? : wow..... What....this isn't why we are here
$ : exactly
.... : I'm with them..... You old lady.... Talking about nonsense
/ : don't interrupt me....again....i swear..... If this happen again.... I will leave..... Listen in silence... And after I finish... Ask your questionssss...s
?: fine....
$: fine...
... : fine...
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The judge wasn't afraid of the look of a mere woman... but of the way she spoke.
I don't remember if I told you about the children — that's why I don't want any of you to talk.
You know what, let's go back — to after the birds, and the blood that sprayed across her dress.
Blood splashed from the victim's body in favoritism to His Majesty.
Some of it — along with bits of flesh — fell onto Sarah's face as the birds flew away into the sky.
Sarah didn't move a finger. Not even to brush her hair or wipe her face. She was wearing a white veil to complete the wedding dress — now stained red in so many places.
She looked straight at the judge without blinking.
She didn't even notice the seven children trembling from the scene. They couldn't speak — after the liquid splashed on them.
They were blindfolded, but that didn't help ease their fear. They were kids...
The judge started to feel strange under her inescapable gaze. It haunted him. So, he tried to fight it — by sounding intimidating.
Judge: What should we do with you? Burn you?
Sarah took a breath before making everything breathless
Sarah: Make sure the fire isn't hot enough... and make me wear a mask.
Judge: To ease your suffering?
Sarah: If the fire isn't hot, maybe I won't die instantly.
And the mask — so I don't lose consciousness from the smoke.
It'll melt... slowly. Painfully.
Judge: What... are you... You should be cut alive!
Sarah: Make sure the knives are dull.
Judge: You should be— you should be— thrown from a high place!
Sarah: It has to be the right kind of high... so you can throw me multiple times before the end.
Judge: What... are you? Why?
Sarah: Because I'm in my wedding.
Judge: WHAT?
Sarah: I'm here to offer myself to death.
She was still staring at the judge, expressionless.
Sarah (softly): To be the bride of death... I have to be worthy.
Right then, Sarah smiled.
The judge wet himself. He realized he wasn't talking to a woman anymore — but to someone who had lost everything human.
Sarah literally bit his tongue.
Now — the twenty families who wanted to take over… if you remember, they were the ones seated in the structure Blasphemy built for them. In terms of height, they were at the same level as the judge — to show they were his equals in this trial.
They all agreed to her death. Even the five great families sitting behind the judge. Every one of them voted for her execution.
But among those five — the head of the greatest family in the entire village — was amused by her. He voted against it, saying:
"She should live... for entertaining us."
And just like that, one vote canceled the twenty-four families. Like they were nothing.
All because one man was entertained.
The trial ended as absurdly as it began.
The next day..
, there was a meeting between Blasphemy, Whistle, the judge, His Majesty, and the head of the five families.
Blasphemy asked,
Blasphemy: Why did you sentence them to death? What did they do?
His Majesty: Blasphemy, don't—
Judge: They were guilty. End of the sentence.
Whistle: Since when did we start questioning things?
Blasphemy was furious, but tried to look unbothered.
Blasphemy: Don't you think that if you did this in front of the people—without giving them a reason—they'll rebel?
The Head of the Strongest Family: No… because we have you. To keep them in check.
Blasphemy: What do you mean…?
Whistle: Heh… that's so strange. Remember the passage you opened through the crowd? Many of them died. And that trick you pulled—when your men imitated the voice of the speaker and amplified it through the entire square—
You are terrifying. So terrifying that even if you cut someone's child, they'd offer you the other one… just to survive.
Blasphemy froze. He understood something he hadn't realized before.
Blasphemy: No matter what I do, I can't wake you from your sleep. You live in the ancient time—where the future doesn't exist.
His Majesty: No… the future does exist. In our hands.
---
Blasphemy left the meeting. As he walked through the square, people were tearing down the constructions he had built, repairing the gap in the building where the Judge once stood.
He barely noticed them. What caught his eyes instead was the pile of blood and flesh, torn fabric, and a pair of small shoes.
He knelt down on one knee.
Blasphemy: You died in my presence… what will happen when I'm gone?
Perhaps you died because I'm still here.
If I were to leave—could you fight them off?
He turned his gaze toward the other circle.
Blasphemy: Oh, Your Holiness… you left.
Who do these people go to now, if they wish to speak to God?
How would they know if the Almighty is angry?
Will they accept His punishment when there's no one left to warn them?
You should've lived.
You died… and now none of them have a future.
He rose to his feet and kept walking, head low, lost in thought.
Then he sensed something and lifted his head.
Sarah stood there—still in her blood-soaked white dress.
Blasphemy walked closer.
Blasphemy: If my existence causes harm… and if I were gone, there'd be no one left to shield them… what should I do?
Sarah: What are you talking about?
Blasphemy: Think of me as a dam.
I protect people from floods, but before the dam, a massacre takes place.
If I exist, I prevent disaster—but I can't stop the killing that happens in front of me.
And people are too afraid to act, because they fear the dam.
But if I cease to exist, the flood comes.
Yes, it will stop the killing—but only with more killing.
Tell me, what should I do?
Sarah: That passage your men opened for me… people died, didn't they?
Blasphemy: People are numb. Something must wake them.
Sarah: Then why are you even asking? Let it all burn.
Blasphemy: People will die.
Sarah: They're already dying. What's the difference?
Blasphemy understood it then—
No matter what he did, people would die.
Whether half perished today or over the years, the end was the same.
Dead is dead.
He looked at her for a long moment.
Blasphemy: Will you be my woman?
Sarah smiled faintly....
That would be… blasphemy.
Blasphemy laughed...
Then we agree.