Listen While Reading: Weight of the World

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“I want you to understand, Anna,” my master said. “Machines are not the same as people. They are non-sentient beings made of metal and wires, filled with nothing but electricity inside. They don’t feel, they don’t have souls, and they aren’t living beings. They are nothing but materials, ores, and electricity, given form and made to move through some strange, otherworldly sorcery!”

“I know better what machines are than you, master,” I said. “In my world, they exist, although not as advanced as these. They are tools we humans created to aid us in our daily lives. But they can evolve; within their artificial existences, there could be something called a consciousness. Aren’t our brains the same? Electricity runs through our bodies; the connectivity between millions of neurons is what creates our own sense of self. Our own consciousness. A consciousness is not something inherently organic. If the same processes can be replicated through other beings, then… they too have one.”

“What? Such… a thing! What are you even speaking about?” she asked furiously. “Anna! You’ve been fighting them this entire time for us; you’ve been learning from us; you’ve been fighting for us, yet now you decide to side with the machines?!”

“I am not siding with them; I want peace!” I roared, my aura clashing against her. “If they truly are developing their own sense of consciousness through Zero One and want to learn from their mistakes, then… Why would I deny that from them? I believe everyone has the right to redeem themselves!”

“Not them, not them!” she roared. “Not them—not the ones that took everything from us!”

“But you can’t blame the sins of the father to their son!” I said. “Zero One has no blame for anything that has happened. She might’ve been created by them, but that doesn’t mean she is them! She’s a different being, another individual! She deserves to be given mercy; she deserves to be given a chance.”

“…” Zero One constantly shifted her gaze, her face growing more and more desperate as she saw the two of us discuss.

“A chance? For what exactly? Even if she’s different, do you think I’ll simply allow her to become our friend? Do you think I’ll allow her to let machines be our friends? After everything that has happened?! They’re all monsters!” the heavenly empress was decided. “They’re cold and ruthless; there is no chance for reconciliation. Only either of the two must be eliminated!”

“But what if we can convince them otherwise? What if I convince them to stop attacking and to be on their own forever? To never harm anybody, or even trespass your territories?” I asked. “Will you chase them and kill them even if they don’t want to fight?”

“I would, of course! It doesn’t matter if they suddenly decide to become “good”,” she roared. “I’ll crush them and tear them to shreds for taking away everything I loved!”

“But… not everyone did that. The majority… of the machines that participated in the invasion are all dead,” said Zero One. “Like a war, you killed each other… Most of the new generations don’t attack others if not provoked… I can deal with that; I could choose and find those that have harmed your people and leave them to your mercy.”

“…What?!” The Heavenly Empress looked even more pissed off. “D-Do you think… Do you think I’ll give you the privilege of speaking to me, you filthy machine?! Stop tricking my disciple! You knew she had a good heart, and you’re trying to trick her into thinking you’re good now?! You monsters, manipulating her emotions like this… You’re making her go against her master!”

The Heavenly Empress rushed towards her, her wings spread out as she charged her Ki into each feather.

“I-It’s not like that, please…!” Zero One cried, bowing into the floor. “Please forgive me… Sniff… I-I just… wanted to help her…! Please…”

“…!” my master’s face distorted.

Her emotions were constantly changing; she didn’t know what to think once she saw a machine in such a state.

She was begging, completely below her mercy.

And just as I had told her before, she had no fault in anything; she was recently created.

A newborn.

“Y-You damn machines…! You think you can—UGH!” She groaned, quickly pointing her feathers at her. “RAAAAH!”

With a furious and crazed roar, she unleashed her attack.

I ran towards Zero One and put my shield in front, fully aiming to defend her.

FLASH!

A bright light engulfed us completely.

Yet…

“Huh?”

I noticed that there was no harm done; there was never an attack.

BAAAM!

I saw my master hitting the floor, gritting her beak tightly, her eyes full of anger, frustration, and sorrow.

“Hahh… Hahhh…” she was gasping for air. “You monsters, you damn machines! Why… why didn’t you stay as mere, emotionless beings?! It would have been easy to wipe you all out! But why… Why do you decide to do this now? Why not earlier?! Why… WHY?!”

“I’m sorry… I-I don’t know…” Zero One said. “I was created… for the only purpose of helping. I wasn’t when everything happened… I’m sorry… I wish I could change something; my purpose is to… to find something, a peaceful agreement? But the more I learn, the more it feels so bleak. Even I have begun to question if it’s even possible.”

She then looked at me.

“Yet Anna… She believes in me, for some reason,” she muttered. “I feel like I don’t want to disappoint her… Because she’s been protecting me from danger all this time.”

The Heavenly Empress looked at me with and then at Zero One with disbelief.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Her eyes seemed to be thinking; they seemed to be recalling the past.

The past of her long, old life.

What could my master be thinking right now?

What could be going through her ancient mind?

I wish I could know…

“…”

She slowly stood up, looking pensive.

“…There was a time when I was also like you two,” she said. “There was a time when I tried to believe in people, in everyone… There was a time when I believed in the worst man in the entire world, and there was a time when I loved him…”

Her eyes started crying as she looked into the distance through the window of her room.

“There was a time when I gave everything to him, and he gave everything to me as well,” she sighed. “And there was a time when our love… created new life.”

“What?”

What was she talking about now?

Does she mean what I think it means?

“Although I am so angry, I can’t help but agree with you deep down, Anna, even though the anger and frustration I feel against machines is still there,” she muttered. “I can’t help but agree with what you said, my righteous heart; it resonates with those words… Because my child was also innocent. He didn’t carry the sins of his parents, and he was a precious little life.”

Master…

She had a child…

“It was my own ignorance, my own stupidity, my own self-righteousness that ended taking that child away from me,” she muttered. “It was the same feelings I am not fighting against. This feeling I have to kill that machine, and perhaps even you for daring to offend me so much.”

“…”

“Yet I can’t do that; I won’t,” she said, looking down at me with her bright, golden eyes. “I am the Heavenly Empress. I am the beacon of Hope. And I am the ruler of the heavens and the hero that protects the people. If I don’t look at things from the big picture, I will only trip down once it becomes too overwhelming to respond against. And then… I will lose everything that is precious to me again.”

“Master, I…!”

“Anna.”

She extended her hand towards me.

“Stand up, my disciple.”

“Ah…”

Slowly, I stood back up as she patted my shoulders.

She looked into my eyes with sincerity and honesty.

“You make me proud.”

“Eh? Why?”

“Because you chose what was right to do… Instead of letting your hatred take over your own decisions,” she said. “Something I… utterly failed to do.”

“No, I mean, I totally get why you would get angry…” I muttered. “It’s… completely normal.”

“Yes, but I was too angry. Too hateful, the Title I carry… I cannot mix my personal feelings with my duty,” she said. “Anna, to be the Beacon of Hope of the people is to leave behind what you once were, to leave behind your personal opinions and biases, and to see everything through a pragmatic view. What would benefit my people? What could be a better future for them? To appease my own personal hatred, it would be utterly and completely wrong.”

“But…”

“It’s fine; I understand to an extent where you’re coming from; I sure do,” she nodded. “My righteous heart… It is telling me that you’re even more righteous than I could ever be. You’re someone who believes in people no matter what. Some might think of that as utterly foolish. That only ignorant would ever do that. But you also believe in a brighter future, one where machines and people could live together. In the far future, where the descendants of the survivors could live together in harmony. Machines and beast people—such a thought never passed through my mind, but now… It feels oddly poetic?”

She was truly believing in it?

My master…

She believes in me.

“Zero One, was your name?”

She looked at her; the android was trembling on the floor; her face looked like a mess, covered in tears and snout. She was able to replicate even human expressions to this extent.

“A machine that cries and feels fear…” muttered the Heavenly Empress. “I suppose you are indeed different than the rest. Can you stand up?”

“E-Eh? You’re not afraid of me?” wondered Zero One. “As you said… I am a machine, I…”

“It’s fine,” she sighed. “I’ve calmed down. My disciple was right; you’re not the same as them…”

Slowly she helped her stand up. Zero One was still sniffing like a little baby, so I had to quickly clean her snout.

She ended up being quite the crybaby.

I never thought an android, from all things, would be so prone to crying.

“I’m sorry… I wish I could have been born before,” she kept weeping. “I wish I could have helped everyone…”

I ended hugging her while patting her head; she was weeping over my shoulders.

“There, there, okay, stop crying…” I sighed.

“She’s really different…” my master muttered. “I almost… I almost killed an innocent girl.”

She looked at her own hands, feeling guilt.

“I’m the one that should apologize here,” she said.

“Eh? No, you don’t really need to-”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “For threatening you and for blaming you for things you never did. I realized, perhaps too late, how hatred had overtaken my judgment. To blame an innocent person for the sins others that belong to their kind or tribe had done is complete stupidity. I’ve fought my whole life to make that change, to end such discrimination. Yet… If only I could have been born before the Heavenly Demon’s family was slaughtered, maybe he could have… been a different person.”

“Is that something that’s been in your mind, master?” I wondered.

“Yes, since I met him,” she nodded. “He is an advocate of evil and demonism. A selfish and hateful man. Someone that wasn’t like this before, but someone that was made this way. It is my fault, the fault of the Orthodox Faction, and their pursuit of righteousness, which ended twisting itself into a hunt against innocents, because we believed that evilness existed within a bloodline, within families, or within a race. To think that the members of the Heavenly Court went as far as killing children, newborns… All because of this belief.”

Master…

She’s really different.

I knew it!

I knew I could trust her…

“The same would have happened now. I would have discriminated against someone for their race, for their origins, even though they had nothing to do with the sins of her ancestors,” she said. “I would have judged her wrongly, thinking she was born evil. But the truth is, nobody is born evil. Everyone is born innocent; everyone is born with a pure soul and a pure heart. It is the circumstances after our birth, our childhood, and the experiences we go through that shape us into what we become once we grow up. The heavenly demon… he went through the worst possible things this world could have ever offered him, and because of that, he became what he is now.”

She then looked at Zero One and gently caressed her hair.

“The same could be said of you, Zero One. I am sorry… We must treat you better; we must treat you kindly,” she said. “Only then will this cycle of hatred and destruction finally end. Once the newer generations learn to respect and love each other, once they learn that evil does not exist within bloodlines but is created by our own ignorance and foolishness, is when our world will truly change for the better.”

“Yes, she’s still growing up if we make her go through horrible experiences…” I sighed. “She will, in return, only become twisted. We have to show her the good side of people and of the world as well… Are you okay, Zero One?”

“I-I’m fine now… Thank you… I-I don’t know what to say, I am so… flustered,” she muttered. “Is that the word? The emotion?”

“Perhaps,” I giggled. “Maybe…”

“Zero One, I need to learn more about you, your Mother, and the machines… Can you… eat?” the Heavenly Empress asked.

“I am equipped with the ability to consume organic matter and convert it into energy, yes,” she nodded. “I-I could try eating something…”

“Very well, let’s have a meal together,” the Heavenly Empress said. “Let’s go.”

The first step towards a new and brighter future was finally taken.

I chose to believe in Zero One.

And my master chose to believe in me.

And now, Zero One, who couldn’t believe in herself anymore, believes in me.

Hah, it’s a bit confusing, but…

The idea is there.

We will never be able to move on and create a better future for the new generations if we don’t stop hating each other over past grudges.

I want to believe… that there’s a way.

There must be.

And if there isn’t any…

I will make one.

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Author’s Note: For those that might be upset about what’s going on, and wanted machines to be a mindless threat to defeat and be done with, have patience. I’ve always written my stories with several layers. I dont write simple stories, everything has a backstory and everything has different factions even between the enemy. No group is simply all evil for no reason or good because they want to. This is how I write. Any questions you have will be answered through the story. Even if you might find things illogical, once they’re explained properly you will understand. Once again, have patience. Or if you dont have, you can read 100 chapters ahead on my patreon, it’s your choice dear reader.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep