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?

wouldn't even attempt

doubted that he had the skills to lie in front of

argue for the beast's

a good reason,

the Lightning Emperor? After all, he was much older and much more powerful than

give

would do, what someone else should do, what the village should do, or what the morally correct

Lightning Emperor answered

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

Emperor didn't

the village is to either collectively raise the beast to make it follow

Lightning Emperor

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

piqued the Lightning Emperor's interest, but he let Shang

as for what

would let it

reason?" the

its existence has no

elaborate," the Lightning Emperor

is to be the strongest,"

to have any shot at reaching my goal. Even more, the beast's growth might even

is stronger than me, it means my goal was impossible

means I might as

Silence.

looked at Shang

just tell me to kill myself?"

would do. I know that my own goals and priorities are not in line

"You are not me."

while I might make that choice in your case, it doesn't mean

an eyebrow. "That sounds a bit

Shang said. "I sacrificed everything

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

how many of

there are only a thousand people left from one trillion people, that is still a thousand people that I have to

stops them from being