I was thankful as I said the words out loud. Thankful that my Shifter powers held so much sway over the way I presented myself. That my cells were still in such perfect harmony and control that I was able to completely suppress the massive, overwhelming migraine that was rising up within me. My old regular body would have been plagued with throbbing veins on my forehead. Rapid breathing that betrayed how thoroughly upset I was. All combined and intertwined with that odd, pulsating feeling behind my eyes that betrayed how stressed out I felt. As if a bug's heartbeat were trapped just beside my actual eyes.

But no. Thankfully, I had it all under control.

That way, I could pretend to be nonplussed on the outside. While I seethed on the inside.

It wasn't any one thing. Rather, a combination of factors.

First and foremost, the dawning realization that this was the event that Cultist Sully had been referring to when he'd spoken of the finale. That sick bastard had been aiming for this from the very beginning. From the very first conversation he and I had on that unreal beach. Where he'd mentioned how useful manipulation could be. Not [Domination], but good old social skullduggery.

'What were his words again?'

The memory came back unbidden.

Cultist Sully skipping through the beach in his stupid Buddy shorts.

A goofy, disarming smile on his face.

"Honestly Sully, you can't be this stupid and still expect things to go your way. People are easy in general and [Presence] is like cheating. Just nod along as they're talking and leak out your Psy into the air. Then you let them talk while agreeing with them and actively listening to what they're trying to tell you. Say their words back to them in a different way and say that you agree and keep that up until you can up the ante of Psy you're letting out. Then bring up their own ideas as your own. Again, with different words being used, and you'll have them thinking you completely trust them in no time. It isn't that hard man."

I could imagine him perfectly, and all I wanted to do was reach forward and strangle him.

"Telepathy is all about being connected to other minds. Other people. Manipulation isn't just an easier way of doing things compared to [Domination]. It's downright optimal. You are quite literally handicapping yourself when you don't do it. And they're stronger than you, so you don't even have the excuse of being gentle with regular people. You actively need to exploit your betters right now in order to survive tomorrow. That's the way it is."

Yes.

Those had been his words.

Right before he showed his true colors and sent his Veiled Prince to shower my Earth with his [Presence].

Leaving Puffin alone.

Both to get her to be like this no doubt. As well as to give me an out.

'Bastard. Filthy, lying, underhanded, treacherous, rat, gnome bastard. He couldn't have simply gone and told me that all I'd need to do to get my way was make some concessions? Did he really have to brainwash mom and dad and grandpa and everyone else?'

Well, yes.

Yes, he did.

That was the second point that was currently making my blood boil.

This was a negotiation, where these four expected me to play along with how they thought the System should be built and how it should be run in the Labyrinth and beyond. I was starting to get that now. If I'd simply waltzed in with a normal, happy go lucky Earth family, they'd be forced to make some more threats. Take more extreme stances as they explained how my way of doing things was wrong.

They would be less likely to budge, and there was a greater than zero chance that negotiations fell through altogether.

With my Earth being the way it was, my stated position started out as having been undermined.

I'd be expected to give more concessions from the start, but they in turn would go easier on me. Believing that this matter was already settled and all they had to do was play out their roles. It would be less than an actual battle of philosophies, and more akin to them granting me a few of the things I wanted in order to satisfy me and settle this whole matter once and for all.

Better yet, they would not be able to discern his true intentions or mine, in the event that I caught on to what he was trying to do.

He knew this, because I'd already had [Corrupting Influence X] by the time I'd arrived on his beach.

The one ability he helped me train to its fullest potential while I was in his realm.

'Bastard.' I thought again. Fuming with repressed rage.

'He played me like a fucking fiddle!'

I could actually see it now.

Even without having to rely on [Limited Omniscience].

I would continue to present my point as a general force for good. Because it was. I would show all the ways in which I improved the Earths I visited. I would show the benefits of the boosts. I would show how things were before I arrived and the effect of crime.

Of evil.

Then they would have Puffin throw a fit. Then they would argue that the idea of free will was more important than the suffering of a few. That a good and decent society would curtail crime to a reasonable degree and that the System made it so that the truly worthy naturally rose to the top over time. Ensuring such societies could form to the best of a species' ability.

They would argue that my solution was no solution at all, and that it was at best, a band-aid over the problems that came with free will.

I would bring up the gnomes. They would bring up other examples of peace-loving hippie alien species.

I would bring up a need for justice and accountability. They would bring up what had happened on Earth to shut me up, as I'd come across as a massive hypocrite.

Then they might throw me a bone in the form of a new System rule. Maybe a clause that teleported an Intruder to mess you up if you committed a heinous enough crime or something.

As for Hazimon…

Well.

It would appear that not all aspects of the prediction were as airtight as I was beginning to believe.

'The question remains though. Can I trust that he'll mind his own business if I leave him alive?'

All my instincts told me no.

But then I recalled messed up child Sully. The Open-Handed Monk. I recalled his plea for mercy. For forgiveness.

And then I recalled Hazimon's own words. His promise to kill every last human being in existence if I didn't play along with his wishes.

I suppressed the urge to bite down on my lip. Giving nothing away.

'Success… true, lasting success, is only a few words away.' I thought to myself. 'All I have to do is let this play out. Humanity will still be protected if I make peace. They'll be compelled to keep Singing Metals from acting up if I play nice.'

I was still thinking about all the possibilities, when Voice of Order kept talking.

"Made your choice, you say…" He croaked.

The others had different sorts of reactions.

"Yes, yes. That does seem to be the case." Voice of Order granted. "It couldn't have been an easy choice either. What with you being able to see and feel what all the others can. It would be easy, for some random despot to claim that he knew best and that his people needed him. That he had to remain in power because no one else could be trusted to make the hard choices. That only he had the vision that his nation and people needed. That only he had the will to make the hard choices and see that vision through."

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He rolled his eyes dramatically.

Too dramatically.

As if he knew that was a human expression but hadn't quite gotten the hang of it yet.

'All for my benefit. Bastard.' I thought suddenly.

'They're all bastards to some degree. Except maybe Living Stiches. He's actually turned out to be pretty alright. But even he gave in. They saw the depravities of gnomes. The unnecessary wars between nascent factions. The brutal aftermaths of Tutorials where up and coming civilizations were taken apart piece by piece by much bigger, much more established, and much meaner powers. They saw the interdimensional slave trade. Run mostly by gnomes. They saw all that, and decided that free will meant their hands were tied.'

I was hilariously biased and corrupt, as far as things went.

Because even if the Dragon and Lady Agony weren't in the equation, the Kenari empire would have been perfectly stable due to the mere existence of Singing Metals. They pretend to be impartial, but only so long as their own species wasn't targeted.

'Bastards.'

They kept talking, despite my inner monologue.

"Yes, many, many, many warlords end up saying something close to that every time they are challenged. Personally, I find that such an answer shows a lack of imagination. I mean, how likely is it that out of all the people that such a despot controls, only they can figure out the right tax code to implement or how to best make use of those taxes."

"It's also funny how few of those despots can balance a budget properly." The Unconquered Sun clicked her mandibles quickly.

"Yes. That too." Voice of Order croaked happily. "But back to the point. We are not so prudish as to not understand where you're coming from. No one likes to suffer. No one likes to feel pain. To feel afraid. To feel small. Crimes, violence, atrocities, wanton disregard for the well being of others… these are all aspects of society that one could argue are inevitable. One can never really solve crime as a societal ill. Not through conventional methods. Just like one can never really solve addiction or poverty or corruption. The very nature of sentient beings and free will assures that some will choose to be antisocial. Despite the possible repercussions."

"Or because of them." I offered.

He croaked again.

"Quite right! You are correct of course. No amount of lawmaking and enforcement will fix a government if the people making the laws are the societal ill. If they ensure that the outcome is favorable for them. If they are the ones who do not apply their own laws to their own depredations."

I took a lot of effort to keep my mouth shut at that.

More effort than I thought possible.

"That doesn't change anything." Puffin spoke up. Not bothered in the least by the presence of the old monsters around her.

"Yes, Hakon and the other masters were all horrible. Yes, they did terrible things. But that doesn't excuse him doing even more terrible things when it's his turn to have the power. He didn't need to do what he did to mom and dad. He could have dismantled the masters' hold on my own Earth and put a new power in place. He could have set up a democracy, like the one dad described. The kind where the people get to choose what happens."

I chortled. Deciding that playing along now would be beneficial to the narrative of the script.

"You mean a democracy where the leaders get to take people off the street the second they dissent and make them disappear? Oh! Or perhaps you mean a democracy where the people connected to the leaders always seem to get elected or assigned to positions of considerable power. While those not related to the people in power keep going mysteriously missing? Oh! Oh! Or do you perhaps mean a democracy where people connected to people in power can commit all kinds of crimes and debauchery with impunity? Tell me Puffin, have you heard of a copper mine? Have you ever met my friend Mason? He'd love to meet you, I'm sure."

It was my turn to roll my eyes.

"But fine. Let's not get muddled down here. Let's assume I did bring down the masters in your Earth and that I did set up a democracy right away. Which I did by the way. Just in case you were interested in the truth."

"You brainwashed them!" She shouted. Not caring the least bit about the truth.

"I boosted them. Giving them a blast of my power in the process. Giving people powers involves having them be connected to me and to things I've experienced. Since I've experienced a lot of things, as you well know, the people I boost experience a lot of things. Such as the consequences of hurting others from the eyes of the victims. What victims of murder really feel as the light fades from their eyes. What manner of trauma remains on those who survive. How being robbed or tormented tears you down for weeks and months and years afterwards. The grief of those that the dead leave behind."

"How is it any different!?"

'Because I want the pain to stop! You stupid brain-dead brat!' I wanted to shout.

In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to jog over to where she was and slap her so hard her head did a full 360-degree rotation.

'You of all people are going to pretend that pain and suffering don't matter!? You!? After all that dad and mom did for you!? After I sent Mittens to rescue your sorry ass from Hakon and his goons!? After my Intruders saved you from a fate worse than death!? After I boosted you!? You're going to stand there and pretend that boosting people takes away their free will!? Even as you condemn me!?'

It took every ounce of self-control left in my body to keep myself from gagging in disgust.

"Because." I spoke slowly. "They still have the choice to do what they will. Only they are forced to internalize what will happen. It's completely different from brainwashing someone."

A screen appeared.

Showing mom and dad wandering through the streets of my home planet. Wide-eyed and staring into empty air with goofy smiles on their faces.

Voice of Order eyes me quizzically.

'Bastard.'

"That wasn't something I wanted." I spoke again.

This time keeping any emotion from my voice.

"No." Balanced Scales assented. "It was an unfortunate side-effect of your training. We understand. There are certainly worse things that could have happened. And it certainly does seem reversible for someone with your power."

"But that does not mean it didn't happen." The Unconquered Sun followed up. "You must keep that in mind. That while this was not your intention, this was a result of your power. You must take care to be more watchful in the future."

"Going back the issue of miss Puffin's world." Balanced Scales piped up. "I assume what miss Puffin meant was that you could have placed the frameworks for a democracy in place without getting involved in other matters. Without boosting them or using Psy in any way."

I scoffed. My voice louder.

"That is so unrealistic a prospect it may as well be in the realm of fantasy. So, you think someone that grew up in a slave pit, no offense meant to them personally of course, would be able to figure out how to set up a democracy overnight? Within a week? Within a month or a year? Do you have any idea how much work it took for modern democracies to become the standard in my world? No, not in my world. In the world that mom and dad grew up in? Do you have any idea how fragile democracies, especially young democracies, truly are? How easily someone in power can dismantle it all within the blink of an eye?"

I got up from the cushioned seat and walked over to where Puffin was.

"Do you know the real price of freedom? Good Buddha Puffin, the Roman Empire was a republic before it had emperors. One that lasted hundreds of years. A series of politicians and generals brought it all down within a single generation. What makes you think one of the old masters wouldn't immediately take power again the second I left the planet? What makes you think that democracy would last more than an afternoon?"

I shook my head ruefully.

"The only way to hold such a fragmented society together in the short term is by force of arms. All the people who would tear it down would need to be very afraid of the consequences of doing so. In other words, I would need to have a very real presence to those people. As a potential threat. That would be no different from boosting everyone, in that I would still be imposing the rule I wanted to see by virtue of my power. Only, your way would be worse. Because all kinds of chaos and criminality would ravage the population at the individual level. Just like it did during the fall of the Soviet Union. Gangs would form up right way. The former leaders would privatize everything they could within the new law to hold on to power. The middle class would lose their livelihoods overnight, either due to the gangs or the former leaders carving up the former regime."

Puffin didn't lose her rage.

So, I called on the Tall Man again, and brought on another screen. Showing her just that.

"This is not reality." I told her. "It's a prediction. One of many. Again, you think to yourself that I'm no different than a master using fancy words and clever examples to manipulate."

I gave her a look.

"I am not. This…"

I waved behind me.

"Is a prediction of the future. And as you yourself no doubt know. I am very good at predicting the future."

The screen showed more or less what I'd spoken about.

There was hardly a middle class to lose in Puffin's world, but she did see the gangs forming up. Them fighting with the regular army the old masters had. Or what remained of them. She saw fierce street fighting outside the coliseum. Armored men being tackled to the ground before knives found their ways to their throats. Other, more organized rows loosing arrows and slinged stones into the shouting, braying crowd. On the distance, we saw fires.

"Compare that to what actually happened." I said casually.

The screen changed.

It was now showing a greener land, when compared to the desert. Rolling hills had replaced the sandy dunes. White fluffy clouds rolled gently atop those hills. With a few groups of flying Espers coming closer in the distance. Carrying evaporated water from the far-off salty sea to better irrigate the landscape.

Farmers, for lack of a better word, sat lazily on the high crests of the hills or on stone chairs, sunbathing while their Psy controlled the beasts of burden. The oxen and horses moving in perfect lines while the fruits and vegetables grew nice and firm.

Then the image moved and we all saw the city. The old desert city.

The walls had been torn down, as there was no more need for them now that the neighboring city-states weren't likely to invade.

The streets were clean and devoid of beggars.

The sick houses were empty, as were the scant few opium dens that the local aristocracy frequented.

Children played in the streets. Their necks devoid of collars.

People stopped to talk and exchange pleasantries, though most walked along with barely more than a glance towards others. Letting Telepathy do all the talking for them.

The men coming from the mines were no longer gaunt and looking as if they were on the verge of death.

The colosseum had been repurposed as a sports arena where people might enjoy a picnic.

In a heartbeat, this Earth had seen a return to a former glory it had lost after some cataclysm.

I had brought civility back.

I had brought peace.

Even Puffin couldn't hold on to all her rage.

"Now tell me, Puffin. Do you think they miss the freedom you claim I took away?"

She said nothing.

I pressed further.

"What is the price of freedom, in your eyes? Tell me that, if you please. What would you be willing to pay in order to have the freedom you so crave?"

I waved over to them.

"Convince me. Better yet. Convince them. Tell us all what the price of freedom is."

I walked closer to her.

"And why they should want to pay it."

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