Read Novel Full Chapter 338 Moral Quandary
Chapter 338 Moral Quandary
Word had already spread through the hidden Phenomenals community: The Umbra Collective's leader had been taken, and the once formidable Ebon Frost family had fallen, captured in a humiliating defeat.
Across the globe, the families were in disarray. Their war against Silas seemed lost before it had even begun.
Reports came flooding in of families amassing forces, forging alliances, yet morale was low. When two of the strongest groups, the Frost family and the Umbra Collective couldn't stand against Silas, what hope did the others have?
In his command center, Silas watched it all unfold through holographic displays. Dozens of screens projected real-time feeds, from grainy satellite images to encrypted communications that Luna had intercepted.
The tension across the world was palpable: small families cowering in hidden estates, the larger ones posturing while quietly trembling at the thought of confronting him.
Silas stood before a central holographic console, hands clasped behind his back. He wore a sleek black, simple all round outfit. His face was impassive, but behind his calm expression, thoughts churned.
"Luna, don't you think it's time I take the war to these families?" he mused softly, more ti himself than to Luna.
An instant later, Luna's voice, cool and precise, answered through the speakers embedded in the walls and ceiling.
{Do you intend to take the war to them?} she asked, posing a question in response to his own.
Silas let out a low sigh, turning to observe one screen in particular. It showed a live feed of Lady Selyna Frost and her children in their holding cell.
They looked tired, defeated, a very sharp contrast to the arrogance they once displayed.
"I do," he admitted. "Honestly, I'm tired of all these skirmishes, all this needless posturing. I just want to end it once and for all.
But the problem is I don't know what to do with these families yet. Not that I don't exactly know, but going ahead with it might make me look like a tyrant and a hypocrite."
{And what are these things you have in mind, Master?} Luna's voice held a hint of curiosity.
Silas shifted his gaze away from the screen, and stared at nothing particular in the control room.
"I have two options: to annihilate them completely or to break them, crush their wills until they have no choice but to submit to me. But the second option is… complicated. Wiping them out is easier, more definitive. But that would be monstrous, wouldn't it?"
He paused, his words resonating in the silent chamber. If he decided on genocide, would he be any different from the tyrants he had so passionately fought against?
These families had committed atrocities, yes, but was his desire to wipe them out truly just, or was it mere convenience?
Silas tapped a sequence on the console, shifting the camera feed to a different cell, the one containing the Umbra Collective's leader. The once-proud figure sat hunched on a metal bench, staring at nothing.
He heard a slight distortion in the audio feed, then a flicker of light. A moment later, a holographic construct of Luna appeared beside him.
When not in the underground facility, Luna rarely felt the need to manifest physically unless the conversation was important.
"I see you're taking this very seriously," Silas remarked, his voice tinged with amusement, though his eyes held an undercurrent of weariness. Find your next adventure on My Virtual Library Empire
The Luna construct offered a faint smile, more an expression of courtesy than warmth.
{You are taking it seriously, Master. Therefore, so am I. The moral compass that you've adopted... this reluctance to do what must be done. Frankly, it confuses me.}
Silas folded his arms across his chest. "I just… worry. If I walk that path, if I become the monster, how am I any different from the people I've overthrown?"
Luna inclined her head, studying him. {You fear losing yourself. But you also fear the world's perception, correct?}
Silas let out a slow breath.
"Yes. I fought the Black Hand because they oppressed the innocent. The families, though less blatant, have done similar harm. My objective is to restore balance, but if I resort to genocide, I'm the opposite of balance—I'm devastation incarnate."
Luna took a step closer, her holographic form flickering as she did so.
{You are strong, Master—stronger than any of them. You've proven that time and again. If you want the families gone, wiping them out is the simplest solution. A quick, decisive strike, and they cease to exist, along with the threat they pose.} She said with a lowered voice.
She paused, letting her words sink in.
{But if you crave a more nuanced approach, controlling them is indeed more challenging. It demands resources, strategy, constant vigilance. Even then, can you truly break the will of an entire society without destroying your own moral compass in the process?}
Silas's gaze flicked back to the screen showing Lady Selyna and her children. He remembered the fury in her eyes, the despair in her son's face, the uncertainty in Lyra's. Did he truly want to reduce them to hollow shells, blindly following his will?
He really hopes that things would go smoothly but from what he can see, there was no way that was going to happen.
{My viewpoint, if I may speak candidly? The concept of a moral high ground becomes trivial when you have the power to reshape the world. The question isn't what the world thinks. It's whether the world can even oppose you.} Luna said with a slightly raised voice.
A slight smirk tugged at Silas's lips, but he shook his head.
"It's not that simple. I've seen how tyranny takes root, how power corrupts absolutely. I can't pretend I'm immune to that. If I begin by justifying the slaughter of thousands, I might never stop."
The Luna construct tilted its head, a gesture that in humans might denote curiosity.
{I am aware that you wish to maintain some sense of humanity. But consider what these families have done—they murder, enslave, exploit. Is your letting them live truly a kindness, or is it a potential threat to the innocent who will suffer their return?}
Silas's jaw tightened. That was the crux of it, wasn't it? By staying his hand, he opened the door for these families to someday wreak havoc again.
He thought of the innocents the Fang Clan had burned, the atrocities the Ebon Frost family had committed in pursuit of power. Letting them exist felt like a disservice to their victims.
He exhaled, stepping away from the console.
"Maybe you're right. Maybe I should do what's easiest. But there's something in me that can't. If I kill them all, I'm no hero—I'm just another tyrant rewriting history."
A fleeting silence. Then Luna spoke in a softer tone,
{You might be underestimating how the world sees you. Many revere you as a savior, Silas. They see you as the only one willing to topple the old regime. They might accept any means you choose to impose.}
Silas closed his eyes, recalling the faces of rescued civilians, the gratitude they showed when he saved them from tyranny.
"I've done so much already—pushed them so far. Maybe the question is how many more lines I'm willing to cross."
Silas' gaze drifted again to the feed of Selyna's holding cell. She sat there, battered but unbroken, still harboring that fierce defiance.
In the cell next door, the Umbra Collective's leader paced restlessly, undoubtedly plotting escape routes and revenge.
"If I give in to the easier path," Silas finally murmured, "no one stops me. Not the families, not governments, no one. But I'll have to live with that."
Luna's holographic form stepped closer, laying the holographic hand of her construct on his shoulder.
{We will guide you. If you fear losing yourself, remember: you have your family. You have me. We'll stop you if you go too far. The rest of the world can burn for all I care.}
He half-smiled at her dark flippancy.
"Spoken like a true devil's advocate."
{Isn't that why I'm here?} Luna quipped gently.
For a long moment, Silas said nothing, weighing Luna's words against his own conscience. Finally, he straightened, squaring his shoulders.
"Not yet," he said firmly. "I won't push the button on annihilation. I owe it to my own sense of ethics to try something else first.
Breaking their wills might be monstrous, but it's less final than death. If I can reforge them into something that doesn't threaten innocents, maybe that's enough."