SkyCloud Central Court
Three Days Later
Time had moved, as it always did.
But for some, it dragged like chains in a tomb.
Three days.
In those three days, rumors had evolved into truths, whispers into proclamations, and doubt into a blade that now rested on Neo's neck—not by steel, but by decree.
The towering pillars of the Central Court glowed faintly under the high sun filtering through stained crystal panes. An audience of masked dignitaries, solemn law scribes, and looming Law Enforcement Officers filled the chamber in perfect order.
At the head of it all sat Judge Malkor Veyren, a relic of the old judiciary—a man with eyes that never blinked without purpose. His gavel, forged from marblewood and ancient alloy, lay waiting like a silent executioner.
He stood.
His voice cut through the hall like the sword of judgment itself.
"After thorough deliberation… based on evidence presented, verified confessions, and continued resistance from the accused…"
"Neo of SkyCloud Academy. You are sentenced to ten years of high-security confinement for the theft of a fifth-class relic and for attempting to escape lawful custody."
The gavel came down.
BOOM.
Silence followed.
Even the air hesitated.
---
Observation Gallery | Courtroom Edge
Principal Velren did not move. His gaze remained locked on Neo, unreadable. Behind him, Ayna's head was bowed, her fists clenched at her side. Kael looked like he was chewing on a scream.
Neo stood, bound but tall, with no flicker of regret or fear on his face.
He turned, led by guards, but stopped as he neared the gallery where his friends waited.
His eyes met Kael's.
"Stop frowning like that," Neo said, voice light, as though they were back at the academy training yard. "It doesn't suit you. You'll wrinkle early."
Kael's throat tightened.
Neo's smile lingered, faint and wistful.
"The Heavenly Trials are near," he added. "Universal… transcended… even prison walls can't seal off the skies. Focus on that."
He turned his eyes toward Velren.
"Sorry, Principal. I made a mess of your reputation too."
Velren gave the faintest of nods.
As Neo was pulled away, Kael stepped forward, voice cracking—
"Neo—!"
Neo turned briefly, eyes steady.
"Trust me. I never lie."
---
Moments Later | Outside the Court
Kael stood still as the prison vehicle drove away, siren silent, its wheels like time grinding forward. Ayna placed a hand on his shoulder.
He said nothing.
But within, Kael made a vow. Not to mourn. Not to sulk.
But to dig.
Because something about this reeked.
And Kael's fists itched for the truth.
---
Outside SkyCloud Central Court | Prison Transport Holding Grounds
Neo was led in silence across the marble steps, chains on his wrists clicking with every step like the ticking of a cursed clock. The SkyCloud Enforcement Vehicle, black and silent, loomed ahead with its doors wide open—like a beast waiting to devour him whole.
That was when a familiar voice drifted in, sweet as venom.
"Oh my… what a fall from grace."
From the shaded side of a pillar, Damian Sunblade emerged. His figure was casual, his posture artfully slack, but that smile—a slow, eternal curve—spoke of knives and victory.
Neo turned toward him, gaze unmoved.
"Came to enjoy the moment?" he asked flatly.
"Enjoy? Neo, this is more than enjoyment. This is... education." Damian's voice lilted as he stepped closer, hands clasped behind his back. "A lesson. That no matter how clever a thief is, the heavens have their own balance."
He looked skyward, feigning awe.
"You thought you could challenge the powers that shape this land. But SkyCloud… ah, it has its roots deep in both sky and soil. You barely touched the clouds, and now you're about to be buried under the soil."
Neo stared at him, expression unreadable.
"If you truly believed that," he said calmly, "you wouldn't have needed to dig so deep to bury me."
Damian's eyes narrowed a fraction. The smile didn't waver—but something behind it tensed.
"Interesting," Damian said, tone quiet. "Still daring. Still grounded. But tell me, Neo… what happens when the ground you stand on disappears?"
Neo tilted his head slightly. "Then I learn to fly."
That made Damian pause. Just for a second.
Then came a chuckle, sharp and soft.
"We'll see if you still speak in metaphors when the cage door locks." He turned his back. "Farewell, brave thief. May your prison dreams keep you entertained... while the real sky moves on."
---
Nearby, by the Steps
Ayna and Kael stood still, watching the exchange from a distance. Neither spoke.
Ayna's nails bit into her palm. Kael's jaw was clenched tight enough to crack bone.
As the enforcement guards escorted Neo into the vehicle and the doors hissed shut, Kael looked like he might storm after them.
But Principal Velren's silent presence behind them was enough. A firm hand on Kael's shoulder. A calm gaze that said: Not now. Not here.
The vehicle drove off.
The clouds in the sky drifted slowly, uncaring.
---
The wheels of fate had begun to turn, and none among them could see the full shape of the storm they had summoned.
In the heart of SkyCloud, beneath the sprawling shadow of its Central Court, silence fell once more. Not the silence of peace—but the kind that comes after the blade has fallen, and no one yet knows who bled deepest.
The Enforcement Vehicle carried Neo away, its black hull reflecting nothing but the sullen light of a late afternoon sun. Within its steel walls sat a boy condemned, whose chains were real—but whose will had not been bound.
Behind him, Kael remained motionless on the courthouse steps, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles had gone bloodless. He was not the kind to weep, but within him brewed a promise. His silence was not surrender—it was pressure, waiting to rupture.
Beside him, Ayna's eyes burned—not with tears, but fire. Her rage was no longer loud. It was cold now. Focused. Dangerous.
Above them on the steps, Principal Velren stood with the weary posture of a man who had seen too many things in too short a time. He had fought wars, commanded legions, defied fate once or twice—and yet it was the weight of this failure that settled hardest on his shoulders. A prodigy lost. A lineage triumphant. A city deceived. His gaze followed the black vehicle into the distance as if hoping to see something... anything that would justify the gut feeling that none of this was as it seemed.
Elsewhere, high above in the Sunblade estate, Damian sipped vintage wine and basked beneath crystalline chandeliers. His game had moved into its end phase. The pieces danced where he pleased. Neo was gone. The Academy disarmed. And somewhere, hidden beneath layers of law and spectacle, the real work had already begun.
But the storyteller knows—when the board is set too perfectly, when every victory comes too easily, it is not triumph that approaches.
It is reckoning.
For the truth has teeth. And those who bury it must one day feed it.
---