

"Of course, after all, god has given each and every one of his creation a free will. Don't you think it is counteracting if he made plans for you to follow, and what if that plans for you was to make you end up in hell? Wouldn't that be just an insult to your creator? That's the equivalent of saying that he made you just to become his playthings?" The womanly voice answered in a stern tone.

"!!!" Quagmire was shocked and was taken aback by the realization he had just found.

"I-I understand." Quagmire exclaimed, seemingly faltering.

"Seeing your line of thoughts, I can understand what you want to ask. How can you influence your environment?" The womanly voice questioned.

"Y-Yes," the faltering Quagmire answered.

"Very well, then. I have a question for you? Have you thought about the effects people like inventors, politicians, to laborers have in society?" The womanly voice questioned in a neutral tone.

"Laborers are just laborers,. They get paid to work, that's just how society works, and inventors and politicians have a significant impact on society as a politician makes the decision for the entire nation, and inventors improve the livelihood of the people?" Quagmire answered with confidence.

Upon hearing his answer, Quagmire felt the woman smiled, so he expected a positive answer.

"That might be how it looks to someone who looks in the smallest of details. However, have you looked at the bigger picture?" The womanly voice answered.

Quagmire was quite baffled, on why his answer was the smallest picture, as he believes that's just how society always works.

"H-how could it be just part of the small picture? Could you please explain?" Quagmire asked, with intrigue in his voice.

Quagmire swore he could have felt the woman smiled even more, even though he was just floating in a sea of darkness.

"Politicians may be the one who's making the decisions for the nation, but where do they get their support, including their taxes? Inventors may have improved the livelihood of the people, but what are they first, before they became an inventor? May I ask you who are they?" The womanly voice answered.

"!!!" Quagmire was taken aback as a light appeared before him, and staring at it, he saw a woman, a woman of beauty, could no longer be defined, platinum blonde hair, blue eyes and white pale skin. It was as of unimaginable beauty.

"Who was it, John Glenn Quagmire?" The woman who's shine became brighter and brighter.

Quagmire, unable to take his eyes of the beauty he is witnessing, with it he also failed to notice that the light has pushed out the darkness within him and all of it from his surroundings as it all regains color. He could not help but reach out his hand towards the woman.

"I-It was the people…" Quagmire answered, seemingly embarassed by his previous answers

"That's right, it was the people, the laborers you spoke off, they are the ones who move society. Politicians and inventors alike are just a small part of the picture. After all, a society is a like a cog, everyone has a job to do, and if one breaks, the whole machine breaks. Make sure you remember this on the other side." The woman came closer to Quagmire and grabbed his hands.

"W-What?!" Quagmire shocked of the words he heard, and the sudden touch of the woman. It was warm. He felt he wanted to protect her, to take care of her.

"Please save our world. You who have been chosen." The woman brought her head closer to Quagmire and bumped her forehead towards his.

"W-Wh- "Quagmire exclaimed before he was cut off.