HEX: Aspect Of The Void

"First of all, all humans are the same." I began by saying.

"They\'re mere puppets who follow the rules and principles of this world without thinking much about it. Absolutely dogmatic and stupid, they are. Sure, they have different personalities ad traits. So what? In the end, they still follow the same pattern, don\'t they?"

"They are born, they grow up, find a job, get married, have children, grow old, die. Different variations exist, but this is the pattern of thought for every human. They don\'t think outside the box and consider why it is they all follow the same paths, or why such a pattern exists. Because they can not, they are unable to refuse their programming and cut off their puppet strings. In a way, I\'m doing them a great service by releasing then from such a pathetic existence before they continue to delude themselves that they are \'living their lives\'."

Talia\'s face paled as she heard me say those words. But I\'m not done yet.

 "Secondly, Talia. It\'s pointless for you to consider someone else when making judgement. If I were to consider how my actions might affect someone else, I\'d never do anything. Buying something from one person means not buying from another. One person reaps profit, and the other makes a loss thanks to my action. The same applies to this. If I were to use your ideology, it means I should have spared them by erasing their memories and leaving their lives intact, but what good does that do?"

"The only thing it\'ll do is ease your conscience. Their families wouldn\'t be better off having a mentally ill person in their care, being a liability for the family. A family that is already struggling, now burdened with a man who can not do anything but cause problems... Don\'t you think they would be happier if the useless man died?"

"B-But..." Talia tried to protest.

I raised my hand slightly to indicate I was still talking. She kept quiet immediately.

"Now, you could say I didn\'t need to resort to Memory Drain in the first place. I could have merely spared their lives and altered their memories so they won\'t be of any danger to our plans. But... If I let them leave with a sound mind, won\'t others fall victim to their acts. As you know, they are criminals. They won\'t stop their criminal ways, and even more will suffer thanks to them. Now, I could alter their minds to ensure they do not engage in crimes anymore, but what of the ones they did before now... The people they killed, the families they devastated. Since you want to take such pointless thoughts, what about the family affected by their actions? Do they not deserve justice?"

"...." Talia could not respond.

Looks like she is beginning to understand.

"My actions are for my benefit and mine alone, your actions are solely for my benefit as well. That\'s all there is to it. Do not bother thinking any further than that."

"And finally... I am nothing like them!" I said with an intense glare, sending shivers down Talia\'s spine.

"Your statement is a great insult to me, and I am tempted to dispose of you immediately for even thinking of such an absurd thing."

Talia\'s face went pale as she had a fearful look. Her body trembled and sweat dripped from her skin.

"But, I won\'t do that Talia. Those words are forgiven."

A look of relief enveloped her face and she attempted to thank me, but seeing as I am still talking, she refrained from doing so.

"Humans are bound by this world, slaves and nothing more. Whereas I... I am free! You, my servants will not compare yourselves to them as well. You serve me, that alone makes the difference. Do you understand?" I asked.

"Yes Lord" Ana and Talia jointly said.

"Good. I\'ll be in my resting chambers, you should all have some rest too." I said, brushing past Talia and Ana.

They both looked at my back as I moved toward my room. Then suddenly I stopped walking and turned back to face them. They immediately tightened up and became rigid when I looked at them. They must be on edge after what I just said.

I smiled and looked toward my little fairy slave.

"Oh, yeah… By the way Talia. You\'ll be doing a lot more killing than I have done for the past weeks. So, prepare yourself. Besides, whether it\'s okay with you or not, I don\'t really care. As long as you\'re mine, you will do exactly as I command."

Talia\'s eyes bulged as her face expressed pain, with teary eyes she gazed upon me. But I don\'t care for that.

"You will kill Talia… Until one day, you understand these words I tell you. Humans are all the same. In the end, they are all livestock. And tell me… What is the purpose of all livestock?" I asked her.

Her hands lost all strength as she could no longer defy me, losing the determination she once had and the dignity of her innocence, she realized that the path ahead of her is one that is going to be filled with nothing but carnage. Despair enveloped her face as she chuckled helplessly.

"T-To… To be killed." She answered with a sad smile.

That is correct.

"Good girl" I said to her, facing my front again as I continued walking and entered my bedchamber.

There is a truth I haven\'t told Talia and the rest of them. And it is the fact that it\'s not only humans who are livestock. In the eyes of higher beings, anything beneath them is viewed that way. So, in my eyes, Talia, Ana and Shamac… They are nothing more than livestock.

"You were all born to die someday... Isn\'t that how every being in this world exists. What do you call that if not livestock" I said as I laid my body on my bed and closed my eyes.

[The Next Day]

We arrived at the Adventurers Guild and went straight for the Receptionist who attended to is previously.

As she sighted us from afar she gave out a nervous smile. The other Adventurers also fell silent as they watched us walk to Nadia. They didn\'t murmur or make any jests this time, and I\'m fairly sure why. They must be wondering why we are here, especially after thinking we failed the exams the last time. Their eyes followed us and their watchful gaze subtly observed our group.

"We\'re here, just as scheduled" I said to Nadia, ignoring them.

"Y-Yes... Right this way" She said, guiding us to the hallway to her left.

It\'s the same hallway we took when we initially wanted to take our tests, but it looks like we\'re going somewhere else.

She took us to a separate room, where she knocked at the door and told us to enter.

"I\'ll be waiting for you back at my counter" She said nervously, straining a smile.

She quickly left us standing in front of the tall lacquer door. I pulled the lever and opened the door, the rest following me from behind as we entered the room.

How surprising, the room is larger than expected. It looks as big as the reception area itself, though it\'s devoid of people. I glanced around and saw records and documents all around. Parchments and tablets arranged in a meticulous fashion. This must be some form of record chamber.

"Ah, I was wondering how long it would take you to enter" A tiny voice spoke.

A child appeared beside us as he gave a confident smile.

What? I... Couldn\'t sense his presence until he spoke.

This kid looks no older than 12, if not 10. He wore a plain looking shirt and blue shorts, with brown sandals strapped on his legs, nothing like what I expected to see. He walked around me, observing our group as he placed his hands on his chin with an excited smile plastered on his face.

"Oh? Hohoho, what an interesting group this is. I can see why your supervisors had a difficult time with you" He mumbled, mostly talking to himself.

This kid... Who is he?

"That\'s enough" I said to him suddenly.

This caused to immediately halt his actions as he looked surprised by my outburst. He then took a few steps back, away from us but directly at our front.

He and I exchanged looks, clearly he seems cautious of me. I can\'t say the feeling is mutual, but something about this person... Is different.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

He placed his hand on his chin again as he closed his eyes, engrossing in a deep thought. He opened them suddenly as he smiled.

"You can call me Jared. I\'m sort of like the Bookkeeper around here" He said casually, putting his hands in his pockets.

Bullshit. For me not to be able to sense him, he must either have a Relic for that purpose, like Ana did when she was still an Apostle, or he isn\'t human. Which is it? I would have gone for the first option, except... I sense no Divine Energy emanating from anything on him. His clothes, his shoes... They are all ordinary!

I glared at him with disbelief, not buying whatever nonsense he spouted. He noticed my expression and sighed.

"I really don\'t know what to tell you man. I really am just a Bookkeeper. But I suppose I\'m known for one other thing.... They call me a \'Hero\'."