The cold blue light of the Judge's gavel was centimeters from the desk. I closed my eyes, waiting for the sound that would end my existence.
"Stop."
The word didn't just echo; it seemed to freeze the air itself. Every head in the hall turned toward the back entrance. A wave of murmurs washed over the crowd like a rising tide.
"It's him... it's really him."
"Archon Maga? He hasn't stepped foot in the Ordeal of Justice for ages."
I opened one eye. Walking through the crowd with a calm, terrifying confidence was a man who looked... different. Amidst the blue skin, scales, and glowing eyes of the court, he looked like us. He was a human. But he was no ordinary human—he moved like a god who had forgotten how to bleed.
Maga walked straight to my square, ignoring the stares of a thousand "Winners." I looked at him with pure glitter in my eyes. To the rest of the world, he was an Archon. To me, he was a miracle.
"Archon Maga," the head judge spoke, his voice dropping an octave in respect. "Why have you come? We are in the middle of a sentencing. This Trash-rank is an illegal jumper."
"If this human has come here, there is a reason," Maga said, his voice smooth and steady. "A 'nobody' does not survive the pressure of a portal jump. The sheer gravity of the Star-Floors would have crushed a normal human into dust."
"That is exactly why we wish to end him," another judge argued. "There is a hidden motive. An ill intent."
Maga looked at me, and for a second, I felt like he was reading every thought I'd ever had. "I don't believe he has any ill motive," he said. He turned back to the judges. "Are you taking his side simply because he shares your blood, Maga? Humanity is a rare, weak spark in Aethryx. Do not let sentiment cloud your judgment."
"Every life matters here, my fellow Archons," Maga replied, stepping closer to my railing. He reached out a hand. "May I see the Jump Mirror?"
My hands were shaking so hard I almost dropped it, but I managed to hand the jagged, cold object to him.
Maga held it up to the light of the hall. "The mirror is broken. Cracked down the center. That is the reason he jumped here—the gate glitched. Tell me, Archons, is it the fault of the human that the holder of this Mirror was careless enough to break it? Perhaps the 'Justice' you should be seeking is with the high-ranker who lost this relic in the first place."
The hall went dead silent. Maga's logic was like a blade, cutting through their arguments.
"The fact remains," Maga continued, "that he is here. And he is alive. For justice to be served to every being, I present an offer: Give this human a chance to prove his potential. Let him attempt to become Star-Crowned."
The silence broke into an explosion of noise. Some people were shocked; others burst into mocking laughter. I stood there, confused. Star-Crowned? It sounded like something you'd win at a pageant, but the way they were reacting, it felt more like a death sentence.
The judges whispered among themselves for what felt like an hour. Finally, the head judge looked at me.
"The Ordeal of Justice has reached a decision," he boomed. "Entity Fuen, your execution is stayed. You are granted a Period of Bounty. You have thirty cycles to claim a status. If you survive, you remain. If you fail, or if your actions prove you are truly 'Trash,' we will finish what we started today."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I was alive. I was still in Aethryx.
Maga looked at me one last time before turning away. He didn't smile. He didn't give me a "thumbs up." He just gave me a look that said: Don't make me regret this.
I was a criminal on a timer. I was a "Null" in a world of stars. But for the first time in my life, I had a chance to be more than a ghost.