District 42-Chapter 391: Independence day
Casper opened his eyes after his wish was fulfilled.
For him, it was like a year had passed as he conversed with the god inside Gungnir. However, for people who were looking externally, Casper’s body began to glow in bright white light for a few seconds, then stopped.
That’s when he opened his eyes and looked around.
King Leif and Queen Freya were looking at him with inquisitive eyes rather than angry ones right now. They wanted to see what he wished to the god.
The king knew more than anyone about the power inside Gungnir. He himself wished a couple of times certain things to that god.
Nonetheless, one needed to pay a high price for wishing. And, depending on how big the wish was, the user would pay irreversible and unique prices that would make their life harder.
No power came without something in exchange. If not for blood, sweat, and effort, a huge power, particularly one that you achieve immediately, would need something as valuable.
The King was looking forward to knowing what would happen at that point. He had an idea of what Casper could have had wished for, though.
Some seconds passed, then minutes... People were getting anxious about what was Casper’s decision. Most of them didn’t even know what was Gungnir, but the ones who knew were apprehensive from the bottom of their hearts.
One of the Aesirs, Freygar, stepped towards the White warrior, who was just standing still. He had tears flowing out of his eyes, but one barely could notice them since he was using a mask.
Freygar placed his hand on Casper’s shoulder, getting him out of his daze.
"Is everything ok? What the heck is this thing, that you wanted to show us?" He himself was anxious about that matter and couldn’t bear Casper’s silence anymore.
Casper simply turned to him, taking off his own mask. Everyone was now able to see his lonesome and pained expression. For a moment, they wondered if the White warrior failed on his mission and couldn’t show them what he wanted.
People began to mutter among themselves about what was happening but stopped immediately once an otherworldly thing happened in front of their eyes.
The masks... broke apart. Just like the Frelsis broke their masks in half, it happened all of a sudden. One by one, the masks of those people began to crack in its middle. Nonetheless, instead of falling just one side, both sides fell.
The citizens, Ridires, and Jarls of District 42 felt all sorts of mixed sensations about that event. Firstly, they felt that something was missing once they found themselves without a mask and no punishment for taking it off. It was a sensation very similar to that of someone who just lost a limb and felt as if a part of their body or their very essence was missing.
Together with this sort of feeling, came also relief as if a burden slip from their shoulders and fell to the ground. They were lighter than before. It was like something was holding their breaths until that point and now they finally could breathe properly.
Within their minds, a tricky sensation of fear, hesitation, and apprehension came together as well. Not because they got frightened for losing their masks and for sighting a world without them, but because they finally could think by themselves, walk by themselves, be what they wanted to be, and choose whatever they wanted to choose.
If they wanted, they could curse the King in front of everyone. If they felt like it, they could punch or kill the person standing right beside them. If they gathered enough courage, they could confess their love to someone in front of them. If they were bold enough, they could go out of the district’s walls and walk for eternity until they found a place that suited them. They could choose not to go home, nor work, nor anything. Do or do not was up to them.
This freedom of choice, of expression, this self-independence to do anything, was... was just frightening. For people who couldn’t take control of their own lives until that point, they felt like a kid who never went out of their houses before, nor went against their parent’s orders, getting into adulthood and doing everything by themselves without restrictions.
That folk lasted some minutes absorbing all that information and thinking about it. They saw a brand new world appearing in front of them. Their hearts skipped a bit once that realization befell their minds.
Some people began to cry, getting emotional all of a sudden. Others laughed like children. Some searched desperately for their family and hugged, kissed, and talked to them as if it was the first time. People touched each other’s faces, looked at their features, and sketched their first smiles to one another.
The Aesirs, looking at all that fuss happening among the commoners, decided to do the same and completely took off their broken masks. Even they could feel different. They no longer had their lives and soul attached to someone. It was their choice to give their all to protect the people they loved. It was a commitment that they would choose whether to do or not by themselves.
In a way, they felt like true warriors right now. Warriors that weren’t chained by anything, but had the choice to stay and accomplish their duty. That’s what they wanted to do, after all. And now, they would choose to protect the only person that really mattered, which was the Princess, not the entire Royal Family.
Vick was looking at Casper from far away. Her mask was already shattered into pieces on the ground. Her heart was beating fast and she felt... proud of him.
The falling of her mask didn’t mean only that she was free from its restrictions, but that she was free from all the strings that were attached to her since she was a kid, and that turned her into a puppet of the Royal Family.
She was now free. All the folk was free. District 42 was free.
Ironically, people called that day in history as... Independence Day.
