He gathered his courage to accept everything, yet continued to lose.
The parents he finally accepted suddenly turned into strangers.
After struggling to become close again, he watched them disappear once more.
He once made a pinky promise with his desk mate to grow up and change the world together.
But suddenly, the person you made the vow with silently turned into someone else.
Countless cries of grief, endless anguished howls, gradually turned numb and indifferent under these twisted rules, leading to disgust towards the world.
Enzo understood all of this too well because he had experienced loss.
So at this moment, he also knew exactly how to treat it.
"Is there not one classmate who remembers the faces of those in the past? In your lives, isn't there anyone worth remembering?"
"Might none of those who left you be worth living for?"
This mocking statement finally ignited the passion within the child's heart.
He remembered, he once loved his new parents, made promises to grow up and change the world.
At this moment, he silently recited those names, and tears finally welled up in his eyes.
Suddenly, he stopped caring about everything, picked up a paintbrush, and drew a face on the blackboard.
Enzo, at this moment, showed a relieved smile and swiftly copied the drawing onto a canvas.
It was the face of a girl:
"Koki... Sorry, I left without saying goodbye that day. I truly apologize for breaking our promise. We agreed to grow up together, but I left first."
"Sorry! But please strive to live, and tell me... what the future world is like, okay?"
The girl's voice emerged from Enzo's drawing, the child named Koki looking at the canvas, nodding desperately with tears streaming down his face.
"Teacher... I also want to draw, can I?" Finally, another student raised their hand.
Enzo said:
"Of course."
He didn't want the classroom filled with sobbing, but at this moment, it was full of cries.
In everyone's life, there should be at least one unforgettable person, one—
irreplaceable person.
As these people said goodbye through the drawings with the children, those wounds that had scabbed over due to twisted rules were torn open again, yet the pain and resentment brought rebirth to their owners.
After doing all this, Enzo never imagined he wasn't replaced.
As a teacher, he awakened the buried feelings of love and hate in the children. Yet, he wasn't disliked by them.
He chuckled self-deprecatingly, drawing a cigarette.
"Commander, from now on it's up to you."
...
...
Not only Enzo, but Nico was also redeeming others. In fact, similar events were happening in every corner of this city called Balance City.
At this moment, they were like countless streams flowing into the ocean, converging, gathering in Wen Xishu's mind.
Wen Xishu saw many scenes.
This world has many labels: wife, child, teacher, student...
But this world actually has one label that everyone has always hoped for, yet it never appeared.
Perhaps it only dared to exist in the memories of young children.
Hero.
At this moment, Wen Xishu finally understood why everyone in the tavern was called a Tavern Hero.
Because a hero isn't someone who turns the tide, nor a person with earth-shattering power.
A hero is someone who can bring hope to others in a desperate environment.
Elsa, Borg, Devon, Cavendish... they all played heroes in this city.
Just like Enzo and Nico, they assume different identities in various environments, bringing hope to live and love to different people.
Feeling all of this, Wen Xishu sensed a gathering force.
Humans, these insignificant beings, were not truly assimilated in this twisted and deformed city.
They always had a simple hope.
Carrying these hopes, Wen Xishu moved forward with the Compass.
Finally, at the top of Balance Mansion in the city center, under the giant golden scales, he saw the source of this city's deformity.
Balance Mansion is the tallest building in the city; entering it is not easy.
Because it has strict security. The reason for its strictness is that they are virtually immortal entities; if killed, they are immediately replaced.
Therefore, its defensive power is constant.
However, for Wen Xishu, these securities were practically futile, not to mention he wore a necklace that could gain trust; even purely with strength, he could easily bypass the security.
With Power of Hidden Dragon's stealth and guided by Compass, Wen Xishu finally reached the top of Balance Mansion.
At the top of the building, he saw "God."
The deity controlling the balance of life and death, the source of Balance Curse.
The curse's source was a young man; judging by his appearance, he looked no older than eighteen or nineteen and had long hair comparable to a woman's.
Wen Xishu had to admit, the "God" chosen by Libra indeed had an ethereal aura.
The man wore a gray suit, standing at the top of the building, overlooking the city with composed elegance.
Regarding Wen Xishu's arrival, he seemed not surprised at all: