The Megaversial Judicial Council, unlike every day, It was quiet. There were no argument, no shouting or any footsteps rushing through the enormous judicial chamber.
The only thing that was surrounding the MJC was silence. Only silence but not a peaceful one. It felt like everyone inside the room was waiting for something. The doors at the far end of the chamber suddenly opened.
Five figures entered.
They were not walking like soldiers returning from a successful mission. They were walking like soldiers who had been dragged away from one.
The Five Leaves of the Guardians had returned. Their condition was not enough to explain the mood. Someone unaware of their mission might hardly believe they had returned from chaos. A chaos made by them. But there was no sign of any visible injury or anything in their body. But still, they were not happy. They looked irritated. Especially Dierrera.
He walked at the front of the group, his expression dark. Behind him came the rest of the Five Leaves.
Deighore, Broxomos, Emdus, Derdamos.
They had just left Earth. And none of them understood why. Dierrera stopped in the middle of the chamber. He looked around. Several individuals were already present. They belonged to different realms. Different appearances. Different clothing. Different weapons. Some looked human. Some clearly weren't. They were representatives from several of the Rightist realms.
But none of them spoke. They simply watched the Five Leaves enter. At the far side of the chamber sat one of the Three Supreme Judges. He was leaning back against his enormous throne. His expression was calm. Almost annoyingly calm.
Dierrera stared at him. Then he spoke.
-Why?
The Judge didn't answer. Dierrera's expression hardened. A bit loudly he said
-I asked why.
Still nothing. Broxomos stepped forward slightly. He looked around the chamber.
-Seriously?
One of the Rightist representatives glanced at him. Broxomos noticed.
-What?
The man immediately looked away. Broxomos gave him a strange smile.
-That's what I thought.
Deighore quietly moved closer to Dierrera.
-Commander...
Dierrera didn't look at him.
-What?
-Maybe we should wait.
Dierrera finally turned.
-Wait for what?
Deighore hesitated.
-For an explanation.
Dierrera laughed but it wasn't a happy laugh.
-That's exactly what I'm waiting for.
He turned back toward the Judge.
-You sent us to Earth.
His voice echoed through the chamber.
-We went there.
Nobody moved.
-We found the planet. We found their soldiers. We found their strongest fighters.
His eyes narrowed.
-And then, just when things were becoming interesting...
He paused.
-...we were ordered to leave.
Broxomos folded his arms.
-That's the part I don't understand.
He looked toward the Judge.
-I finally found something fun.
Dierrera gave him a sideways look.
-You call that fun?
Broxomos shrugged.
-I punched one and that poor pest got smashed
-And?
-I liked it.
Deighore sighed.
-Of course you did.
A few of the people standing around the chamber exchanged glances. The Five Leaves didn't seem concerned. They had been doing this for thousands of years. They were not ordinary soldiers. They were not soldiers belonging to one ordinary realm. They were the hands of the Guardians.
The kind of soldiers sent when an ordinary army was considered insufficient. Throughout thousands of years battle, no dared to put their eye on them and talk. But those earthlings were someone in hundreds or probably thousands of year stood infront of them tried to resist and gave them the look like they are ready to fight them. Even if it cost them their life. Those humans had surprised them. There determination could never defeat these monsters. They never can. But somehow they can make the battle interesting for them.
And then the order came.
"Return."
No explanation. No reason. Just an order.
Dierrera had obeyed. But he hated it. He looked at the Supreme Judge again.
-Was Earth supposed to be destroyed?
The Judge remained silent.
-Was someone there?
Nothing.
-Was the portal the objective?
Silence.
Dierrera's patience was disappearing.
-Then why the hell did you call us back?
The chamber suddenly became even quieter. A few of the Rightist representatives lowered their heads. Not because they were afraid of Dierrera. They were listening.
Waiting.
Something was coming.
Dierrera took another step.
-You know who we are.
His voice became colder.
-You know what we have done for the MJC.
He pointed toward the Judge.
-So don't summon us across half the Megaverse, send us into an unknown realm, let us engage their strongest soldiers...
He clenched his fist.
-..and then pull us back like children.
Derdamos nodded.
-Yeah.
Emdus looked at him.
-You agree with him?
-Of course.
-Do you even know why we're here?
-No.
-Then why are you agreeing?
Derdamos thought for a moment.
-...Because he's angry.
Deighore stared at him.
-That's your reason?
-Seems good enough.
One of the Rightist representatives almost smiled. Almost. But before he could... A voice came from behind the Five Leaves.
-Because there is much more interesting fighting to handle.
Everyone stopped.
Dierrera's eyes widened. Broxomos immediately turned around. Deighore froze. So is Emdus and Derdamos.
The atmosphere changed.
A figure stood behind them. He hadn't been there a moment ago. At least... Nobody had noticed him.
He was tall. Not monstrously tall like some of the beings from the outer realms. But there was something about him that made his presence feel much larger than his physical body. His clothes were simple compared to the grandeur of the chamber.
No unnecessary armor. No excessive weapons. No display of power. Yet the moment the Five Leaves saw him... Everything changed.
Dierrera's anger disappeared. Broxomos stopped smiling. Deighore immediately lowered his head. Right behind Deighore, Emdus and Derdamos bowed their head so fast as if they didn't even need to know who was behind them.
One after another... The Five Leaves dropped to one knee. The entire chamber watched. The man walked past them.
Nobody spoke.
He stopped several meters in front of them. His eyes moved across the five soldiers. Then he looked toward the Supreme Judge.
-Supreme Judge.
The Judge finally sat properly on his throne.
-Sixth Guardian.
The man's name was Vaelthar.
At least, that was what the MJC called him.
"Vaelthar, Sixth Guardian of the Elite Eleven."
One of the Elite Guardians. The people who stood above almost every military force in the Megaverse. Dierrera remained on one knee. He raised his head slightly.
-Guardian Vaelthar, sixth in command.
Vaelthar looked at him.
-You wanted an explanation?
Dierrera didn't answer immediately. Then he said,
-Yes.
Vaelthar looked toward the others.
-Earth was never the important part.
That sentence immediately caught their attention. Broxomos slowly raised his head.
-Then what was?
Vaelthar smiled.
-That's the question.
The Supreme Judge watched him carefully. The other people in the chamber remained silent. Vaelthar continued.
-You were sent there because something needed to be observed.
Dierrera frowned.
-Observed?
-Yes.
-You sent the Five Leaves to observe?
Vaelthar nodded.
-And you did exactly what I expected.
Dierrera's eyes narrowed.
-What does that mean?
-It means Earth has shown us something.
Nobody spoke. Vaelthar looked toward the massive doors of the judicial chamber.
-Something we did not expect to find there.
Broxomos couldn't contain himself.
-What?
Vaelthar looked at him. Broxomos immediately became quiet. For the first time since entering the room, he looked genuinely serious. Vaelthar then looked back toward Dierrera.
-You stood in front of their strongest soldier.
Dierrera remembered Paul. The man who stood alone against them. The man who had understood that he couldn't win. Yet still stepped forward.
-He was strong, Dierrera admitted.
Vaelthar smiled slightly.
Was he?
Dierrera didn't answer. Because he understood the question. Paul was strong.
For Earth.
But compared to the Megaverse? That wasn't the interesting part. Something else had caught Vaelthar's attention. Something they hadn't seen yet. Something even the Five Leaves didn't understand. The Supreme Judge finally spoke.
-Sixth Guardian, are you saying the humans are relevant?
Vaelthar turned toward him.
-I am saying that Earth is no longer irrelevant.
The Judge's expression changed slightly. It was almost impossible to notice. But it happened. One of the Rightist representatives exchanged a glance with another. The Five Leaves noticed. Dierrera noticed too. But nobody asked. Not yet. Vaelthar walked toward the center of the room.
-The mission on Earth is finished.
Dierrera looked surprised.
-Finished?
-For now.
-Then why summon us?
Vaelthar looked at him.
-Because your next mission is more important.
Dierrera slowly stood. The others followed.
-What mission?
Vaelthar didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at the five soldiers. For a moment, his expression became almost amused.
-You wanted a fight.
Broxomos smiled again. With a monsterous expression he said,
-I was dying to..
Vaelthar's smile disappeared.
-Then prepare yourselves.
The chamber became silent again. Dierrera stared at him.
-Who are we fighting?
Vaelthar turned away.
-You'll know soon enough.
He began walking toward the other side of the chamber. Broxomos looked at Dierrera. Dierrera looked at Deighore. Nobody understood. But something had changed.
The Five Leaves had gone to Earth believing they were dealing with another insignificant realm.Now they were being told that Earth had become important. Not because of its soldiers. Not because of its technology. Not because of its military strength. Something else. Something that even the MJC wasn't openly discussing. And somewhere far beyond the walls of the judicial chamber... Something was already moving. Something that had been moving long before Earth even knew the Megaverse existed.
The Five Leaves followed Vaelthar. The doors of the chamber closed behind them. The Supreme Judge remained seated. The Rightist representatives remained silent. Nobody said another word. Because whatever was coming next... Was not an Earth problem anymore.
It was a Megaverse problem. And the Five Leaves had just been called back into the game.