Chapter 637 Filling the Holes Pt 6
"Speak for yourself! You and I are not the same!" Hyron snapped back, his anger radiating around him like a tangible force. "Look what they have done to preserve their new way of life? All because I marked that girl! Xieus! Know that girl is what I want, but rather than looking through my lies, they embrace them as their own! Start wars in my name! Have I given them weapons? No! I gave them tools to make their lives easier! But we all come from creatures, and survival always prevails in the undercurrents!"
"You understand that you are the one affecting the people! You are giving them things that they can't understand!" I argued, but Hyron only wiggled his hand.
"That is how you see it, but I know that people can live in harmony, no matter what is given. My home world was like that. A god-like being came and blessed us with technology, and we thrived."
"Then why are you here?" I asked, but then new small drones controlled by gravity broke off Hyron, projecting a cube around us.
Instantly, I was standing in space, or that was what it looked like. The image was perfect, but it took a minute for me to figure out where I was, or at least what part of the universe I was. Once I found a familiar grouping of stars, my mind whirled to calculate the distance from the place my home world had been and here.
"Gahazn of Shrod, my old home," Hyron said, and his voice echoed through the space around us. "A place filled with open minds and hearts, capable of amazing understanding and empathy."
The projection of the sky morphed, zooming in on a vibrant blue and green planet lush with life and technology. Structures that dwarfed skyscrapers towered under the sky, piercing its azure. Machines that defied gravity zipped through the air amongst winged creatures. I could even see beings of all shapes and sizes, as the few zoomed into different parts of the planet before zooming back out.
"The being known as Honesty gave us many things, but we had always lived in peace, and continued to do so," Hyron explained, but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something coming from the depths of space. "He left, and then fifty years later, the Shi'vek showed up at the edge of our galaxy."
The image shifted once more, this time showing a vast and complex ship unlike any I had seen before. It was an intimidating sight, a floating fortress appearing from the depths of the cosmos. The air grew tense, even in the recreated projection, sending a chill down my spine.
"The Shi'vek were conquerors who roamed the galaxies, claiming world after world. Our technology was advanced, but it was nothing against their might," Hyron continued.
Then, the hologram played out a gruesome historical event. The Shi'vek ship fired some sort of energy beam toward the planet, and within moments, the vibrant Gahazn was reduced to a barren wasteland. The life that once teemed appeared to be wiped out in an instant. The beings who once walked on the ground, the winged creatures in the sky, the grand civilization - everything was turned to dust.
"A single attack and our world was decimated. Yet, I survived…along with a few others." The once lively energy surrounding Hyron dulled. He looked older, even for an eternal being.
His next words were delivered with a tremor in his voice, "A once peaceful world brought to ruin in an instant." His gaze never left the holographic display, reliving the harrowing memory as it played out before us. Despite our differences, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of empathy. It was a shared understanding, a bond formed under the weight of the tragedies we've witnessed and the homes lost.
Suddenly, the projection changed again, shifting through different galaxies at a dizzying pace before finally stopping at another planet. The similarity between Gahazn and this new planet was uncanny: both were filled with harmony and unity, with beings living in alliance with one another under the stewardship of a god-like figure.
"This," Hyron said, gesturing toward the projection, "is Kathorn. A younger planet filled with potential. Perhaps, even a chance for redemption."
As the hologram began morphing again to show the various points in Kathorn's history, Hyron continued, "I saw this as a chance to right the wrongs, to prevent history from repeating itself. To prevent another civilization from suffering the same fate as Gahazn. I shared my knowledge with them, gave them tools to evolve, but instead of using them to grow, these beings used them to wage wars among themselves."
I wanted to argue that this was not his world and that what he was doing was not right. But as I looked into the hologram, my voice failed me. The screen changed and we were on a different planet where I watched events repeat. Then another, and another.
How could every world fall to its own hand? Even as I asked myself that answer, a shadow of Matthias's voice whispered in my mind, "You know. It only takes one rotten one to spoil the bunch!"
The realization was like a sharp sting, the truth hitting me with a force that left me breathless. Matthias' words echoed in my mind and though I despised admitting it, he was right.
"All it took was suspicion, seeds of distrust that grew into full-blown wars. They succumbed to their inherent fear and aggression. I believed they would rise above it, evolve beyond their weaknesses. But they are using the gifts to destroy each other," Hyron's voice dripped bitterness, his glassy eyes glued to the hologram.
"They consume. They always consume. Without control. Without care! The many are always led by the few that claw for control... Why should they exist? How long will it take before another Shi'vek is created? Is that what I should wait for?"
It filled me with disgust, but I did understand what he meant. Regardless, no matter how many failed worlds could be shown, they were caused by interference. The worlds like this should be guided, not cruelly tested like this.
"Do you still think that I am a monster?" Hyron asked, and I looked over at the construct. I knew this wasn't really Hyron.
"Definitely. No doubt about it. While I can understand your point, you have made it very clear to me why I was drawn here," I said, and then pointed my finger at him. "You are lazy, but more importantly, warped by your world's trauma. That is no excuse for being lazy."
I had made my choice. This person was not like Matthias, but they might not be that bad of a person. There was a chance that I could turn this all around to make up for what happened last time!
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om