They had fallen so far.
They were in a time so distant from when they were carefree.
Still, despite the playfulness, the lightheartedness, the friendliness of those days, he would never have wished for them back, because with them came the great discomfort and misfortune of those who slaved so he could live a life of luxury and ease, so he could be spoiled by the Almighty.
Now, so many years later, there he was again, awaiting the judgment of his kin.
Regardless of what they chose for him, it wasn’t his own life he was concerned about. He knew the Council wouldn’t dare upset the Almighty with any serious torture or the death penalty. In fact, he could see them excusing his acts based on madness, as they had with Eilee. Arrogant as it was for him to know the truth of it, Treycore knew he held a most special place in the creator’s heart, and that would go a long way in the councilmembers’ verdict.
The guards guided them into a holding cage along the wall, Treycore and Kid filing in along with several other immortals who were to stand in judgment on that day. Aerysn was among those summoned for the day, and Treycore wished upon him some punishment far greater than winding up in the Nest.
Treycore waited with the other prisoners. The sound of a loud horn blasted through the air and echoed around them.
So it began.
The dual doors at the front and back entrances of the colosseum closed. From behind the colosseum wall, a V formation of higherlings and fallens soared over the arena, creating a circle, then descending in a choreographed display before landing one by one, filing in the shape of a pyramid on their designated platform.
The fallen Marleysa, who acted as Premier Justice, headed the pyramid. As they stood together as one, the higherling before the podium stepped down from the platform and headed toward the station where the accused waited. When he neared, he stopped at the gate around them and turned back to the main arena.
Marleysa stood tall, her posture and expression full of confidence. There was something sinister in her gaze, though, which had not been there in the early days. Treycore imagined it had matured from millennia of corruption—of taking and giving bribes for the sake of transforming this court into a bastardization of justice.
Treycore turned to Kid. “No matter what happens, I love you. Always remember that.”
“I love you too,” Kid said, but Treycore could hear his worry, his concern, the fear in his tone, surely not only because he wondered what lay ahead of them, but also because he could not understand the world they were in any more than their imprisonment. He had no experience with immortal worlds. Few had.
Marleysa called out, “We are here today for the Day of Judgment of several immortals, though one case we are seeing is of the utmost importance because it deals with our own Treycore, accused of the violent massacre that left forty-one of his immortal peers deceased and hundreds of thousands more shamed.”
As she spoke, a guard opened the holding cage door while several others escorted him and Kid to the Accused box.
“The Council has deliberated and decided today that we will also discuss the punishment for Kinzer, the fallen implicated in this same massacre, and they will be seen as having committed the same crime equally. Since Treycore has no immortal who is willing to rise up to defend him, despite our best efforts at providing him with some form of counsel, we will permit Treycore to speak on his own behalf. Unless, that is, anyone would care to step up now.”
The audience booed and hissed once again as Treycore and Kid were led up the Accused box steps. Marleysa glanced around as though she couldn’t hear the audience’s loud disapproval, and not giving any real time for an offer for someone to step up to his defense, she continued speaking as Treycore and Kid reached the top of the platform and faced their judges. “Then, Treycore, you will stand alone in this trial. Here, however, to act as the Common Voice, we have selected the one whom we believe is the best fit for this duty, the one who has handled diplomacy since the dawn of her creation, and we eagerly ask for Vera to take her place in the Common Voice box.” Marleysa turned to the audience.
On the opposite side of the colosseum from the cage Treycore waited in, a figure in a hooded black cloak rose from the stands. Though the face was concealed, Treycore recognized that body—that flat chest. Vera weaved through several seated immortals to the steps and approached the Common Voice box.
“Please forgive our Vera,” Marleysa called out. “She was struck down recently by an unknown assassin who attempted to take her life, who robbed her of her wings and her powers.”
Something was amiss. When the Council’s bounty hunter Neeva had captured him at Veylo’s mansion, she’d informed him that Vera had accused him of attempted murder. Vera must’ve changed her story so that she could act as the Common Voice. There was definitely some corruption at play.
And why did she want to play the Common Voice for his Day of Judgment rather than go after him herself for what he’d done to her? Whatever the reason, he was sure he would find out shortly.
Vera walked up the steps on the other side of the Common Voice box. When she stepped onto the platform, she pulled back the hood she wore, revealing her dark hair, long, flowing beneath the cape on her back. She glared at Treycore, her expression filled with contempt, pure hatred. She smirked before turning fully to the councilmembers. Treycore knew that clever smirk.
Although, he was more concerned for Kid’s safety than his own, especially since she had every reason to make sure something truly awful happened to him.
“Thank you, councilmembers,” Vera announced, “for permitting me to step in on a judgment that is particularly dear to my heart, as it is to so many of my immortal peers. What we have seen through Treycore has been abominable and should be treated as such…”
As she spoke, Treycore couldn’t help but chuckle.
Everyone in the stadium knew their history. Some were likely even finding great amusement with it, knowing how biased she must have been. Yet it was totally permitted. Because that was how fucked up Heaven was. That was how fucked up all the realms were. There was no real justice. There was only the pettiness of immortals…eons of the Almighty’s brats feuding among one another.
“I bring with me a great liberty today,” Vera continued, exuding that natural confidence she had with an audience, “and it is the voice of the Almighty, who has passed along a message through me.”
From the Almighty? What trickery is this?
She reached into her cloak and retrieved a scroll. “It is a statement from the Almighty, the creator, His Greatness, regarding this trial. It is a request that you concede to His wishes with regards to Treycore’s judgment.”
Treycore was trying to read her expression, to figure out what was really behind this scheme, to see if she was bluffing. But she was always good at deceit. She was a master of it.
