"I would have to agree. Witnesses say the Successor becos withdrawn as they gain more legacies. The things they once valued, like bonding with their n or even the food they eat, suddenly change.
"It was fortunate that they all started out having legions of armies with them. It made asking for witness accounts easier. But the vast majority of the interviews led to the sa conclusion. The Successors slowly beca different people."
The words of the Analyst were purely a retelling, but sohow they dove deeper than that. There had been plenty of monts when my gut twisted into knots for unknown reasons. And right now, I had the sa feeling.
"Can you be more specific, Zanele?"
Nodding, the woman then answered after so thought.
"Sudden bouts of hysteria. Seeing visions. Symptoms similar to bipolar disorder. The Successors would suddenly go silent one mont and violent the next. As they began as righteous, the changes in values were the most apparent."
At her words, I noticed the girls all stir and begin to look at each other. I have noticed many tis that the officers of Hellsend grew to accept my tendencies. But my behavior was not bound by anything weird. It was normally when I understood a topic and reacted to it.
"Hmm. I guess it would be difficult to fra it in that manner. Let try again. Are you all familiar with the moral alignnt chart used in the ga Dungeons & Dragons?"
I nodded. It was the fastest way to understand soone's motivations and tendencies and was a useful analysis. It had nine sections that were separated by how lawful and good soone was. I personally feel that I belong in Chaotic Good.
"Good. I will use the alignnts to explain the changes of the Successors. Every one of them begins as Lawful good. It ans that at the start, the Successors are all the epito of the White Knights from legend and myth.
"But as they received the legacies, they began to move away from their original stance. They slowly changed to neutral good and in so cases even chaotic good. Their actions and how they reacted to problems began to change. And their allies all felt it," Zanele explained.
'Can't say I bla them,' I comnted inwardly.
There was a saying, "The brightest sword is the one never drawn in battle." This was sothing easily shown in manga, ani, or any good story. Good and evil were never so clear-cut. Heroes were often at odds with succumbing to evil and resisting it.
The only true white knights were those that lived in a bubble. Those who never had to experience hardship. And sadly it didn't take much to pull them off their high horse. The ntality of a white knight will never change the world.
Even a sculptor needs to chip off the original stone to remake it into a work of art. Without removing what needs to be removed, what one envisioned will never co true. That is as true in sculpting as it is in saving the world.
A good example was how to deal with your enemies. Heroes are expected to never kill. This allows the said villains to find redemption. But what if they have no interest in doing so? What if the villain truly just wants to watch the world burn?
Is it kinder to kill one to save his future victims? Or should we risk the majority's safety for one person?
This question sparked a race among ani, manga, and comics to find the best answer. White knights were an ideal many sought, but not many truly wanted. The only world in which such naive thinking would work is in children's fiction.
'I an, even Abel and Hiro, for all their kindness, still tried to murder the fuck out of each other.'
Anyone who heard the lengths the Reapers went to would be appalled. But could anyone bla them? Refusing to act was just as bad. And as bad as their decisions were, without the sins committed in the past, there wouldn't even be a future.
'Was that why the legacies were called Sins?' I contemplated.
"Please keep this in mind as we go through the last four sins. The first three, Pride, Greed, and Wrath, are what I call the Lawfully Good stages. During this period, the Successor could still adapt to their legacies while keeping to their original moral compass."
As we were already familiar, we knew that the next Sin was Envy. aning Jo's.
"The lives the Sins of Envy lead are similar to Greed's. But there is a stark difference. The Sins of Greed grew up with nothing. The Sins of Envy are, for a portion of their lives, happy. But that happiness is stolen away in the worst way imaginable. This breaks them.
"They end up envious of those who do not experience such misfortunes. They are the most unhinged of the Sins, often psychotic, bitter, and often carrying imnse hatred. Their {Fates} are usually directed at being able to relive their happiest days."
Just going off the requirents for the Sin of Envy, I could already envision what happened. To have bad things happen to good people. This was the first and the hardest to defend in an argunt of morals. Being good was predicated on receiving good.
'But what would we do if that were not the case? Could you continue to be good? Especially when all those whom you love are taken from you,' I murmured under my breath.
Of the Sins, the Sin of Envy was one I grew most concerned with. Simply because, of the worlds Vela, Jo's Astral kept ntioning.
"I see. Thank you for telling . There is a reason I chose the Crown of Envy. I admire your love for Darling. So much that I want it too."
"Darling, I know you feel threatened. You have every reason to do so. Especially after what I did. But know that, unlike the last ti, I will never allow anyone to betray you. Much like Jo, I chose the Sin of Envy to et you again. I will be by your side, always."
The Astrals in general were chaotic good. Given their nature, it would hardly make sense to hold on to your principles in the face of annihilation. Thus, when Carlos shared that Europe, a land of Linkers, was Machiavellian, I wasn't surprised.
But then I grew confused. Why choose lawfully good bastards if you plan to corrupt them? Zanele's explanation made believe the legacies were to test a Successor's ntality, not to rely give instructions.
"When the Successors t and received the legacy of Envy. This begins their Neutral to Chaotic period. From this point on, any semblance of warmth or trustfulness vanishes. They begin to act extrely paranoid about being betrayed.
"The social circles of the Successors rapidly shrink as a result. Often the Sins of Envy are branded as traitors and executed on the spot. Those who do manage to stay in the Successor's confidence tread on eggshells. But they are also given a task."
Zanele then gestured to the two beside her. "For this part, Nandi and Zinhle, please elaborate for our guests."
"Yes, mistress." X2
Nandi spoke first. She looked like a sweet and charming girl that most n would want to protect. Her long hair fell freely over her shoulders.
"The na of my Successor was Bashir Diallo. He ca from Mali. Upon receiving the legacy of Envy, Bashir, for lack of a better word, slowly began to go insane. He kept saying that we needed to act quietly or else he would be found out.
"When I asked who he was hiding from, he grew agitated and began to curse at . Bashir was very warm at first. Then, he began to test his inner circle's trust. Anyone who was caught lying was imdiately executed on the spot. It got worse as ti went on."
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