Asher by Yulia Volynets

Asher stood by the window,

looking down at the city he had fought so hard to control. The weight of victory pressed on his chest, but instead of feeling elated, he felt a strange emptiness. The city was the same - busy, unaware of the power shift that had just occurred. People walked the streets as though nothing had changed. No cheers. No celebration. Just the dull hum of life continuing on.

He had imagined this moment countless times, but now that it was here, he wasn't sure what he had expected. He had fought for this, not because he craved power, but because he saw the flaws in the world, the cracks in the system that had kept the weak under the foot of the strong. The people who fought against him had called him a villain, but they didn’t understand. They didn’t see the bigger picture.

A soft click broke his thoughts. Luciana entered, eyes filled with admiration. "You did it," she said, her voice tinged with something deeper—an understanding of what they had sacrificed.

"I did," he replied, not looking at her. "But not for me."

She stepped closer, her voice cautious. "Then for whom?"

"For them," he said, eyes still fixed on the city. "For the ones no one cared about. Now, they’ll be seen."

Luciana studied him, her face serious. "And what about those who fought against you? The ones who died?"

"They were in the way," Asher said quietly. "They didn’t understand. I had to do this."

She hesitated. "And what if you’re wrong?"

Asher turned to her, his expression cold but not without regret. "We’ll see."

He turned back to the city, the weight of his actions settling in. He had won. But in this silence, the question lingered: had he truly fixed anything, or had he just become the thing he set out to destroy?