Chương 81: Flawed Heroes

Charlie slowly opened his eyes. A white ceiling greeted him. For several seconds, he stared upward in confusion before the scent of medicine and the dull ache throughout his body helped him understand where he was. A hospital room. The moment he shifted, June and Mars shot up from the chairs beside his bed.

"Dad!" They threw their arms around him. Pain flared throughout Charlie's body, but he ignored it and hugged them back.

"You did amazing!" June said, smiling brightly. Charlie laughed weakly.

"I know." Mars did not share her excitement. His eyes remained fixed on something beneath the blankets.

"But…" His voice became quiet.

"Your arm." Charlie followed his gaze. His right arm had turned completely black. The flesh looked burned beyond recognition, almost like charcoal. Crimson markings glowed faintly against it, beginning with the symbol of the rising sun in his palm. Flame-shaped tattoos spiraled upward from there, wrapping around his wrist and continuing toward his shoulder. Charlie slowly flexed his fingers. They still moved.

"It's fine." Both children stared at him.

"I can still use it." A few black flakes fell from his skin.

"It's just a little…" He searched for the right word.

"Crispy." Mars frowned.

"Please don't push yourself that far in the next round." June carefully unfolded her wings. She pressed the soft feathers against Charlie's arm, releasing a gentle warmth into the burned flesh. Her feathers possessed healing properties, but the damage was far too severe for her to repair completely. Even so, the pain began to ease. Charlie smiled.

"Thanks, you two." June continued concentrating as Mars adjusted the blankets around him.

"Don't worry," Charlie said.

"I'm sure my next fight will be much easier." A white fog began drifting into the room. Charlie's smile vanished. The mist curled around June and Mars before either child could react. Their bodies immediately went limp. Charlie lunged forward despite his injuries and caught June before she could fall from the bed. Mars collapsed safely into the chair beside him, his breathing calm and steady.

"They're only sleeping." A woman stepped through the fog. Playtime entered the room wearing her porcelain mask and crimson dress, ribbons swaying from her long green braid. The Wing of Lust. Beside her stood a small boy wrapped in a black cloak. He appeared no older than June or Mars and held Playtime's hand as though he were frightened of getting lost. Midnight. The Wing of Sloth.

"Careful, Midnight," Playtime said sweetly.

"Don't accidentally put our friend to sleep too." The boy frowned.

"My ability is difficult to control this precisely." He glanced toward the unconscious children.

"I'm not a prodigy like Labyrinth."

"It's fine." Playtime released his hand and approached Charlie's bed. Charlie held June protectively against his chest.

"What do you want?" Playtime ignored the hostility in his voice.

"Charlie." She clasped her hands together.

"Congratulations on your victory." Her empty eyes settled upon his burned arm.

"I was terribly worried when I learned you would be facing Leonardo." She leaned closer.

"But you performed beautifully." Charlie carefully wrapped a blanket around June and Mars.

"All that matters is whether you fulfill your end of the deal." Playtime tilted her head.

"Such a devoted father." Her voice softened.

"Your wife would be proud." This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The air around her shimmered. Her crimson dress stretched and faded into a white wedding gown. Her long green braid unraveled, transforming into flowing red hair. Then Playtime removed her porcelain mask. Charlie stopped breathing. Flare stood before him. Every detail was perfect. Her face. Her eyes. Even the gentle smile she had worn on their wedding day.

"Though I imagine the victory must be eating away at you." Flare's voice came from Playtime's lips.

"At the end of the day, you didn't defeat Leonardo with your own strength." Charlie's burned hand tightened around the blanket.

"You only won because of the fragment we gave you." She stepped closer.

"Borrowed power." Her smile widened.

"Yet your brother still looked so proud." Charlie stared at her in silence.

"Not proud of the real you, of course." Playtime placed one hand against his chest.

"He was proud of the false strength you showed him."

"Don't be so mean to him." Midnight sat nearby, calmly unwrapping a piece of candy. Playtime looked over her shoulder.

"Aww." She released Charlie.

"I'm only having a little fun." Midnight placed the candy into his mouth and continued staring at her.

"But fine." Playtime laughed.

"I suppose I should listen to our leader's precious child." Her appearance shifted again. The wedding dress dissolved back into crimson fabric. Her hair returned to green, and Flare's face disappeared beneath the familiar porcelain mask. Charlie remained frozen.

"It was only my Regalia, darling." Playtime lifted one hand, revealing a ring decorated with a heart-shaped gemstone.

"Your real wife could never hope to match my glowing personality." Charlie's flames flickered beneath his blackened skin. Midnight spoke before he could respond.

"My dad…" The boy briefly hesitated.

"I mean, The Doctor has agreed to heal your arm if you successfully obtain Everfall." Charlie looked toward him. The crimson markings across his burned limb continued to pulse.

"Consider it additional motivation," Midnight said calmly. Playtime chuckled behind her mask.

"And there is one final reward." Midnight's sleepy eyes settled on Charlie.

"If you kill the Hero…" Charlie's expression hardened.

"We will allow you to keep the World Core fragment." The crystal beneath his palm burned in response.

"The limitless power contained within it will belong to you." Midnight unwrapped another piece of candy.

"Forever." Playtime clasped her hands together.

"Your wife." Her mask tilted toward June and Mars.

"Enough power to protect your children." Then toward his ruined arm.

"And a body strong enough to ensure you never fail them again." Charlie looked down at the two sleeping children beneath the blanket. Playtime's laughter softly filled the room.

"All you need to do…" Her empty eyes settled on him.

"Is tear out Noah Fafnir's heart." Charlie's expression hardened.

"No." Playtime tilted her head.

"I refuse." He pulled the blanket more securely around June and Mars.

"I'll be satisfied with my wife and the promise of healing my arm." The crimson sun burned beneath his blackened skin.

"But if any of you try to kill Noah…" Flames flickered around Charlie's fingers.

"I promise I'll protect him." Playtime stared at him. Then her laughter disappeared.

"What is so admirable about protecting that brat?" Resentment poisoned every word.

"He'll eventually grow into a monster, just like every other Hero." Charlie remained silent.

"Even the kindest among them became cruel." Playtime stepped closer.

"Noah Crest was supposedly a good man, yet he still tore out his own sister's heart." Her hands curled into fists.

"All because she became an Apocalypse while trying to protect herself."

"That isn't the entire story."

"It never is." Playtime's voice sharpened.

"At the end of the day, every Hero is evil." The room grew colder.

"That is how this world works." She touched the heart-shaped gemstone on her ring.

"The Apocalypses fall into sorrow. They gain power because they are desperate to survive—to protect themselves from the people who hurt them." The porcelain mask began to tremble.

"Then that pain drives them mad." Her voice rose.

"And instead of helping those poor souls, the Heroes simply kill them." Midnight quietly continued eating his candy. Charlie looked directly into the empty eyes of her mask.

"What about The Doctor?" Playtime became still.

"He hasn't even become an Apocalypse yet." Charlie's burned hand clenched.

"Despite that, he has already murdered far too many people." For a moment, Playtime said nothing. Then she looked away.

"It was all necessary."

"For what?"

"The future." Her answer came without hesitation, but there was no conviction behind it. Charlie narrowed his eyes.

"That doesn't make him any different from the Heroes you hate." Playtime's body stiffened.

"I don't care anymore." Her voice cracked with anger.

"Not after what the Fifth Hero did." Before Charlie could question her, Playtime seized Midnight by the arm. White fog gathered around them. Midnight barely reacted, allowing himself to be dragged away while finishing his candy. Playtime glanced back at Charlie one final time.

"No matter how sweet that child appears now…" Her empty gaze moved toward the door, as though she could see Noah somewhere beyond it.

"He will grow into a monster." The fog swallowed them.

"As long as he remains beside that damned goddess." Then they vanished. The room fell silent. June and Mars continued sleeping peacefully beneath the blanket, unaware of the threat that had just stood beside them. Charlie looked down at the crimson sun marked into his ruined hand. The Crows believed every Hero was destined to become a monster. Perhaps they were right. Perhaps Noah would one day become something the world feared. But Charlie remembered the boy who had helped him return home.

The child who had trusted him despite seeing him at his lowest. The Hero Adam had begged him not to betray. Charlie closed his hand. No matter what Noah might become in the future— Charlie would not condemn him for sins he had yet to commit.