The war, the dead, the cannibal hunts—it had taken a massive toll on the psychology of Axiomra.
Bilal saw the coldness creeping into the eyes of his young soldiers. They were becoming numb to death.
They were starting to view outsiders as animals to be put down.
"If we lose our empathy, we become worse than the Vikings," Bilal told Astrid one night. "A monster with science is still a monster."
He immediately called a halt to all non-essential labor. He established the "Civic and Moral Academy" in the center of the city.
He didn't teach them how to swing a sword.
He stood before his towering, blooded soldiers, holding a piece of paper made from the clothes of the men they had killed.
"We fight so we can live, but we must know why we live," Bilal lectured, pacing the room.
"If a man comes to our gates starving, we do not shoot him. We feed him. We fought the wendigos in the snow not out of hate, but out of mercy—to end their suffering and protect the weak."
He instituted the teaching of Islamic ethics, adapted for their understanding: The rights of the prisoner, the rights of the poor, the sanctity of human life, and the strict rules of engagement.
"We are the Green Tunic," Bilal roared, his voice filled with passion.
"We do not torture. We do not rape. We do not eat the dead. We are the light in the dark age. If you kill a man in battle, you pray for his soul. If you lose your mercy, you lose your citizenship."
The soldiers listened. The coldness in their eyes began to thaw.
They realized that their Giant was not just forging their muscles; he was actively fighting to save their humanity.
The Epic Punishment War was over. Axiomra had survived the fire, the ice, and the madness.
Now, they had to prove they deserved to live in the paradise they had bled to protect.