25. Deadline (Forty-nine)

——The war had ended.

There was such calmness in reaching that conclusion, void of reflection, ripples, or melancholy.

Was it because there were no so-called "emotions" that one could face such a conclusion without any disturbance?

Yes, and no.

Without emotions, one indeed would not react in any special way to the start, change, or end of things. After all, everything was the same; good or bad, they were all treated equally. Oneself and others were equals, with no need or reason to differentiate or to treat differently.

Observing its development, intervening at the right moment and manipulating it to end in a way that conformed to expectations—just doing that was enough.

But war... was slightly different.

It was the sole reason and meaning for existence; it was everything.

To... it was the world.

The so-called "end of war" was merely a temporary wish and laughable notion of people, an empty and illusory statement of state.