Eight years later- The Capital, Eldrin, in the Court of Justice
The halls of Eldrin's Court of Justice were as cold as they were silent. Arya stood tall, dressed in formal silver-blue robes. At her side stood Lyla, now carrying herself with the presence of a woman sharpened by time and purpose. And between them stood Sophie, head high, eyes steeled, no longer the same fragile girl Rain once saved.
"Lady Sophie Victoria," the royal judge addressed her, "You understand what invoking your name means?"
Sophie nodded slightly. "It means I am demanding the full weight of the attention of the crown. I am the last surviving member of House Victoria, and I'm here to clear the name of Rain of all charges."
Murmurs stirred in the courtroom. Nobles shifted uncomfortably. Some remembered the massacre. Others remembered the name Victoria and the immense power it held. But no one would speak what they truly thought: House Victoria's death was a necessary end to an era of cruelty.
Sophie continued, "I was there. I can testify to what I saw in my family's home cellar. It was not pretty. The bodies of beaten and battered slaves hanging from chains. The cages they were kept in until they died of starvation."
Arya's voice cut through the murmurs. "We've been gathering evidence and eyewitnesses. You, the judges, and the King have all ignored us, but that ends today. The truth has weight, and we will drop it on the entire kingdom if we have to."
"Alright, we'll entertain this notion. Bring in the eyewitnesses and bring in the prisoner." The judge said.
The giant door to the courtroom opened, and two people walked through.
Marin and... Rain. It was the three girls' first time seeing Rain in eight years.
When Rain walked past the three girls, they saw a slash on the back of his neck. It was from a whip.
"You're seriously whipping him?" All three girls said in unison.
"We were simply trying to get answers." The judge said coolly.
"If you treat your own people like this, I would hate to see what you do to prisoners of war." Arya's voice was cold. The next words that came out of the judge's mouth left everyone shocked.
"Our own people? This boy isn't one of us, he's a demon."
"A demon?" All three girls asked. "Either way, that doesn't change anything."
"So, you're protecting a demon, are you girls ok with being branded as traitors to the kingdom?" A smug smirk graced the judge's features. Then it quickly went back to normal before he continued speaking. "Didn't you think it was strange that he is the only boy you've seen with blue hair and eyes all your life? Those traits are special to a certain demon race called Zerx. They are said to have powerful abilities, and now we have one. If we gain insight into these powers, all other kingdoms and continents will be nothing to us. Power like that belongs under control, not in the hands of a mere child raised in chains."
"That's so messed up." Sophie said, her face red with anger, "You were experimenting on him?"
Just then, a ripple tore through the air, warping the space around it like a black hole. A portal opened above the judges. The aura emanating from it was so powerful that the gravity in the room increased tenfold.
A booted foot descended first, landing soundlessly mid-air. Then a hand, a torso—each part shrouded in black leather that devoured light. The man stood suspended, gravity bowed around him."
Then a voice rang through the courtroom, "Ah, there's my body." Then something shot from the portal into Rain's body. It was so fast that anyone who wasn't enhancing their vision with magic would've missed it. The black armour the man had on slowly appeared on Rain's body.
"Don't tell me you guys got yourself in trouble while I was in prison?" It was Rain's voice, but I couldn't tell if it sounded like that because it was Rain's body or if it was actually Rain.
30 minutes earlier in Hell
"Rain, are you ready to go? Hurry up!" Remy spouted at me from outside my door in Umbra Citadel.
"Just give me one more minute," I shouted back. The doors were thick, so shouting was the only option.
"Jeez, I'm coming in." The door opened, and Remy stepped in. "Hurry u-" She paused and looked me up and down.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't examine me so thoroughly," I said with a light laugh.
"Oh, sorry, it's just that you've grown up so much. You should get a haircut, though, it's already down to your shoulder blades, either that or tie it up." She tossed me a hair tie she had on her wrist. "It's been eight years, it's like I watched my little brother grow up."
"Thanks," I said as I grabbed the top of my hair and tied it up, but I let the black flow freely. "Those eight years sure flew by, huh, with all that hellish training you put through."
"It's hellish, sure, but look how strong you are now."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
"Now you're ready, let's go, hurry up."
"Alright, alright." I walked past her. "Let's go," I said mockingly.
She punched me in the back of my arm. We continued walking through Umbra Citadel until we got made it outside, and we backtracked to the cave in the side of the mountain where I first arrived here. Even after eight years, the Umbra Citadel still pulsed with shadows—walls humming with ancient power, torches that burned with violet flame, and a constant thrum beneath your feet, like the mountain itself had a heartbeat.
The air started to ripple, warping space around it, and soon a portal opened. I felt the tether to my physical body snap tight. It was time to see my friends again.
"Ah, there's my body," I said as I shot towards it. The leather armour I had on, which was a manifestation I made with my Zerx powers, started to cover my physical body as I entered.
I looked back at Arya, Sophie, and Lyla, and said, "Don't tell me you guys got in trouble while I was in prison."
Present Time
"It's him, it's the murderer, Rain." One of the judges shouted. "Get him, grab his chains, make sure he doesn't escape."
I pulled my arms apart, breaking the chains. "Thanks for holding onto my body, but I'll take it from here."
The guards hesitated as I broke the chains. The courtroom was silent, other than the sound of the broken chains hitting the floor.
I stepped forward. The weight of my presence made the judges bow their heads. Eight years of training in Hell and I'm still no match for the Demon Lord.
"You called me a demon." I lifted my hand to examine it, the black leather crunching as I curled my fingers into a fist, "That's rich coming from the people who experimented on a child."
The courtroom was still dead silent. No one dared to make the smallest sound.
"Zerx," I continued, turning my sharp eyes to the judge who had spoken earlier. "A race you know very little about, but yet you tried to use me like a tool, not knowing I could kill you anytime I wanted to."
Arya stepped up beside me, "You locked up a child because you feared him and his power, and you were using him. Who's the demon now?"
The judges' faces went pale, "You slaughtered an entire family, you defied the crown, you-"
"I survived a corrupted family's slave circle," I snapped, "I was a child. Chained up, tortured, and starved, I did what I had to do to survive."
My voice softened, it was quiet, mournful, "I was a child, this kingdom turned me into a killer."
Gasps rippled through the courtroom, everyone looked away like they were guilty too.
I then turned my gaze to the giant doors of the courtroom. "I came back to see if you- no, the kingdom has changed." I turned my gaze back to the judges. "It obviously hasn't."
I raised my hand, and for a moment, all the torches lining the courtroom flared a bright blue flame. Just a whisper of my power. Just enough to remind them.
By the time the bright light from the blue flames disappeared, I was already gone, along with Arya, Sophie, Lyla, and Marin. However, my final words lingered in the courtroom even after I was gone.
"But I have changed. I'm sparing you this time, don't make me regret it."
With that, the judges dismissed the court, but no one left. They all swarmed the judges and asked for an audience with the king.
They were asking questions like, "Other continents?" And, "What does all this mean?" And, "What other darkness lies hidden beneath our kingdom?"
This would spread like wildfire, before too long, not only would our kingdom hear about it, but the entire continent.