Chapter 733: 733

There were those who hated the godlings still.

But that hatred no longer felt clean.

It tangled with fear, shame, and a quiet, unbearable doubt.

The nobles reacted differently.

Whispers hissed between silk-clad figures, sharp and urgent. Some masked their unease behind practiced disdain, lips curled in scorn at the audacity of beings who aren’t humans lecturing humanity. Others had gone very still, eyes narrowed in calculation.

A few nobles avoided looking at the crowd entirely, sensing that the same people they had once stirred into righteous fury were now beginning to look back.

Erik stood apart from all of them.

He had not moved since the godling finished speaking.

His expression remained composed, regal, controlled but something behind his eyes had fractured. The accusation had not struck him as an enemy’s blow, but as a mirror held too close.

He had known the cost of his choices.

What he had not expected was to hear that cost spoken aloud, measured, deliberate, and stripped of all pretense.

The cursed kingdom, the quarantined borders. The dwindling candles of human life in his land.

His fingers curled slowly at his side.

Around him, the victims watched him now with something new in their eyes. The hatred was still there, but it was no longer singular. It fractured, pulling at questions they had never been allowed to ask.

Why had their king acted as he did? Who had truly led them here?

The judges remained silent, their mallets untouched.

They understood what the godlings had done.

They had not begged for mercy. They had not sought absolution.

They had shifted the burden of judgment, away from themselves and back onto humanity.

It seems the godlings had their own plan for coming to this court today, they wanted to stop a repetition of this ever taking place again, human ignornace could be overlooked now but from now on, it no longer would be an excuse.

The relationship between both races and gods have now be made clear, it was no longer something to be speculated on. The gods stands for the humans as much as they stand for the godlings.

If one played their cards right, divinity would serve them well. If the humans had focused on the accused of their fault, the godlings would have lacked material to spin their words on.

This court would have turned out differently as it did today, instead it n ended with humans questioning themselves and their leaders. Who was wrong and who was right became unclear.

The chamber grew still. So still that every whisper, every footstep, seemed amplified.

The four judges suddenly rose together, everyoen turned towards them, mallets resting at their sides, a viel appeared from mid air, covering their faces. Then, without a word, they began to speak, not as themselves, but as the voice of Xerosis.

"The Goddess has heard all that has been spoken in this hall," said the first judge, his voice resonant, echoing in every corner. "She has seen the hearts of those who act, the intentions of those who judge, and the suffering of those who endure."

The second judge’s voice followed, deeper and colder "The fourteen godlings before you have acted within the bounds of reason, yet their actions have caused suffering and death. Justice does not absolve those who bear responsibility, no matter their form. Therefore, the godlings shall live among humanity as mortals, stripped of powers, statues, and privileges. They shall rebuild that which they have destroyed and bear the weight of all that has been lost. They are banned from their homelands, until their debt to the living is fulfilled."

With this sentence, a pillar of light from Xerosis statue descended upon the godlings who felt all presence of their power gone. In their palm an empty bown appeared which represnt how much is needed to be filled for their sentence to be complete.

A murmur rose in the chamber. The godlings themselves bowed their heads, accepting the sentence with solemnity, understanding that their freedom would come only through labor, service, and consequence.

The third judge’s voice, clear, addressed the humans and the nobles:

"King Erik was not brought before this court, and thus is not to be judged. The nobility, however, are warned: should you attempt to invoke the Goddess’s name to serve your own ambitions, to manipulate faith for political gain, it will be met with rightful fury. Know that divine law is not a tool for men to wield, and those who try will face consequences beyond mortal comprehension."

A wave of tension passed through the nobles. Some paled; others remained frozen in place, unable to respond.

The fourth judge spoke last, soft, eyes sweeping the victims "Humanity itself is not judged here. No penalty falls upon the innocent masses, for you were not brought before this court. Yet those who have suffered shall have their voices heard. Speak what you deem justice, within the bounds of life itself. Let your words shape the restitution of what was lost. Let them guide those now made accountable."

The word fell, softly spoken, yet carrying the weight of finality and it took everyone by surprise. Most of all, the nobles.

They had not accounted for this. Not this outcome, not this swiftness. There were so many things they had prepared to say, so many carefully crafted appeals and veiled demands they had intended to funnel through the victims’ mouths. They had imagined themselves guiding the pleas, shaping the requests made to the godlings, turning tragedy into leverage.

But before a single thought could fully take form, it was as though their intentions had been laid bare.

The spectral entities, the judges shifted as one. Their indistinct, luminous forms turned, and every hollow gaze fixed squarely upon the nobles. It was not a look of anger, nor judgment in the mortal sense, but something far worse: cold, knowing awareness.

The effect was immediate.

It felt as though icy water had been poured down their spines, seeping into bone and thought alike. Breath caught in throats. Spines stiffened. Whatever schemes had stirred moments ago were extinguished on the spot, strangled before they could even be born. No one dared meet those gazes for long. The nobles lowered their eyes, swallowing their ambitions along with their fear.

Silence reclaimed the hall.

Slowly, inevitably, all attention returned to the victims.

They stood there, small beneath the vastness of the chamber and the presence of beings far beyond them, still reeling from the verdict they had just heard. Fell. The word echoed in their minds, heavy and unreal.

The woman who had spoken first, who had laid her suffering bare before gods and men alike felt the weight of countless eyes settle upon her once more. She could feel their expectations pressing in, hear the unspoken urging for her to speak, to claim what was now being offered.

Her hands trembled.

She was overwhelmed. Fear, disbelief, and a fragile, dangerous hope twisted together in her chest. This might be her only chance perhaps the only one she would ever be given. A chance not just for justice, but for restoration.

So she spoke.

With a shaky voice and a clenched fist, she spoke. Her words came out uneven, some syllables blurring into the next, yet they were filled with a fragile, desperate hope.

"I ask for the godlings to bring back my lost children and my husband," she said. "That is the justice I need from them. Nothing else."

Silence followed.

Not the uneasy silence of hesitation, but a heavy, absolute stillness that pressed down upon the hall. Then the four judges, Xerosis, whose presence carried pressed on everyone in the court spoke.

"All life that has met its end," Xerosis intoned, "belongs to the Lady of Death, Keles. After death, without her consent and her will, your wish must be denied."

The words settled like cold stone.

"Without her consent and her will, no life may be returned," Xerosis continued, voice not changing. "This court does not possess such authority."

The woman’s strength gave out.

Her knees buckled, and she collapsed forward, a broken sob tearing free from her chest. Grief she had held together through sheer will finally spilled over, raw and uncontrollable.

Those beside her moved at once. Gentle hands steadied her arms, pressed reassuringly against her back and shoulders, anchoring her to the present as her cries echoed softly through the chamber.

Xerosis did not hurry her. The judges did not avert their gaze.

The court waited.

When at last the woman managed to draw a shuddering breath and lift her head, her eyes were red, swollen, and unfocused, yet there was no surprise in them.

Truthfully, this was more than she had ever allowed herself to expect.

When the incident had occurred, she had been left utterly alone, surrounded by doubt, swallowed by sorrow, and haunted by fear. Days had blurred into nights until a group had appeared before her, telling her that justice could still be served, that those responsible could still be held to account.