Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully

The word "coward" echoed in the silent, empty void. It hung in the air between Riku and his other self. It was a poison dart, aimed at the very heart of his being.

Riku looked at the Grand Maximus. He saw the smug, triumphant look on the god's face. He saw the expectation. He was expected to break. To give in to the rage. To prove him right.

But Riku did not break. The anger that had been churning within him suddenly cooled. It was replaced by a quiet, unshakeable clarity.

"You're wrong," Riku said. His voice was not a shout. It was a calm, steady statement of fact.

The Grand Maximus's smile faltered. "Wrong? I have merely stated the truth. You are afraid."

"Of course, I'm afraid," Riku retorted. "I'm afraid of you. I'm afraid of what you would do to Lila, to Sherry, to everyone in Elowen. I'm afraid of losing everything I've built."

He took a step forward. He met the god's glowing purple eyes without flinching. "That is not cowardice. That is responsibility. It is something you would never understand."

"Responsibility?" The Grand Maximus scoffed. "You speak of responsibility, yet you stand here, debating, while three innocent souls remain extinguished because of your mistake. Is that not a failure of your precious 'responsibility'?"

"It is," Riku admitted, his voice heavy. "It is a failure I will carry for the rest of my life. But it is my failure. Not yours."

He looked at the glowing chains that still, somehow, bound the god. "You see this as a choice between strength and weakness. Between power and sentiment. But you are a child. You see the world in simple terms."

He shook his head. "This is not about being a coward or a hero. It is about choosing which burden to carry. The guilt of my failure? Or the risk of your freedom?"

The Grand Maximus said nothing. His arrogant smile was gone. He was listening.

"You are right about one thing," Riku said, his voice a low, determined whisper. "I cannot wake up tomorrow knowing I had the power to save them, and chose not to. I cannot live with that ghost."

He looked at his other self. He saw the monster he was trying so desperately to contain. And in that moment, he made his choice.

"I will not be a coward," Riku declared. "But I will not be a monster either. I will not be you."

He turned his back on the Grand Maximus. The dark, empty void dissolved.

He was back in his own private world. He stood before the three small mounds of earth. The single cherry blossom tree stood silent witness. His decision was made.

He would risk it all.

He took a deep breath. He closed his eyes. He reached deep within himself, past the anger, past the grief. He searched for the calm, quiet center of his power.

He began the summoning.

He did not shout. He did not chant. He simply focused his will. He called out to the divine beings he had met before. He pleaded for their aid.

The world responded.

A pillar of brilliant, golden light erupted from the ground. It shot into the sky, so bright it turned his private world into a realm of blinding radiance. The power that flowed through him was immense, a raging river of divine energy.

Inside his mind, he could feel the Grand Maximus stirring. He was a caged beast, throwing itself against the bars of its prison, sensing the surge of power.

A flicker of purple light appeared in Riku's right eye.

As he felt the intrusion, he tried to recall and focus on Lila's face. He focused on her smile. He met the rising darkness with a calm, unyielding wall of his own will. The purple light receded, suppressed.

Two figures descended from the pillar of light. They were the Maidens. Axia, the Maiden of Resurrection, and Thymia, the Maiden of Mending. They looked at Riku, their expressions a mixture of surprise and concern.

"You have summoned us again, child of another world," Axia said, her voice a gentle melody. "But the power you wield... it is unstable. It is a dangerous path you walk."

Riku gave a single, sharp nod. His focus was absolute. He gestured with a steady hand towards the three small graves.

Thymia looked at the mounds of earth. A sad, compassionate look entered her eyes. "Three souls, taken before their time. A great tragedy."

Axia nodded. "Of course. However, please take care in the future."

The two Maidens raised their hands. They began to sing. It was a song of life. A melody of creation itself.

The three mounds of earth began to glow. The soil shifted. It moved. From the ground, three forms began to rise. They were made of light at first, indistinct and ethereal. Then, slowly, they began to take shape.

Bones formed. Muscles knitted themselves together. Skin spread like a gentle wave.

The Maidens' song reached its crescendo. The three forms on the ground were now whole. They were perfect. They were still.

Then, they took a breath.

Gror, Hestra, and Zella opened their eyes. They looked around, their expressions a mixture of confusion and wonder. They were alive.

The pillar of light faded. The Maidens gave Riku a final, worried look, then vanished.

Riku let out a long, slow breath. The immense power receded. He felt a deep, profound exhaustion settle into his bones, but his body was steady. He had done it. He had brought them back.

And he was still himself. He was still in control.

He had faced the devil on his shoulder. And for today, at least, he had won.

Gror, Hestra, and Zella sat up. They looked at their own hands. They touched their own faces. They were solid. They were real.

The last thing they remembered was a man made of shadow. They remembered a searing, all-consuming pain. And then... nothing.

Now, they were here. They were sitting in a field of soft, green grass. A gentle sun warmed their skin. A single, beautiful cherry blossom tree stood nearby, its pink petals drifting in a soft breeze.

"Grandpa?" Zella's voice was a small, trembling whisper. "Where are we? Is this... the afterlife?"

Gror looked around. He saw the endless green field. He saw the perfect blue sky. As a collector of rare and strange things, he knew this was not a natural place. It was too perfect. Too quiet.

Then, Zella saw him.

She saw Riku standing a few paces away. His face was filled with a look of profound relief and a deep, weary sadness.

"Mister Researcher!" she cried out.

She scrambled to her feet. She ran to him. She threw her arms around his waist, burying her face in his simple tunic. She began to sob. They were not the tears of a frightened child this time. They were the tears of a survivor.

"The bad man!" she wailed, her small body trembling. "He came! He was made of shadows! He hurt Grandpa and Grandma!"

Riku knelt. He gently wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "I know, Zella," he said, his voice a soft, comforting murmur. "I know. But he's gone now. You're safe. I promise."

He reached into his satchel. He pulled out a small, familiar bar wrapped in paper. "Here," he said, offering it to her.

Zella looked up. She saw the chocolate. A small, watery smile touched her lips. She took it, her sobs subsiding into quiet sniffles.

Gror and Hestra slowly got to their feet. They walked over to Riku. They looked at their granddaughter, safe and sound in his arms. They looked at the strange, impossible world around them.

Riku stood to face them. He looked the old man directly in the eye. "Elder Gror," he said, his voice heavy with a guilt he could not hide. "I am sorry."

Gror looked at him, his expression weary. "Sorry? For what, young man? For saving us from a monster?"

"No," Riku said, shaking his head. "The monster... he came for me. He came for something I gave you. What happened to you, the terror you faced... it was my fault. I brought this upon your family. And for that, I am truly sorry."

Gror was silent for a long moment. He looked at his wife. He looked at his granddaughter, who was now quietly eating her chocolate, her tears forgotten.

He let out a long, slow sigh. It was the sound of a man who had lived a long life and seen too much.

"I am an old man, Master Riku," Gror said, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "My wife and I... we have lived our years. We have seen the world. But Zella..."

He looked at his granddaughter, his eyes filled with a deep, profound love. "Her life was just beginning. To see her face that... that horror... that is a pain no grandparent should ever have to bear."

He turned his gaze back to Riku. His eyes were not filled with anger. They were filled with a weary, hard-won wisdom.

"You were not the one who held the blade, young man," he said, his voice firm. "The blame lies with the monster who did this. Not with the man who tried to do a kindness."

He placed a heavy, calloused hand on Riku's shoulder. "You have given my granddaughter a second chance at life. That is a debt we can never repay. Do not carry the guilt for a crime you did not commit."

Riku looked at the old man. He saw the forgiveness in his eyes. He felt the heavy weight of his own guilt begin to lift, just a little.

He had made a terrible mistake. But he had also been given a chance to fix it. Whatever happened next, he would have to take it as it came.