Judgement from above, megumis Divine judgement

Judgment from Above

The sky wept golden rain.

Streaks of divine light spilled from the heavens as the chariot descended, wheels of flame carving circles through the clouds. The atmosphere felt heavier with each passing second, like the entire world was holding its breath. The moment the chariot touched down at the edge of the crater, time itself seemed to slow.

Ava stood in front of Megumi, shielding him instinctively—even though every fiber of her being screamed that she was facing something far beyond her comprehension.

Twelve figures stepped forward.

At their head was Zeus, lightning crackling in slow pulses around his shoulders like a living mantle. His eyes glowed with raw judgment, and the storm behind him mirrored his mood—tumultuous, ancient, and alive.

Behind him were the gods.

Athena, serene but grim, hand resting on her spear.

Ares, arms crossed, grinning like he already smelled blood.

Poseidon, silent and brooding, trident humming with oceanic power.

Apollo, Hermes, Hera, Artemis, Demeter, Hephaestus, Dionysus, and Hestia—each bearing their symbols of power, each watching Megumi as if he were a wild animal who'd just escaped his cage.

"You felt it too," Zeus said, his voice booming with divine authority. "The shift in the world's balance. The tremor in fate."

His gaze sharpened, zeroing in on Megumi. "And it led us… to you."

Megumi struggled to his feet. His aura flickered erratically—he was still drained from his transformation, still reeling from what he'd become. Ava moved to help him, but he gently touched her shoulder, shaking his head.

"I'm okay," he whispered. "Stay behind me."

She hesitated—but nodded.

Zeus raised a hand, and the skies parted further. "Your existence… is a threat to both gods and men. We have long known of the prophecy: 'The one with the darkened halo shall shake Olympus and tear the heavens from their throne.'"

A few of the gods tensed at the words.

"I never asked for this," Megumi replied, voice rough but defiant. "You want to punish me for something I didn't choose?"

Ares stepped forward. "You didn't choose it—but you embraced it. You unleashed power that bends the natural order. Mortals shouldn't have wings made of judgment and chaos."

Athena's voice was calm, but firm. "What lies within you is not fully your fault. But you must be measured. Tested."

A silence followed—then a new presence emerged from the clouds behind the Olympians.

The temperature dropped instantly. Even the gods turned to watch as a figure materialized from the shadows like a ghost unraveling from forgotten myth.

He didn't walk—he glided.

He was tall, cloaked in swaying tendrils of living shadow. His face was hidden behind a silver-white mask etched with ancient symbols, shaped like both a crown and a prison. His eyes—what little could be seen—were not eyes at all, but swirling voids. The wind around him didn't blow. It pulled.

Erebus. The Voidborn.

Zeus spoke without looking back. "He predates Olympus. He answers to no pantheon. But he respects balance. And he, more than any of us, knows when something must be… removed."

"Wait," Ava said, stepping in front of Megumi again. "You're going to have him fight Megumi? Right now? He just saved me—he saved all of us!"

Erebus tilted his head slightly. When he spoke, his voice was like echoing whispers in a cavern of nothingness.

"Emotion is not evidence of righteousness. He is unstable. And instability… brings collapse."

Megumi stepped forward, his black halo shimmering with ghostly fire. "If I don't fight… what happens?"

"You will be contained," Zeus said plainly. "Sealed beneath Olympus. Watched for eternity."

Ava gasped, and Megumi's hands balled into fists.

"I already lived in a cage once," he growled. "I'm not going back to one."

Erebus raised a hand—and the space between him and Megumi shattered. Not cracked—shattered, like glass, revealing endless darkness beyond. Gravity twisted. The trees around the crater leaned toward the rupture as if being pulled.

A battle dimension. A realm of void.

"Accept this duel," Erebus said, "and the outcome shall decide your fate."

Megumi stared into the black storm, then turned to Ava. Her eyes pleaded with him not to go.

"I have to," he said quietly. "If I don't stand now, I'll never be free."

He stepped into the void.

Erebus followed, and the realm sealed shut behind them like a locked tomb.

Inside the Void

The space was surreal. Endless. There was no floor, yet Megumi stood. Stars pulsed in the distance like dying embers. The laws of physics here were optional—floating chunks of stone, twisting staircases that led nowhere, upside-down waterfalls, drifting memories of things that never existed.

Erebus hovered, arms spread, his mask beginning to glow.

"This place exists between thought and silence," he said. "Your power cannot overwhelm me here. Only your truth can."

Megumi summoned his energy, wings reemerging—one glowing white, the other pulsing black. His halo blazed.

"Then I'll show you my truth."

They clashed.

Erebus moved like shadow incarnate, warping space with every motion. Spheres of compressed gravity detonated around Megumi, distorting time and light. One grazed him—and his vision blurred, his body convulsing from the pressure.

But Megumi struck back—channeling a spear of light and darkness into his palm. He hurled it through dimensions, forcing Erebus to deflect it by fracturing space itself.

Erebus summoned void tendrils that wrapped around Megumi's limbs, trying to crush his soul, not just his body.

But Megumi roared, his aura burning away the darkness.

"I'm not afraid of breaking!"

He unleashed a nova of energy, white and black lightning arcing across the voidscape. It struck Erebus squarely, forcing the ancient being back.

For the first time, Erebus paused.

"You fight not for power… but for someone."

"Yes," Megumi said, breathless but burning. "For Ava. For Chloe. For everyone I couldn't protect before."

Erebus floated silently. The void pulsed.

Then—he bowed his head.

"Very well."

The void collapsed in a heartbeat. The stars extinguished. The space folded in on itself like a closing book.

Back in the crater

The rift reopened. Megumi stumbled out, panting. Ava caught him before he hit the ground.

Erebus emerged next. He said nothing—but turned to Zeus and gave a single nod.

"He is not the threat," Erebus intoned. "But he is the warning."

Zeus looked down at Megumi for a long moment, then turned to the gods.

"We leave him… for now."

The Olympians vanished in streaks of divine light, one by one.

Only Erebus lingered, watching Megumi.

"When next we meet, it will not be as judge," he said, voice low. "But as witness. To your rise—or your fall."

Then he vanished into the shadows.