Blood was spilled.
There once was life. But, now, there was blood.
They had marched in like bandits, started fires, killed soldiers, and scavenged goods. They had destroyed it all.
"For Temur!" They had shouted.
"For Frost!" They had shouted.
And then, with those shouts and faces filled with pride and purpose, they had killed, killed and killed.
They were begged to stop. They were begged with heads touching grounds and tears running rampant. And then, they had said,
"Have mercy, you say?" They had asked, mocking everything. "There is no mercy for the foolish. And the foolish are the ones who believe in Dues ex machina, like you."
And saying so, they had brought down their swords, their spears, their death sentences.
Fire had spread, engulfing everything in sight. To save their own hides, then, they had gotten back on their mounts and left, leaving those whose lives they had destroyed to be killed by the spreading fire.
They had called themselves, "Temple of Temur!"
This – was the story of seven villages that, overnight, were destroyed and whose residents were all slaughtered.
*****
Shit!
When I had agreed to spread chaos, I didn't mean to agree to this. I never meant to agree to this. I never could have agreed to this.
"Don't give me that face! You know as well as I do this is what we agreed upon!"
No, it isn't it. No, it's isn't, Cartel. It is NOT what we agreed upon.
Chaos – we agreed on chaos. This isn't merely chaos. This is slaughter. No, this is worse than slaughter. This is a massacre.
"Tsk!" Cartel Hopkins clicks his tongue. He looks at the Frost who had just brought to us the news of the destruction of those seven villages in one night and orders him to go.
"What's with that 'disbelief' written all over your face?"
"What's with that 'calmness' written all over your face?" I retort. "How can you possibly accept something like this? How can I not be even a slight bit shaken by this?"
"It's because I didn't avert my eyes from reality. It's because I always understood that this is what will happen."
"Will happen?" I scoff. "You basically told them to cause hell. You basically told them to do this, Cartel."
"Hah!" He sighs, and looks at me with eyes filled with resolve, "And so what if I did?"
"Cartel, this is murder, no, even worse than murder."
"Perhaps. It's not like the first time I have been called a murderer." He says with an enigmatic calmness. "Don't forget, Irium. We are up against Dues ex machina. We can't hold back."
Tsk!
"Not holding back is a pretty convenient excuse to kill people, isn't it?"
"Oh?" He scoffs. "Then what would you have done if you were in my place?"
"…"
Tsk!
"See?" He says. "Even though you try to deny it, you know that this was the only way to do things where we end up winning."
"…" I am not so sure, about that second part. "Will we win, Cartel Hopkins?"
My voice, as it leaks out, is colder than I realized myself.
"We better do, for the sake of all the people your people massacred today. If after all this killing and tragedy, we still lose, you are going to be the worst person who ever existed."
Closing his eyes, Cartel sighs.
"Yes, if we lose, that would be the case. But, if we win, their deaths would mean something, unlike their pathetic lives."
My eyebrows twitch but before I can respond, Cartel leaves the inn room we are in.
…
We are far away from Rania City now.
By threatening to bomb the place, Cartel had been able to make an opportunity for us to escape from Dues. And we took it. We ran away.
Dues could follow us. But, she didn't. She knew that if Cartel bombed villages and the news spread that she let it happen in front of her, her status as a beloved god would start to dawdle.
Hence, she won't attack us directly, not for the time being at least.
But, that doesn't mean anything has been solved. The conflict remains.
Cartel and Dues are two opposing sides of a battle right now. And in this battle, bloodshed like those seven villages getting destroyed would happen, again and again.
So, will I really be doing the right thing by helping Cartel?
I mean, by helping Dues, I could minimize the bloodshed. But, that may diminish the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop Dues' reign.
On the other hand, helping Cartel means bloodshed, a lot of it. But, that may turn things around for the better in the end.
So, what should I do?
Which should I choose?
Which is the right choice?
Well, is there a right choice?
*****