Dracosect looks confused about what just happened. I'll bet I know why.

"My god, I don't understand. Why could you not talk to him to set him straight?"

I point down to my temple's aisles.

"Dracosect, please shrink yourself and take a seat down there. I'm going to give a sermon."

"YES, MY GOD!"

He bolts to the front row with the absurd speed of a Demigod, shrinking as he goes. He takes the spot directly dead center. He fits perfectly within the seating I'd made. First time I've seen a dragon sit properly on my benches.

Hraw— plus, it seems front row seating is equally valued in this world. All four sides and every row have the same view via inscriptions, but I guess he wants the real thing.

"Everyone! Listen, please! I'm beginning a sermon shortly. Please either be seated or exit the Chronometric Temple with due haste!"

Almost everyone is quickly seated. A few shuffle out the portals, but most come back with droves of people.

Not what I was expecting. Maybe I should add announcements atop each portal? No, that's gauche. I'll leave it natural.

Once the hubbub dies down, I clasp my clawed hands in front of myself. Then, I begin speaking.

"What— does it mean to possess value? To hold within oneself, a fundamental worth?"

I pause.

"When we are happy, sad, or angry, do we exert our Will better? Or worse? When free, or caged, do our lives hold more meaning? Or less?"

I pause again.

I raise my arms and ramp up my voice. As I speak, I draw my arms down, emphasizing focus on my body.

"We need not judge our full merits on mere appearance. Nor need we judge ourselves upon any other external measure."

I become quiet. I place my hands over the top of my chest.

"The measure of... The self. It is the most important measure of all. It is— inviolable. Our Will can be contaminated, twisted, and stolen."

I ramp up my volume. I raise one arm, then the other.

"But so long as we measure ourselves fairly? Then we, each, may judge others as we judge ourselves. With the same level of expectation and, above all—"

I drop both arms.

"— forgiveness."

I return to a normal voice, but tilt my head slightly.

"We do not forgive misdeeds merely upon a whim. We do so with purpose. With reason. With thought; though perhaps silently. We must intentionally cast wrongs aside, in order to forgive. But this— cannot be done lightly."

I ramp up my voice, cast my arms wide, and hold my head high.

"For each time we forgive, we release our pain, and we let it wander!"

I drop my arms, and my voice goes deep. I drop my head a bit toward the crowd and squint, as if cautious.

"Have we let loose evil? Or have we untied the strings— of our knotted heart?"

I return to a neutral pose, my tone and volume normal, then nod my head a bit.

"Forgiveness, is important. It also, is a deep and powerful responsibility."

I really ramp up my voice this time. I move my arms forward and back with my palms facing toward my chest, elbows out slightly.

"What we hold inside must be true and honest! However, what we express outside should be equally just!"

I allow my hands to wave out toward the crowd.

"For if we cannot balance the two, then we cannot respect our fellow person!"

I drop my voice to an almost whisper. I lean down as if speaking privately or secretly.

"And that means; we did not respect ourselves."

I stand tall and stare at the audience.

This one might be a bit difficult to grasp. I'm fine with that. Learning sometimes requires patience and consideration.

But there's no clapping this time. No cheering. Instead, people filter out of their rows in droves. I feel my chest tighten a little.

Then, Dracosect stands and falls in prostration.

The people exiting their aisles do the same.

Everyone in the temple is on the floor.

Ruh, rehm. Rokay? Now what do I do?

I look at Dracosect for a moment and think about why he was stunned. Rah, right, this was my answer to his question. He probably didn't expect such a grand response. But I needed to say it eventually anyway.

Unlo's unseemly execution just happened to push it forward.

"Does anyone have any remarks? This was a bit different from my previous sermon."

Dracosect perks up.

"Yes, my god. Just one. Why not simply wait?"

He's referring to letting Unlo contemplate his wrongs.

"The purpose of delaying any punishment is to allow for more time. Time to gather evidence, to prove out theories, and to right improper procedures. This isn't done for the sake of the criminal."

Some people look up at me, at which I continue.

"It's for the victim. It's to prove to them, and to their family, that they were served justice. Even in death. If we punish the wrong person— we have only added to their tragedy."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

I see more people looking up. Many are confused since they didn't see Unlo earlier.

"The reason Unlo was executed is because he killed people in broad daylight and yet remained unrepentant. I may have let him live had he repented, but... Not as a dragon. He lost that right at the same moment he knowingly murdered. He didn't end up getting the choice to be repentant, and, this is my own personal failing. Nonetheless, the fact remains that he died due to his own lack of integrity. His choices caused him to perish."

Also my lack of integrity. But if he'd come forward instead of reveling in the chaos, we might've been able to save him. That's why the blame rests with him and only him. My failure to save his mind isn't an ethical failing but a lack of competence. I can't blame myself when the life lost was that of an unrepentant murderer. Whelp, I could, but it wouldn't solve anything.

Many, mostly humans, start murmuring. I decide to add to my explanation.

"I speak of forgiveness to help you all understand why this matters. Why an individual must be fair and honest with those they judge. Even myself."

One human stands up.

"Chronomet, I— I..."

"You may speak freely."

"Is it true, that you killed a billion people?"

Loud murmuring. Seems this wasn't common knowledge; probably Leario again.

"Your name?"

"Heveir, my god."

"Thank you for bravely asking this question."

He stands less shakily, so I continue.

"One point three billion, Heveir."

His eyes go wide. Many people on the floor squish themselves against it.

Ragh. Let's continue.

"I did not do so intentionally. It was caused by the former Emperor of The Purified Heavens; he wanted to push me into a battle between himself and the gods. He succeeded in a spectacularly horrifying fashion."

The non-dragons don't ease up, but they're chattering again. The dragons have already heard this, so they don't appear concerned. I continue speaking.

"Unfortunately, at that time I was only a Demigod. I fought the god who responded and was soon defeated. At the final moment, Centrail Primia sacrificed himself to save me from what I believed was an assured death."

Many humans look relieved, but many non-humans look confused. Centrail Primia? Who?

I explain.

"He was the highest priest of Oplenthiom, the holy nation. Yes, that's right. The man most attached to the gods sacrificed himself to kill a god. For my sake; for all of our sakes. He realized the extreme evil of those gods."

The dragons seem a bit surprised that it was not another dragon whom played this pivotal role. I didn't lie to you: many dragons helped me. Too many dragons. And far too many others.

Most dragons and non-dragons alike raise their bodies a bit to look at me. I continue, once more.

"I do not expect your forgiveness. I can barely ask for it. Instead— I've chosen to improve the lives of those who still live, and I aim to protect you all from facing another such horrific catastrophe."

As if to mock my very words, I feel a sense of wrongness outside. My Chronometric Temple's shield springs to life.

image [https://timjames.net/data/acd/images/117.png]

##VOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH—##

An immense laser beam blasts the shield, but it's nothing to my new opaque shield. The immense sound of the huge attack shredding both air and Mana echoes within the suddenly darker temple. Thankfully, it's still well-lit by my many white inscriptions.

##—SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH—##

I hear Temp.

"My god, the temple's Mana stores are overwhelmed! I'm going to draw Mana from you as instructed!"

##—SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH—##

I've bound myself to all of my arrays and inscriptions. Yes, this god dragon is acting as a backup battery. But it's necessary. Especially for the size-changing inscriptions.

Temp, make sure to prioritize the size-change inscriptions. Don't starve them.

##—SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH—##

"My god, how much do you have in reserve?"

I check. Rehhh. Reeeeeeh? What?

##—SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH—##

Temp, rehm. I can maintain this output for several centuries.

I have a HUGE Mana pool. I hadn't realized.

##—SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH—##

"Okay, my god!"

And that's not counting regen. It seems I'm regenerating far more Mana than my whole temple. Am I not limited by atmospheric Mana like my temple? Am I drawing Mana from the entire planet as I'd thought a few days ago?

##—SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHLLLEEETT##

The temple becomes notably brighter.

Roh, it's done.

Thank goodness I made the shield opaque. That could've been really, really awful.

It's like a one-way mirror in that it limits the intensity. Thus, we could still see some tiny fraction of the dazzling laser. This feature is intended to ensure someone inside the shield can understand how they're being attacked so they can counter it. It'd be a big weakness if they couldn't. That's how I know this laser is orange, and that its size covers the temple. It's at least several kilometers wide. I wonder why orange and not a higher frequency?

Either way, that's one hell of a laser. It's not a pulsed beam: it's a downright laser cannon.

Everyone looks around at each other with fear and concern. My dragons show a bit of reservation, too. Except for Dracosect. He simply stands up and returns to his full size.

This one is built different. You see this, you smaller dragons?

Dracosect is a true dragon.

"Everyone, we're under attack. Ironic timing. Please exit through the portals. I'll deal with this; it shouldn't be a major issue. Though I'm sure my temple is safe, you all should evacuate, since my temple appears to be the attacker's primary target. Please move out in an orderly fashion. Thank you!"

Nearly everyone gets up and bolts toward the temple's many portals. My dragons stand at the ready. One of them asks the obvious question.

"My god, should we fight alongside you?"

"You're more than welcome. I would not dare deny you any glory you willingly seek."

##ROOOOOAAAAAARRRR##

A battle cry? I guess that wasn't reservation toward the fight, but reservation about waiting for my orders.

These dragons are super battle junkies; I should've known already from Unlo's memories. It's amazing they've kept a lid on their desire for conquest these past two days.

I mean, I didn't.

I went and conquered the elven nation.

The temple turns dark once more.

##VOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH—##

"Alright, the delay between their main laser is roughly two hundred seventy seconds. Do not rely on this, for such measures can be misleading. Just be aware of this figure. I doubt you all can handle said laser, but I don't want to impugn upon your pride, so I'll only shield you if you ask."

##—SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHH—##

#"NEVER, GOD CHRONOMET!"#

Rah, in unison. Alright then.

##—SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHLLLEEETT##

The temple suddenly becomes bright yet again.

Reh? It ended so quickly.

"After the next laser shot, we'll all exit as one. I've notified all the dragons not currently at the temple as well. They'll be transferred here at the moment we exit."

Every dragon spreads their wings.

#SCHUFF#

A few tense seconds pass.

####VEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—####

Holy HELL, that's loud! I should add a sound barrier to this spell. I can't believe I forgot sound after everything else I added. Seems I neglected to protect against what I did in Haitos and that nameless town all too easily. I mean, it'll still block the spatial rift, but that's not good enough.

I examine the laser. It's much smaller now; about a fifth the size of the temple, which means it's still over a kilometer wide. However, it's now a neon, scintillating violet.

I can see a wide range of colors; to humans this color might not be visible.

I look around and find that the temple's interior is still well-lit by visible light unlike when the orange laser hit.

I can see infrared, microwave and x-ray, but still not gamma. The temple darkened a bit from my perspective, but I know the so-called visible light didn't diminish at all. Reah, this is ultraviolet.

####—EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—####

Hraw, orange? Nawh. The laser wasn't focused.

####—EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—####

I sure hope they can't do gamma. I've tested my Gamma Laser on my own body. A good gamma beam can slice right through me, though only if I turn off Causal Conduit.

####—EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—####

Gamma radiation is stupidly powerful. Thankfully, they aren't shooting gamma. Yet.

The laser finally fades.

####—EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET####

"GO!"

Thousands of dragons fly up through the skylights in unison. Dracosect chooses the largest skylight, naturally. They fan out above the temple, where they're instantly joined by their transferred brethren.

I transferred all of them. Reah, 100% of my dragons opted to fight. Not surprising.

Due to the temple's evolution ability, my hoard's population of dragons is now just over 110,000. It's an amazing sight seeing an entire dragon army flying through the sky, up into space.

Lemme take care of that laser. I said I wouldn't shield them; I never said I wouldn't blow the thing to shreds. Hreh.

Gotta take good care of my dragons.

I transfer myself up to the edge of space. I can barely see that mass of dragons below; my brave warriors filtering up from the planet like a sea of ants. Dracosect is somewhere down there, too.

I quickly examine my opponents. There's thousands of ships up here. Dang. Who are these guys?

I easily find the laser-ship. Reah, it's an entire ship dedicated to shooting that massive kill-beam. It has no other weapons. Its shape is that of a rhomboid. That is, a warped diamond, but not the gemstone. Except it has a circular hole on the bottom. I suppose they needn't worry about aerodynamics or symmetry in space.

I shoot that ship with my Gamma Laser, which instantly tears it to shreds. The thing explodes like a damn nuclear bomb; I must've ruptured its power source.

Several nearby ships are caught in the blast. They don't explode but they do take severe damage.

Rokay. Good start.