Chapter 150: Revelations – Chapter 142: Judge, Jury, and Executioner

Aperio tried her best to ignore the stares and bows that followed the announcement of her name and title as she stepped into the courtroom proper. Even the guards that stood next to the doors seemed to have deemed it necessary to show their respect for her. How are you supposed to do your job if you stare at the floor?

There was something she could not ignore, however. Epemirial and the deities that flanked her — unlike everyone else in the room — had remained seated, giving Aperio contemptuous glares while still somehow looking like they had perfect confidence nothing bad would happen.

The All-Mother squinted at the God next to Epemirial; he was so thin that she was not quite sure if he even had any organs in his body. A quick use of [Identify] informed her that it was Lor'Kem, God of Might and the Sea. How he had gotten hold of those Domains was beyond her, but neither did she care. You won't have them for much longer. No matter if he lived or died, none of the deities here would leave as one. Just have to stay calm…

That was easier said than done. Just seeing Epemirial — knowing what she and the idiots that followed her had done — caused rage to bubble up in Aperio.

"Your Grace," the Judge called in unison, bowing towards her. "The Accused are ready to be judged."

Aperio waved them off with her wing. Perhaps not the proper way of doing things, but it allowed her to keep her hands behind her back — hiding the fact that she was balling them into fists hard enough to draw blood. Nobody would ever notice, of course. Her hands healed as soon as she relaxed slightly and her blood — if it even was blood — only took a thought to remove.

The comforting warmth of Caethya's magic gently flowing around the two of them almost caused the All-Mother to let out a sigh. It was the most outwardly affectionate thing her disciple could do at the moment. Going hand in hand into the judgement would have only caused more trouble she would have to deal with. Already have more than enough to deal with…

A thought brought Caethya and herself to the pair of seats — Thrones, really — that the Judges so helpfully bowed towards. None of the Celestials seemed to be surprised by her liberal use of magic, while the rest of the people that filled the room murmured various theories. Did they not believe the System announcement?

Aperio had thought that her return was common knowledge by now. The System had proclaimed that her church had been revived, after all. Or do I not look like they thought? …Then who do they think all the statues are of? It was hard not to see her own face when walking around the Court.

A strike of the Judge’s gavel silenced the room as Aperio and her disciple took their seats. "In accordance with the [Mandate of Rule]," the Light Judge intoned, its voice sticking to a deep baritone, "the Accused will now be judged for the crimes they committed."

"This is not a trial," the Dark Judge continued, its eyes fixed on the first row of Accused. "Their transgressions have been brought before the Court by the All-Mother herself so that all may see what happens to those who defy the [Mandate of Rule]."

With their announcement made, the Judges sat themselves down, the rest of the room following on an unseen signal. Most definitely not like any court I know… She was used to witnesses being called, statements being taken, and lots of arguments. But then, they did say this is not a trial. Just the judgement.

"The Accused have committed the highest acts of heresy," the Dark Judge said. Murmurs followed the words, but were silenced by a strike of the gavel. The people still seemed to talk, but no sound escaped their lips.

"The Souls are sacred," the Light Judge continued, returning the gavel to the small stand it had been taken from. "To be protected by every deity. Not to be marred and disfigured."

Tortured and raped, Aperio added in her mind as she let her aura manifest itself a little more fully in the courtroom. The people here should feel her anger; should know that what the Elder Gods had done thoroughly displeased her. That is what she wanted to do, but a few of the witnesses seemed to not be able to handle even a fraction of her more unrestrained aura. Made my point.

"The Accused have broken this sacred rule in her Grace's absence," the Dark Judge said. "Instead of helping the mortals that believe in them, they forced them into eternal servitude. In the past, the [Court of Heaven] was not to bring justice to the Elder Gods. That is no longer the case."

Neither of the Judges had to say anything more for nearly all eyes to settle on Aperio. The All-Mother did not react. It was not the first time a room full of strangers stared at her, and it would likely not be the last. At least there are only a few people who hate me here.

Most witnesses were looking at her with what she could only describe as reverence. Please don't. She did not wish to be the object of someone's worship. Just your friendly neighbourhood Elf.

"With the return of the All-Mother," the Light Judge said, "we can bring justice to those who see themselves as beyond the laws." The Celestial paused, its eyes fixed on the Elder Gods. "None of you are above the law."

Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at the back of the Judges. What they were saying was not necessarily wrong, but she most definitely did not like it. They make it sound like I am the law… It was not really a lie, per se. She could enforce what she wanted and make that the law. I am doing that right now.

"The judgement," the All-Mother said, hoping that her nudge would stop the Judges from coming up with more ways to make her life harder. Her voice seemed to have broken whatever spell the strike of the gavel had brought about, as the murmurs suddenly returned in full force. After a moment, however, silence fell once more; this time not caused by magic, but by what Aperio assumed to be anticipation alone. "Please."

"Of course, your Grace," the Judges replied in unison.

The Dark Judge produced a surprisingly small piece of parchment after they had replied, placing it in the center of the desk it shared with its Light colleague. "There is only one punishment that can be dispensed by this court that is adequate for the crimes they have committed."

"Death," the Light Judge said, the parchment the other Celestial had placed on the desk lighting up briefly before it vanished.

Lines of golden light began to flow through the room, building a large formation that caused Aperio to furrow her brow. Why does it look like the one the Empire used to sacrifice me? …They do realise I want information, right?

The All-Mother was about to put an end to the magic when the Light Judge continued to speak, its words altering the flow of the golden light. "There is, however, another thing that must be returned before they can pay for their transgressions.

"Their Truths have been twisted beyond repair," it continued as the formation descended into fractals of itself, the copies settling underneath the feet of many of the Accused. "But they still hold what is needed for others to be brought to justice and, perhaps, to reveal further crimes they have committed."

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The flow of golden light stopped and Aperio sat herself down fully on her seat again. How is a purification formation to help? What had started out as the formation she had been commanded to end her own life in had turned into something that prominently featured the 'Purification' rune. They even said that their 'Truths' are beyond repair… Whatever that means.

The only thing she knew about what the Judges had meant by that was that they had used some form of truth-telling. I guess this ritual is related to their powers? A small flex of her mental muscles erected a thin barrier of mana around Caethya and herself. She might not truly believe the Judges would try something as stupid as attacking her, but she would not risk inaction either. Caethya cannot be injured.

Her disciple shifted a little in her seat, the mana that had danced around Aperio freezing for a moment as Caethya asked what had just happened. The All-Mother did not reply with words but showed her what she had seen on the day she had been sacrificed; how the runes that currently snaked across the ground were the same as the ones in the ritual that had killed her.

A moment of mental silence followed, Aperio fearing for a moment that she had shown too much of her past before Caethya took her hand. As small as the motion might have been, it caused the All-Mother to slump a little in her chair. Nobody seemed to notice — or mind — the gesture; most people in the room were probably occupied with the formation that creeped across the floor.

Her barrier turned out to be unneeded as the formation receded, closing in around the Accused it had marked before. Aperio tilted her head slightly, focusing on the magic she felt emanating from the runic circles that remained at the feet of those the Judges seemingly wanted to purify.

"You have lived a life of luxury, free of the fear of death or disease," the Light Judge said, the golden light beneath the accused growing in intensity with every word. "You have been granted power beyond belief, and yet seek power from belief."

"The truth will always prevail," the Dark Judge continued, the golden light taking on a dark tinge as it did. "You may convince yourself of lies, but there is still truth in what you saw."

The All-Mother cocked her head to the other side as she saw the black and gold light of the Judges’ magic coalesce into jagged crystals above each of the Accused. There were no screams of pain or agony as they stood there in the pillars of magic; not even confusion. The Elder Gods merely stared at the Judges with disdain, as if they had thought this little trick would not work on them.

A small flicker in the Judges’ magic caused Aperio to squint, trying to find what had caused it. It did not take her long to find the source of the disturbance. One of the witnesses was mumbling to themselves, their eyes fixed on the crystals as he moved his hands frantically below his robe.

Aperio stood up from her throne, letting go of Caethya’s hand. A thought let some of her mana flow into the formation the Judges had made so it might help the Celestials complete the ritual. Another flex of her mental muscles, combined with a step, brought her to the chanting individual.

She grabbed the figure by its neck, ignoring the gasps and murmurs from the other witnesses as she effortlessly lifted him up and interrupted his chanting. The Beastkin tried to sink further into their cloak as Aperio narrowed her eyes at him.

"What are you trying to do?" the All-Mother asked while easing a tendril of mana into his body to see if anything was wrong. Much to her surprise, his Soul was unmarred. And neither is he a God. "How did you get here?" And how did you fuck the magic of the Judges?

She doubted the small flicker in their ritual would have done much — probably less than her teleporting across the room to grab this mana — but the fact that he had tried still struck her as odd. "Do you believe what they did is right?"

The Beastkin did not reply. He simply looked at her as he clung to her arm as if he would die if she dropped him. Aperio just sighed, letting him down and pushing him into the waiting hands of two Celestial guards that had appeared by her side, obviously waiting to take over. Can't even ask mortals questions anymore.

She gave the two guards a small nod before another thought brought her back to her seat. Luckily, the Judges seemed to not have minded her intervention, and the extra mana she had provided for the ritual had not turned the process upside down. Sped it up, if anything…

Caethya took Aperio’s hand into her own again, giving her a conflicted look as she asked what had happened. The All-Mother could only offer a small shrug as she showed the Demigoddess what she had seen. A whole lot of nothing.

The crystals that flew above the heads of the Accused looked a lot more solid by now but, perhaps more importantly, they now felt a lot like the memory crystal Moria had used to show her her past. So they did extract their memories, Aperio thought with a frown. But why does that require a purification ritual?

She could feel the mana contained within the crystalline structure, how it flowed back and forth as it seemingly inspected the space it now found itself in. Are memories… Alive? The answer to that question did not present itself as Aperio looked closer, as only her own mana came to mind. The more she observed, the more it seemed that whatever the Judges had done had brought the mana that had resided in the Elder Gods a little closer to her own.

The intricacies of the ritual were something she would ask the Judges about later. For now, she wished to know what they had pulled from the heads of the Accused. She had had her doubts about the need for such a method — found the idea of it revolting, even — but the answers it could provide were something she could not ignore.

"Death is the easy route," the Dark Judge said, the magic that had flowed from it and its colleague slowly ceasing. "Truth is a road dotted with obstacles, traps, and distractions. Sometimes a helping hand is needed to bring out what even the person themselves no longer believes to be reality."

"Words would not do justice to what we have found," the Light Judge continued. "All gathered here shall now witness what the Elder Gods have rejected, and why they face judgement at the hand of their Creator."

With their proclamation delivered the Judges turned to face Aperio, who could not help but look at them with furrowed brows. They had told her she would be the one to enforce the judgement, yes, but they had not said she would be the one to actually make it up.

"Go ahead," Aperio said, suppressing a sigh. Knowing what they had done was worth the hassle of dealing with the fallout. Probably. The All-Mother had a sneaking suspicion that she would be a lot angrier once she knew the full truth of the matter.

GamingWolf

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