Your choice doesn't matter

" How about spent that remaining time putting your savings into my account instead." Argus said shamelessly as he brought a parchment from seemingly out of nowhere with all the clauses already written.

Looking at Argus, Ethan was filled with a unimaginable amount of anger towards his unfilial son who brought a written deed with him, "In your dreams You ungrateful brat. Either listen to my story or you ain't getting a penny outta my stash." he roared only to begin coughing again as Argus had already thrust down a life preserving medicine down his throat.

Ethan turned again to see Argus now sitting to the side like the most obedient son in history which made Ethan want to vomit blood but he forced himself to calm down.

" I was once just like you, a Jobless guy who never had a decent class for himself because of a cursed attribute some bastard gave to me. It was strong, Strong enough force my options to a single servant class and that made me want to kill that guy with my own hands."

Ethan looks at his neck, grabbing a pendant from it and opening it in front of his eyes, it had 3 photos with one of them crossed out with a red cross. They were his sworn enemies, the people who made his life hell and he just killed the second of them.

He raised his arm, marking the second photo red with his own blood before putting the pendant in Argus's hand as he continues.

" I went around, searching for myths and legends on my own because some jackass told me it will bring me a attribute and my numb nut head actually believed that guy.. *cough* Turns out that was the guy who cursed me and i was just playing around in his palm all along."

Ethan placed his hand on his chest, " But by some god forsaken thief's grave i found buried in some forest, i got this." he says as his palm begins glowing and some sort of ethereal orb phases through his chest and ends up in his palm.

The orb was not very big, only the size of a apple but it was seemingly turning each second as if a advanced mechanism made from gears and stuff. Looking at it, Argus felt like watching a over complex puzzle that kept changing like a imaginary paradox.

The orb was pulsing, as if a beating heart, ready to jump away at a moments notice if left unattended for even a second, It was made of some sort of shiny stuff that passed through everything and had a glowing gem in it's middle.

" The judge's core, my greatest fortune and the my best friend." Ethan remarked, almost losing himself in nostalgia until something slapped him back to reality.

"Who the heck is your friend? You fraud, you damn thief who stole me away from my master." , A voice came out from the core and Ethan was hit with a pebble to the side followed by a bunch of other pebbles, "Today I will finally be free, away from your clutches!"

"Not so fast you piece of junk, get back here." Ethan yelled as he grabbed the orb again and pretty much locked it between his both arms, "Listen kid, i will be frank, this world is a jungle where you either be the judge or be the judged. Now choose which one you will be."

Argus looked around, his mind in turmoil but deep down he knew what he wanted to choose and so he followed his heart and smiled.

" Being the Judge it is then."

" Wonderful.. THEN EAT THIS AND KILL THE LAST GUY FOR ME." Ethan roared with all his remaining strength as he pulled himself up and shoved the core into Argus's chest before finally succumbing to his injuries and falling to the ground lifeless.

*******

Opening his eyes with a deep breath, Argus found himself laying on the ground beside Ethan who was now a cold corpse with bugs running over his body. He felt weak but gritting his teeth he pulled himself up and looked around to figure out what knocked him out.

His memory felt fuzzy, as if having being short circuited and then slowly his memory begin recovering as put some effort in remembering.

He looked to the side and saw the sun, slowly sinking in the horizon as the night slowly creeped closer by each passing second which meant a bad signal for Argus.

ROAR 

A loud sound washed over the forest, Throwing everything around into a state of terror as animals or anything alive was running for shelter for the sake of their lives.

Argus on the other hand, felt His exhaustion fade away like ice in hot water and he quickly rose to his feets.

Hoisting the lifeless Ethan onto his shoulder, He ran at highest speed he could reach albeit his pathetic classless body was not enough to outrun the terror of the forest.

"NO NO NO NO NOO-" He repeated only to stumble and be greeted by a giant pair of pitch black orb like eyes that seems to staring deep into his souls.

"I Guess this is my judgement eh? Being eaten up is kind of lenient compared to being stabbed to death i think.", Trying to find a excuse to justify his death Argus gave up any resistance as he watched the terror come closer.

It was a grey lion like creature with two mirror like fangs that comes out of it's mouth and a mane that seems be twisted like crazy and swirling continuously.

For what felt like a small eternity, Argus had no choice but watch as the beast came closer and closer until it was right in front of him, glaring right into his eyes.

It was so close, he could feel the beast's electric spark filled breath on his face but what happened next was unexpected.

"A new judge? And not foundationless as well, now i ask my visitor.. Are you here to fight me or this area's judge?"

The Beast's voice was wise, filled with experience and knowledge that hinted at a long life and a overwhelming amount of battles.

Argus through, was stunned to the point he even forget the one in front was beast and straight up asked him a question, " What's a judge?"

The beast looks him, it's eyes widening slightly as small flame appears in its pupils before he tossed Argus and the dead Ethan onto it's back.

"So Ethan passed away *sighs* The guy was the chilliest person I ever met, he deserves better than a hole through the stomach atleast.. Poor guy."

Hearing the Beast talk about his foster father like some old friend, Argus was confused to say the least but there was one clear thing, There was something called a judge and now he was one of them.

Seconds passed, Minutes passed, The lion however didn't talking once, 'Does this guy ever stop talking? I get that it gets lonely but is it necessary to talk this to a stranger?' Argus thought as he kept hearing the lion's voice even after closing his ears.

"That's useless boy, Haven't you noticed my mouth being fully shut?"

"Then what should I do? I ain't intrested in the old man's backstory." Argus replied, momentarily forgetting everything.

"Oh but you would have to. If you want to be a decent judge that is" The lion said to Argus, It's voice sending chills down his over confused brain and suppressing him with sheer pressure.

He saw no moment but deep down Argus could feel the lion giggling beneath the voice and felt himself being mocked but he wasn't some insane guy to challenge a losing fight.

So he shut up and begins trying to figure out what a judge was from the Lion's words.

*******

"Is this your house? Much bigger than the one I lived in."

"Oh course it is, A king should live like one he got the privilege of one."

The Duo or rather a trio if you include the corpse too, were now inside a giant valley where the ground was covered in moss and water giving off a somewhat Swampish vibe to itself.

From what he has heard during his way here, The lion in front of him was apparently the king of a major portion of southern forest and also apparently his uncle since Ethan was kind of his friend.

As for the judge stuff, it was apparently a sort of status, a extra class that has its own stage tree that a person can have thanks to something called a soul core which was the orb Ethan shoved into him before passing away.

If Argus was to say he didn't feel sad from Ethan's passing it would be a blunt faced lie because as much of a pink Ethan was, he was still his father and the one who raised him.

So it was only necessary that he should be the one to give him a proper rite of passage to afterlife which in this world was something in between viking and burial customs.

The rite included laying down the deceased on a structure akin to a small wooden tent inside a oval shaped hole and given a cremation followed by filling of the hole with dirt or dust.

Naturally the lion who was named Grevois( Self-named ) helped in the process and soon they both were standing some distance away watching the former judge fading to ashes.

"So about this judge status. Do I have any say in this?"

" Your choice doesn't matter, I have him a promise to train you and I will do so without any mercy."

"Oh."

Eventually they fire begin dimming as everything was once again covered in the veil of the nightsky and the darkness.