'Elias! Elias! Elias! Elias!'
Crowds of people chanted his name in unison, almost like they were worshipping the man.
The 'man' in question was wearing a golden-crested cape; within it, an insignia of a stag was carved into his collar piece.
He stood there tall, confident, even smiling. Elias was quite popular.
Popularity was a given for a Hero; it almost came as a side benefit.
In that crowd, there were men, women, boys, girls, and even children calling his name. How was he not supposed to smile?
Certainly, he should remain professional, but what should he care about what his higher-ups said? Elias was the one who suffered, and Elias was the one who won. Not them.
So he smiled, he waved, he felt pride.
'I am a hero…'
The word hero felt foreign in his mouth, but it felt warm, and it tasted even better too.
This was his reward, and he didn't mind it at all.
People, rich and poor, gathered here in his hometown, the alleys. Finally, he saw his home cleaned; now, finally, he saw his home happy.
This was reality now; his dream was reality.
'Reality.'
'It's real.'
He repeated those words over and over again. His eyes eventually dried out, and he could feel tears begging to be let out.
Elias worked hard to get here; he worked hard to feel this way. That's why he wouldn't ruin this for himself; he could cry later.
[Elias] "My name is Elias! I am the one who won for you all, I am your hero!"
After uttering those words, he heard a scoff behind him. When he turned around, he was met with golden hair.
How lucky was Elias that not only did he have such a luxurious life, but he also had a beautiful heroine to chase after?
Elias' grin only widened more. One day, maybe she would love him as he loved her, and frankly? He couldn't wait for it.
Now, Elias turned back to the crowd, his brilliant, shining teeth fully revealed.
[Elias] "Please, everyone, I thank you all. It was the thought of you guys that kept me going!"
It was an obvious lie, but with a grin like his, fooling people would be incredibly easy.
The results showed the same; the screams from the crowd grew louder, and the chanting did too.
This was the life he dreamed of; he would never let it go. He couldn't let it go. This was his and—
[Claire] "Everyone!"
With her shout, her side of the crowd went quiet. She then nodded her head toward Elias's side, motioning him to do the same.
Elias paused. Did he really want to? Wasn't he just going on about how he wouldn't let this go?
The look in Claire's eyes, though.
On the surface, it looked calm, even happy. A smile that reached those very eyes enforced those ideas even more.
But Elias knew better. For the last few years, he had lived and fought together with her; he knew her better than anyone.
That's why only he could read that look. It was brimming with disgust, and even a bit of hatred was laced in there, too.
For what could she be so angry about?
Elias didn't know, but it didn't matter; she seemed serious about this. If Claire was serious about something, it needed to be heard.
[Elias] "Everyone!"
The screams persisted.
Elias looked back at Claire, who was still waiting. Then he looked at the crowd.
[Elias] "Everyone!"
This time, the authority that was missing from his first shout finally kicked in.
People began quieting down one by one. There were some who still spoke, but they were shushed by bystanders anyway.
For champions to shush their crowd was rare, and what was rarer was the platform they rode home on stopping.
Naturally, with these two irregularities in place, the atmosphere thickened noticeably. Apprehension filled the thousands of faces whose eyes were trained on the two of them, Elias and Claire.
What type of announcement was so important that it stopped the celebration? Nobody knew.
After a minute, nothing was said. Then, after two, still nothing happened.
Claire was standing there with a now-calmed expression.
The crowd now started yelling again. Some people tried hushing them, but the complaints soon drowned them out.
'Make some noise, people!'
The words came from one single man, a middle-aged guy who clearly was drunk.
Still, even the words of an intoxicated man were enough to sweep the crowd off its feet.
The chanting returned, now even louder than before.
Regardless of whether Claire had something important to say, Elias didn't try to silence them this time.
When he looked over, he saw Claire didn't either.
Maybe it wasn't so important.
Elias took no note of this moment; he wrote it off as something unimportant, because to the night, it really wasn't.
He turned to his side and began rummaging through his bag. Soon after, he threw a strange crystal into the crowd.
[Elias] "My gift to you all!"
He knew that soon, that crystal would be put on the black market; it was the way of his people. Regardless, if it could help even one person, Elias would smile brighter tonight.
Smiling felt normal now; he smiled as if it were instinctual. Elias was confident now, and most importantly, Elias was alive.
Then a piece of his dream was shattered.
A white space was where the confident Elias's face once was.
Then another piece shattered; this time, it was the crowds.
Then Claire was shattered, and then the whole dream was completely void.
He was Elias. Just Elias.
Those were the words that allowed him to grab his consciousness.
He was truly just Elias.
His eyes were now open; Elias's were.
The interior of the world in between quickly invaded his eyes; the walls weren't pretty.
What was on the ground next to him was, though—Claire began to open her eyes as well.
Elias was confused. What was it that he had just seen?
It was far too vivid to be a dream; also, he could recall it almost perfectly—
A memory.
It had to be a memory; there was no other explanation.
Elias's reasoning was simple: his body was humming right now.
Feeling the body vibrating or humming was the most common side effect of absorbing memories, though it is only temporary and lasts for a very short time.
That was the same phenomenon he felt in that moment.
If that was a memory—he didn't have it previously, but he could be certain he was looking from his own perspective.
Meaning—
'That was a memory of 'Elias'.'
It was a memory from his past.
He could almost still hear the crowd cheering his name; the feeling he got from it was simply… intoxicating.
A sigh of relief escaped his lips.
Was this how it felt? Only finding one piece of himself?
Elias wanted more.
He was truly greedy indeed.