The Harvester

Chapter 248: Binary Thinking

“What did you just…?”

“What? Didn’t I make it clear? I said I would assist you in the resurrection of your Lord. Well, while also serving my own purpose,” Rakna said and frowned at his scarf that was now way bigger than what his two-meter-tall could comfortably wear.

“Goddammit, it’s nice the System enlarged it but this is kind of annoying,” he mumbled to himself as he pulled on the fabric. “Hijack Sonata’s constituents and compress them,” he ordered to Eye of Symphony whilst still being watched by a confounded Lilith. On cue with his words, his eyes spun and briefly displayed a mechanical nature before the scarf shone and shrunk.

[| Forceful Compression Will Lead to Instability, |] the Eye warned. [| Recommended Not to Wield Rhapsodic Sonata In Combat Without Reassuming Default Size. |]

“Yes, yes,” Rakna muttered offhandedly and scowled at the demoness who had yet to move since he presented his hand to her. “I don’t have all day. Are you taking it or not?”

Lilith stared at the werewolf as if she was trying to uncover an unworldly secret. She slowly raised her hand, trembling slightly from her weakened body, and reached for his hand. He smiled and pulled her up to her feet. She staggered, almost falling again, but he caught her before that.

“Don’t move,” Rakna said and she nodded hesitantly. “[Soul Fill,]” he intoned and controlled his soul power in reverse to channel mana and stamina back into the demoness’ body; the secondary application of Soul Drain that he rarely used. “There. You won’t return to your full glory any time soon; perhaps ever. But you at least retained some modicum of power after that stunt.”

“How… did you know the nature of my Golden Rakshasa?” She finally asked.

“That skill that burns your life force? Simple, I saw it,” the werewolf said and let her stand on her own after making sure she could support herself. “I have the ability to read the abilities of people and make out their details. Along with the memories I stole from your men, I knew everything I needed to know about your legion with just a glance.”

“I… see…”

“Now, return to your army. Pacify them and then meet me, along with those two other friends of yours if you want, at the Lunar Capital. I’ll be waiting there, dealing with the Moon Dwellers,” the Sentinel said and fizzed out of view with Star Flash.

Lilith gazed at where he stood and glanced at the body parts that she was sure had lost barely two or three minutes ago. She didn’t feel anything wrong with them but they seemed… tougher than normal.

Should she be offended at being spared in this manner? Should she feel anger at the Sentinel for acting like this after killing so many of her soldiers?

‘No, that’s what war is,’ she sighed. ‘He probably had no patience to consider parley after leaving a millennia-long imprisonment. In fact, I’m more surprised by the fact he was this agreeable in the first place. But why did he change his mind? Is this a trap?’ The demoness shook her head.

There was no point in her considering that possibility. Obsidian had no reason to fool her. There was no doubt in her mind that he could get rid of her and her army if he wished so. And it wouldn’t take much effort.

“Aah…” She sighed and after recollecting her wits, she dashed toward where she could sense her brethren. Wincing at the occasional pains, she made up her mind to comply with the Sentinel for now. If he tried to use her against her Lord after his resurrection… she would unhesitatingly end her own life.

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Meanwhile, Rakna made a detour to the Red Forest, which was nothing more but a barren terrain riddled with craters after his encounter with the demons. Or at least, half of it was. The werewolf stepped on the crushed tree branches and arrived near the hole made by the ax-wielding demon who had previously tracked the Moon Prince.

Rakna jumped down inside and landed in his former jail. He glanced to the corner of the room and let out a beastly huff, “Dispel your cloaking,” he ordered and the shadows of the room moved to reveal a Shadow Wolf sitting protectively in front of an unconscious Claudius.

“Your Majesty,” the wolf shockingly spoke and bowed its head. He was only a level 100 summon since Rakna’s level hadn’t fundamentally changed since entering the Simulation, but the massive attribute values were enough to give the wolf an intelligent mind capable of speech.

“Good work. For now, go to the surface and look for the demon army. Observe them and when you see that their leader is about to leave in my direction, inform me and escort them.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty,” the wolf said and turned into a shadow that climbed the hole in the ceiling with incredible speed and stealth.

“All right, let’s get you out, young king,” Rakna uttered drolly and slung Claudius over his shoulder before flying out of the underground dungeon.

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Rakna landed in front of the city’s gate and unceremoniously walked in, passing by the guards that had been dispatched in a poor attempt to recover a bit of order in the capital. Though, that effort was grandly overshadowed by the fact that there were many destroyed buildings, dead soldiers being carried away, with the occasional civilian, and some still burning vestiges.

‘I guess it’s a good thing I called that rain. That doused any fire at least,’ Rakna thought as he walked through the streets as if it was normal. He took note of the people making way for him and then curiously looked at the sky where he could clearly see the Earth. ‘The continents are different from how I know them… Interesting. Then there are those,’ he thought as his attention turned to several other celestial objects.

All of them seemed to be smaller moons; as if they were smaller pieces of the one that he currently stood on. ‘So, that’s where the other Moon Cities are… I suppose the ‘true moon’ is where this capital has the right to be.’

“{They are probably being attacked as we speak, aren’t they?}” Fray remarked.

‘No. My eyesight is enough for me to look at the surface of those moons like a satellite.’

“{…wait, seriously?!}”

‘Have you already forgotten?’ Rakna snorted, startling the passersby. ‘What do you think a value of 21 000 for my sense statistic coupled with Fabled Sight and Eye of Symphony would do?’

“{Right… you can say that was short-sighted of me. It does not make it any less shocking…}”

‘Anyway, I’d say they’re waiting to attack. To be specific, the demon forces on Earth, or perhaps the ones already hidden on those moons, are expecting news of the Capital’s occupation before carrying out the assault. Well, success or defeat, it doesn’t really matter,’ Rakna huffed and looked away from the sky.

‘In case of defeat, they would occupy the secondary targets to prepare an attack on the primary. In case of success, they simply press on since they know they have the edge. Strategically wise, it sounds the same, but there are details about it that have to be taken into consideration. Such as the possibilities of a counter-attack in case of a failure to take the Capital and the shrine.’

“{I have to admit, coming from a former war-strategist, you are quite insightful on the actions to take in a war,}” Fray said with an impressed tone. “{By the way, why did you spare them? And are you truly going to help them revive the Gods? Surely, you don’t want the Demon God to return…?}”

‘Black or white,’ Rakna responded out of the blue.

“{Huh? What do you mean?}”

‘People love to look at the world through lenses. And commonly, they are separated into the ones that see the world in ‘black and white’ and those that look at the ‘shades of gray’. The former being another manner of describing fools and the latter being connotative of the ones capable of insight.’

Fray raised an eyebrow from within the library in his soul. “{That is a rather philosophical topic to raise all of a sudden. Why are you mentioning it?}”

‘Because it is wrong,’ Rakna responded. ‘The ones who try to find the gray are also fools. Something is complex if you see it as so. Similarly, something is simple if you think it is. This is about something an acquaintance of mine called ‘binary thinking’. Divide every problem into two solutions. Choose the one you prefer to follow and then repeat the process.’

“{I see… But what does it have to do with your decision to ally with the demons?}”

‘Why did the demons attack?’ Rakna retorted with a question. ‘Answer 0: They are evil. Answer 1: they have a motive. 1 is correct, quite obviously. Next question, what is their motive? Answer 0: Kill the Moon Dwellers. Answer 1: Something else. In this case, 1 is also the answer; revive the Earth God. So, my next question is; why do it? Answer 0: They are evil. Answer 1: Something else. It sounds kind of stupid, doesn’t it? But that’s simply verbalized unconscious thinking. It’s nothing too deep. Either option of ‘they are evil’ or ‘something else’ is just a way of rationalizing their motive.’

Fray hummed. “{I think I understand what you are trying to convey. In that binary thinking of yours; 0 is the evident dead-end to any sort of deliberation and 1 is the way forward. I assume you posed enough ‘inquiries’ to reach the question; ‘Is reviving the gods a bad thing?’.}”

Rakna snickered. ‘Pretty much. But to dumb it down; people don’t need complicated thoughts. They just need to follow a sequence of both logic and emotions. If you feel and know that something should be done; then do it or don’t. Don’t take a break in between to consider morals or common sense. The reason I spared them was that I found enough integrity in them to believe that it would be nothing more than an ugly, disgusting, and pointless conflict if I fought them. That’s the first step; my personal opinion. Then, we switch to rationalizing a suitable outcome to satisfy it.’

“{…}”

‘So, if I don’t want that to happen, we compromise. Let’s revive those gods; that’s answer 1. And after that…’ Rakna smiled darkly. ‘What to do, you ask? Answer 1: Achieve peace. Answer 0: Let those Gods finish their ugly war on their own.’

“{Ah… so that’s how it is,}” Fray came to a realization. “{Both outcomes are your ideal cases… you don’t care whether or not those Gods can be amiable. All you want is for them to end the fight in a way that does satisfies you. Or rather, you seek the Gods’ mutual destruction in order to reduce meaningless mortal casualties.}”

‘More or less. My plan is closer to ‘let’s make it so that the Gods have no choice to find a solution on their own’ but, that’s pretty much it.’

“{Hm… an interesting concept. Binary thinking; taking a set of two opposite decisions until the last two remaining are both viable solutions. That is a surprisingly guileless way of thinking without forgoing logic or sentiment. But honestly, this thought process sounds rather… inhuman. Because it would mean you’re ready to give up as much sentiment as needed at the drop of a hat.}”

‘I can’t deny that. Even I only find inspiration in that methodology. But I learned from it, that trying to find ‘wrong or right’ in a situation that blends ‘black and white’ is both hubris and naive. Only your ideal objective should matter; and even if you cannot reach it, you must get as close as possible. The best option; you must find it, to cut down your practical and sentimental losses.’

“{Until you end the sequence with a 0…}” Fray laughed lightly. “{How very intriguing, indeed. Who is that acquaintance of yours, if I may ask? If he can conduct such thinking, he must quite a special kind of human.}”

[Is it, by any chance, that person?] Ceres abruptly joined the conversation out of curiosity.

Rakna smiled. ‘Yes, Ceres. It’s him. To answer your question, Fray, just know that it’s someone both the old man and I respect.’

“{Hahaha! Now, you certainly made me curious. To be respected by Eternal Night himself is a great feat in and of itself.}”

The werewolf huffed. ‘Enough chit chat. Let’s get this Simulation over with,’ he declared and star-flashed to the inner parts of the city where he sensed the largest gatherings of people.