The Last Perpetual

The tall man sighed, dusting off his blue suit. It had been a while since the last time he had to intervene in a fight between heroes and villains. "Was it ten years ago?" The man wondered. He doesn't really remember; after all, when you have lived for so long, time starts to lose meaning, and you become more and more detached from what is happening in the now. The man walked up the trail he had walked millions of times towards his secluded home in Mt. Fuji. Before he knew it, he was directly in front of his traditional house at the top of the mountain. He didn't remember when he had built it, but it must have been sometime during the last millennia; that is when he became lonely after all.

The giant man turned around, looking at the vast horizon, where the stars of heaven bloomed in the velvet night. He sat down on the stairs of the trailed and sighed. He had thought that maybe humanity had finally started to advance, but no, it was still oh so immature. "How naïve I was…." He said to himself. For all his strength, he felt powerless. "Twelve thousand years and nothing has changed…." That's how long he has witnessed the horrors of this world. We have only successfully innovated on ways to kill others, control others, and make the world a worse place. Humanity is like a group of children around a birthday cake; everybody struggles to grab a piece of it without realising how much they are destroying until the once beautiful cake is no more, and there is nothing left for anyone.

"Is there really anything salvageable?" He wondered. "Of course not; stop being so stupid, Zabier…." The man spoke to himself. "Should I just put us out of our misery?" He said while looking down at his fist. "No… I still can't bring myself to do it… I swore an oath… I swore to protect humanity until it evolved and was able to take care of itself…." The man named Zabier said. "And yet… at this point… I can't remember why I ever agreed to such an oath… What is there to protect? What is there to save? Is it worth it?" Memories started to flood his mind. Through every single important event in the history of humanity, he has been there to witness it. From the Fall of Rome and more far back, passing towards the discovery of the new world, and all the way to the outbreak of World War 2 and later the fall of the Soviet Union and beyond. He has been there to witness the cycle of bloodshed repeat itself over and over again.

Zabier laid back; he felt tired. He chuckled, "I didn't know that was possible…." He mused. They say that feeling empty and feeling tired have a strong connection. After all, how couldn't he feel like that? When the entire purpose of your life loses its meaning, what else is there to do? If only he could put himself out of his own misery. Whenever he walks down the streets, he can only see animals, more concerned with material needs that will only bring them short-term pleasure, unable to see the bigger picture. He sees children who were granted extraordinary abilities, yet they lack the talent to use them properly. A wise man once said that a house divided against itself cannot stand, so shouldn't that apply to humanity as a whole? He doesn't understand how can anyone live happily in this world. He doesn't understand humanity anymore…

He stood up. "For ten thousand years, I have fought…." Zabier turned around and walked towards his house. "Ten thousand years I have spent in an endless, unwinnable war…." He opened the door, which had been specially built for his height. "And yet, if it were to be necessary, I would still fight for ten thousand more… But, why? I don't yet know…. I wished I hadn't yet forgotten, but I think I have, through the ages that I've been…." He sighed. Tomorrow was going to be just another day, another fight to save humanity; after all, that is what means being the last of humanity's gods, the last of the Perpetuals…