Chapter 14 — The Voice of the Void

Darkness.

There was nothing else.

No sky.

No ground.

No sound.

Only an endless black void stretching in every direction.

Roland slowly opened his eyes.

"...Where...?"

His voice echoed into infinity.

There was no answer.

He quickly looked around.

"My wife?"

"My daughter?"

No one.

Panic immediately filled his chest.

He began running.

"Where are you?!"

His footsteps produced no sound.

The darkness never changed.

No matter how far he ran...

Nothing appeared.

"Please!"

He shouted again.

"Answer me!"

Still...

Nothing.

Roland stopped.

His breathing became heavy.

Then...

A voice echoed throughout the endless darkness.

It possessed neither warmth nor hatred.

It simply existed.

"Why?"

Roland immediately turned.

"Who's there?!"

Silence.

Then the voice repeated itself.

"Why do you wish to save them?"

Roland frowned.

"What kind of question is that?"

"They're my family."

"They need me."

The voice remained calm.

"Why?"

Roland clenched his fists.

"Because..."

"I love them."

The darkness became silent once more.

Then—

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"Love."

The word echoed endlessly.

"Explain."

Roland closed his eyes.

"My wife accepted me even after all my failures."

"My daughter..."

A small smile appeared.

"...She always waits by the door whenever I come home."

"They're the reason I keep moving forward."

"They're my family."

The voice answered immediately.

"Family."

"The source of your greatest fear."

Roland's smile disappeared.

"...What?"

The darkness around him seemed to grow heavier.

"Every mission..."

"You feared leaving them behind."

A memory flashed before Roland.

Leaving home before dawn.

His daughter still asleep.

Wondering...

What if I never come back?

The voice continued.

"Every battle..."

Another memory.

Holding his wedding ring before transforming into the Emerald Braver.

Praying silently.

Please let me return home.

"Every day..."

Another memory.

Watching the news after work.

Stories of Bravers who never returned.

Quietly wondering...

Could that be me tomorrow?

Roland's breathing became uneven.

"...Stop."

The voice ignored him.

"You call it love."

"Yet it has filled your life with fear."

His heart pounded.

"...No."

"You fear losing them."

"I don't..."

"You fear failing them."

"I..."

"You fear watching them die."

Roland covered his ears.

"...Stop!"

The voice remained unchanged.

"Remember Chicago."

Immediately—

The image of the little girl beneath the collapsing building appeared before him again.

Her terrified eyes.

Her outstretched hand.

The moment he failed to reach her.

"I said STOP!"

Roland fell to his knees.

His breathing became frantic.

The voice continued relentlessly.

"Remember every funeral."

The faces of soldiers.

Friends.

Civilians.

People he couldn't save.

They appeared one after another.

"Remember every night you awoke believing your daughter had stopped breathing."

Roland froze.

That...

Had happened.

Many times.

He had quietly entered her room while everyone slept...

Just to make sure she was still alive.

The voice whispered gently.

"Love has never brought you peace."

Roland's shoulders trembled.

"Only fear."

"...No..."

"Only responsibility."

"...No..."

"Only pain."

Roland lowered his head.

The memories refused to stop.

His wife crying after dangerous missions.

His daughter asking why he always had to leave.

The constant fear.

The constant burden.

The constant responsibility.

The voice softened.

Almost sympathetically.

"Would it not be easier..."

"...to let it all go?"

Roland didn't answer.

He couldn't.

Because somewhere...

Deep inside...

A part of him had asked that same question before.

After Chicago.

After every funeral.

After every goodbye.

The voice continued.

"Everything withers."

"Everything ends."

"Hope guarantees suffering."

The words slowly settled into the deepest corners of Roland's heart.

He remembered countless promises.

"I'll definitely come home."

"I'll protect everyone."

"No one else will die."

Promises...

He had failed to keep.

The darkness seemed to embrace him.

Not violently.

Gently.

Like a blanket inviting him to rest.

The voice spoke again.

"There is no point."

Roland remained motionless.

"You cannot protect everything."

His breathing slowed.

"You cannot stop loss."

His clenched fists slowly loosened.

"You cannot save everyone."

"...I..."

His voice had become quieter.

"...I know..."

The voice asked one final question.

"Then what will you do?"

A long silence followed.

When Roland finally answered...

His voice sounded different.

Soft.

Weak.

Almost timid.

"...I..."

"...I won't..."

"...do anything..."

The words came slowly.

As though every sentence required effort.

"...There's..."

"...no point..."

His posture slumped.

His shoulders drooped.

"...Trying..."

"...only hurts..."

He slowly hugged his own arms.

Looking smaller.

More fragile.

"...I'll..."

"...just stay..."

"...with Greed..."

"...and wait..."

His voice trembled.

"...Everything..."

"...will become despair..."

"...Eventually..."

A small tear rolled down his cheek.

Yet...

His expression held no anger.

Only exhaustion.

Only resignation.

"...Despair..."

"...is kinder..."

"...Hope..."

"...only..."

"...hurts..."

The darkness around him stirred.

For the first time...

The voice sounded almost pleased.

"Then..."

"Sleep."

"Become Sloth."

Black shadows gently wrapped around Roland's body.

His broad shoulders became smaller.

His powerful physique slowly diminished.

His hair shortened, changing into a soft green bob.

The weight of his muscles disappeared, leaving behind a frail frame.

Even his voice became lighter, softer, and increasingly hesitant.

The Void spoke one last time.

"Welcome..."

"...Witch of Sloth."

The darkness completely swallowed him.

And far away...

In the abandoned warehouse...

A small figure slowly opened tearful eyes.