Abyssal Awakening-Chapter 936: Why Do You Save People?

Stepping out of the room, Alice shut the door behind her with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

"Doesn’t that just look like the definition of optimism." Suyin commented while sitting on Elias’s shoulder.

After all, with her current size, looking up at everyone from below would be rather annoying to do.

"I’m guessing the talk didn’t go very well?" Elias followed behind Alice who shrugged her shoulders.

"We talked. She knows more than I expected but she’s not who I thought she was." Alice frowned.

She could somewhat see where Miki was coming from.

But a part of it was still baffling her.

Create your own future? Pave your own fate?

Yes, it sounds good in theory. Romantic even.

But in Alice’s eyes, it was also stupid to an unbelievable degree.

You can only chase a future if you’re alive to do it. How do you reach for tomorrow while something far beyond you is trying to kill you today?

Even if they don’t want to be governed by a hero or god, shouldn’t they be happy that disaster was averted?

Alice didn’t understand it.

She understood the words but not why it was prioritized in such a manner.

She couldn’t imagine herself making the same choice.

To her, survival was the priority. Only when you are alive can opportunity manifest itself. Only when you are alive, can you hope for a better outcome later down the line. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

She made the mistake of giving up before. She tried to end it all in that pristine prison the Zenia’s trapped her in.

If she had succeeded in her attempts, she wouldn’t never met Kaden.

Never met Allura.

Ria.

Her friends.

She would’ve never seen the rest of the world, seen how people struggle every day yet live with a smile.

There is stupidity everywhere, but she has also seen what she considered as beautiful.

And that’s coming from someone who spent their more than half their life in the prison.

Hell, she was born the moment Nyer injected Alyss with the needle.

So if anything, she spent 90% of her life there.

Yet in the year she was out in the world, she had learned to appreciate the act of survival and the opportunities that life offers.

The countless stories belonging to different people intertwining to create a moment between them.

So why can Miki casually doom the people she’s trying to protect over... idealistic ideologies such as not wanting help from the strong?

"Oh? What do you mean?" Elias asked curiously since it was rare for Alice to show this kind of displeasure in just day to day interactions.

"She doesn’t want any help. She doesn’t want Heroes of Gods to appear in her city. She just want the people here to defend against whatever is approaching, even if it’ll cause their death.

"When hell rains down, she doesn’t want a hero to save them when they call out for help." Alice spat out with a click of her tongue.

"Ah~ So she’s that kind of person. Pft ahaha, I see why you’re angry now. She’s like the complete opposite to what you believe in." Suyin couldn’t help but chuckle, crossing her legs in amusement.

Cayla had the same impression.

Miki’s perspective was... Idealistic. Romantic and in a sense, realistic. Not everyone get’s the opportunity to receive help from a hero.

How many villages, towns, cities are destroyed without ever knowing salvation?

You can’t expect a hero to save everything when so much happens across the world.

Therefore, Miki’s impression is to allow her people to fight on their own. Fight using their own powers, rise up to the challenge and pave their way to tomorrow.

Understandable.

But Alice on the other hand...

She was like the walking embodiment of the possibilities that open up to humans.

Alice doesn’t quite fit into the description of power, hope or heroism. She doesn’t operate like that.

She is someone who will continuously strive for the infinite possibilities.

Ironically, Alice is also probably the perfect embodiment of what Miki desires.

The part where they differ however...

Is that Alice succeeded and she failed.

Alice is someone who relies on her own power, to pave her own future and doesn’t want to rely on heroes or gods to save her.

She’ll save herself.

Everything that Miki wanted.

Had they met in different circumstances and discussed their ideas, they might’ve understood each other better.

But Miki is like the ugly reflection Alice couldn’t handle seeing.

What if her attempts at rising above her fate failed? What if she lacked the power to make significant changes?

What if everything she believed in came crumbling down and she started clutching at the straws?

That’s what Miki looked like to Alice.

And that part terrified her.

Cayla could see it.

After spending so much time with Alice, understanding how she operates, what she’s willing to do and what she seeks from others, Miki is a brutal wake up.

A wake up to the reality of her actions and what could’ve occurred.

"Opposite of me huh?" Alice mumbled, thinking about Suyin’s words.

Pausing in her steps, she turned to the group.

"What if you saved a bunch of people. You helped them survive another day but they weren’t grateful. You keep making sure they’re safe but when one of them die by accident, they all blame you and curse you.

"They start breaking apart the things you hold dear. Looking back, would you still save them?" Alice asked as Elias folded his arms.

"As a doctor, I’ve come across this dilemma quite a few times you know." He smiled bitterly.

"It’s always a question of who I’m trying to save. Should I let them die when I have the power to help? There was a point where I tried weighing lives on a scale.

"There are two villages. Both are suffering from an outbreak. One village has 200 people. The other has 100. Which do I try to save first?" Elias smiled helplessly.

"And naturally, I chose the village with 200 people. The other 100 died.

"Then, within the 200 I saved, 150 left before the treatment was finished. The other 50 I’m still operating on. I have to make another choice. 150 vs 50. Again, I chose the majority.

"And finally, it became 100 vs 50. But at this point, can you see the issue?" Elias asked as Alice opened her mouth before pausing.

"Of the original 300, I now let 200 die while prioritising the majority. A mistake right? I was blamed for that incident. For letting so many die." He laughed.

"They cursed, they blamed. They set my house aflame. A part of me indeed regretted making the choices I did. Had I chosen the minority, perhaps I would’ve gained more appreciation for picking them over the majority.

"But then you have to ask yourself the question." He stared at Alice in the eyes with a serious expression.

"Did you try to save them originally because you wanted to be praised? Because you wanted to be a hero? Or...

"Did you save them because you wanted to do something to help the world?"

Alice opened her mouth but said nothing.

She looked down at her own hands.

She didn’t want praise from the world. She didn’t want to be known as a hero.

She... Does the things she does because she hated having others make the choice for her. She wanted freedom, she wanted her own autonomy. She wanted...

Recognition from Kaden, from Allura. To get validation from people she considered to be family. To act in a manner that wouldn’t let down their hopes and expectations.

Alice smiled.

Allura wouldn’t care about how she is viewed. Even if she protects the world from the shadows, so long as her heart is clear, she is content.

Kaden would laugh in the face of their curses. He cares not for what the world has to offer so long as the people he set out to protect are safe.

Rather than worrying about what if they failed, they spend their time finding solutions to the problems at hand.

So if she was to think about Elias’s question, why did she want to save people?

"Why do I save people?" Alice mumbled before looking at the group with clear eyes.

"Isn’t it obvious? Because I can. Because it bothers me when I don’t. Because I hate it when I stand still and watch as someone else decides on how things should end.

"Kaden once pulled me out from hell. That feeling of liberation was the best feeling I have ever felt. So if I can give that to others, I would gladly put myself on the frontline for them. Even if they’re not grateful.

"Plus, I don’t do anything, how can I see what else this world has to offer? Humans write the story of this planet. Saving a bunch of them simply means keeping the story alive. So really...

"You can also say I save people because I want to give them a chance at changing things on their own." Alice grinned.

Elias smiled and nodded.

"A perfect Alice like answer." Suyin clapped her hands lightly.

"Plus, praise from people is useless anyways." She shrugged her shoulders.

"You can’t eat it, you can’t sell it. You sure as hell can’t rely on it when the world collapses around you. If they have time for praise, I’d rather them act as my guinea pigs for the experiment.

"Don’t bother yourself with the opinions of others. Just walk without regret." Suyin smiled.

"Now then..." Alice clapped her hands together.

"How about we explore the food this city has to offer?"

"For real? Mead again?" Cayla rolled her eyes.

"Why not?! It’s the perfect moment no?"

Joking with each other, the group left the building.