An hour earlier in the Prospect Building, 9:00, 47th Day of Exios.
Sabrina walked out of the rotating room into the lounge area, wearing the same navy-blue battle dress she wore days before.
Her every careful step made her ponytail pink hair bounce, displaying a sense of youth in her feminine figure.
She opened the door and was surprised to see unfamiliar faces on the couches.
“Oh, Sabrina. You’ve finally woken up.”, a silvery voice called out to her.
“Senior Cody, who are they? Are they my seniors as well?”
“Yes, come. Let me introduce you to the four.”, he approached her and gestured to come closer.
“He’s Rudy Willis, a, well, how do you say, a necromancer who deals with the examination of dead bodies for experiments and research.”, pointing at a hunched-back young man.
“That bearded man is Gale Todd, an array formation student on his 3rd year. That muscled girl right over there is Zara Gibson, and that beautiful thin girl beside Zara is Yasmin Dixon. She’s an alchemist. If you want to request cultivation pills from her, you can do so.”
“Senior Edward, who’s this little beauty here? Little girl, want to join me in my experiments?”, Rudy invited.
His dreary black eyes and weary hands gave way to the fact he was lacking in sleep.
“Hey, insomniac ugly bastard, you want to invite her to your circus experiments? How disgusting!”, Zara exclaimed.
This infuriated Rudy, “First of all, they’re not circus experiments, brain-dead muscle-head.”, waving his hand in objection, “Second, I’m not an ugly bastard!”, then pointed at his face.
“Your face says it all.”, Zara mocked him.
“Tsk!”
“A calm morning disturbed by your immature behaviors. This is why I don’t like to come here often with you two.”, Gale interjected.
His short wavy hair fell on his face, covering a part of it, and exuded a calm aura due to his presence.
“Shut up, work maniac. As if you aren’t immature as well.”, the woman ridiculed.
The young man sipped on his tea, shaking as he did so. Nobody knew whether he was angry or afraid.
“Everyone, senior Cody is in front of us, and our junior as well. Please behave modestly!”, another woman with an angelic voice tried to pacify their rude behavior.
However, the three did not listen. Cody was angered by this, wanting to reprimand them when the door in the other room was opened.
A group of Imperium guards walked inside.
“Good morning.”, the captain greeted, even though it was still dark outside.
“Good morning Captain Blaft, may I know why you are here today?”, Cody asked.
“Ah, you must be the son of Elder Kent, right? What was your name again?”
“Cody McKenzie.”
“Ah, Cody, we are looking for Sabrina Rossi and Jeremias Pickler.”
Cody was puzzled, “Captain Blaft, may I know why you are looking for them?”
The captain guard sized up Cody and was surprised to see Elder Kent’s son in the Prospect Building.
“We’re looking for these two so that they could testify in court about what happened yesterday at the front of the Mage Guild building.”, the captain explained.
“What happened yesterday?”, his eyes narrowed, “Are you referring to those ghost-like creatures rampaging in the city?”
“Yes. We have already interrogated them, but the Imperium Court requires their presence for today’s court trial. The suspects have already been apprehended and the public knows of this.”
The six people were shocked.
`To think that the suspects were already identified.`, Cody was intrigued about their identity.
“Sir, before anything else, may we have the privilege to know who the suspects are?”
“Uh, wait… lieutenant, who were they again?”, the captain scratched his head in embarrassment.
“Yes sir.”, a guard behind the captain’s left took out a paper and read aloud, “The Imperium Court will proceed to its first trial on this day, the 47th of Exios, under the reason of persecuting the alleged suspects identified as Zachariel Strom and Amelia Strom, who perpetrated the assault of the mysterious ghosts during the 46th day of Exios. Signed by Imperium Court High Magistrate Adolf Norde, approved by His Imperial Majesty, Marcus Cromwell.”
He rolled down the paper and returned it to his pockets, “That is all, sir.”
The captain awkwardly laughed then turned to look at them, “So, there it is, can we ask if the two-, eh?”
He was surprised to see the dumbfounded expression on Cody and Sabrina’s faces.
“Cody, is there anything wrong?”, the captain asked.
…
Medullan Forward Camp.
Inside Grandfather Albert’s tent.
There were five people currently gathered inside, with Uncle Zwein’s holographic figure reading aloud the contents of the Imperium Court’s order.
‘Bang!’
Grandfather Albert slammed the table.
“What are those fools thinking? They want to persecute my grandson and granddaughter for the sins they have not done?!”
“Father, please calm down.”, Gilbert tried to pacify the tempered old man.
“You shut up! What b******* dark underground factions? I’ve fought with them for all my life and now a family member of mine is related to them?!”, Grandfather Albert stood up, “Get out of my way! I’m going to charge over to the Imperium Capital City now!”
“Father, please. Let’s talk through this peacefully!”, Anabella tugged at her father.
“What peaceful talks? They’ve waged a war on our family, you think the diplomatic way can put us out of this?”, he exclaimed, shoving Anabella’s arms out of his shirt.
He was about to reach for the tent exit when someone suddenly entered.
Grandfather Albert recognized the figure, “Old fool, don’t you go dare block me now!”
“Albert, you should know that my granddaughter has also been called out to testify against them. Don’t think I’m not as angry as you are now.”, the old figure replied.
“Your granddaughter to testify against my grandson? Leonardo, you’re not lying, are you?”, Grandfather Albert was dumbstruck.
Leonardo snorted, “We obviously know this is a plot from His Imperial Majesty, a revenge for your grandson overwhelming his son’s talent.”
“Hmph, such a stupid reason. If he’s so jealous about my grandson’s talent, he should rant in front of his son’s face, not mine!”, Albert shouted, then calmed himself down, “Since you’re here, you must have a plan already?”
Leonardo shook his head.
“You don’t? Then why are you here? To publicly announce your pity on us?”, Albert regained his anger.
“I’m not the one who has a plan. An insider from the revolutionary faction secretly messaged me that they have a plan to help your grandson later.”, Leonardo explained.
Albert was surprised, “Help my grandson? But why? How come those revolutionists are coming for my grandson now?”, his eyes narrowed, realizing something, “Don’t tell me they want to use Zachariel for their plans?!”
“Exactly.”, Leonardo affirmed.
“B*******! Do they think they can use us easily? I don’t want my grandson to die like a piece of s***! Get out of my way! I don’t have time to talk to you right now!”
Leonardo blocked him, “Albert, this is the path that we could only tread to right now.”
Albert looked at Leonardo in his eyes, “Leonardo, you think those revolutionists are any better than those in the Imperium Royal Family right now?! Both of them are just a bunch of slaves under the ideology of another person in power! What revolutionary nonsense, they only want to gain the throne for themselves!”, retorting.
Leonardo was silenced. He did not have any argument against what Albert had said.
“Albert, even if you want to walk out of this tent right now, the Imperium Army will stop you from doing so.”, he warned.
“Don’t tell me we’re going to attack again?”, Albert gripped his fists tightly.
Leonardo nodded.
“Damn it!”, he punched the air on his left, breaking the furniture and blasting a hole in the tent.
The commotion dragged the attention of people nearby.
“Leonardo, I’m warning you. If anything happens to my boy, I’m going to butcher my way to the Imperium Capital City.”, Albert stared menacingly at Leonardo.
He then walked back to his private room and closed the door.
Leonardo sighed, “I’m going now. Talk your father out of this, Gilbert, Anabella.”
“We will do so as you have said, Sir Leonardo.”, Gilbert bowed to him.
“Gilbert, will our son be okay? What about Amelia?”, Anabella was worried.
“Ana, stop worrying too much. We can’t do anything about it right now. Let’s just hope that something good will happen later.”, Gilbert half-heartedly comforted.
Anabella wasn’t convinced, but like what her husband had said, they could only hope that their son and Amelia would not be labeled as a criminal by the Imperium Court.
Gilbert realized that Uncle Zwein was still here.
“Uncle Zwein, you can go back now. Please don’t let Anastasia hear about this.”, he requested.
Anastasia’s relationship with Zachariel was very special. If she knew what happened to her older brother back at the capital, she might start a tantrum again.
Uncle Zwein bowed then faded away.
…
Back on the Imperium Capital City, outside of the Imperium Court.
A few guards stood on the sides, watching over the procession. They were donned in silver armor and a white robe.
The display didn’t look as grand as it was due to the blackout.
Small examiner bugs were flying around, providing coverage of what was happening in the Imperium Court.
The unprecedented public broadcast shocked many inside the Imperium.
One of them was a group of mercenaries inside a tavern in Brion City, who were about to eat their breakfast when the magic screens at the middle of the room lightened up.
A female warrior stopped what she was doing, “Eh, what’s going on?”
Her acquaintances were baffled as well, “Whoa, the Imperium’s broadcasting a public trial? Did something big happen recently?”
“Yeah, a friend of mine from the Imperium Capital City said that a member of the dark underground factions launched a surprise attack inside. They killed a lot of people, he said. Now, those suspects are being trialed today for the public to see.”
“Suspects?”, the man looked at the screen and was shocked to see the ‘suspects’ his acquaintance mentioned.
“You call those young students as suspects? Do you know how ridiculous that is? Are the Imperium guards blind? Can’t they recognize that they are students?”
The others affirmed the warrior’s statement.
“Brother, I’m confused just like you too, but how about let’s watch it instead. Maybe we could get a gist of why these students were deemed suspects by the Imperium guards.”, his acquaintance replied.
Some of them stopped eating and stood right in front of the magic screen.
“Hey, hey, stop blocking our view, man!”
“Get in front if you want to see it. We don’t have time for your silly requests!”
“Damn it!”
…
Elden Embassy, Imperium Continent.
Arlette, Tarron, and a few other Elden officials spectated the live broadcast.
“Tarron, shouldn’t we make a move right now? If the Imperium passes a criminality verdict, we might have a hard time bringing that young boy to our side.”, Arlette worried.
The rest of the officials were intrigued about their topic, so they listened to their conversation.
“Arlette, don’t lack faith in the power of the Child of Destiny. There’s a reason why he is that.”, Tarron confidently assured.
“But isn’t Prince Kane the one Elder Lyda had divined to be the Child of Destiny?”, Arlette replied.
Tarron sighed at the idiocy of his acquaintance. As such, he didn’t bother to reply to her.
`Fools, you dare to challenge destiny itself. You will pay dear well for it.`
He looked in the direction of the Central Continent, then turned around and left the room.
This baffled the others, “Arlette, what is Tarron up to now?”, a male angel asked.
His feather-white wings covered his entire back.
Arlette had no clue either, “I don’t know. He keeps on acting and saying mysterious things.”
“And the boy? The two of you were pretty interested in him, as I have observed.”, the male angel added.
Arlette shook her head, “I don’t really understand why Tarron is very interested in him. He kept on saying some strange things like Primal being, Primal grade, or Primal that, and that he is the true Child of Destiny.”
She then pointed at Zachariel, “He even said that that young boy in the screen is the one Reverend Valoris had long been looking for.”
Surprised, “The one described in the book of Erialden Orvehantea? Birthed by the universe, blessed by the entire world?”, the male angel reminisced.
“Probably. Tarron never said anything much about it. If there was, I would not be able to understand most of them anyway.”, Arlette waved her hands.
“Interesting. Even if that young boy’s talent surpasses the generally accepted grading measurement in Pandragea, such phenomenon shouldn’t directly lead to the contents of the book of Erialden Orvehantea.”, the male angel analyzed.
“I know. I think Tarron is just paranoid. After all, Supreme Elder Azzad did greet that young boy a month ago. He must’ve based his own findings of that event and overestimated Zachariel’s worth.”
Arlette had the right to doubt Zachariel in every way. The talent of humans in both the field of magic and physical combat wasn’t extraordinary.
Either the platform from before malfunctioned, or it was another reason that caused it to explode. Nevertheless, they were bound to witness the truth in the upcoming friendly skirmish event.
For now, observing his impending court trial was more important.
“Oh, they’ve already reached the top of the staircase. It looks like it’ll start now.”, another Elden announced.
They all turned to look back at the magic screen.
…
Zachariel and Amelia were chained and handcuffed, with a burly tall guard donned in a full golden helmet leading the procession. Another group of Imperium guards followed behind. Placing their hands on their sword hilts, readying themselves for any unexpected incident that might happen.
Eyes and bearings straight, they marched slowly towards the top of the staircase.
The guard in front then knelt, “This humble servant delivers the suspects for their upcoming trial.”, his loud voice reverberating on the area.
“Bring them in.”, a dignified old voice replied.
The huge doors opened. It was so loud that people within a hundred-meter radius of the Imperium Court could hear it clearly.
The guard stood back up and grabbed the air, pulling the chains to his hands and dragged the two of them along.
The hall was divided into three sections, the spectators, the witnesses, and the high seats of the Imperium Court judges.
He noticed his classmates on the middle right side and the other class students on the other side.
His worried classmates looked at him. They did not expect Zachariel to be treated this way. He was just their classmate, how could he become a criminal all of a sudden?
Luka, on the other hand, glanced at Diega, trying to catch her expressions off guard. Unfortunately, the little girl held today.
`She must’ve noticed me and is on guard now.`, after which, he chose to ignore her and observe Amelia and Zachariel instead.
There were other people as well, dressed in various armors and clothes.
Cody and the rest of the seniors sat at the back. He was still shocked after hearing about Amelia and Zachariel.
`This is not how things should go. Well, not unless the Imperium wants to deal with this as soon as possible because they want to hide something from the public.`
He then noticed a familiar figure moving from the sides.
`Sir Matthias? Why is he here? Was he invited by them as well? Or is he here for another reason?`
`Wait, didn’t the incident happened in front of my father’s guild yesterday?`, he looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of his father’s familiar figure.
`Strange, father’s not here. His associates aren’t here either. What’s going on?`
…
Zachariel felt an unusual aura emanating inside the Imperium Court. It was as if the feeling of honor and uprightness was swelling inside him.
At the top was a painting depicting a man standing on a platform, pointing his sword down upon a kneeling figure that was chained and handcuffed with its head drooped.
After having a sight of the scenery, Zachariel looked towards Amelia. Her injuries were already healed by the Imperium guards before they were taken out of their cell.
Amelia noticed him staring at her then smiled. Zachariel was surprised, `Why do I feel like she’s in comfort?`
Amelia didn’t waver even when she was about to be trialed in front of many people. In her heart, as long as Zachariel was nearby, she would always feel safe no matter what would happen.
That was how much she had trusted Zachariel for her life and her safety.
“Move faster.”, the guard in front urged. He didn’t want to waste time.
The two followed and saw a high platform where rows of seats were placed distant from one another, and three high seats above them, structured similarly to a pyramidal style.
{Note: Imagine the high seat similar to a high king chair in Earth Medieval Period}
{Note: 7-5-3, Bottom-Top}
Each chair was taken by a scholar donned in black and white robes. The inner section of their robes was white, while its arms, the neck, and the rest of the parts were colored in black.
Most of them were old, with long beards and hairs, wrinkled faces, and a penetrating look as they observed the two suspects.
The three seated at the top were two old scholars, and Emperor Marcus himself. The scholar on his right noticed something different, `Elder Lina’s Will isn’t affecting that boy. He must be innocent, by the best.`
`Also, these Imperium guards didn’t even bother to invite the other victims of the incident.`, referring to Elder Kent and the rest of the Mage Guild high-ranking officials.
His weary eyes glanced at Emperor Marcus, `If His Imperial Majesty thinks we’re just a bunch of old fool scholars, he’s wrong.`
Meanwhile, the guard on the front stepped on a rectangular platform that was 2 meters wide, 5 meters long, and a quarter of a meter higher than the base floor.
There was a metal pole at the end with holes in it. The size of the holes perfectly fit the size of the chains that bounded Amelia and Zachariel.
“Your Imperial Majesty, your High Honors, and your Honors, I present to you the suspects on trial for today. Amelia Strom and Zachariel Strom, the alleged perpetrators on the attack incident yesterday here at the Imperium Capital City.”, the guard narrated formally.
“Hmm…”, Emperor Marcus nodded.
The guard then approached the pole and inserted the chains in it, “Coalescence”.
The chains suddenly mixed themselves with the pole. The guard turned around and moved behind the two, standing upright while watching over them.
Emperor Marcus stood up, declaring, “The court trial will now begin.”
