The Shvara spoke, his voice sounding oh-so gentle and fluid. "The matter of the hearing is regarding the event now formally named as the Silent God incident and the respondent, Riku Shinsora. Would Riku Shinsora please stand and introduce himself?"
Silence. Uncomfortable and tremor-inducing silence. That's all Riku could hear. And he hated it.
He stood up from his seat slowly, delusionally hoping that no one would even try to look in his direction.
All the captains and their wards whipped their heads in his direction and all Riku could feel was the sweat pooling underneath his tailcoat.
"H-Hello... My name is Riku Shinsora." he said.
God, what am I saying?! I sound ridiculous! These are just people! Yeah, just people.
He looked around, each of the captains giving him looks that were unreadable. Interest? Approval? Disapproval? He couldn't tell.
Riku sat back down in his seat, wishing to melt into it and never be seen or heard from again.
Asahi Nakamura, the Rajapāla of Kaigenryo, cleared his throat. "Hello, Shinsora. How are you doing?"
Riku's throat felt drier than a desert, but he tried his best to respond. "I'm doing well, sir."
Nakamura nodded. "Good." He directed his gaze to Renjirō. "Renjirō Tsukimura. A few days ago, we received your reports of the Silent God incident, which included information from the medical team and the members of your own concord." He held up a file, filled with parchment paper. "The title of this report is 'The Silent God Case: Apostolic Level.' Is this correct?"
Renjirō nodded. "Yes, it is sir."
The eyes of the council widened. Zafira al-Qadiri spoke next.
"Renjirō... I assume Riku hasn't been given a rank yet?"
Renjirō shook his head. "No... He hasn't."
The same silence from before filled the room. The Rājapāla were all dumbfounded. Zafira's voice could be heard, filled with shock and a small hint of... jealousy?
"An unranked human... was able to face an Apostolic case... and live? That's... There's never been a single recorded time this has happened!"
The captains looked bewildered, gaping at Riku across the table.
Oh great, what did I do now?
Nakamura nodded shakily back before slightly leaning back. "Alright. We'd first like to ask some questions." He turned his sights back to Riku, clearing his throat. "The reports here say you transported into the Myth Veil, yet you stand before us, alive and well. In our history, nothing like this has happened before. Have you experienced anything out of the ordinary in your time here in the Palimpsest? Visions, blackouts... anything?"
Riku shook his head. "No, I haven't"
Nakamura continued. "What were you doing before you woke up in front of the shrine?"
Riku swallowed. "I was walking back from school. One minute I was feeling okay, and then the next second, I was knocked out. Then I woke up in front of the shrine."
Zafira rose from her seat. "Do not lie to the Aśvattha Council, boy! An unexplained blackout and waking up beyond the consequences of a Myth Veil does not make sense!"
Her voice radiated throughout the Grand Hall, almost petrifying Riku down to his bones. He wasn't lying. There wasn't anything to lie about here! But the anger in her voice made Riku think otherwise, even though he was telling the truth.
Nakamura spoke up. "Zafira, let the boy answer. You will have your time for questions."
Zafira glared at Nakamura before sucking her teeth, sitting down resolutely before turning her burning gaze back onto Riku.
"The report says here that you made it back home eventually. You then went to your school and went about your duties. Tell us, what happened then?"
Riku looked down. He didn't want to think about it. The panic and horror he felt when Tetsuya vanished. The confusion he felt when he saw that apparition. But he had to say something.
"Me and my friend were on the roof of our school. We were talking for a while before..." He stopped. This was hard. Harder than he thought.
"Speak up, Shinsora!" The Rājapāla of Virelya, Selene Callistra, stared down from her seat, her gaze boring directly into Riku's eyes.
Riku felt the pressure piling on. "He disappeared! Gone, without a trace! I couldn't tell where he went and before I could try, some construct made its way for me!"
"And...?" Nakamura asked.
"Someone stepped in and saved me. Akio Tanaka." Riku replied.
The Rājapāla went silent. The captains were slightly taken aback. Some of their eyes turned on Renjirō.
"Dr. Tsukimura... You sent a Thriver into this case?" Selene asked incredulously.
Renjirō stood up, standing with confidence, but with respect to the people before him. "Yes, I did. The intel I had gathered from up until then wasn't enough evidence to send a higher rank and since no other concord had sent in a Mantrik, my judgement was that Akio would be enough."
The Rājapāla continued to stay silent, with their gazes turning to each other, a silent conversation passing between them.
Nakamura's voice resounded. "Very well... It's understood that the gravity of the case concealed itself from our eyes. Shinsora... has anyone else in your town disappeared the same as your friend?"
Riku shook his head. "No... Our town thought of the Silent God as a legend. Things parents would say to their children to discipline them. It's never actually happened... until now."
Once again, stillness. Another quiet conversation among the four leaders. Suddenly...
"Once you and Akio Tanaka had made your way into the shrine, were you attacked immediately, or did it take time?" Duryan Rathore, the Rajapāla of Arakasa asked.
"Nothing happened at first." Riku replied.
"Then how did you eventually confront it?" Rathore asked.
There it was. The question Riku had no idea of how to answer. Where could he even begin? The fact that he thought properly entering the torii gate, going through the temizuya, and attempting a prayer at the offering box would mean something? That he didn't care for the deity, Mantriks, or the unknown, but for his friend?
Riku's mouth went dry again. He wanted to look away, to break the stares drilling into him from every side of the hall, but he forced himself to meet Rathore's eyes. "I… I didn't know what I was doing," he admitted, voice unsteady but clear enough to carry. "All I knew was that my friend was inside. So, I went through the motions. I… I just did what I remembered. The torii, the basin… the offering box. I wasn't thinking, I just—"
The Council chamber rippled with whispers. Some incredulous, others… intrigued. Selene Callistra leaned forward, sharpness in her tone. "You performed rites without understanding them, and still gained response?" Her words cut through the murmurs like a blade. Riku felt his pulse hammer in his ears. Didn't understand? How did he not? Was that prayer not in earnest? Did he not shed sweat, blood, and tears just to get to that offering box? The rage in him was starting to boil. He could feel the anger rising.
"It worked! After the prayer, an apparition came out from the offering box. That's how we were able to confront it. I don't know why it chose to appear once I did what I did, but that's the truth! It's all I've got!" Riku said.
"Tch..." Selene rolled her eyes. "A mere boy, facing an Apostolic threat? Do you expect us to believe your survival was not… arranged?"
Arranged? I almost died!
"I don't know how dangerous this situation is in your eyes. Me, Akio, and Mei did what we could against the Silent God. I nearly lost my life back at the shrine..." Riku said, his voice half-somber, half-vexed.
Before Riku could even breathe, Zafira's voice lashed out again, venomous. "Then why fight at all? You say you nearly lost your life — so why not flee? Why involve yourself in matters beyond mortals?"
"I—"
Selene cut in, sharp as glass. "It says here you summoned a 'jester'? Is this a manifestation of your Bhāṇḍa or was it something else you couldn't control?"
"I don't—"
Duryan's tone boomed next, stern but even. "How did you come up with a way to purge the deity?"
Riku's head spun. He could barely finish a sentence before another question slammed into him.
"Do you realize the risk you posed to this world? That you're meddling with concepts and anomalies you know frighteningly little about?" Selene's voice.
The questions were coming from every direction, and at this point, he couldn't differentiate between the voices that were measured and the ones that were hostile.
Abruptly cutting his thoughts off, was another question.
"Do you understand that you may have doomed your friend further by interfering? Or was this bravado? Your arrogance to play savior?" Zafira's.
That was it. The straw that broke the camel's back. Before he could even try to control himself, Riku glared at her.
"I DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOUR GODS OR YOUR POLITICS!" Riku's voice cracked the stillness, louder than he intended, yet unstoppable. His breath came ragged, but he didn't falter. He screamed so loud, he felt as if his throat would tear open. "I JUST THOUGHT I LOST TETSUYA FOREVER, AND I HAD NOTHING ELSE IN MY MIND BUT TRYING TO GET HIM BACK! YOU CAN QUESTION MY LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ALL YOU WANT, BUT UNLIKE YOU, I GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN MY LIFE!"
The chamber froze. A few captains turned, astonished. Some of the wards gawked outright. Renjirō's lips tugged into the faintest smile.
The faces of the Rajapāla were even more priceless. Duryan's eyes were wide. Nakamura leaned forward, not out of necessity, but sheer impulse. Selene's mouth hanged open.
Riku was breathing heavily now, the anger ebbing away from his body, and leaving him more tired than ever today. His throat felt sore, and his chest was shaking. Immediately, he felt regret. He didn't want to snap. Not to someone who was apparently so important. But at the same time, the accusations were too much to bear.
But above all, Zafira looked livid. "How DARE you raise your voice at the Council, boy! You—"
"Enough."
The Shvara's voice cut like silk through steel. It wasn't loud, yet the hall stilled as if the world itself bowed to his command. His gaze fell upon Zafira, not harsh, but immovable.
"You forget yourself, Rājapāla. The boy has answered — and truth rings sharpest when it is not dressed for court. Do not mistake his emotion for insolence."
Zafira began; her voice coiled with anger. "He raised his voice against US! If he wants respect for his emotions, he should-"
"We gain respect from those we protect and care for. We can't contain what we don't understand and lashing out at a boy who wanted to protect an innocent life is something I will NOT condone! Control yourself!" the Shvara intoned.
The Rājapāla wanted to object. To finish what she wanted to say and put this "child" in his place, but the look from the Shvara said everything. Zafira bristled, her jaw tightening, but she lowered her eyes in a rare show of restraint.
The Shvara's hand rested lightly on the arm of his throne. His words flowed calm as water. "Remember this day, Council. A child of another world stood before an Apostolic horror — and did not flee. However reckless, however raw, that truth cannot be erased."
Selene Callistra leaned forward, fingers steepled, her eyes gleaming with suspicion. "One final question, Riku Shinsora. You claim you don't much about your own power. The reports we received say that you called forth that… entity. A 'jester'. Was this by intent, or did chance save you?"
The chamber grew utterly silent. Dozens of captains and adjutants leaned forward in unison, their whispers vanishing like smoke.
Riku swallowed, his throat slightly pained from yelling earlier. He met her gaze. "I didn't plan it. I didn't even know I could. Akio did everything he could to protect me. I was a sitting duck. But I had to do something. I would've died, but Kapaala saved me. He was my only fighting chance and he answered to no one but me. I just... took ahold of what I was given. Not for myself. But for Tetsuya's sake. That's all."
A pause followed, long and tense. Then Duryan Rathore gave a single nod. "Enough. The boy has answered more than any of us had right to demand."
The panel shifted, and for the first time since the questioning began, the focus turned away from Riku.
"Then we must decide," intoned Selene her tone smooth but edged with frost. "Whether this… child should be granted sanction as a Mantrik."
"Granted sanction?" Zafira rose slightly from her seat, dark silks rustling. "We would be legitimizing a reckless child who meddled with forces he cannot name! You call that worth celebrating? I call it madness."
Her words struck the chamber like sparks against dry wood, drawing murmurs from the captains and their wards.
Nakamura spoke firmly, cutting through the din. "Reckless, yes. But effective. You forget—without him, the Silent God's corruption would have spread unchecked. Whatever the risk, he has already proven himself in the field."
"Proven what?" Zafira snapped. "That he can gamble with lives and win once? What of the next time? What if this 'jester' consumes him—or worse, us?"
Renjirō remained seated, hands folded, expression unreadable.
Duryan struck the table with his palm. "The question is not whether he is dangerous! Every Mantrik is dangerous! You and I included! The question is whether he belongs among us, under law, or out there, unchecked. I say we bind him to the Concords, where his steps can be watched."
Selene bit her lip, disdain creeping up on her visage. "I suppose... that seems plausible."
Zafira clenched her fist. "You're all insane."
The debate raged for several minutes, until finally the votes carried the weight of judgment.
Time stood still. Riku stared up at them, wondering what consensus they came to. At this point, he didn't care. He just wanted to get as far away from here as possible.
A beat passed. The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
"It is decided," the presiding voice declared.
"Riku Shinsora shall enter the order as a Mantrik in the Sastra Palimpsest!"
The words struck Riku harder than any blow he had taken in the shrine. For a moment, the chamber blurred, and he could only hear the dull roar of blood in his ears. A Mantrik. Officially, formally, without the chance to turn back. He felt the weight of it pressing down on his chest, heavy with both dread and strange relief. His life, which only weeks ago had been ordinary—school, meals, the quiet hum of his small world—was now set on a path carved in fable and blood. And though he could feel fear clawing at the edges of his resolve, he realized he wasn't trembling. He was… steady.
When his vision cleared, the first thing he noticed was Renjirō watching him. The older man hadn't moved or spoken during the entire debate, yet the faintest quirk of his brow and the glimmer in his eyes said everything.
It wasn't smugness, nor arrogance—it was quiet certainty, as though Renjirō had always known the council would reach this point. Riku exhaled for the first time since he arrived here.
The chamber erupted—disbelief from some, approval from others. Zafira's eyes burned with anger, while Selene reclined in her seat with cold detachment, as though the matter were beneath her.
Then came the final turn.
"Now, boy," Duryan said, voice echoing, "five Concords stand before you. Where will you pledge yourself?"
All eyes turned once more to Riku.
Liora Jade of the Sun's Oath leaned forward, her amber eyes shining with a conviction that bordered on flame. "This boy stood before a god, untrained and unprepared, yet still carved an opening for victory. That is destiny, if I have ever seen it. The Visionaries call upon those who are meant to illuminate the darkness. To waste him on shadows and silence would be an insult to what he represents." Her words rang like a sermon.
Riku, for a moment, felt flattered that he was being praised like this. He wanted to believe her, even for a moment.
Madame Zoya snapped her fingers, and a black petal drifted lazily onto the polished table. Her smile was thin and poisonous. "Destiny? Please. What I see is raw instinct—untamed, unrefined, and dangerous. Such things rot when handled by self-righteous dreamers. The Covenant will be able to help him hone his powers and purge his reservations. You want him to shine? First, he must survive his own fire." She cast a sideways glance at Liora, her tone mocking and dripping with contempt.
Daya Arul's voice rumbled next, low and weighted like a tolling bell. "You both speak of glory and survival yet forget the simple truth: the boy carries Malevolence in his wake. Did Renjirō not report the traces upon Shinsora's friend? That is no accident. There hasn't been a reporting of Malevolent Mantra on Earth in ages! The Hollow Vein will be able to contain and purify him. Anything else is recklessness!"
Riku looked down at his feet. He didn't want to believe that he was the reason Tetsuya was unconscious. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. But he didn't like being labeled as sullied.
Not after he fought so hard.
Kree Vixen, arms crossed, let out a sharp laugh that cut through the chamber. "You're all beating around the same bush. Discipline is what the brat needs. He proved he could act under fire, fine—but that means nothing if he cannot be controlled. The Guards will teach him what it means to bear law upon his back. Or would you rather gamble the lives of cities on a child's whims?" Her tone was a whip crack, daring anyone to meet her stare.
Across the table, Riku had sunk back into his seat, exhaustion pressing down like a stone. The voices clashed around him, each word heavy with expectation, as though they were not talking to him, but about a prize they could seize. His hands clenched under the table, nails digging into his palms. For all his efforts against the Silent God, here he was again. Drowning in a storm he could not steer.
I'm tired. I'm tired, I'm hurt, and I just wanna sleep. ANYWHERE but here!
He turned to Renjirō, who through it all, remained motionless, his arms folded, his gaze steady. He neither raised his voice nor offered rebuttal, as though the storm of words had nothing to do with him. The captains' barbs sharpened against one another, but more than once, their eyes flicked toward him, bristling at his refusal to compete.
It was Liora who cracked first, her fiery tone cutting toward Renjirō. "And you? Have you nothing to say for yourself? Or are you too busy, planning on which unprepared Mantrik you'd like to sacrifice?"
Her words dripped with frustration, a flicker of unease betraying how much his calm unnerved her.
Renjirō finally shifted, only enough to tilt his head, his expression unreadable. "…If you require noise to mask your uncertainty, then continue. I already know Riku's choice. You claim that you can control or whip him into shape. But what about him? What does he want?"
The captains closed their mouths. Some grit their teeth, and some looked as if they wanted to open their mouths right back up.
Renjirō clasped his hands together. "I won't deny it. When Mei and Akio came back to me with Riku and told me what had happened, I had my doubts as well. But instead of feeling fear due to an absence of knowledge, we should try to embrace it and uncover it with patience. What we have here is a man who'd tear apart his own body to save an innocent. Isn't that the principle of what we are? To preserve peace for as long as we draw breath?"
The chamber fell silent after Renjirō's words.
Liora's nails drummed lightly against the arm of her chair, a rhythm too precise to be idle. Her eyes remained narrowed, cutting, but she said nothing.
Madame Zoya's jaw clenched, her lips twisting as though she wanted to spit fire but found no words sharp enough to pierce the truth.
Daya's gaze softened, not with approval, but with a quiet recognition, like a priest conceding a prayer had struck deeper than expected.
Kree folded her arms, eyes closing briefly, like the words spoken could have swayed anyone in her position, even if they weren't what she wanted. She grit her teeth.
Only the Shvara moved.
"Riku Shinsora," he intoned, "it is not for us to decide your future. The choice belongs to you. We ask you once again. Where will you place your allegiance?"
Riku swallowed. The answer was simple. Too simple. It was true. Deep down, he had made up his mind hours—no— days ago.
"…The Nobles of the Moonless Court." he said, steady but quiet.
The reactions came like ripples on still water. The captains were all irate, each of them showing a face as if they had missed out on an opportunity that could have set them up for life. Liora, Madame Zoya, Kree, and Daya were all frustrated, but Riku didn't care. They had nothing for him.
Up above, the Rājapāla all had reactions of their own.
Zafira scoffed audibly, muttering something about "children leading children." Selene's lips pressed into a line, like sharpened glass. Nakamura leaned back, letting his hands drop back to his sides, and Duryan exhaled, like he was just glad this was over.
Renjirō smiled, just enough to soften his features.
The Shvara nodded once. "So, it is decided."
He descended the dais with a slow grace, every step reverberating as though the chamber itself bent to his presence. From within his sleeve, he unfurled a scroll — parchment vast and edged with golden seals that pulsed faintly, alive with mantra.
Upon it was written a creed, a prayer and a vow.
"Repeat after me, Riku Shinsora. That you shall wield the gift of mantra not as a tyrant, nor as a coward, but as one bound to the balance of the Sastra Palimpsest and the mortal Earth. That under the watch of our Five, you will stand as Mantrik."
The creed inscribed was written in ancient, flowing script, its words intoned like prayer:
"We call upon the Lord of Scholars, who illuminates."
"We call upon the Mistress of the Abyss, who conceals."
"We call upon the River-Mother, who nourishes."
"We call upon the Lord of Necessary Dread, who warns."
"We call upon the Lord of the Timeless, who endures."
"We offer our prostrations to the Three who came before"
"Before them and before the Five Concords, you swear — to uphold the balance of the Sastra Palimpsest and Earth, to guard against Malevolence and corruption, and to bear the burden of your power with truth."
Riku's throat tightened. His palms were clammy, yet he forced his voice steady as he echoed every word. His name scratched clumsily onto the scroll, black ink binding him to a world he could never return from.
When he finished, Shvara closed the scroll with solemnity, and from his sleeve produced a silver-and-ebony insignia. The emblem of the Moonless Court. He affixed it to Riku's new attire with his own hand.
A breath Riku hadn't realized he was holding escaped in a sharp exhale. He forced a crooked grin.
The Shvara smiled. A genuine smile. "Welcome to our fold, Shinsora."
Riku nodded. "Thank you." He turned his gaze to Renjirō.
"…We're done?"
The council chamber didn't laugh, but Renjirō's lips twitched with faint amusement. He motioned to the exit. "Yeah. From now on, you'll walk with us."