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- Narcissistic Author-nim
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"Silence!" She barked, her voice cut through the courtroom like a blade.. Her glare made the room colder than law should allow.
"Mr. Olympia, this court has heard your words. The testimony of the survivors has made it abundantly clear that you have no respect for life, no remorse for your actions whatsoever."
She paused, the silence thickened in the room, making it grow unbearable.
"Your crimes are incomprehensible. Your arrogance is boundless. The only sentence fitting for trash like you is death."
She turned to the guards, who were standing by, ready to carry out the verdict. "Mr. Olympia, you are hereby sentenced to death by hanging. May you find no peace in the afterlife."
As the verdict was read, Xin's expression remained unchanged.
So its the end, huh. The time for ending credits to roll up after the movie is done. Guess is the end for me. What a shame.
It was at that moment a woman who was sitting far away in the midst of the officials stood up.
The gorgeous woman appeared to be in her thirties had flowing silver hair, dressed in an open suit with no tie, the seal of the World Tribunal which consisted of a cross with a pigeon standing upon it was stitched across her chest.
, showing a black cross tattoo engraved under her neck, but above her chest.
Her gaze was a striking contrast—one eye burned like amber fire, the other shimmered cold as frost, as if the sun and winter warred within her.
The room turned its attention to her without being told. Even the bailiffs paused.
"Objection" she said.
Her objection wasn't shouted, but the word hung in the air with enough weight to shatter the silence. Heads turned—hesitant, uncertain. Gasps echoed like the crack of breaking glass.
She actually dared to object to the high judge? Was she courting death?
Perhaps... she was in kahoots with the criminal in question?
All types of wild thoughts ran through the heads of everyone present in the room.
The word was calm, yet rang like thunder.
High judge Elira's gaze softened as her eyes landed on the one who dared to object, and she sighed.
"Magistrate Quaran---"
"He is not to be hanged," the woman said in a resolute voice. "That would be... too easy for a vile criminal like him. Make him feel the weight of his sins, the pain of it."
Xin's gaze naturally were to drawn to the individual who had intruded.
His eyes slowly moved and landed upon the woman who was looking at the high judge.
Hehe, looks like she really came to my execution!
Murmurs erupted across the courtroom.
Someone shouted from the benches, "He doesn't deserve mercy!"
Quana's eyes flicked to the source of the voice, one of the witnesses whose city had vanished in a cloud of ash because of Xin's engineered drugs.
Her stare alone silenced the man.
"I'm not asking for mercy" Quana clarified, her voice was steady, but her eyes betrayed a quiet fury beneath the calm.
"I request nitrogen hypoxia. A death that is clean, clinical, silent... and devoid of spectacle. Let the monster die alone, in silence, just like he left his victims."
High judge Elira eyes flickered with hesitation for the first time, her fingers silently tapping the table with her fingers.
"That decision requires full tribunal review."
"I am the highest authority of the tribunal present" Quana replied immediately as if she was a bullet, her voice risen a bit and raised her head. "My authority is more than enough to ask that."
"No!" A second judge shouted, standing immediately as he objected, glaring at Judge Quana. "Let the world see him twitch at the rope! Let justice be visible!"
"Thats exactly what he wants." Quana replied, her voice rising even more for the first time, being extremely sharp like the edge of a blade.
Pointing at Xin, she gazed calmly at the second judge, as if challenging him. "Look at him."
All eyes turned to see Xin still smiling, quietly watching the chaos and enjoying it. He was enjoying the spotlight. A showman to the end.
"Hanging gives him a stage" Quana said.
"Let his last breath be invisible. Let him vanish, like the millions he erased previously."
A tense silence followed as the room fell into complete silence.
Elira sighed and rubbed her forehead with her hand, exhaustion and frustration evident by the dark lines that made way on her face. She leaned onto her microphone once more, her voice grave she readjusted her statement.
"By executive override from Magistrate Quana Cael, the execution method is hereby changed. Death by nitrogen hypoxia is approved."
CLACK!
The gavel echoed like the closing of a tomb.
Guards stepped forward. Xin was finally shackled and lifted from his chair.
Before he was dragged off, he took one last look at Quana, which was an alias she had used.
What he saw made him raised an eyebrow.
The woman in question, had red eyes as if she was about to burst into tears, but composed herself. Her eyes flickered to Xin for a moment before one of her colleagues asked her if she wanted to join her party.
Swiftly rejecting the offer with a smile, she rapidly made her way towards Xin who was getting dragged.
Xin smiled.
The cheerful gleam in his eye never dimmed.
As he was dragged away, he turned his head to the spectators in the gallery, dozens of them victims or families of the victims.
His eyes flicked toward the witnesses in the gallery. The guards began to approach his containment capsule, but before they could open it, Quana had reached his location.
"Wait" she said, brushing her clothing from any dust that had gathered on it as she stared directly ahead of her.
The guards who were dragging the young man were visible confused at why she was here, and halted their steps.
One of them, visibly the leader, walked forward to her before he lowered his rifle and nodded his head in acknowledged respect, looking towards her with direct eye contact.
"How can we help you, young miss?"
Quana's gaze flickered to the boy who was eyeing the sad families before she looked back to the guard in front of her.
"I need to speak with him for a moment"
The guard raised an eyebrow at her before he spoke while stressing out every word he spoke of, as the matter was incredibly serious.
They had a limited amount of time to execute him as they had other jobs that included many other dangerous lords in the region and continent.
Despite him being labeled as dangerous, the guard couldn't help but sneer internally at being overdramatic.
"Young miss, I'm afraid that is not possible. We cannot guarantee that this monster will not run away the second we leave him."
Quana frowned at his response. It seemed it would be harder to let him off for a moment, more than she had initially thought.
She decided to use her authority to abuse to the full extent.
"He won't run away. If he does, I will hold responsibility"
The guard appeared quite conflicted and he looked back to his fellow colleagues who shrugged their shoulders in response to him.
With a sigh, he motioned to them to unrestrain him. With a stern look, he looked into Quana's colorful red and blue eyes
"Very well miss, however be quick. We need to execute this criminal and cleanse the world of this filth as soon as we can"
Hearing those words, Quana's hear tightened significantly, but didn't rebuke his claim and nodded slightly, maintaining her professional attitude.
She participated in the trial after all. She had no right to feel sad.
Slowly gathering herself, she walked forward in confident steps towards Xin who was blinking at her curiously.
He had wondered why they left him just like that... but now it made sense.
'What am I going to do? How am I supposed to get him out of here?'
Although she appeared composed outwardly, inwardly her entire being was in turmoil. It was as if she was having an identity-crisis.
The guards left them some space, however, were prepared to fire at the first suspicious movement made by Xin.
"Why Xin?"
With her eyes droopy, she spoke in a trembling voice as she stood in front of him. Tears threatened but she blinked them back. Her hands trembled, clenched into fists at her sides—anger battling helplessness.
She lowered her voice and spoke, "Why did you do this?"
Taking a deep breath, she went on venting her frustration. "Didn't I tell you that you were under my protection? Why, just why did you leave me?"
"If you wanted to kill someone, I would've went and killed them myself! I would have gave everything for you, so why did you betray me?"
"If you wanted to kill someone—" She stopped herself, voice cracking,
"—why leave me behind?" Her breathing became worse by the moment.
"Just why!? Answer me!" Tears flowed down her eyes endlessly as her cheeks became red, but she covered her face to avoid the others seeing her so vulnerable. She took deep breaths to calm herself, as memories rushed into her head.
For the first time in her life did she feel so helpless in her life. Her heart hurt so much, her chest felt tighter than she could ever imagine. She wanted to throw up, she didn't feel well. She wasn't ok, not at all.
So sad. Is this what they called despair? Is this why her heart felt like it was bleeding?
She raised him from a young boy who had suffered, showering him with love and compassion. She gave him everything he needed.
So why?! Why did everything have to end up like this?
The guards who saw her from afar thought she was a victim of him as well, and their previous sharp gazes softened slightly.
Xin intently looked at her eyes silently with no sign of emotion on his face.
Quana who got irritated, raised her voice. She searched his face, desperate for any flicker of emotion or reaction.
"Why are you silent? Why aren't you speaking!"
With no signs of answering her, he kept looking at her face.
In response, she became even more aggressive and she spoke through gritted teeth, her glare fierce.
"Answer me! I said answer m-" Before she continued, she was interrupted by a sudden visitor.
"Ah, Quana! Want to join me for a drink lat... er?"
High judge Elira, the ever so cold woman, was walking towards Quana cheerfully before her gaze stopped at her tear-stricken face.
Her mouth froze midway as her eyes went to the second guy.
Her expression immediately darkened in response, like the sun would in an eclipse.
"Quana! Did this trash also harm you? I swear to God, if he-"
"Leave"
"Huh?"
Shocked by her friends request, she looked at her in bewilderment.
"I said leave!"
It seemed Quana's mood is not good at all.
Hmm...
I wonder why.
Xin's eyes blinked and he smirked.
The smirk only managed to irk Elira more who barely managed to control herself.
"Very well, when your done with your business, call me"
Pouting, Elira walked to the parking lot.
The moon sure is beautiful tonight.
Turning his head back to Quana, Xin decided to answer.
"Because"
"I"
"Wanted"
"To"
"Betray"
"You"
Quana's eyes widened at his answer and stepped back.
"Because... you wanted to betray me?" She looked blankly at the ground. Deciding to strike when the iron was hot, Xin continued.
"But you know..?" Looking at the dark sky that was getting covered by clouds, he reminiced on his life. His life was anything but peaceful, full of twist.. and turns. Never had he been satisfied in his whole life.
"How are you any different? You betrayed me too"
Quana's blankly stared at Xin.
"I.. betrayed you?" She repeated her words a few times before the meaning sunk in.
In defense, she shrieked as she backed away holding her head.
"No! You were the one who betrayed me first! It's not my fault for not defending yo-" She froze midway.
'I-i... just admitted to betraying him. Wait... I... betrayed him?'
'No, he must be playing with my mind like he always had! Yes, that must be it!'
Before she was able to retort, Xin's expressionless eyes went from the sky into hers. She shivered uncontrollably at the abyss like eyes that held nothing in them.
He didn't hate her.
He didn't love her.
It wasn't like she didn't matter to him...
But it's not like she mattered to him.
He didn't feel anything towards her.
But he didn't not feel anything towards her.
She was like everyone else. A shadow in the midst of other shadows. Maybe a bit brighter than the rest? Perhaps. But in the end, a shadow was a shadow.
And everyone was like her.
"You must be thinking I am tricking you, correct?"
He went silent for a moment as she gulped a mouthful of saliva.
With a small, genuine smile, he broke off the handcuffs that pinned behind his back.
The guards who were watching were alerted and took aim at him.
No matter who it thought it had done, life was as contagious as ever.
Who decided death was dark?
Life forgets you long before death remembers.
Was it because people didn't know what death contained? Perhaps it was fear of the unknown—of silence deeper than any dark night, of finality that swallows all light?
Was it because they feared that they would be forgotten by the essence of time?
But who said those who were alive were faring any better?
For those that were alive and forgotten, what difference was there between them and the death that were forgotten?
In fact, it was worse. In death could you rest.
But in life, could you rest? Could you look up at the sky and say 'life is better than death'?
Who decided?
Who?
No one.
Death isn't bad.
Death is not a void but a strange stillness, a cold breath upon the skin, the last exhale of a world fading into quiet.
The mind plays tricks on you.
Society implants ideas into your mind. Its your fault for being born into this society.
But that is why.... breaking those shackles exists.
To pave your path.
But what path? Did the concept of path exist? If it did, then what decided what path was correct or not?
The ego? What decided what the ego did? What as the ego? A part of yourself? Did you consider yourself a god to think your ego was absolute?
A God of yourself? If you can't protect yourself, can you even be considered a god? And if you can protect yourself, can you make the sun not rise early? Can you split the ocean? Fly in the sky? Defeat death?
How laughable.
Ridiculous, Preposterous, Outrageous, ludicrous.
"Keep thinking I tricked you"
Gently he whispered, his warm breath tickling Quana's ears.
"Until"
The guards raised their rifles and took aim at the young man's body.
"The"
They turned on full-auto and turned off the safety.
"Day"
The guns raised, the barrels pointing towards him.
"I"
He sucked in a cold breath of air before he gave a slow, knowing smile that crept across his lips, his eyes twinkling with something being off.
"Get"
He laughed.
"Executed"
The sound of gunshot.
"No, no, no! XIIN!"
A feminine-
Scream.