The Dream Beyond Hypocrisy

Videl tightened the strap of her bag one final time before turning toward Amura again.

Her sapphire eyes no longer held hesitation.

Only determination remained.

As she looked toward the spirit of her Long sword, a faint smile unexpectedly appeared on her face, as though she had suddenly remembered something important.

"Amura..." Videl called softly.

The silver-haired spirit blinked.

"Yes, Master?"

"There’s one more reason."

Amura tilted her head slightly. Her long steel-colored hair slid over her shoulder like flowing silver silk beneath the candlelight.

"One more reason because I want to hear?" she asked quietly.

Videl simply smiled.

The atmosphere inside the dorm room softened.

Outside the academy dormitory, cold night winds continued to sweep through Fantom City. Somewhere in the distance, bells rang faintly while lantern lights flickered beneath the dark sky.

Inside the room, however, only silence and warm candlelight remained.

Then Videl finally spoke.

"The reason I wanted to be a hero, was because I wanted to see everyone’s smiling faces. I wanted everyone to have a happy ending. Of course now that I grew up, I knew that wasn’t possible. I was even proven a hypocrite when I saw Eon and the others for the first time."

The moment those words left her mouth, the smile on her face weakened slightly.

Videl sighed softly as she said this.

Her shoulders lowered a little, as though old memories had suddenly become heavier inside her chest.

The room fell silent again.

Even Amura quietly listened without interrupting. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Back then I was blinded by rage, and killed most of the slave traders, and even wanted to kill Eon and the others. I thought at the time, that killing them would have pardoned their sins and they could do better in the next life... I was wrong, I was too hotheaded, every time I see evil something deep within me compels me to do something."

Videl lowered her gaze toward her trembling fingers.

"It’s like I hear voices in my head. Unlike yours these voices sound like me, it’s like there’s this other me that forces me to think certain things. I might actually be crazy at this point..."

A weak smile appeared on her lips afterward.

But it was not the smile of someone joking.

It was the smile of someone afraid of herself.

Amura’s silver eyes widened slightly.

For the first time, she noticed how exhausted Videl truly looked tonight.

Not physically.

But emotionally.

The burden inside her master’s heart was far heavier than Amura initially thought.

Videl slowly walked toward the open window.

Cold air brushed against her face and stirred her long blonde hair beneath the moonlight. From the academy dormitory, the distant lights of Fantom City stretched endlessly beneath the night sky.

The world never stopped moving.

And somehow, Videl still wanted to protect it.

"Still I was wrong about Eon and the others." Her voice softened. "They might look evil on the outside, based on what they had done it would seem that they were evil. Still they had their own circumstances to deal with, and that doesn’t necessarily mean that they were evil or good."

Her sapphire eyes reflected the moonlight faintly.

"It made me think that people aren’t inherently evil or inherently good, the choices that were made the people that they’re with affects the outcome of what they are in the end."

Victor’s voice unconsciously surfaced within her mind again.

Calm.

Rational.

Almost annoyingly correct.

"It was just like what Victor said, not everything was black and white. The truth is never so simple..."

A helpless laugh escaped her lips.

"I hate it when in the end what Victor said rings true. Of course most of what Victor says sounds logical and right... Still hearing a kid a year younger than you tell you life lessons, feels a bit wrong."

Amura couldn’t help but smile faintly hearing that.

There was warmth in Videl’s voice whenever she spoke about Victor.

Not merely admiration.

Trust.

The kind of trust that reached deep into the soul.

Videl leaned lightly against the window frame afterward.

The cold wind caused the loose sleeves of her white shirt to flutter gently.

"Still, no matter the case I was wrong about the people from the underworld."

She closed her eyes briefly.

Faces surfaced in her memories.

Men covered in scars.

Women forced into darkness.

Children who learned violence before kindness.

People society had already abandoned.

Yet Victor still treated them like human beings.

That alone had changed her.

"So then I decided that I want to give these kinds of people a second chance to become better."

Amura quietly stared at her master.

Videl’s expression no longer carried uncertainty now.

Only conviction remained.

"I understand that not all are willing to change, and I’m not as naive as Victor thinks me to be."

A tiny pout formed on her lips for a moment.

Honestly—

Victor underestimated how much she understood.

"If there really isn’t much hope, then I would kill without hesitation..."

The air inside the room grew colder.

For a brief instant, Amura saw something dangerous flicker deep inside Videl’s eyes.

Resolve.

Not cruelty.

Never cruelty.

But the willingness to dirty her own hands if necessary.

"Even with all my hypocrisy, and all my faults I still truly wish to fulfill my dream, that naive and childish dream of everyone smiling at the end, everyone being able to get their happy ending..."

Her voice softened again afterward.

Almost fragile.

"Of course I know that this dream of mine, is almost impossible to achieve, since like Victor said. The happiness of someone could be happiness taken by another."

The candle flame flickered harder.

Shadows danced softly across the room walls.

"Still I hope, I foolishly hope for a happy end for everyone."

Amura quietly lowered her gaze.

Something tightened painfully inside her chest.

Because Videl truly meant every word.

She knew her dream was impossible.

She knew the world was cruel.

And yet—

she still chose to hope.

’I understand that everything I said is like a paradox, but still...’ Videl sighed as she continued to talk.

Her eyes drifted toward the moonlit sky outside.

"Well, all in all, I just want to do the best I can. I want to save the people that I can save. I do this so that I can reach the ending of my story without any regrets..."

For a moment, silence returned once more.

Then Videl slowly turned around.

Her long blonde hair swayed gently behind her.

"Amura, to me a hero is a symbol, he grants courage to those who have none, he grants hope when everything seems bleak."

Her sapphire eyes shone brightly now.

Not with arrogance.

Not with pride.

But with pure sincerity.

"I want to be the hero I once envisioned when I was kid."

Moonlight illuminated her face softly.

"So please help me become that hero, Amura."

Videl turned around and shone her bright smile at Amura.

Looking at her eyes that seemed to be gazing toward a far distant future—an ideal future—made Videl, who was already breathtakingly beautiful, appear even more dazzling.

To Amura—

in that moment—

Videl looked like the very embodiment of hope itself.

Not because she was flawless.

But because despite all her flaws,

contradictions,

anger,

and doubts—

she still chose kindness.

The silver-haired spirit felt her heart tremble slightly.

For a brief second, she finally understood why Victor stayed beside this girl.

Because Videl possessed something rare.

A heart that refused to abandon people.

Even when the world gave her every reason to.

Amura slowly lowered herself onto one knee.

Her silver robe spread elegantly across the floor as she bowed her head deeply before her master.

"As you wish my master."