56 THE TALE OF THE EXECUTIONER (1/2)
What even is Justice, and why is it sung such high praises to?
There are countless worlds without any substantial difference between individuals' fighting strength. In those kinds of places, Justice is employed as a contract: an individual gives up on their own right to harm others and, in exchange, others won't have the right to harm them either.
In the end, everything is about profit, even Justice.
All is about having as many gains with as little loss as possible, and Justice is but a protection; a mean.
However, in a world where people can fly through the air as fast as the wind and collapse mountain peaks with a touch of a finger… such a mean becomes useless!
In a case like this, then either a supreme power acts up to try to uphold such 'Justice', or the world becomes a world where the strong prey upon the weak, the weak prey upon the weaker, and the strong fear the stronger.
But then again, if one is supreme, why bother lay the groundwork so that the ants below them don't fight each other to the death? What makes some ants better than others, making them worthy to be saved? In fact, why bother about the ants at all when there would always be more ants born to replace those that died!
Having to go to great lengths all to uphold 'Justice' for the weak and vulnerable, simply doesn't have enough incentive to outweighs the benefits one would gain were they to directly steal from them instead.
Xu Ling himself had once entertained this certain train of thoughts and had written it down as the 'Tale of the Executioner'.
This one story starts when, one day, a mortal is indignant towards the Heavens for the murder of his wife and three children and demands an explanation for why the deities there hadn't upheld justice and saved them.
Surprisingly, the Heavens do respond, and this mortal is selected to carry out the duty of the deity and judge murderers' rights and wrongs for a million years. Ultimately, he would also have the final choice of judging and executing the deity itself.
The puny mortal whom had lost his wife and three kids was therefore selected to judge the rights and wrongs of the world with absolute might.
In his hands, he was given a pen and parchment, an unbreakable chain, and an executioner's blade to carry out his judgment.
No explanations were uttered from the deity, as it merely watched on as the mortal took its place and acted according to his own beliefs and thoughts.
At that time, the indignant mortal was truly angered and was looking forward to being able to judge the deity that hadn't saved his family with his own hands.
…
The first time the mortal judged a murderer, he slew them in cold blood with the executioner's blade!
”This person, who has committed such grave crimes, does not deserve to live after having hurt so many others…”
”Death for death!”
Like so, he executed many more for ten years…
And yet, countless more were left.
…
On the eleventh year, the mortal had an epiphany and lowered the executioner's blade, stained in so much blood it had turned a fiery red: after those ten, long years of killing and death, his anger had finally dissipated, leaving behind only sorrow.
By that point, he had realized that the people he would kill would also be very much missed by others if they died, just like he himself was now missing his family. ”A world where others suffer for the wrongs of one can't possibly be just! Instead of killing the captives, I shall bound them with the unbreakable chain and let their families visit them, in the hope they shall reflect on their wrongs!” As a fellow 'hurt' human, he ultimately laid the executioner's blade at rest
”Pity for pain!”
Like so, for eighty-nine years, he imprisoned one evildoer after another…
And yet still, the flow of evil did not stop, as even more awaited.
…
On the hundredth year, the mortal let go of the chains and picked up pen and parchment instead: instead of binding the criminal, he wrote them a labor to be done before they could be freed. After witnessing countless lives and wrongs flash before his eyes he had realized something very important…
And that was that, by the time of his judgment, the crime had already been committed, and the world had thus incurred an irreparable loss!
”A world where others' wrongs remain even after they are judged, is unjust for everyone else that abides by the law! As such, if I am to uphold justice, then I must have the wrongdoer repent by giving the wounded world something back!”
”Repayment for pain!”
Like so, over a period of ninety hundred years, countless edicts were signed, sending the countless villains to labour …
And yet again, even after a thousand years of work, the river of villainy and unjustness showed no sign of stopping.
…
Like that, a thousand years had passed since the mortal had first picked up the executioner's blade. And this time, facing the umpteenth murderer before him, the pen that hadn't stopped even once over the course of centuries was finally placed back down. After all this time, he had ultimately come to the conclusion that, in the end, no amount of work would be as precious as a life…
”A world where a debt isn't repaid can only be unfair and the polar opposite of just; evil! As such, only through condemning the evildoer to eternal imprisonment, a life worse than the death they inflicted upon their victim, will I be able to carry out a fair judgment…”
”Pain for death!”
Like so, he bound the villainous mortals before him…
And while countless suffered, even more were brought before that lonely mortal, his unbreakable chain, and his wavering spirit…
…
Ten thousand years passed just like that… and this time, the mortal judge picked up the dull blade laying on the floor, covered in dirt and dust, and slew the rapist before him with the executioner's blade.
Witnessing how life would go on even within suffering, and how man could find a spark of joy and happiness even amidst utter sadness and pain, he had once again come to realize the importance of life, countless times over.
”A world where even evil can be bestowed with such a grand gift… is evil itself. Only by depriving evildoers of it I may judge the criminals fairly…”
”Void… for void.”
Like so, the blade tasted the blood of trillions, such that death itself was dyed scarlet…
…
At last, on the hundredth thousandth year of his labour, the mortal actually let off the murderer brought before him off, scot-free.