What had I done?

Could I have made a different choice?

I don’t know.

Yna stood up, her body covered in blood and dirt.

Faint green streams of light continuously went from her to Calëb, who had been reduced to a head that was barely attached to a heap of flesh, guts and sand.

Haha!

Hahaha!

The looks of terror that adorned the faces of the Rendaro made me feel so sorry for them.

To witness the torture of one of their own…

[Uh-oh. You might wanna calm down buddy.]

I walked out into the Dark Expanse while Yna widely spread her arms.

“Look closely. This is the price to pay. Katsíki demands that you all cease your petty squabbles. I’m sure he’ll announce a more detailed set of rules and laws soon, but let this sink into your minds for now.” Yna said while turning to face me.

“Uhh… are you alright-“

“This was my dream,” I said as plumes of smoke rose from my body.

“Katsíki?” Yna called, but even though I could clearly hear her, all I could see was darkness.

“This is what I wanted. A second chance. A new world. Yes. This is it, isn’t it?” I asked.

I looked around at the Dark Expanse and looked up and the star littered sky.

This world…

What was I trying to do, again?

“Katsíki!”

“Mmm?” I sounded.

“Your fur…”

I looked at myself to find that some of my fur was turning black.

Did this mean something?

I shook my head and shook the dark smoke away.

The Black fur quickly turned white and after taking a few quick breaths.

“Err… yeah. Sorry. Where were we?” I asked.

Yna simply pointed at the terrified Rendaro.

I nodded before walking towards Coh.

“Come. All of you.”

Yna and I then led the Rendaro up into Coh.

I had the Foph place Calëb on a dark stretcher while she regenerated.

I then sat everyone side by side within the dojo Yna had asked me to build.

Yna created several orbs of light and lit the dojo allowing everyone to see my small self in at the front.

I sat on the floor and looked at each of the Rendaro.

The Foph all looked at me with eyes that burnt with rage while the Ia looked at me with pure fear.

I half-closed my eyes as flashes of Calëb’s torture lingered in my mind.

“What will you do now that you’ve heard my words?” I asked.

“Now that both of your leaders are gone and sitting before you is a dark hand wielding a golden sword,” I said.

No one spoke.

“I like to think I’m not a cruel person. Those who want to may leave without consequence.” I said, my voice weak.

No one moved.

“Ah… so you’re decided to stay. Well, let’s get started. We’ll begin with the Ia since you are all grieving. Elders Olen and Tal, do you still wish to carry out Karish’s will?” I asked.

Olen and Tal looked at each other.

I had placed Karish’s body on a dark stretcher which sat outside.

I had also instructed Farin to keep the others far away from this meeting.

I didn’t want the Rendaro under my care to get involved with all this.

Coh was my sanctuary, after all.

I wouldn’t let anyone or anything bring harm to its people.

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“W- we will continue with the plans you and Elder Karish set,” Tal said.

“Oh? And who will lead the Ia?” I asked, but neither Olen nor Tal spoke.

“Mmm… I’ll give you time to decide. After all this is done, I’ll accompany you back to Eimval where we will bury Karish.”

“Oh, we don’t exactly bury our dead, m- my lord.”

“Call me Katsíki.”

“Y-yes. We typically cremate them. It’s… an old tradition.” Olen said.

“Then we’ll do just that,” I said with a nod.

I then looked at the Foph.

“Who will speak on the behalf of the Foph while Calëb recovers?” I asked and although a certain young Rendaro wanted to say something at first, he sighed before lowering his head.

“Non of the Greater Arcus’s are here... so I will speak on the Arcusus's behalf.” Shakha said.

“Alright. The Foph are facing a problem with knights. I’m gonna need you to specific. What do the knights do once they reach the Oasis? What have they done to your people-“

“They take our children, women, men. Nothing is beyond reason for them.”

Everyone gasped upon seeing Calëb leaning against a pillar next to the dojo’s entrance.

Her cheeks were hollow and her eyes were sunken, but she still tried walking toward Yna and I.

Shakha stood up to help her walk, but she gently placed her hand on his cheek.

Shakha stared at Calëb for a moment before returning to his spot where he sat.

Calëb walked up to Yna and I with a lowered head before coming to a stop about five meters away.

“Sit,” Yna instructed and Calëb complied.

“Heal,” Yna said and watched as Calëb’s face twisted, seemingly in agony as the words left Yna’s mouth.

“A- are you sure?”

“You’re no use to Katsíki dead, so yes. Do it. Unless you want to take the lives of your fellow Foph instead.” Yna said with a faint smirk.

“A- alright,” Calëb said.

Thin strands if green light then flowed out from Yna’s body and into Calëb’s.

“Back to what you were saying. Is there a specific group of knights?” I asked.

“Yes. There’s a single Golden Knight who visits us once a year to take fifteen Rendaro women. All of whom have never return. His name is Petrus-“

“Of the Regal Thorns Legion?” Yna asked with a raised brow.

At this point, Calëb’s body was completely restored and so the threads of light stopped flowing.

“Y-yes. Giving him one or two women wouldn’t be a problem, but fifteen…” Calëb stopped as her eyes fell.

“Various Gold and Silver knights, but none of them are as bad as The Goldcrest Legion. They usually demand men for work, but…”

I watched as Calëb slowly stopped talking.

She slowly collapsed into herself and even though no tears fell, I could feel that she was distressed.

I would have been slightly more sympathetic if she hadn’t killed Karish, but…

“It's alright. I’ll let you talk to Yna about the details later.”

Calëb nodded.

“Good. Now, you’ll have to send one of your men back to your settlement to tell them that you're safe because I’m not finished with you.” I said while looking at the Foph whose expressions had gone from hateful, to worried.

I was tired and needed to sleep.

I was actually quite exhausted, but this wasn’t the time to rest.

“I’m a goat of my word. The Foph are now mine and I will protect you, but the truth remains that you have demonstrated that you are a violent sort and I can’t have that. A solution for this in my old world- a solution for this is a prison. One where I will hold anyone who causes trouble. But in order to have a prison, we’ll need a court and for that, we’ll need to decide who’s in charge of the justice system.” I said.

“Any suggestions, Yna?” I asked a cross-armed Yna.

“Mmm… I believe the only one who could deliver the justice you seek is you. Otherwise, you’d have to teach another person what you believe is right and wrong. That person would also have to be willing to take on the role of judge.”

I nodded in understanding.

“I’ll look for candidates. Back to the knight problem, how should we take care of it?”

“Mmm… we could intercept any knights that approach the Dark Expanse, but even then, regardless of how powerful you and I are, if we end up clashing with the knights it’ll cause problems. If all of them suddenly go missing, the higher-ups will notice and if a knight happens to escape and return to Medelona, the Grandmaster could get involved.”

“Mmm… I wanna know more about this Grandmaster guy, but I’m sure our guests are tired. Give them some food and water. Oh, and when the time comes to sleep, they all sleep here. Oh and tell both sides to send people home telling them that they’re safe.” I said before glancing at the Rendaro, who all stiffened.

I didn’t like this.

I didn’t want to use fear to control people, but what choice did I have?

I exited the dojo before taking in the crisp, cool air.

I then noticed that Farin was hiding behind a tree.

I mean, I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was there.

It was dark out and Coh was blanketed by darkness so I could pretty much feel his presence.

“Come on out,” I said while walking towards Yna’s Cabin.

Farin ran to my side.

“Apologies. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop-“

“Don’t worry about it. I was just sorting out some things between the Ia and the Foph.” I said as we approached the cabin.

“The Foph are here? My goodness.”

“Don’t worry. Yna is watching them like a hawk.” I said while eyeing some of the grass before me.

I took a deep breath before digging into my green buffet.

“Say… Farin.”

“Yes?”

“How would you like it if I appointed you to judge. You’d act as the hand of justice that will help protect the people of not only Coh but maybe even the entire Dark Expanse?”

Farin groaned.

“I… I’m sorry, but I don’t think I’d be able to perform such an important duty. I mean no offence, but I’m fine being a simple Rendaro in search of the historical truth of his people.”

“Oh? That’s fine, I guess. Oh- how about I put you in charge of documenting key events around here? I could build you a special office and everything!” I said, but Farin's expression changed. Almost as though he felt pity for me.

Why?

I was fine, for the most part.

“Lord Katsíki-“

“Just Katsíki.”

“What you’ve given me is more than enough. I humbly accept the task of collecting and documenting information, but all I really ask is that you and I continue our chats from time to time.” Farin said with a faint smile.

I nodded before plopping onto the ground. Farin did the same.

“Alright. Tell me about your time here. How is Coh so far and how do the others feel as well?”

“I love it here. It’s quiet, the air is clean and lady Yna always makes the most delicious food. The young Rendaro are feeling a little restless, but I can tell they’re comfortable. Shiru and her child are alright. Although she still waits for the day when her child doesn’t have to suffer the pain of Dark Marks.” Farin said.

“Oh yeah, about those. I assume they hurt, but just how much?”

“It’s a fairly weak, but constant burn that increases in severity as time passes. My Marks burn quite intensely, but I’ve since grown used to it. The problem is that the marks are also present inside our bodies and once an organ is completely covered… it fails and… death usually follows.” Farin said.

I nodded before closing my eyes and trying to get a feel for how much darkness was within Farin.

It was quite a lot, but most of his organs were far from completely covered in darkness.

I reaffirmed my goals.

I would cleans the dark expanse and heal the Rendaro… while keeping the Foph in check… while helping the Ia grieve… while keeping myself from becoming a cold, ruthless monster… while making sure Yna didn’t kill willy nilly… while helping build Coh… while figuring out how to implement my vision of justice into the world… what even is justice? Was I qualified to be the hand that delivered that justice, whatever it ended up being?