Chapter 763: The One Who Changed the Path

Zero returned to the abandoned building the following night.

He hadn’t intended to.

There was nothing left for him to discover there.

Earth Zero had taken most of the papers.

The remaining records were only fragments.

Incomplete sequences.

Names without explanations.

Events marked as altered.

Yet Zero found himself standing outside the same broken door.

The night was quiet.

Too quiet.

He stepped inside.

The room at the back was almost empty now.

The walls where hundreds of pages had once been pinned were bare.

Only small pieces of paper remained.

Zero walked toward the table.

One sheet had been left behind.

He didn’t know whether Earth Zero had forgotten it.

Or wanted him to find it.

Zero picked it up.

There were two columns.

On the left—

Expected path.

On the right—

Current path.

The first few entries were familiar.

Tower of Obelisk.

No significant difference.

Zero Elea exits the Tower.

No significant difference.

Zero frowned.

Then his eyes moved lower.

Elven Kingdom.

Expected path—

Zero Elea enters.

Current path—

Zero Elea enters.

Again, nothing.

Then—

Hiro continues independently.

The words beneath it had been marked.

Zero leaned closer.

Independent progression interrupted.

His eyes narrowed.

Below that—

Mia’s involvement increases.

Another line.

Hiro’s central progression decreases.

Zero slowly lowered the paper.

"What does that even mean?"

"Exactly what it says."

Zero immediately turned.

Earth Zero stood in the doorway.

This time, Zero didn’t ask why he was there.

"You left this."

Earth Zero looked at the paper.

"Yes."

"On purpose?"

"Yes."

Zero’s expression darkened.

"Then stop wasting my time and explain it."

Earth Zero walked into the room.

For once, he didn’t smile.

He didn’t avoid the question.

He walked toward the empty wall where the records had once been.

Then stopped.

"You’ve been asking the wrong question."

Zero folded his arms.

"Then what should I be asking?"

Earth Zero looked toward him.

"Not why Hiro needs to be at the center."

Zero’s eyes narrowed.

"What, then?"

Earth Zero’s expression became serious.

"You should be asking why he isn’t."

The words remained in the room.

Zero looked down at the paper.

"Because events changed."

"Yes."

"Because Mia became more involved."

"Yes."

"Because people started paying more attention to her."

Earth Zero was silent.

Zero looked back at him.

"That’s what you wanted me to see."

"Part of it."

"Then what am I missing?"

Earth Zero walked toward the table.

He placed another sheet beside the first.

Zero immediately recognized the names.

Hiro.

Mia.

Zero Elea.

Several lines connected them.

But there were no detailed explanations.

Only a sequence.

Event begins.

Hiro becomes involved.

Zero Elea’s actions alter the conflict.

Mia’s involvement increases.

Outcome changes.

Focus shifts.

Zero stared at the page.

Then slowly looked toward Earth Zero.

"You’re blaming me."

"No."

The answer came immediately.

Zero’s eyes narrowed.

"That looks exactly like blame."

"I’m explaining cause and effect."

"What’s the difference?"

"Intent."

Zero remained silent.

Earth Zero looked toward the records.

"You didn’t do anything wrong."

That wasn’t what Zero expected him to say.

Earth Zero continued.

"You made choices."

"Everyone makes choices."

"Exactly."

"Then why does it matter that mine changed something?"

Earth Zero’s expression became distant.

"Because yours kept changing the same thing."

Zero frowned.

"What?"

Earth Zero finally looked directly at him.

"Hiro’s path."

**********************************************

The words were simple.

But Zero didn’t immediately understand them.

"What about it?"

Earth Zero walked toward the wall.

"There were events where Hiro was supposed to act."

Zero’s expression changed.

"Supposed to?"

"Don’t start."

Zero remained silent.

Earth Zero continued.

"Events where he was supposed to make decisions. Fail. Win. Lose. Learn something. Take responsibility."

He turned toward Zero.

"Events that were supposed to move him forward."

Zero looked at the papers.

"And I changed them?"

"Sometimes."

The answer was calm.

Almost too calm.

Earth Zero continued.

"Other times, you changed the people around him."

Zero’s expression hardened.

"Mia."

"Yes."

"How?"

Earth Zero was silent for a moment.

Then he picked up one of the remaining papers.

"The battle against Aamon."

Zero immediately looked toward it.

"You were there."

"Yes."

"You changed the battlefield."

Zero said nothing.

"You fought Aamon."

"That was necessary."

"I know."

"You combined your strength with the Emperor of Destruction."

"I know."

"You ended the battle."

Earth Zero’s eyes moved toward him.

"And when people looked back at what happened, they needed an answer they could understand."

Zero’s expression changed.

Mia.

Earth Zero continued.

"You stayed hidden."

Zero remained silent.

"You didn’t take credit."

"I didn’t want it."

"I know."

Earth Zero placed the paper down.

"Mia did."

Zero’s eyes narrowed.

"She didn’t take credit either."

"No."

Earth Zero looked toward him.

"She became the answer."

The room fell silent.

Zero understood.

Not completely.

But enough.

People needed someone to attach the victory to.

Zero was gone.

The truth about his involvement remained hidden.

The Emperor of Destruction wasn’t someone ordinary people could easily place at the center of their celebration.

The battlefield had been chaotic.

The details had become distorted.

And eventually—

Mia became the person people remembered.

Earth Zero’s voice became quieter.

"She was powerful."

Zero didn’t respond.

"She was visible."

Still silence.

"She had been there."

Zero’s hand slowly tightened.

"And Hiro?"

Earth Zero looked toward another sheet.

"Hiro was there too."

The answer carried no emotion.

Which made it worse.

"But the world wasn’t looking at him."

******************************************

Zero stepped away from the table.

His thoughts moved through memories.

The ceremony.

The statues.

Mia at the center.

Hiro beside her.

The crowds.

The newspapers.

The medals.

He had never thought much about it.

He hadn’t cared.

Mia receiving recognition hadn’t bothered him.

Hiro receiving less hadn’t seemed important either.

Hiro himself had never openly complained.

Zero had assumed that was the end of it.

Earth Zero spoke again.

"That wasn’t the first time."

Zero looked toward him.

"What?"

Earth Zero walked toward another remaining record.

"The Elven Kingdom."

Zero frowned.

"What happened there?"

"You entered a place you weren’t supposed to affect."

Zero’s expression immediately hardened.

"I wasn’t supposed to affect?"

Earth Zero ignored the tone.

"Your presence changed the balance around several people."

"That’s vague."

"Because I don’t need to explain every deviation."

"Then don’t expect me to accept it."

Earth Zero looked at him.

"You don’t need to accept it."

Zero’s mana rose slightly.

"But you do need to understand it."

The pressure in the room increased.

Earth Zero didn’t move.

Then he continued.

"There were moments where Hiro’s path should have moved forward independently."

Zero’s eyes narrowed.

"And?"

"You were stronger than expected."

Zero remained silent.

"You became involved in conflicts earlier than you should have."

"I helped people."

"I know."

"You keep saying that."

"Because you still think I’m accusing you."

Earth Zero’s expression changed.

"I’m not."

The mana in the room slowly settled.

Zero watched him.

Earth Zero looked down at the records.

"That’s what makes this difficult."

"What?"

"You were never trying to take anything from Hiro."

Zero said nothing.

"You weren’t competing with him."

"No."

"You weren’t trying to become important."

"No."

"You didn’t even care when people stopped looking at you."

Zero’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Then what is your point?"

Earth Zero looked directly at him.

"The path changed anyway."