''And I have been given the power to see possibilities: false worlds parallel to ours whose time differs,'' François said, looking towards the teenager. ''I'd like to go on the celestial way.''
''Sadly this one had disappeared,'' the red star fragment said. ''Hence, I cannot fulfill this wish.''
''You must be joking, even though you destroyed one, isn't there still one usable?'' François said smiling. ''My wish remains the same.''
''There's a huge difference. Crossing across the univerium and exceeding it requires a whole different strength level. And your karma isn't any near sufficient.''
''Then hasn't your plan failed?'' he heard a voice from behind.
''Well coming from someone who uses torture, enslavement, and murder, either he's dumb or lying.''
Turning around, he saw what he expected. Confusion was apparent on their faces, mixed with apprehension and untrust.
''Well, I guess I should explain you some common sense.'' he eyed, making them froze before continuing. ''The ancient zone rules had been made clear from the start: karma will fix our rewards, that is, if we claim them. Thinking karma is created by doing a good action is, however, naive. There exist 2 kinds of karma: a positive one and a negative one, meaning, karma isn't good or bad, even though he distinct them. A positive act will never erase a negative one and so on, however, true karma is the subtraction between the positive and negative karma, and that's was the karma need.''
''Even though you say that,'' the demoness spoke ''your balance shouldn't be too good.''
''I've said it before: karma does decide what's right or wrong, but all laws vary on the situation. Karma is but the result of simple addition. The intention isn't worth mentioning, the result being. But then which result choose? If karma impacts a person's life, should it be calculated at the end of it? Karma is a law that judges, orienting the univerium in a direction. Besides, the creator made sure that no one would be able to spy with certainty on a person's future.
There's only one option left. Karma is calculated at the instant, with some fallout diminishing as time progress. Still, the law needed to be versatile and karma need to chose between right and wrong. How can we do that?''
François smiled seeing their thoughtful looks.
''Karma is decided by both the people, the creator, and the Gods' beliefs. It takes an area, scanning the energy leaving their body, and decide what should become positive and negative karma.
Let's take my case as an example. Not only did I torture but also deprive people of their freedom. If we took into account the beliefs of this world, then I am a tyrant. However, the result was that I gave them a way to survive. Plus, I didn't kill them with my own hands. Like that, my negative karma remains low while my positive one increased. After all, the laws that the Gods believe in place life far beyond torture.
Taking away one's freedom is heavily blameworthy but I did not cross the line. Your free will remain as only the fear of death made you obey.
Can you confirm it?'' he glanced towards the red star.
"That's about right.''
Then, turning to the others, he continued.
''So, I'm going to give you a choice.'' He removed the runes from their body, appeasing them. ''Either you follow me to a world of danger but with a chance of survival, or a handful of you will make it out of here for fifteen years or so in ever more intense wars.''
''But isn't your plan not working anymore? How do you expect us to follow you?''
''Even if he doesn't want to teleport us, my karma is enough to try to join the celestial road.'' To which the teenager confirmed.
Continuing to answer various questions, time passed without the runes being weakened in the least, a strange thing considering the amount of energy that would have been necessary to keep them going.
Then, the fateful question came.
''What exactly will happen in 15 years?''
''Well,'' he answered a bit embarrassed. ''My power only allows me to saw some visions, and those need to be easily accessible. Still, I can tell you that the strongest of the Paladins, Demons, Angels, and Primordial Beasts will leave this world, beginning the era of demonic creatures. However...''
''However?''
''Their departure was on a specific date, and linked with another from the demonic creatures.''
''You mean?''
''Yes, they decided to leave on a disaster period.''
''Leave where?''
''... Unfortunately, I can't say, but the number that survived was small.'' It made sense, if his power was entrusted by this world, then it would be limited to this one.
''But... why would they want to leave on this date?''
''These are just assumptions, but... surely this opens a path.''
''A path?''
''Yes, the reason why humanity is so weak is related to this. Every 10 years, Demons and Angels appear in this world, adding to the forces already present.''
''Wouldn't that mean?'' A human asked.
''Yes, that humanity has managed to survive this long proves the effectiveness of the Knights' strength. Knights and Paladins are just two different paths, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Ludovic is the best example of this. If given 30 more years, he might have the power to save this world.''
Explanations, proofs, secrets that only they should know were all answered by François, and his strength made them conclude that he would have little reason to lie to them.
Soon, the majority agreed to go with him, a part too attached to this world to be able to leave, or thinking that the risks were not worth the candle.
Leaving for a world where their energy could no longer be used, without any guarantee and with François' power gone - because separated from the planet, it was already amazing that so many people accepted, which he had perhaps arranged. François had no trouble letting them go: the fate of this world had nothing to do with him anymore and if his information could save people, then why not.
On the teleportation zone, a woman who was separated from Nirl's group asked. What will happen to Nirl, will there be any survivors?
''I'm not sure. In the extreme majority of worlds, I saw, neither Alain nor Eloise was alive.'' Then, seeming to remember something, he continued, "Two or three people might live, after all, Nirl is an ancient village whose current weakness can only be explained by Cleppe.''
The teleportation was activated, François looking at the world around him with a smile that he did not hide. Despite the difficulties that were to come, he seemed happy to leave. As if he wanted to rediscover that feeling of discovery and darkness that every man will feel in his life. As if he wanted to rebuild his life by not hiding anything from his allies that he hoped would become friends.
-
Knowledge: There are only 5 weapons allowed on the battlefield: swords, shields, armor, magic items, and artifacts.
Twin knowledge: Axes, bows, and spears are still used against demonic creatures or for ancient city traditions. As such, it's no surprise that the free republic doesn't care about the orders of the 4 empires, possessing an arsenal of extremely effective weapons.