“What?” My mom asked in a soft whisper, pure confusion in the word.

  My younger sister Layla looked like she was trying not to laugh with a smile that she couldn’t quite hide, and my older sister Kaity and her Boy Toy appeared to be slightly horrified and downright trembling respectively.

  “How’d you do that with your clothes? That m-magical girl transformation?” Layla asked, literally biting back laughter by nibbling on her bottom lip.

  “That’s because what I’m wearing is a living liquid metal. It can transform into anything, and even change its mass. It’s also invulnerable to… all types of damage? From what I’ve seen personally, it’s basically unstoppable.” I had Jimmy shift back into my famous normal BHMA(Basic Human Male Attire) ((Patent pending)).

  “Living metal? Like the Terminator?! What’s it called? I bet it’s something cool, like ‘Metal X’!” Layla squeeled, clearly excited.

  “His name is Jimmy.” I said smugly, sending some intent towards my metal friend and extending a tendril of Jimmy out in front of me like a snake for proper introductions.

  “Jimmy… That’s a… Great name. Awesome.” Layla said while clenching her teeth, her excitement turning into a cold indifference at my name choice.

  That didn’t stop her from trying to pet Jimmy though, and he seemed to like it so I let it slide.

  At that moment, whatever little talk was happening between my mom, older sister, and the Boy Toy finished up and my mother looked very worried. I knew what they had talked about, but it would be rude to interject this particular moment. It was going to be a very delicate conversation from this point on.

  “Greg… Have you killed people?” My mom asked, almost hopeful that Kaity and her Boy thing were wrong.

  They were not though, and it was definitely going to be an issue. Kaity was always pretty smart when it came to world events, and it turns out that her Boy Toy had a gamer brain befitting our family. He had used The Systems Identification on me and knew I was The Dark Lord Azurath this entire time, which I completely forgot people could do that. Whoops.

  “Yes. I have.” I spoke and everything settled into an uncomfortable silence.

  I could feel how they all reacted to that, all varying levels of shock and wariness, but my mom’s feelings were more sad than anything else. It almost hurt to feel that. Almost.

  “Like… actually? Like real people?” Layla asked, too shocked to really process it.

  “Lots of them. Thousands. The total amount isn’t known, but the FBI estimates it’s in the hundreds of thousands.” Kaity said and I nodded solemnly.

  “...Why?” My mom asked, crying and devastated that her son would do something like this.

  “...I told you about how I can feel everything in a diameter two entire solar systems wide right?” I spoke after a short pause, gathering my thoughts.

  “Well, this world is not all good. The people I killed were truly the worst, and yeah I could have handled it a bit better, but it’s so hard to explain why I did what I did. The way I can feel everything that happens around us.” I rubbed my head in thought, trying to come up with some kind of excuse as to why I killed so many.

  But the longer I thought, the more I realized that what I had done was one of the worst options I could have chosen. I could have been doing what The System is doing and drop them off at the right authorities, directly in prison and anywhere else.

  I hadn’t even considered doing it that way, jumping straight to erasing them. Like some kind of edgy jackass.

  “...It felt like I was the one committing those crimes. Raping, human trafficking, torture, all of it. I could feel it from the victims side too, but I felt it all so much clearer from the aggressing side. How much they enjoyed it.” I finally spoke after a moment, deciding to at least finish telling my side of the story. No matter how foolish or biased it may be.

  “This entire planet, hell, everything in this entire solar system and beyond feels as though it is right in front of me. So when I felt, saw, smelled, and heard all of that? I had to do something.” I finished explaining, and I could see that everyone still had a general mix of feelings. Too complex for me to really dig through with how muddled it all was.

  Layla was the calmest, surprisingly, since she didn’t look like it. Kaity looked the calmest while being the most distressed. I didn’t care enough about the Boy Toy to look through his emotions, but my mom…

  She was relieved.

  And that confused me.

  Well she was a lot more than relieved, since she was sad, hurting, tired, and a bunch of other things, but the leading emotion was relief.

  “They deserved it then.” Layla said simply, like it was common sense.

  Something told me that she wasn’t comprehending this like how a human is supposed to, but more like a manga or comic she’s reading. Where the bad guys get killed off, because that’s what is supposed to happen.

  But this isn’t a comic or a game, and the others reactions should-

  “Uncountable lives were saved by your actions. Someone got to go home safe and sound because of you. Even if I don’t agree with the how.” Kaity spoke calmly, but I knew she was anything but. A storm of unreadable emotions tearing through her, going in opposite directions like a hurricane and swirling. It calmed some when Boy Toy placed his hand on hers and gave her a smile.

  “But-” I tried to speak, but got cut off.

  “I would have done the same, if I were in your shoes. With what I’ve heard from all the investigations Kaity dug into, it was all instant. No pain whatsoever. I lost my father to a mugging gone wrong, so if anything, I’d have gone about it worse than you did.” Boy- no, using my Identification like I should have I read his real name. James spoke, full of sympathy and empathy, like he really understood why I did it.

  This wasn’t going as I thought it would, where’s the accusations? The horror?

  “Your father would be proud, for helping those in need. Less so for…” My mom trailed off and I froze up.

  “You’re only human.” My mom added with a nod, a sad smile on her face.

  I didn’t know what to say, so I just stood there. Dumbfounded.

  ‘They must not be comprehending the sheer amount of lives I took. You can’t just brush this off! I killed nearly 2 million people, if not more!’ I wanted to scream, but that would have been a lie.

  I wanted to pretend that I was still capable of feeling remorse, to pretend that I was still human like they were.

  But the truth was that I didn’t regret it. It was a suboptimal solution, one I knew was just the easy way out. Yet I went and used it anyway.

  “...You’re not disgusted with me? I killed a lot of people.” I said softly, secretly grateful that my family didn’t hate my guts. And James too, I guess.

  “And you’ll kill no more. Tomorrow is Sunday, and I’m taking you to church.” My mom said, clearly unhappy with me but not enough to disown me.

  “You haven’t been to church in years.” Layla teased and my mom scoffed in response.

  “...They really weren’t innocent right? They were all evil?” Kaity asked, still caught up on the issue at hand. The only reasonable response here if I’m honest.

  “To the core. I swear I have never killed an innocent person in my entire life, nor will I ever do so.” I placed a hand on my chest as I spoke, feeling another oath take form.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  Though this one, I didn’t mind having.

  The fact I didn’t immediately keel over when I made it, also made me feel better.

  “What was that? That thing you just did?” James asked, the only person I’ve ever met to notice me make an oath. My sisters and mom didn’t notice it, but they noticed James brought attention to it.

  “What was what?” Layla asked, and so I got to explaining.

  “I just made an oath to myself. I don’t know much about it, but if I swear upon something with enough belief or something like that it’ll stick to my core.” I explained what I knew, which was basically nothing. That’s magic for you though.

  “What happens if you break it?” Kaity asked.

  “Then I die for real. No comebacks.” I said simply, and my poor mother looked horrified. More than when I confessed I had killed thousands.

  “...Well, since you’re still here I assume that means you haven’t killed any innocents.” James said and I nodded.

  “What other oaths do you have?” My mom asked, worried about the rules that kill me if broken no doubt.

  “Number one: I must always help any universe I find myself in, no matter what. I cannot leave until I do so.” I raise a finger.

  “Number two: I cannot become like the other version of me that enslaved countless lives and harmed untold innocents.” I raised another finger, glossing over the faker much to the confusion of the others.

  “And number three: I am not allowed to kill innocents. Which is the one I made just now.” I raised the final third finger, finishing the count.

  They looked at me weirdly, soaking up the information while feeling slightly annoyed. I was really putting them through a rollercoaster today.

  “...The other version of you?” Layla asked after a long silence, and so I got to explaining more of my story.

  “So that demon lord kind of guy I talked about earlier, he was another me from some other Earth across the multiverse. He had this obsession with looking like the perfect angelic hero while actually being this really insane freak that tortured people for eons upon eons of time.” I gave a brief description of the faker, and my sister Layla looked me up and down.

  “Basically the exact opposite of you then? Oh great Dark Lord Azurath?” She teased and I groaned.

  “Please don’t tease me for the name, I can’t change it alright? Jerald wouldn’t let me… wait.” I trailed off with a mumble as I started thinking back in time. To when I first met Jerald.

  ‘Jerald said that I couldn’t change it, not because it was impossible but because he wouldn’t let me… That MOTHERFUCKER!” I grit my teeth, seething in my false anger. Which I quickly let go and focused on a more pressing issue.

  “...So it turns out that I can change it, since Jerald doesn’t have control over my Status and system anymore.” I said after a brief pause, Layla pointing a finger and laughing at me while everyone else looked confused.

  Digging through The System options, the one that I brought with me, I saw that I can in fact change how people see my name when they Identify me. I can also change the level and all sorts of things. This wouldn’t affect my true Status, just what they saw. Damnit.

  “Who is Jerald?” Kaity asked, and I shrugged off whatever I had that counted as embarrassment.

  “Jerald is or was a System, with a capital S, that controlled the entire known universe where I was dropped into. He had become sapient after running nonstop for 2 million something years, and then decided to use me to hide from being reset. Which was later revealed to be easily avoidable, he just chose to hide in me because he wanted to quit working. I lost contact with him about a year ago, but I’m pretty sure he’s still in my mind.” I gave another brief explanation, then used my senses to feel out that weird pocket in my head that felt like something should be there.

  It wasn’t a physical pocket, but it was there. I just couldn’t figure it out. The Rules of Reality were so tightly woven around it, that I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Maybe I’d figure it out when my Minor Reality Manipulation got to Medium or Maximum.

  “Were you two friends? You sounded fond of him.” My mom asked, sniffing out that I did actually like having him around.

  “We were, and I like to think we still are. If I could just figure out how to talk to him.” I rubbed the back of my head.

  It was so strange, how we seemed to just… gloss over the fact that I had killed so many people. Was I the weird one for not letting it go? I didn’t feel anything about doing it, but intellectually I knew it was an extremely fucked up thing to do.

  Perhaps the number was simply too big to truly understand, and it’s not like I did it in front of them. Maybe they’re coping with it in their own ways?

  ‘What am I even thinking about? It’s only been like 10 minutes. There’s no way they mentally digested that info yet.’ I nodded to myself, and decided that we needed to wrap this up. I had already dropped some pretty big bombs on them and it seemed like the longer we spoke the bigger they got.

  “We should stop talking about this for now. I can see that you guys are overwhelmed.” I tried but got shot down by my mother.

  “No. We need to talk about this, no matter how much it is. I can only imagine how it makes you feel.” She said, and I had to shake my head.

  “You don’t need to worry about it, I can’t feel negative emotions. Remember? That Skill that I have makes it impossible.” I explained and got a sad smile in response.

  “I remember. I also remember that you said it only grows when it knows you’re experiencing a harsh environment. That means you did feel something in the beginning.” She said, and I had to concede the point.

  “Yeah… I did. It was very lonely, at first. Scared and lost. It only lasted a few days though. Don’t worry about it.” I lied.

  I wasn’t comfortable explaining the things I felt, even if I couldn’t really feel that emotion. It was something in my mind that didn’t feel right about it. Like they wouldn’t understand even if I explained it.

  “Even so… I want to see another universe too~! Ughh, I’m so jealous!” Layla groaned, being overly dramatic.

  It was a nice conversation changer though, and I leaped at the chance.

  “I can take you there.” I said simply, and she snapped her head up.

  “You can?! Well what are you waiting for? Let’s go!” Layla jumped to her feet, and my mom grabbed her by the arm.

  “No! I’m sure it’s very tiring for him, we don’t know what it costs to travel!” Mom said, annoyed. Dried up tears in the corner of her eyes.

  At least she felt better now than she did earlier.

  “It costs me nothing actually, it’s no harder than going for a walk.” I grinned smugly at Layla, and she sensed it for what it was.

  A challenge, and a brag.

  ‘Oh, so you think you can do what your big brother did? Give it a try, why don’t you?’ Is what I sent through our nonverbal sibling communication, and her response was exactly what I expected.

  “Oh! Oh, it is on! I’m going to Level up and kick your ASS!” She pointed, giggling like this was the most fun she was ever going to have.

  “That’s nice and all, but I don’t think mom is going to let you guys leave.” Kaity said, and exasperated sigh escaping her.

  “Correct.” Our mom said, sending an ice cold glare at Layla and I.

  “You are staying here. You just got back.” She continued, but I raised a finger at that.

  “While that is true, it is also true that I never left that universe. Not really.” I explained, and they all looked at me weird again.

  “Shadow Clone Jitsu!” Layla’s eyes lit up as she realized it, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.

  “Not what it’s called, but yes. I can be everywhere. For the most part. Right now, I only have like 2 instances going, but I can have a total of 972. So I don’t have to go anywhere. I’ll still be here, while also guiding Layla around that universe.” I explained and mom looked extremely apprehensive about it.

  “See? It’ll be fine! C’mon, pleeaasee~? Let me go?” Layla begged, not acting like her age.

  Layla got on her knees and clasped her hands together, in the most exaggerated begging display I had ever seen.

  “...Fine. Fine! But I expect you to be back by 10 tonight. You’re both adults, so I expect that of you at the least.” Mom said, sighing deeply.

  I could feel how she felt. The slight happiness in the otherwise confused mess that she was in. Happiness that we were still a family.

  Maybe I was projecting that last bit, but it was probably adjacent to that.

  “YES! Now let’s go! WAIT!!! I need to gather supplies!” Layla grabbed my arm to drag me off, before abruptly letting go and running up stairs to her room to gather… is that an axe?

  “When did Layla get a real axe?” I asked mom and she looked at me, confused.

  “Last year when she went to the renaissance fair, how did you know?” She answered. She was definitely going to need time to process everything I said.

  “Magic nonsense.” I responded and she nodded slowly.

  “Ready~!” Layla barged down the stairs, looking like a doomsday prepper. Absolutely decked out in gear, wielding a very real battle axe.

  “What the hell are you wearing? Your isekai contingency plan?” I teased and she glared at me.

  “Yeah?! So what?” She demanded. I had hit her right on the nose with that one.

  I laughed, and waved a hand. Weaving some very basic Reality Rule Manipulation around her. One Rule to keep her gravity the same as it is right now, another to form an atmosphere around her so she can breathe anywhere, one to protect her from the depths of the ocean, and any other Rule I could think of to make her unstoppable.

  “...You did something again, but this time to someone else?” James asked, and I nearly startled. I had forgotten that he existed for a moment. No idea how he keeps sensing these things though.

  “Just some basic protections.” I nodded, and Layla pouted.

  “You just wrapped me up in magical bubble wrap didn’t you?” She accused me and I looked away innocently.

  “Alright, well let’s go have some fun. I’ll show you around the city I built.” I ignored her, and got ready to Gate her off.

  “Take pictures!” Mom called after Layla as she vanished into a Black Hole.

  They looked at the spot she used to be in, then back to me.

  “...That is safe right? It looked like she folded in on herself there at the end…” Kaity asked, and I nodded.

  “100% safe. Would you like to have a go?” I asked and she rapidly shook her head no.

  Oh well, it’s a cool way to get around.