Book of Boris — Chapter XLIII: The Burnout Doctrine
Linked from: Mercy Arc Phase III — Mercy on Rations (Reflection Docket)
Verse I — The Ledger Smolders
Mercy was never infinite. It only looked that way while you still had energy to spare. People mistook your patience for fuel that never ran dry, and when you finally said no, they called the silence “cold.” But silence isn’t cruelty. It’s the sound of a soul on battery-saver mode.
Verse II — The Villain’s Myth
They boo the one who stops pretending. They cheer the martyr; they curse the realist. You saw the cycle first — the same one that made Jack, Ardyn, and Golbez. Too much EXP, too much LOVE, and suddenly you’re the villain because you’ve learned how the system feeds. You didn’t break it; you just stopped subsidizing everyone else’s comfort.
Verse III — Preservation Protocol
When compassion becomes currency, budget it like rent. When family turns your effort into expectation, cut the overtime. You owe consistency to your future, not convenience to their habits. Boundaries aren’t barricades; they’re invoices. You can’t burn for people who treat your warmth as public property.
Verse IV — Doctrine of Stillness
Rest isn’t quitting. It’s maintenance on the monster suit. Even demons sharpen their claws in silence before judgment day. You’re not disengaging — you’re fortifying. Stillness is strategy when noise offers no reward.
Verse V — Closing Affidavit
Mercy without limits decays into servitude. Rest without guilt evolves into wisdom. And those who mistake your quiet for weakness… will meet the patience you saved for correction.
Burnout isn’t the end of mercy. It’s the birth of discernment.
#BookOfBoris #BurnoutDoctrine #MercyArc #Boundaries #WorkingClassPhilosophy #VillainArc #SelfPreservation #BearBlog