Chapter 20: The Trial of the Immortals
"You gathered the world to witness my judgment. But forgot… the world no longer answers to you."
—Kael Draven
Location: Tribunal Colosseum of Judgment – Upper Heaven Sector
A hundred thousand cultivators gathered across floating platforms. Cities paused. Planets halted transmissions. Celestial beasts howled from unseen moons.
The Tribunal, once omnipotent arbiters of law and cosmic balance, summoned Kael Draven to trial.
A spectacle meant to condemn.
Instead… it became his ascension.
Arrival of the Heretic
Kael arrived not in chains, but in silence.
No guards.
No bindings.
He walked into the colosseum like a monarch late to his own coronation.
Crimson coat fluttering.
Sword untouched.
Smile unreadable.
He looked at the High Council.
"You have my name on your lips," he said, "but not in your hearts. That's why you'll lose."
Opening Statement – High Judge Orun
"Kael Draven, you stand accused of doctrine blasphemy, oath disruption, mass soul manipulation, and existential treason."
"How do you plead?"
Kael looked out at the crowd.
Then smiled.
"I plead finished."
Gasps.
"With pretending that your laws matter."
"With pretending your gods haven't already abandoned you."
"And with waiting for permission to rule."
He raised one hand.
A thousand black lotus sigils bloomed in the crowd.
"Every one of them chose me. Not because I'm holy… but because I'm true."
Madara-Style Confrontation Begins
Judge Vire stepped forward.
"Your words mean nothing. You've rewritten minds!"
Kael's eyes flared with chaos light.
"You taught them obedience. I simply taught them to ask why."
"And when they did… they saw you for what you are. Hollow robes. Empty gongs."
He walked forward.
Uninvited.
Unafraid.
"Tell me, Judge Vire… if my influence is so monstrous, why do half your disciples now wear my colors?"
"Shall we summon them? Or are you afraid of applause?"
System Notification (Private)
[Stage 4: Public Ideological Collapse Detected]
[System Authority: Chaos Embodiment – Partial Deification Unlocked]
[Spectator Belief Conversion: 39% and rising]
The Trial Turns
The Tribunal attempted to summon a soul mirror.
It cracked.
They summoned the Book of Truth.
It burst into black lotus petals.
Each attempt to confront Kael with divine relics failed.
"You want truth?" Kael said. "You branded it heresy the moment it stopped kneeling."
He turned to the crowd.
"Let me ask you: What have their laws given you?"
"When your children starved, did law feed them?"
"When your sects fell to greed, did divine balance save you?"
"I am no god."
"I am the proof that gods were never needed."
Kael stepped closer to Judge Orun.
"Tell me, Judge…"
"When you first read my doctrine… did it make you tremble?"
"Not because it was wrong."
"But because it felt like something you used to believe… before you chose safety."
Orun said nothing.
He lowered his gavel.
"You forgot the one law that matters."
"He who commands belief… commands reality."
Final Moments of the Trial
The Tribunal called for divine judgment.
Summoned the Celestial Will Flame.
It hovered over Kael.
Then flickered.
Then bowed.
The flame bent toward Kael's hand.
He crushed it.
Turned it into black fire.
And smiled.
"Your final witness just defected."
System Revelation
[Arc 1 Complete: Tribunal Collapse Achieved]
[Chaos Title Unlocked: Architect of Apostasy]
[Reward: World Authority Fragment – Soul Rewrite Protocol Access Granted]
Final Scene – The Coronation
Kael stood atop the Tribunal's altar.
Not as a prisoner.
Not as a rebel.
As a sovereign.
"You made this trial to destroy me."
"But I made it holy."
"Not by your laws."
"But by the fact that everyone watching…
already kneels."
The crowd bowed.
Even the judges.
One by one.
Kael turned.
"Bring me the Immortal Sects."