The Ultimate Sacrifice [Death Note]

Chapter 18 - The Sacrifice I Never Wanted, Part 2

"It was all for you."

My head was spinning. Light guided me up the stairs, to the glimmering throne.

"Take your seat," he said, "new ruler of the world."

...

When it came to saving the world, L had never been concerned with saving lives or that other heroic nonsense. He had simply been looking for a game that would finally keep his attention.

Then Kira came along.

Kira was unlike anything else. Kira had challenged him, given him the entertainment he'd desired for so long. A challenger, a kindred soul.

And taking him down would be the ultimate justice. He would be crowned the winner.

Then things were shaken up by the Life Note, the Anti-Kira. The Anti-Kira was the opposite of Kira, as the name suggested. She was impulsive but kind, selfless yet sensitive. A good child. She was someone L could've called a friend.

L did not want to hurt Sayu. Not just because she was an innocent civilian, but because she was a genuinely kind person. She respected him, and he respected her as well. He was not a heartless monster, just a studious one.

But he had to take a gamble. If he could get her Life Note, he would be on equal footing with Kira. And then, he would win the game once and for all.

Of course, it truly meant Light Yamagi getting ahold of it...that would prove what he'd been suspecting. L realised how ironic and yet how painful it was for both these siblings to be caught in this war. What life could've been like, if they were regular people. Maybe they all could've been friends.

Sayu would have to be the ultimate sacrifice. The pain would be worth the cost. The guilt already burned, like a raging inferno.

But like the trolley problem, it was the hard choice well made. L needed that Life Note.

He didn't want to hurt a soul.

...

He could do it.

He was Kira. He would kill anyone. He had no fear. A god had no time for worries, he only acted like the world was in his fist.

Most people didn't matter to him, anyway. He'd never cared for any girl he'd gone on a date with. The fellow students he forced himself to spend time with for the sake of normality bored him to tears.

Kira wouldn't shed a tear killing them. L was the only person he'd taken interest in, his ultimate conquest. His challenger, his rival.

On the flip side, there was someone he didn't want to kill. Only three people on the entirety of the planet, and her most of all.

It was her or the world.

A god wouldn't care who he had to kill. A god knew his power was the only thing that mattered.

But Light was not just a god. A small part of him was still a human being, crying out into the void. His little heart was breaking.

Ryuk stared at him. Light stared right back, keeping his head high. A god would never show his fears, if they existed at all. Luckily, keeping his fear under control was Light's greatest strength. He spoke with ease and confidence, never breaking eye contact.

"So, that's your plan?" Ryuk asked.

Light nodded.

"If it works on the same principles as the Death Note..." Ryuk voiced out loud.

"Right," Light muttered. "Then I'll get the Life Note."

He could do it.

He could make the ultimate sacrifice.