SHATTERED HEARTS

Lino watched as the sun slowly perched above the horizon, its golden rays showering the world in tender warmth. The colors of the early Spring joined, forming a rather picturesque scenery of newly-born colors and flourish. Finis.h.i.+ng up the quick breakfast, he got up and vanished, appearing at the far, lonely outskirts of the fortress where a single building, isolated from the rest of the world, stood.

Smoke was already billowing out its wide chimney, sounds of the rapid hammering composing a sheet of music in the moment. Lino walked in casually, immediately moving to the backroom; to his surprise, besides Eggor, there were three other people there – all young, seeming in their early teens, watching the old man hammer, intensity, awe and fervor clearly present in their gazes.

All three were boys of similar height, still-developing, slender builds, wearing tattered-looking hemp clothes, bandana tied around their foreheads, no doubt to mimic Eggor. n.o.body noticed him as he walked in, stopping by the wall and leaning against it, casually observing the crafting process.

Lino himself had put the smithing to the back of the priorities recently as he was too preoccupied with everything else, yet that fire that had never died out slowly began to stoke as he watched the old man immerse himself in the process. Lino quickly gauged that Eggor had gotten even better than him, and was on the cusp of becoming the sole figure qualified enough to craft items for the Agents. At the very least, the only qualified one from the Noterra natives.

Luckily, among the millions Lino had brought home and was yet to release due to their city still being built, there was no shortage of experts in the auxiliary fields, smithing among them. It still felt good, however, to know there was a potential for people from Noterra to reach those heights.

From the looks of it, Eggor was crafting a round s.h.i.+eld, steel-framed with a wooden body, not too large and not too small. The temperature in the room was rather high, but none of those present seemed to mind it; after all, if there is one requirement to becoming a smith, it is to practically become fire-resistant, especially at the higher levels.

The same scene continued for nearly an hour more before Eggor finally put his hammer down, showcasing the s.h.i.+eld to the kids who immediately raced over and started inspecting it. It was also then that he'd noticed Lino creeping in the corner, that same, perennially smug smile hanging on his face.

"—oh my, kids, we've got a very important guest," Eggor crackled faintly. "The one and only – the Emperor who never did an Emperor-like thing."

"… eh?" the three kids exclaimed in unison, turning around and facing the wall Eggor was pointing at. Immediately after, the three stiffened in horror, their jaws crackling as though suddenly thrust into the coldest tundra.

"Tsk, when will I shed the image of me that makes kids freeze?" Lino grumbled.

"Never." Eggor replied simply, walking over to the table near Lino, sitting down and taking out a couple of bottles full of cyan, cool-seeming liquid. "What brings you here?"

"Boredom." Lino replied, sitting down, ignoring the kids that were yet to move from their spots.

"Figures," Eggor shrugged. "Don't you have an entire Empire to run?"

"People far smarter than me are on it."

"… that's one of the few things I genuinely respect about you." Eggor chuckled.

"Eh, you taught me well." Lino joined in, taking a sip of the drink. "Good s.h.i.+t. So, who are the kids?"

"My newest disciples." Eggor replied after taking a sip as well, shuddering from the cold in the process. "Barely talented bunch, but they're pa.s.sionate enough. I can make somethin' of them yet."

"Aww, are you trying to fill the gaping void I left when I actually became better than you?"

"Just hopin' I'll run across another freak like you," Eggor shrugged. "Though I may not know everything, from what little I do, it sounds like we'll need a lot of 'em in the coming future."

"… we really will," Lino nodded, sighing. "Though, I'm afraid I'll have to break your self-imposed heroism."

"Hm?" Eggor quizzed, arching his thick brows.

"While I was rampaging across the universe, I came across a few… uh… a few million people, kind of. Some of them are leagues better than either you or I."

"… isn't that good? Why have you been hiding them? f.u.c.k, I could have improved considerably by now!"

"… I don't know where to put 'em."

"… you do realize you have an entire f.u.c.kin' world?" Eggor growled angrily, taking a mouthful of the chilly drink and regretting it immediately.

"Yeah, but they can't live on the hills and s.h.i.+t," Lino shrugged, chuckling in a mocking tone. "The city I planned for them is gonna be finished soon."

"Eh? That thingy to the west is for them?"

"Yup."

"… f.u.c.k. I honestly thought I was gonna be stuck for centuries trying to make even an iota of improvement. That might be the best news I've heard recently."

"Yeah, you and me both," Lino nodded. "My calendar blew wide open recently, so it looks like I'll be spending all my days right here with you."

"I'd rather you don't. What kind of a son lives with his parents when he's in his sixties?"

"The kind that misses his father dearly."

"Oh, f.u.c.k off."

"It's gonna be just like the good, old days," Lino chuckled. "You relentlessly screaming at me, and me relentlessly cursing back at ya'."

"…"

"Doesn't sound half-bad, does it?"

"… I suppose not," Eggor shrugged. "Invite some of those smithing mavericks to join us. I wanna see what kind of crazy s.h.i.+t it's possible to craft beyond our current realms."

"Will do," Lino nodded. "Some of them are fine-looking young ladies," he added, stroking his chin as a peculiar gleam flashed through his eyes. "We can add a bit of eye-candy to this drab-looking place, no?"

"… Hannah will eventually come back," Eggor grinned. "Do you want her to come back to me telling her all about your antics?"

"She's an understanding woman, that Hannah; so long as I do nothing awry, or sin, and just feast, she will be forgiving."

"… bah, do what you will," Eggor relented, sighing. "I suppose, deep down, you've never really changed. You just got reigned in."

"… I suppose so," Lino nodded faintly, taking a sip. "Besides—" the doors to the smithy suddenly burst open, startling the kids awake and Eggor onto his feet as he grabbed the nearby sword and pointed it at the doors.

Lino, on the other hand, remained seated, turning around calmly and facing the fuming newcomer. Her hair stood disheveled, sweat dripping down her face, a gaze of bedevilment quickly locating Lino, the sound of the gritting teeth filling the gaps. Reli stood in place, simply staring at Lino, while the latter stared right back at her, calmly, with a serious expression.

"… you should take the kids and leave," he said to Eggor who merely nodded, understanding it was something beyond his scope. He quickly ushered by now terrified kids and disappeared, leaving the two alone, staring at each other in silence. "Sit." Lino said, breaking the silence, pointing at the chair where Eggor was sitting just a few moments ago. Reli remained standing for a few moments before relenting, walking over and sitting down, never taking her eyes off of him.

"… you're pure evil, Lino." She said.

"Why?"

"Why? You have the conscience to ask me that?"

"… why?" Lino repeated.

"You—you couldn't leave us alone!!" she screamed out, her fingers curling into fists as she smacked them against the table, breaking it. "He was just out of it – out of that h.e.l.l – and you pulled him right back!!"

"…" Lino remained silent for a moment, taking a sip of the drink; by now, Reli's usually clear and cheery eyes had dulled and turned teary, her expression that of maddened grief. "He left himself, Reli."

"… huh?"

"He came to me," he added. "And begged me to let him go."

"… no."

"Yes."

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"… he wouldn't." Lino sighed, shaking his head.

"The man you fell in love with," he continued. "Has died a long, long time ago, Reli. Alongside any faint sentiment he might have held toward you."

"…"

"I know it hurts to hear it," he said. "But I'd rather you break now than hold onto the faint hope for the rest of your life. He will never respond to your heart."

"I—"

"Listen to me," Lino's voice firmed, forcing Reli to look back up from the floor and meet his clear eyes. "You've waited and clung on for long enough. Let him go and find your own happiness."

"… I want to become an Agent."

"… you're not listening to me."

"Make me an Agent, Lyonel!" Reli cried out angrily.

"… then what?"

"Huh?"

"What if I make you an Agent?" Lino asked, growing somewhat angry himself. "What will you do?! Spend the rest of your life chasing his a.s.s across the universes, hoping that one day he might finally pity you enough to indulge you?! To h.e.l.l I will!"

"… what do you know?" Reli asked in a mumbling tone.

"…"

"I know I can make him mine."

"… listen to yourself, Reli," Lino sighed, calming down. "You don't make people yours. Is that the kind of life you want? Where, day and night, you'll spend worrying when will he leave? We throw our hearts at those we love, and we hope they throw theirs back at us. That's how the lifetime stories are born; they aren't composed of manipulating, blackmailing, and tricking people into loving you. I know you're better than that."

"… I'm really not, Lino."

"… you are," Lino chuckled, smiling gently. "If you hadn't been, G.o.d knows what would have Hannah turned into. Instead, you've built a mountain from the few pebbles you were given. You've helped her grow into someone so strong, it makes me envious. Don't throw everything that you are for him."

"… did he tell you why?" Reli asked, meeting his eyes again. "Did he really just run away from me?"

"… no," Lino shook his head. "He ran away from everyone. From everything."

"… coward."

"… perhaps," Lino said. "But, in my eyes, what he did is brave, Reli. He faced himself in the mirror, and chose the one path that meant anything to him."

"…"

"You've woken from your slumber, what, a year and a change ago?" he continued. "To you, everything is still fresh. However, to him, it is all a distant past he's most-likely forgotten. His heart's fuel, the sense of revenge he could have gotten had the Edifice chosen him, is empty now. He finally accepted that the love of his life is dead; that his daughter is dead; that slim veneer is gone. He could have thrown himself into your arms and made you equally miserable. Instead, he chose to walk away. Break your heart now, to save it tomorrow."

"…" Reli remained silent, sitting slumped in the chair, in front of the shattered pieces of the table. Her eyes appeared vacant, tears already drying on her full, flush cheeks.

Lino stayed, sitting across from her in silence. Once again, he'd realized how lucky he'd been, despite all, to have met Hannah at the right moment, under the right circ.u.mstances. How many love stories that could have been majestic never blossom simply because of the bad timing? Most, he wagered. Vast majority.