To the question, there was a deep silence that lasted for about six seconds before the thick words echoed out.
"I have none," he said — something that left Everlearn speechless.
"Though, you may refer to me as the others do… The Boss."
He said, and only now did it dawn on him.This was the one Dumbledore had told him he would need to get the badge from to be part of the Organization.
"Everlearn," the man called out, bringing him back up. He leaned closer before asking,"What is your greatest wish?"
"My greatest wish?" Everlearn replied, perplexed by such a sudden question.
"What keeps you breathing aside from your heart?" the man said. "What makes you look up to waking to tomorrow's sun?"
"There are a lot of things," Everlearn mused.
"What is the greatest of them?" he asked, his words almost like a growl, though his fingers remained calmly folded together on the table.
Everlearn didn't immediately respond.
If someone had asked him right now why he was breathing, he would have said — to get rid of the bastard who had killed him.Echa, Eva, and the others.
They were what currently drove him forward, making him want to survive at all costs.But were they the greatest?No. They were far from being his greatest wish.
His greatest wish didn't change even after death.
"I wish to be great."
Those were simple words, naive almost, yet the pressure that followed in the room was monumental.A creeping silence that made Everlearn feel his own words echoing in his heart.
Many had laughed in the face of such a declaration, and while it brought claps and praises when he was younger, it brought nothing but scoffs when he had grown up.And eventually, Everlearn had learned to keep them silent.
But even with the creeping silence, his face had no change at all, and neither did the face of the man before him.When it did, only his lips moved.
"Admirable," he said before both fingers finally unfurled.
He shifted them to the marble-like desk between both of them, the sound of a drawer being whipped out echoing, and from within, he brought out a blue hardcover, placing it on his table before sliding it up to Everlearn on the other side of the table, pausing it before him.
"Go through it," he ordered, and Everlearn's eyes widened at the sight of the blue file.
His hands reached forward, and he opened it up, finding a couple of files, and quickly enough, he began reading.The more he read, the more his eyes widened.
When he reached the last page and closed the file, his widened eyes slowly receded, and he turned to look at the man who voiced out,
"Can that summarize all the major events of your life up until now?"
He asked — and truly, it was exactly what he had claimed.
The file held everything about the major things in his life, including his own affinity potential being FFF — a test he had taken at a really local test facility.And yet, here it was before him.
There were even images, their positions showing they came from CCTVs that showed where he was during his graduations, his time in school, and even his joining the Mechara Organization — and the picture of the entire group that had been placed on the project from Mechara.All of whom were now dead, of course.
It was everything… almost.
"It's true," he replied, and the man hummed, signaling for him to bring it back.
He returned them to him, and the man kept it back into the drawer.
"At first, you used to wish to become a great Corer," the man said to him, and Everlearn simply listened.
"But when you realized your potential was poor, you changed your wish — instead choosing to become a great Mech Designer."
"This makes me curious," he said before his hands folded again and he leaned forward slightly, asking,"What is greatness to you, Everlearn?"
"Is it being a Corer, possessing great power, and by greatness perhaps being the strongest Corer?"
"Or is it being a Mech Designer — building the most capable mechs and, by greatness, earning the respect of the strongest Corers?"
He asked, and it was a question that hit hard.
Greatness wasn't limited to any aspect — though in this world, it can be summed up to two important things: a Corer or a Mech Designer.Greatness in any of these two fields would equal true greatness.
He had at first wished to be the strongest, and then he had switched to become the most respected.It made him ask — which greatness exactly did he want?
Was the one he wanted at first the truth of him, while the second only arose due to the failure of the first?
"There are Corers," Everlearn began."They fuse with cores designed by Mecha Designers and grow stronger. To fully maximize the full power of the cores within them, they fuse with Mech Modules designed also by Mech Designers."
He explained.
"They're powerful, but… they're also reliant," he ended, and the man gave a single nod, showing he was following.
"Mech Designers, on the other hand, are knowledgeable — creating the best cores and Mech Modules. In so doing, they earn the respect of the Corers, who know their strength is owed to them."
"They do not earn the respect of the people worldwide because only the Corers are the ones shown in videos fighting off the Nkars. The Mech Designers are in labs scribbling down notes and notes of potential designs."
"They're more of a side character, and oftentimes, they're usually weak and at the mercy of the same Mech Designs and Modules they make."
"If their respect is lost, the Corer will have no trouble getting rid of the Mech Designers. So as much as they earn the respect of the Corers, in a way, they're also reliant upon their mercy."
He said — a notion that made the man's brow crease.
Such an in-depth analysis of the world from a kid at seventeen was remarkable.
"So, to be the greatest of the Corers, like I wanted, was to be the strongest — while to be the greatest of the Mech Designers is to earn the respect of the strongest."
"So, which of them is true greatness to you?"
The Boss said, looking at Everlearn, who creased his eyebrows for a moment, looking at his own hands, before he suddenly pushed them away.
He turned to look at The Boss and whispered in realization.
"None."