After passing the messages along to both Accalia and Tryval regarding my future plans, I let out a sigh, moving to sit at my computer desk. If I wanted to truly maximize the potential of my world, then it was necessary to use more than simply the fast forward command. At the same time, it would be best to alter the cultural focuses of certain areas that were impeding growth.
The one that came most heavily to mind was the Council within Fyor. Back when I had set my plan in motion that had created the Dawn Kingdom, I knew it would be a bad idea for them to be too reliant on a single body of government. However, I did not realize at the time just how paranoid it would make the Council.
And so, the first thing I did was begin to set cultural focuses for the various different floors of Fyor. The goal that I gave each one was quite simple… independence. This way, there would be more people born with the inclination to free their layers from the rule of the Council.
I did not want Fyor to be under the control of a single body of government… no, that would not work at all for what the world needed in the long run. Not unless there was some way to bypass floors that had been damaged, and I had yet to find such a method yet. The only thing that could potentially work would be devices like the Fairy Gate, but with those… you could only place one in a given universe, or else all instances of it in that universe would stop functioning.
What I wanted was for Fyor to become an alliance of smaller governments. That way, they would be able to survive independently, without needing to fear any given floor being inaccessible.
After I had finished with Fyor, I turned my sight towards Earth. Now… I couldn’t say that there was really anything to complain about with Earth. They were governing themselves fine, minus a few smaller conflicts here and there. No, I looked upon the world for an entirely different reason, so that I could send a message to Tsubaki.
I’m not going to be back in the Sky Citadel for a while. I whispered into her mind, and watched as she immediately disconnected from Vision Expanse to stand at attention next to her bed. While I’m gone, I’m placing you in charge of Ana. If anything happens and she gets out of hand, pray to Ryone, she will tell you the method to put her to sleep.
Until I get back, I have a new mission for you… I want you to become more powerful. The people of my worlds have grown to the point that you no longer need to hold back in your training. Their weapons and defenses are strong enough to repel what would have formerly been considered disasters. Train yourself, and train Fafnir.
Finally… if you spot any exceptional talents within the world, you have my permission to take them as your students. Train them as much as you can, and show them the path you have climbed to become strong.
On the screen, I watched Tsubaki bow, her hand on her chest. “As you will it, my Keeper.” Instead of logging back into the game, she turned, carving a hole in space and stepping through without a second thought. For a moment, I lost sight of her, having to run a search specifically for her. The reason for this, as I soon discovered, was that she had disappeared entirely from the world of the living.
It seemed that Tsubaki had taken my words to mean that she should once again use the training method that she had been subjected to upon first obtaining her Perfect Self. Or, perhaps, she thought that this was the only place with enemies that would pose a suitable challenge for her.
Either way, as I allowed time to fly ahead for a few seconds, which equalled a few days on Earth, I saw her returning to the Sky Citadel. She was not mindlessly enforcing another trial upon herself like she had in Vision Expanse. Instead, it seemed that she was simply honing her skills little by little.
As I let out a sigh of relief, I heard something shift on the bed behind me. Despite my expectations, the one that I found waiting for me sitting on the edge of the bed was not Terra, but Irena. She offered a small smile of greeting, holding a clipboard in her hands. “Dale. Is now a good time?”
I blinked, surprised, but nodded. I didn’t have any other immediately pressing concerns to take care of at the moment, so I could handle whatever it was that Irena wanted. “Of course. What did you need?”
Irena stood from the bed, walking over and handing me the clipboard. “You offered to allow me to enhance the Underworld with any points that I earned during this previous meeting. While I expect that this will not use my full quota of points available, it is what I had wanted to adjust within my realm.”
Taking the clipboard, I read over it. In short, it was an enhancement of the karma system. And, as I was reading through it, Irena began to explain. “Currently, the karma system in place is largely automated, with only a small amount of attention needed on my part as judge. However, it is a highly impractical system, as I have discovered.”
“The punishments that the system allows me to impose are limited to disabilities, physical weaknesses, or a reduction of the Luck stat. For many offenders, this is more than enough. However, over the years, it has caused problems among the living world. Those who are born with such disabilities are treated as sinners from their past lives, thanks to information about the underworld being leaked to the mortal realm.”
“Naturally, not all of these cases are the true sinners. There are often innocent souls mixed up in these accusations. As I am the only one capable of reading karma, it is impossible for mortals to tell the difference. Similarly, there are cases where the true sinners are born or adopted into a noble house, and they use advanced magic or medicine to treat these disabilities. With the taint of evil karma still on their souls, this means that they are placed in a position to commit even more heinous acts.”
“As such, I have devised a two-part system to handle exceptionally positive and negative karma. For those with extremely positive karma, those who could be regarded as saints or heroes, they have the option to receive an invitation upon the end of their spiritual life. This invitation will take them to a pocket realm within the Underworld, inaccessible without meeting the requisite karma levels.”
“Any individual that has been invited to this area will be free of the shackles of time. Their spirit will no longer degrade or shatter with the years. In addition, they will be capable of viewing the living world from within this area. At any point, should they feel that the situation has grown grim, they may choose to forego eternity.”
“Doing this allows them to be reborn once again, but as a figure blessed with the highest karma. This feature is designed to allow heroes to enter the world again in times of need, rising up to lead the way as soldier or scholar.”
I gave a nod as I read over those details while she was speaking, before I caught the next part. “And those with exceptionally negative karma…”
Irena nodded her head. “Those individuals who thrive on the torture and death of others, who are so irredeemable that their souls cannot be saved, are bound in eternal chains. They similarly gain eternity… but it is an eternity of suffering, the energy of their souls used as fuel to sustain the paradise that they can never receive.”
“Naturally, should someone act within this paradise in such a manner that they lose their qualifications, they will be banished from it, immediately reentering the cycle of life and death with their new karmic value.”
Again, I nodded. So this is what she had been thinking about, why the scenario we had played out had offended her so much. For so long, she has been watching those truly heinous acts going unpunished, maybe even being the victim of them herself at times. And at the same time, watching noble deeds go unrewarded…
As I thought about that, I remembered the black chains that she had called within that scenario. Those should be the abyssal chains that she described in her document. It was hard to remember at times, but she was not simply the Goddess of Death, the ruler of the Underworld. She also held the domain of Justice.
“I understand.” While it didn’t feel so good to use souls as fuel for a paradise, it was also a fact that only those who had the absolute worst karma, the kinds of monsters I myself once hunted down to hone my assassin skills were the ones that would be punished there. Besides that, I did promise her that she could use her points to modify the Underworld. It would not set a good example if I went back on my word unless this truly did offend me.
“Alright.” I agreed, looking over the details once again, while sending a message to Terra. Is Irena’s idea already a system that I can buy, or should I submit it?
Sorry, Dale. Terra spoke up playfully. No free points for you this time. There are multiple plug-ins in place for the karma system already. One of which includes precisely what Irena is asking for. In fact, it also includes an additional feature not on her list, which allows those within the paradise of souls to temporarily descend as heroic spirits to defend the world. After this descent, however, they will be entered into the cycle of rebirth.
I blinked in surprise, explaining what Terra had said to Irena. When she heard about this feature, she closed her eyes in thought. “Very well. I would like you to purchase this addition on my behalf, then.”
Opening the market window, I could tell that Terra was ‘helping’. Without me even needing to search for that item, it had already been highlighted in my vision. The name that had been given to this plug-in was… Karmic Justice.
I gave it a quick read to make sure that it was what we were wanting. The total cost of it was only three hundred and fifty points, a far cry from the total amount that she had earned in the meeting. As such, it was a simple matter to purchase it.
When I did so, I could see Irena actually tense up, her eyes going wide. When I bought it, she must have felt the change instinctively, as the Goddess of Justice that watched over all karma, and the Goddess of the Underworld. Both of these things would make her extremely sensitive to these kinds of changes.
The days passed slowly for Tsubaki after she received her new orders, but they were far from uneventful. No, she had set up an itinerary for her training. She would spend three days within Hell, and a week in the living world. Six of these seven days would be spent training Fafnir, while the seventh would be ‘relaxation and scouting’.
Her method of seeking potential disciples was quite simple. Through the same method as before, she would look through the top-ranked members of Vision Expanse, those who dominated each field. If she felt that one was worthy of training, she planned to make the offer. At the same time, she would maintain a close watch over local news channels for figures which stood out.
However… she did not expect that her first disciple would not come from either of these methods. Nor was it someone that she stumbled upon while training Fafnir. No, Tsubaki met her first disciple three months after she had been given her mission.
As she was wandering through Hell, her scythe already prepared at her side and ready to face any of the monstrous souls of the area, she heard a strange noise. This was not the roar or predatory growl of a ferocious beast, nor was it the dying whimper of the defeated. This was a sound that wholly did not belong here, one that caught this ancient Servant of the Keeper entirely unprepared.
She heard the singing voice of a child…
“A shadow in your eyes
Makes a good disguise.
Scatter, scatter
We all blow away…”
