It was supposed to be any normal day where I continued my surveillance of the anomaly. However, I received extremely terrible news that day that Amonos disappeared. As it would be impossible for any trace of him to not be left, he was more than likely caught by one of those that actively hunt us. When I learned about that, I became paranoid and my influence on my host grew unstable. My guidance to ensuring that my host would have a strong body and physique led to her becoming more active and prone to violence, which I could mitigate and suppress easily if I wasn't so distracted. I thought that I could control her but as she was also angry during her clash with the child that was known for being aggressive, my influence slipped away and now she continues to brutally assault him.

This scenario would certainly look abnormal to everyone and I feared it would give rise to the anomaly's suspicion. However, my fears were misplaced as when I tried to look at what expression would be on the face of the anomaly, it was nothing. There I was reminded of the kind of person this anomaly was. Although I was the seventh to handle his soul, I remember the first time I encountered it.

...

The anomaly was once a renowned soldier who fought and survived a ten-year war. He practiced the spear with fervor and discipline. He was born of a wealthy family and was an individual known by most to be of noble character. However, the facade he wore to face the eyes of the public was drastically different from who he really was.

When he was young, he befriended many, even those children from the slums. He would share his food with them, share them stories, and provided for these children when their own parents couldn't. These children grew up beside him and one can say that they owe their life to him. During the war, they fought side by side with him, and to protect his life, sacrificed or endangered their own. With the influence he has acquired as well as that of those devoted to him, his followers grew larger and larger until finally, it could rival the power of the country he served.

One faithful day, the king waged a new war, and through that many lives were lost; both that of the king's and his enemy's. That was the day the anomaly saw the opportunity to seize the throne that he had no right to hold. Through either the anomaly's own suggestion or through the fevered loyalty of his followers, they staged a rebellion. The king was captured and was brought to a podium while facing his people to explain why he pushed for a bloody war. As many excuses as he could provide, one could really see that the king was blinded with greed and ambition. The people thus chose to send him to his death, and thus they followed the new king borne from the ashes of the rebellion, the anomaly himself. As king, he was a kind person and was loved by many until the day he died, but no one really thought of the truth behind it all.

The truth that he was the reason the war that he first fought in took ten years as he killed almost all of the allied and enemy soldiers that sought refuge or surrendered to him, staging them to be an act done by others thus prolonging the war. That despite him knowing some of the plans of the enemy, he kept it to himself and even gave his ambitious allies information that led to their deaths. That through his influence with the advisers of the king, they fueled the king's head with greed which led to the bloodiest war known to their history.

The bad karma accumulated from all these events were indeed not small, but what made the negative karma even greater was the reason behind it all. He did all that not because of greed or ambition, but rather because he could. Everything that he had done, from the sacrifices people made for him, to him claiming the throne for his own. He did not do all of those things for any greater goal, as he did it all on a whim.

Some may say the opposite of love is hatred, but that is wrong. To hate someone is to still be aware and conscious of another's existence, and to hate may also entail a possibility of forgiveness. But when you disregard the value of life itself and remain uncaring of others, then that's the opposite of love. The anomaly held no malice nor empathy for others. It was as if he was apathy incarnate.

...

As I observed his indifferent expression, I was then taken aback when I saw him immediately stand up and stop my host from continuing further. Then he guided the child that was left crying on the ground and held out his hand to help him stand up. This was not the anomaly I expected. As the thoughts of my host were in disarray, she ran away on her own and I eased my control on her a bit just so that I could not let go of this one opportunity. I peered inside the mind of the anomaly. The thoughts were calm and yet surprised as it may seem like he had no proper control of himself. Seeing as these acts were beyond his control, I decided to look further and see how all these influences his karma.

I shouldn't have looked. I could say that I have significant experience of peering through the karmic state of various souls, but never have I witnessed any similar state as I see before me, and I certainly would never want to see it again.

That was when I realized that the worries of the Progenitors of the various celestial realms were not misplaced, and I can't imagine the powerlessness they must feel as they are bound by the laws of the universe to never meddle in these affairs that are deemed not equal to their own.