Sword God in a World of Magic

Shang wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

For now, he decided to remain silent.

"Let me explain my conundrum with a metaphor," the Lightning Emperor said.

"Imagine you are a mortal and live in a village with 50 other villagers. You don't have any sort of real societal standards and norms, and the strongest person in the village is the leader."

"Now, imagine there is a council of five leaders since they don't want to fight each other for whatever reason, and you are one of them."

"One day, you find the offspring of a very powerful beast, which is far more powerful than any member of the council."

"You nurture it, and it follows you."

"Yet, it doesn't completely follow your commands, and you know that there is a chance that it might attack you and everyone else. After all, it is still a wild beast."

"But maybe, it will also help you."

"But also only you. What if it attacks any of the others in the village?"

"Right now, the beast is still a baby."

"So, what do you do?"

"Do you nurture it?"

"Do you kill it?"

"Do you ask the others?"

The Lightning Emperor drank another mouthful of tea.

"Everything about this beast screams risk at you. No matter what happens, it will be a risk. If it isn't one for you, it definitely will be one for the village."

"But you like the village. You live in the village. You are happy with the village."

"You don't want your beast to kill other villagers."

"But it very likely will."

"So, what would you do?" the Lightning Emperor asked.

Sense focused on

his answer would decide his

Should he lie?

even

doubted that he had the skills to lie

he argue for the

reason, this would feel

defer the responsibility of the decision to the Lightning Emperor? After all, he was much older and much more powerful than

he give a

I would do, what someone else should do, what

them," the Lightning Emperor answered as he

to send it out of the village," Shang said. "If you can't do that,

didn't show any

village is to either collectively raise the beast to make it

Emperor

a normal person would do, it would depend on their ambition. Is it worth the risk to nurture it for the eventual payoff? The person could become the leader of the village. Maybe, they could even leave the village and go someplace better with

interest, but he

what I

let it

the

no

the Lightning Emperor said

is to be

have any shot at reaching my goal.

than me,

might as well kill myself right

Silence.

Shang with

just tell me to

what I would do. I know that my own

"You are not me."

mean that you should make that choice or that it is

eyebrow. "That sounds a bit extreme. Is your

all I have left," Shang said. "I

but among billions, trillions, quadrillions, or however many people there are, there have to be

many of them are

one trillion people, that is still a thousand people that I have to defeat if I

them from