A Hero's End

Crossed, I now stand at the edge of end.
For now I must choose between what could be,
And what should be.

To abandon my future for theirs,
To fulfill my duty for their freedom,
To meet my end through their hands,
-That is the road of a hero.
For what else could repay their pain, their sacrifices
Other than my blood, my loss.

The lives I've taken -justified.
The worlds I've destroyed -replaceable.
The sins I've done -forgiven.
And I would be honored as their savior, their greatest hero.

But have I not earned my freedom,
Have I not earned my right for a future?
With the lives I've saved, the families spared, the souls reunited,
Have I not earned my rest?
I have brought them from the depths of darkness to the edge of light,
Showed them the way to glory.
Should they not save themselves?
Should the weak be allowed to triumph if they are unable to stand up for themselves?

Should my future be lost just so they could have theirs?
My happiness forgotten, my pain ignored.
My freedom taken from me.
Should I give up so they could escape death?
Are their dreams worth more than mine?

But could I ever find peace with this past I carry,
With these forgotten souls haunting my dreams?
Those lost in battle,
The victims of my crusade.
Could blood ever be paid with something other than blood?
Could dreams of a betrayer save him from his sins?

I see now that the path has always been straight
-my very first step has lead me to the only end it has to offer.
The masked sins done to save the world,
The lives taken to save others,
The desperate choices to save my soul
-Only my end can pay that price.

So I am left with no other way than to face this end,
For this is what I chose.
This is my story,
My life,
My ending,
And only I can see it through.