-SLAP-
Hearing Bururiba insult and curse at her own deceased husband, Sylvia was unable to keep her composure on check any longer and took a step forward. A strong slap landed on Bururiba’s face, while a silvery tear appeared on Sylvia’s cheek. With a saddened and flustered face, she shouted at him, unable to hold her tears any longer.
“Enough, please! However much wrong my husband might have done to you! I will still not let you talk like this in front of me again!” → Sylvia
Sylvia shouted in a quivering voice, her body trembling from the overflowing feelings of sorrow.
“For what reason are you even shouting at him? HE’S DEAD! He won’t wake up! You shouting around won’t resolve anything…” → Sylvia
She started to sob and her tears wetted the floor, collapsing on her knees from the pain in her heart.
Why… Why didn’t I stopped you when I had the chance? Shen… You promised me you won’t do such a thing again! How can I trust anyone ever again after even you broke a promise with me? Shen… you said we’ll remain together… forever…
Bururiba was looking with coldness at Sylvia then back at Shen’s body. Sylvia’s slap didn’t anger him, but the fact that she started to cry for someone who didn’t only exchange the lives of his companions for some slaves, but the heart of his own wife as well, made him feel his blood boiling in rage.
“… Even after your wife starts crying on the floor in front of another man, you’re still not waking up… Then I should do this.” → Bururiba
Bururiba then took out his gun and pointed it at Sylvia.
“?!”
“Bururiba? What do you think you’re doing?” → Sofia
Sofia then finally got up and asked with a serious face.
“Because of Shen, I lost 23 good friends while other 9 are severely injured. I need compensation.” → Bururiba
Bururiba said while pointing his gun at Sylvia’s left hand.
“You said you’ll take responsibility for his mistakes? Then, will you give me a Queen’s arm as compensation? I’m sure that having you sacrifice an arm would be 10 times more painful for Shen than having you give me some material compensation or simply killing him again.” → Bururiba
His voice was ice-cold and the blood-lust he emanated made the air turn colder.
“Bururiba, are you mad? Shen is dead! He won’t wake up to feel the pain you’re talking about!” → Sofia
Sofia wasn’t able to sit idly anymore and got between Sylvia and Bururiba.
“YES, HE WILL!” → Bururiba
Bururiba boomed at Sofia then looked at Shen with blood-shot eyes.
“You saw for yourself how much of a devil he is! By himself, he was able to defeat the Rising Seas’ Guardian beast! He showed enough destructive power to take everyone here on by himself! While almost dying, he defeated the top dogs together with the king in one strike! I won’t believe it if you tell me that such a monster would simply die like that! I can’t believe it!” → Bururiba
“…”
Sofia was unable to say anymore, while Sylvia calmed down then starred at Bururiba with the same neutral gaze.
“Will you forgive us then if I give you my arm?” → Sylvia
“…”
After seeing her firm eyes, Bururiba’s resolution started to shake, but on the outside, he was the same cold captain.
“… I will.” → Bururiba
In the end, he agreed in a cold voice.
“Bururiba. Don’t do something you’ll regret after.” → Sofia
Sofia tried to make him change his mind but was to no avail.
“The only thing I regret is my partnership with Shen. Other than that, nothing is resting on my consciousness.” → Bururiba
He aimed his gun at Sylvia and was ready to shot when he felt a weird wind coming from the door.
It’s too late.
-BOOM-
Blood splashed all over the floor and a bloody arm fell limp on the ground.
.
Back in time, when Shen was still on the pirate ship with Tama trying to wake him up.
[Quiet! The culprit has arrived.]A loud and ethereal voice boomed as if sounding like an echo from inside a cave.
“Huh?” → Shen
When Shen opened his eyes he saw himself inside a gigantic shining-white antique building made from huge pillar reaching high in the blue sky. In front of him stood tall three giants with a cage in front of them in which five pirate captains and one pirate king still burned. Their screams echoed inside the hall but nobody seemed to even hear them. It seems the two demons, nr 10 and Haidao weren’t there, arriving in Hell without needing a judgment. The giants were as big as mountains while on left and right, spirits of all dimensions, elements, and appearances stared at Shen, waiting for the judgment to start.
“Wait. Judgment? The judgment of what?” → Shen
Shen asked confused while looking around dazed, just like a child in a supermarket.
The three giants had the same appearances as Shen but they shone with a blinding golden light and were wearing the armor of different colors. The one from the middle had silver armor, the one from the left had a cooper armor while the one from the right had a golden armor. The spirits from his right were luminous and had a beautiful shine, while the ones from his left were more like demonic entities; Incredibly ugly, having the appearances of nightmares and shadows while exhuming dark smoke and evil aura.
The giant from the middle opened his mouth and started talking.
[You have come to the Hall of Judgment. This place is inside the Sun of Sario and we will judge your actions.]“…”
Shen looked dazed at the giant who just talked.
Judge? Is it about the fact that people died because of me? → Shen
[Now. Let’s begin!]The spirit from the middle created a huge table in front of him like the one in front of the judge and in his hand, a huge hammer appeared.
A loud boom thundered after he smashed the hammer on the table. The hit was so strong, the space dented and if that happened on Earth… or Sario, even the mountains would have cracked at the loud soundwave.
[Soul that took the last test for God’s Sura, the one who asks what he receives, the one named Omisus, you shall be judged as guilty or innocent for the destruction of 6 shells and the harm of 6 souls.]The voice was so strong, even the building was vibrating while the face was completely unchanged.
“…”
Is he talking about me using the Fire of Purgatory? → Shen
Shen’s face paled.
S***! I might really end up in Tartarus this time… → Shen
[To hell with him!][He’s guilty!][The poor souls had done nothing wrong! He’s a monster!]The left part of demons and dark spirits started to exaggerate Shen’s actions and defend the five top sea dogs together with the Pirate King.
The demons really like to spout s***. → Shen
Shen looked with disgust at the demons, trying to ignore them.
“…”
While the left side was noisy, the right side was silent and simply observed the judgment.
[The judgment will occur like it did all the other times. We three will judge if the soul is innocent or guilty. If one of us is on contradiction with the rest, then we will ask a more superior trinity to judge for us. If this happens again, then we will ask an even superior one, until we will get three votes for one answer. Am I clear?][Yes]All three spirits answered in unison, making space vibrate. It was as if Gods talked, not spirits.
“Before we start, can I ask who you guys are? And why do you have my appearance?” → Shen
[I am the Spirit of the lower dimensions. I am a part of your soul, here to give the answer I think is right.][I am the spirit of the middle dimensions. I am part of your soul, here to give the answer I think is right.][I am the spirit of the higher dimensions. I am part of your soul, here to give the answer I think is right.]…I don’t get it. → Shen
Shen looked confused at the three spirits then a white ghost appeared before him.
“You!”
It was the same ghost that appeared in front of him when he was 10 years old inside the dream. But to his surprise, this time he was able to see the face of the ghost without any problems.
“W-wait… From where do I know you?” → Shen
Shen had a strong feeling of familiarity while looking at the old face in front of him.
[You’re a spirit now. Aren’t you supposed to search through your memories for the answer?]The ghost asked with a smile.
“…”
Shen then focused and to his surprise, he was able to slide through his memories as if one would slide through pictures on a tablet. He slides and slides, until he arrives at the lasts memories that he couldn’t ever remember if he was still alive:
“Here!” → Shen
Then he suddenly finds a memory of when he was just born. The first person he saw was an old but still beautiful old woman.
“Y-you’re… great-grandmother?” → Shen
Shen looked with big eyes at the ghost, unable to believe his eyes.
[I’m happy you remember this old granny, my child. But at the same time, it pains me that I had to meet you again so soon… You really don’t know how to take care of yourself.]The old ghost shook her head in anguish.
“Y-yeah… Sorry for that.” → Shen
Even though she wasn’t scolding him, he still felt guilty. For him, his great-grandmother was like a mentor. Her library was like a gold mine for Shen. He respected her and he always thought how it would’ve been if she was still alive to teach him on her own, without needing to waste time for every answer while searching through the books.
“W-well. Rather, can you please tell me what’s this?” → Shen
Shen tried to get over his emotional reunion and asked in curiosity.
[I will explain to you about what’s happening.]The ghost looked back at the three huge entities and after she saw them nod in approval, she turned back at Shen and started to talk.
[Because of the grave injuries you suffered after overextending your abilities, your body wasn’t able to handle the burden of the energies anymore and it ended its functions.]“You mean… I’m completely dead this time?” → Shen
Shen asked with a frown.
[Indeed]“…We will talk about this later. For now, please continue.” → Shen
[Yes. After you died, your inferior spirit, equal spirit, and superior spirit summoned you in the Hall of Judgement to judge you. The reason why you must be judged is about the death of the six pirates you stabbed with the Purgatory’s flames spear.]The ghost them shook her head again and sighed.
[You really know how to make one worry, you know that?]“Ugh, well… Sorry again…” → Shen
Shen scratched the back of his head then asked again.
“By the way, why are they so huge?” → Shen
Shen asked while pointing at the three giants.
[They take the form of your soul.]“My soul is this big?!” → Shen
[They each have a third of your true form, so in a way, yes.]Well damn. → Shen
Shen stared with wide open eyes at the three spirits, feeling positive about the fact that if he still had a body, his neck would’ve hurt by now for looking upwards so much.
The white ghost then continued her explanation.
[If you’re redeemed as guilty, you will have to restart all the twelve tests but before that, you’ll have to reside for millions of years inside the Tartarus. Normally, sending a soul outside its body is not that big of a crime, but this time you’re running a test, and failing this important test will cost you a lot of time.]“I wanted to ask this for a while. What kind of test is this? Not killing? As a Sura, aren’t I supposed to train in killing?” → Shen
Shen asked a question he had ever since he had the dream.
[This test is for limits and to find your true self. Through this test, you’re limiting yourself so you’ll be able to find other ways than killing and to see if this is truly the path you wish for. Even gods of war need to know when to calm down and think twice about their jobs. Only killing and destroying would turn you into a Demon, like what happened to Ashura.]“What Ashura? Dhavala?” → Shen
Shen asked about his friend named Ashura.
[Oh, no. Not that pure child. I’m talking about the real Ashura.]The ghost then sent Shen an image right inside his mind, making him exclaim in shock.
“Wow!” → Shen
In his mind, a huge man with red skin, red eyes and always bloody, appeared. He had a humongous body with bulging muscles. He had a sword as big as him and everywhere he appeared, the fields would turn into a sea of fire, the rivers would turn crimson from the blood of his opponents, while the sky would spin and turn, with lightning and thunder booming every few seconds in wish to purify the intoxicated air by him. He was at the pinnacle of catastrophe and destruction and nothing seemed to stop him, not even the HEavenly thunders from the dark skies.
What rank of power is he? God? No. Elder God?! At whatever rank of power he is, I won’t be able to lift a finger in front of him. → Shen
Shen thought while feeling frost down his spine. Even though it was only an image, the blood-lust was still incredibly ridiculous. One would still be able to feel it even from hundreds of kilometers away.
So without this test, I would risk turning into this? → Shen
Shen then understood the value of the test and felt like giving it more importance.
“… I got it. So in the end, the ones who are judging me are my spirits, not some archangels?” → Shen
[The archangels have other work to do than judge people. The souls judge themselves if they can. If not, other more superior spirits will judge them. They don’t need archangels to judge them.]“Then what if one soul makes a huge sin and calls himself as innocent?” → Shen
[There is no such thing. Once a soul leaves the body and the planetary field, they will become like spirits, unable to lie or to have a consciousness, only feeling weighed down by their own sins. Only the souls with the rank of white and up can have a consciousness, but the sin of lying as a soul in the form of a spirit is hundreds of times worse than if you fail a test. Nobody is foolish enough to do such a thing.]“Has it happened before?” → Shen
[Never. The cost is ridiculous, while the weight of the sins is too much.]“Then I can’t think about getting out of this unscratched…” → Shen
Even though I was a soul now, I still had the human feeling of sweat running down my spine.
“What happens if I’m judged as innocent?” → Shen
[You will be able to continue the test and ask to be returned in your body or restart another life.]“I’m able to return?! Didn’t I die?” → Shen
[For a normal soul, returning is impossible. But for a golden soul, all you have to do is try to control the Prana around you and enter the body. Even if it was cut in pieces, as long as you have the control of Prana, you’ll be able to rebuild your body. The dimension of Earth might be too much, but here on Sario it might be possible.]“…This sounds too good to be true. Aren’t there any backlashes?” → Shen
Shen asked suspiciously.
[You will have full control over the body. That means you’ll have to fully control the circulation of the blood, or else you’ll only be like an undead.]“I see… WAIT! How about the children?! Will I be able to have a child?!”
Shen asked agitated while grabbing his own great-grandmother.
[You will be able to start the functions of the wished organs with Prana, then stop them again. Just like how you will start your brain and locomotor functions after you enter the body.]This sounds amazing! I don’t wish to look like Osiris with that skin color so I’ll need to control my functions properly. But other than that, I won’t mind some immortality~. → Shen
It said that Osiris was a pharaoh who had a brother envious of him. When Osiris wasn’t aware of his surroundings, his brother ambushed him and cut him in pieces then threw them in different corners of the world. After this tragedy, Osiris’s sister and wife, Isis, traveled across the world to get back his remains and rebuild his body. When she did as such, she summoned his soul back with the help of an incantation. After his soul returned, the pieces started to combine and rebuild back to the original body. Regaining his body back, Osiris became immortal with the help of Isis then got back his throne and life.
Even though it sounds ridiculous, Shen knew that the soul is like a mini-God, able to do anything and everything as long as there is the knowledge for that.
And what I got just now was a piece of knowledge worth more than all the gold in the world! → Shen
[There are other ways, not so brutal, to gain immortality of the body, but you will learn them in a later date.]“Right… One more question; You said Sario is a dimension? Not a world? The Leviathan said the same thing but didn’t explain. Mind telling me what does that means?” → Shen
Before the great-grandmother could say anything, the Superior Spirit opened his mouth and said in a neutral voice;
[Your level of understanding and knowledge is yet to reach the requirements. Just like last time, you’re still unable to completely understand the concept of reality.]“R-reality?! W-wait. What do you mean? And you’re telling me you’re a part of my soul but won’t tell me what I already know? Why is that?” → Shen
[Too immature. Too rash. Too emotional. When you’ll be able to reach a level of wiseness and level-headedness acceptable enough for such knowledge, then you might be able to learn it as someone who’s still under the influence of the Planetary Field.]“And what the Hell is the planetary field?!” → Shen
[…]The three great spirits stared at Shen with plain eyes then the middle one started to explain with an apathetic voice.
[This planet, just like any other planet, has it’s own field around it, just like humans have around them their own energetical field, called Aura. For a living being to live on a planet, they must first accept this field inside their own Aura. Like this, you’ll get under the influence of the respective planet. Understood?]“Uhuh~…”
Shen nodded a little bit dazed, then he asked again.
“B-but what happens if I’m not accepting the field of the planet?”
[You’ll be repelled in the outer space, I just like how a bigger magnet will eject a smaller magnet of the same polarity.]“Wah… W-wait! If we go by this logic, then doesn’t that means this planet is inside the field of the sun? And so creating the solar system? A-and isn’t this solar system inside the field of this galaxy?! A-and then-!” → Shen
[Alright. Enough. Time for judgment.]“E-eh?! B-but, wait! I feel like I’m almost-” → Shen
[You’ll forget it all anyway, now everyone quiet!]The middle spirit felt like he talked too much then he hastily struck the table with his gigantic hammer.
[We will be fast. Everyone will say if he’s guilty or innocent, giving out a plausible argument.]The huge Shen from the middle explained.
[Spirit of lower dimensions, you’re first.][Yes.]The copper plated giant stepped in front and looked at Shen with neutral eyes.
[You used elements from other dimensions and judged the souls when it wasn’t your right to do as such. The destruction of their bodies is because of your magic which makes you GUILTY.]The cooper armored spirit stepped back, having the same neutral look as before.
“Damn it!” → Shen
Shen was agitated. He had to return and finish what he started, he couldn’t get locked up inside the Tartarus at this crucial moment.
Maybe I’ll be able to command a room in which time moves billions of times faster. So when the punishment will be completed, I could return to my body then… If I’ll still have the will to do so. → Shen
What Shen cared about was Sylvia, Ryu and the people from his Kingdom together with the other few hundreds that are under his wings. He couldn’t leave them behind like he almost did just because of a Godly punishment.
[Now is my turn.]The silver-plated spirit took a step forward then starred at Shen with the same neutral eyes as the former did.
