The Achievement Junkie

"Daruun… Is there--"

"Just because I'm the leader of the entire district doesn't mean I can alter every law of the countless systems, precincts, and zones," Daruun answered. "So long as a leader is qualified in terms of strength and produces results worthy of respect from their peers, it's hard to outright denounce them or force their submission. That's just how it goes within a free district."

"A free district?"

Elaborating, Daruun continued, "Each district's laws vary to an extent. A few intergalactic laws exist thanks to the District Council, which governs the entirety of the void apart from District 00. Those in charge of--"

"What's District 00?" Jack interrupted.

"District 00 is the largest of all districts, existing within the center of the six Core Districts."

"Then why--"

"An enormous black hole lies at the center of District 00," added Daruun, getting Jack to shut up. "There are life-bearing planets there, many of which are incredibly powerful, but they have no officially recognized government. The strongest rogues rule there and the District Council has no ability to control that area, at least not efficiently by any means. Since it's not governed by the council, it was dubbed District 00 as the lawless no-man's-land, the most dangerous region of the void. Of course, that's also the region with the best natural resources and the greatest amount of archaic ruins, but that only merits exploration and not governance."

While Jack was digesting that, Daruun returned to the topic at hand, "Remember, the district leaders can rule how they wish, whether through dictatorship and totalitarianism or through democracy and election.

"The Fate District is seen as one of the many free districts, districts that aren't biased towards intergalactic travel between districts and are commonly seen as easier to fit in. However, free districts will inevitably create loopholes for a few leaders to exploit under the right circumstances. We'll touch on that later when we discuss our future plans," stated Daruun.

"Some districts are labeled as harsh districts, where the laws are strictly enforced no matter the occasion or the identity of the culprit," Daruun continued. "In some cases, the family a district leader has acted against such rules and was put to death under the coldness of harsh district governing style.

"Also, there are the rare few labeled as locked districts. Locked districts are those that ban travelers or immigrants. There are means to enter the country but only for those of high enough merit and under precise circumstances. Have I lost you yet?"

Blinking, Jack nodded slowly. "I… I think I've got it…"

"Good. Then, do you have any questions about anything we've mentioned so far?"

"About Silas… If he's stronger than you, what position does he hold?" asked Jack.

Daruun let loose a soft chuckle. "I'm glad to see that you're still Jack, not losing track of your best questions. You see, Silas is a unique man. He's not a district leader but he garners the same level of respect, if not more.

"Silas runs something called an enterprise. An enterprise is an organization that exists within multiple districts. There are many enterprises in existence, countless even, but Silas's Resolute Enterprise ranks among the very strongest," explained Daruun. "In fact, three districts are currently joint members of the Resolute Enterprise."

"And we're one of them?"

Nodding, Daruun replied, "Correct. District 14 works alongside District 11 and District 09 within the Resolute Enterprise, which, believe it or not, is technically an upstart enterprise that Silas proposed to our districts not even a year ago."

Utilizing Daruun's pause to think, Jack broke down the meaning of Daruun's last statement.

The significance behind having three entire districts under an enterprise was beyond Jack's comprehension, but to think that an organization of such size was created within a year's time was utterly unfathomable. It was impossible. Making such an organization that powerful off the rip made no sense and followed no logic, at least with Jack's minute perspective of the void.

"True, the Resolute Enterprise is still young," Daruun continued, touching on the thoughts stirring up Jack's mind, "but the fact that all three of our districts agreed upfront should show you how much we respect Silas. All three of us district leaders met him only a few years ago but his influence and charisma know no bounds. That's why my plans for you, which started two thousand years ago, don't involve him. But you'd be more than welcome to join me in working alongside Silas."

"Join you? What do you mean by 'join you'?" Jack asked.

"Jack, there are many underlying reasons for my bringing you into Kartonia, which we'll begin discussing now. However, you need to understand one thing and never forget it," stated Daruun, staring seriously into Jack's eyes, demanding the hero's utmost attention.

"Will you be my partner?"

Taken aback and unsure of everything entailed in such an offer, Jack stammered, "W-what?"

"Will you be my partner?" Daruun repeated. "The most fundamental reason for getting you involved in all this was so that I'd gain a viable and capable partner to help me manage the Fate District."

While Jack was paralyzed from shock, Daruun continued, "Once you too become a six-star, should you choose that path, we would become joint district leaders, sharing power and responsibility for the entire Fate District. This would allow me to not stress so terribly about keeping the district in order and I would be jubilant to have a capable partner, no matter how the other district leaders may mock me for taking such an approach."

"You… You're serious?" Half believing that Daruun was insane, Jack forced himself to put his thoughts into words. "I… You want me to… I'm nothing compared to--"

"Jack, I'm entirely serious," Daruun restated with determination. "It's for that selfish reason that I created Kartonia and inevitably brought you to Kartonia with incredibly harsh expectations. That's why I created the perfect-case scenario for you to rise up thus far. When Halmut and Skaryn both defied my plans, I attempted a new plan with my son but he chose to only support me and not join publicly me. That led to you being brought into the equation. You--"

"Wait…" Jack leaned back in his chair, stuck on a particular fact that Daruun had danced around. "What son?"