The Trial of Three Judges – Truth, Law, and Silence
The chamber was colder than the tombs of failed relic bearers.
Raghav stood in its center, blood still drying on his shoulder from the rooftop ambush. His clothes were stained, body tired, and his racket was strapped to his back—like a weapon the court hadn't decided whether to allow or disarm.
The Judges sat high above on a crescent dais, their seats carved from obsidian and bone.
They weren't named—only known.
To speak their true names aloud was forbidden.
They were:
The Judge of Law, dressed in white wraps, face masked, voice like a hammer on steel.
The Judge of Truth, eyes sealed behind a blindfold of gold thread, relic glowing like an orb above her palm.
The Judge of Silence, who did not speak. Not once. Not ever. But every breath he took felt like it bent the laws of the room.
The chamber had no windows, only floating runes and relic seals pulsing in the air.
Mira stood behind Raghav as his escort. She did not speak unless prompted.
And Raghav… kept his mouth shut, for now.
---
"Relic Bearer 0271: Raghav R. Devourer-bonded," the Judge of Law announced, voice echoing. "Summoned for preliminary judgment due to breach of containment protocols, unauthorized activation of the fifth rune, and suspected consumption of sanctioned relic essence."
Raghav tilted his head. "You mean Zern Kael?"
The Judge of Truth's eyes twitched under her blindfold. A memory rune lit above her head.
FLASH.
Zern, screaming.
The Devourer swallowing the man's relic.
Raghav looking away—not in fear, but restraint.
The Judge of Law frowned. "That memory is… cleansed. Altered?"
"No," said the Judge of Truth. "It's accurate. He spared what he could."
The silence grew thicker.
---
The Judge of Law stood.
"The Devourer is not a relic. It is a parasite. Its prior hosts have—"
"Gone mad?" Raghav interrupted. "Or did they get pushed until madness was all that was left?"
Mira flinched behind him.
Even the Judge of Silence stirred—his finger tapping once on the edge of his throne.
Raghav met their gazes, one by one.
"I've faced it," he said. "I've seen what it can become. And I kept it caged."
The Judge of Truth's rune orb pulsed.
"Not entirely. You used it during the Echo Duel."
Raghav nodded. "I didn't devour. I redirected. There's a difference."
---
The debate raged.
Questions. Accusations. Words layered with meaning, some legal, some personal.
And as it built—
A faint hiss began beneath the dais.
None of the Judges moved.
But Mira's eyes widened.
Then Raghav smelled it: ozone and silverfire.
Not relic residue. Not any known aura.
A synthetic relic. Tainted.
Suddenly, the floor beneath him shimmered—and ruptured.
---
Boom.
Gas exploded outward, clouding the entire chamber in silver mist.
Mira pulled Raghav back just as chains of light snapped down from the ceiling—aimed for his throat.
The Judge of Silence stood, arms out, manipulating the chains with his will.
He was restraining the attackers. Not Raghav.
> "They planned this," Mira shouted, "to kill you mid-trial!"
Raghav rolled, grabbing his racket.
A figure leapt from the mist, blades swirling—a rogue duelist, face obscured by a broken training mask.
Not a Wraith.
A Court Executioner.
They'd sent one of their own.
---
The Judge of Truth stood slowly, her relic orb glowing brighter.
She did not move to stop the attack.
She was watching.
> Another test.
Raghav dodged a lethal spin, swung low, and returned the Executioner's strike with a Devourer-enhanced deflection. The power snapped the attacker's leg, bending bone in the wrong direction.
But the Executioner grinned.
Not in pain.
In success.
"You've already failed," he hissed, and detonated his relic from within.
Another blast.
Raghav covered Mira with his body as the explosion rocked the chamber.
---
When the smoke cleared, two Judges remained.
The Judge of Law had vanished—either fled or dragged away.
The Judge of Silence slowly descended the steps of the dais, his shadow stretched like liquid.
He bent, examined the remains of the Executioner, and without turning, said:
> "You weren't the target."
Raghav blinked. "What?"
He stood, swaying.
The Judge of Silence finally looked at him.
And spoke, voice like stone against wind:
> "You were the bait."
---