Chapter 383 Discourse On Morality

Chapter 383 Discourse On Morality

"Whatever it takes...?"

Rey found himself blurting out the very words he heard Esme say.

'What does she mean by that?'

"I mean what I said, Rey." The Half Elf answered him with a stern face. "I will do whatever I can to achieve more good than suffering around me."

For a moment, an eerie silence took over. Rey watched as Esme's lips moved to show the extent to which she was willing to go.

"... Even if it means taking the lives that I once thought was precious."

In that instant, Rey recognized just how prepared Esme was to fulfil her new disposition.

Many people often spouted off ideals, but they lacked the resolve to do anything to bring them to reality. Even back on Earth, Rey's original world, there were people who wanted radical changes to the world, or warned against certain catastrophes that would befall mankind if certain steps weren't taken.

Some of them were for objectively good causes, and they were right in their ideals.

However, most people did not follow-up these ideals with action. They didn't have the resolve—the unbreakble will—to do what had to be done.

Just like on Earth, this was a dog eat dog world.

Many people—like the Esme of the past—wished for peace and harmony. They shunned evil and clung to good. However, they really didn't have enough willpower to take the extra step to ensure their wishes became manifest in the canvas of reality.

But now... Rey saw a different person in front of him.

Esme had changed!

"What is good, Rey? What is evil?"

For a moment, no one said a world. Rey merely watched in astonishment, processing everything he was hearing.

"Come on... answer."

"A-ahh, about that..." Rey stuttered, his face falling as he thought a little deeply about the subject matter.

"I don't think there's such a thing as objective good or objective evil. Killing is bad, until you have to kill for the reasons. Stealing is wrong, unless those goods are stolen from a hoarder to feed your dying child. It's a messy spectrum, but such an arbitrary disposition can also mean anything goes if someone has a right reason. It ultimately leads to chaos."

He paused for a moment, introspecting on what he really felt.

"What do you mean by chaos?"

"Well..." Rey sought for the best way to explain his position. "For the most basic examples, my position works just about well. If there is no objective good or evil, then people simply need to operate on their perceptions of morality. But... that never ends well."

He simply didn't think it was a 'Good' action. Still, he didn't think he was evil either.

"I just—"

"Want to know what I think?" Esme's voice interrupted his silent whisper.

Rey broke out of his slump and looked at the Half Elf in front of him. She had a calm look, not appearing bothered by the moral conflicts at all.

It made him curious.

"What... do you think?"

"I think you're overcomplicating the issue." Rey found his eyes widening the moment he heard this from Esme.

"What do you mean?"

"You already said it yourself. Good and Evil are relative." She answered with a sigh. "There is no true good and evil in this world. There never was, and I fear there never will be..."

Despite making such a despairing statement, Esme leaked out a smile.

"Still, I want to make the world as good as it possibly can be."

"H-how...?" Rey asked.

No matter what one did, they would still end up in the same moral dilemma.

Unless—

"I will follow my own definition of morality and execute justice... the way I deem fit."

That, ultimately, was the path Esme chose for herself.

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading!

What do you think on this question of morality? Personally, I'm neutral on the issue, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.