The library smelled of old parchment and ash. Renji sat across from the Old Man, his hands restless against the wooden table.
The Old Man closed a scroll, his face shadowed by torchlight. "Renji, listen carefully. Monarch has sent Yara and her assassins on a task. They are to capture a man of Vastos. His trial will be held on the Runic Stage of Truth."
Renji frowned. "Trial? Or execution?"
"Both," the Old Man said grimly. "The Runic Stage does not lie. It weighs the moral value of the one who dies upon it. If the condemned has committed no crime against morality or divine law, the stage will send them directly into the Warrior's Mirage. Even if they were no warrior in life, they shall rise as one in death."
Renji's stomach tightened. "And if someone is wrongly punished… if the charge is false?"
The Old Man shook his head, his voice lowering. "No one escapes. The stage peers deeper than mortal courts. If the accused has lived unworthy — even crimes never spoken, never proven — the stage will burn them, strip them, and condemn them. But if they are truly innocent… their ascent will summon the Judicial Deities. And those gods will tear the crown from Monarch himself."
Renji's eyes widened. "Take his powers?!"
"Yes," the Old Man said heavily. "The crown, the authority, the divine rights — gone. Monarch would become no more than a mortal man. The new Monarch would be chosen from the worthiest soul in the Mirage."
Renji leaned forward, whispering. "So… if someone truly worthy is executed, Monarch's reign ends."
The Old Man's silence was answer enough.
At last, Renji asked, "What is this Vastos man charged with?"
The Old Man's voice grew sharp. "He is accused of using a Dark Scroll to kill the Glycons."
Renji frowned. "The snakes? Just snakes?"
"Not snakes," the Old Man corrected. "Glycons. Divine serpents of eternal breath. They hold no afterlife — once slain, their souls dissolve. To kill one is to stain divinity itself. A crime most unforgivable."
Renji was quiet a long moment. Then, almost reluctantly:
"So… animals too can reach the Mirage?"
The Old Man gave a rare nod.
"Yes. Animals too are judged. If they are loyal, brave, if they protect or serve with purity — they are welcomed into the Warrior's Mirage. If they are cruel, twisted, or live in needless bloodshed — they fall into the Abyss of Agony. The same law binds beast and man alike."
He paused, his tone lowering.
"But Glycons… they are different. Divine serpents. They hold no afterlife at all. When slain, their essence vanishes. No Mirage, no Abyss. Only silence. That is why their death by Dark Scroll is a stain upon divinity itself.
Renji sat in the quiet corner of the castle library, his eyes fixed on an ancient, yellowed page. It was a dorsal view of a Glycon, the divine serpent, but unlike any ordinary illustration. Several points on its body were meticulously marked:
Right eye – Warrior's Mirage
Left eye – Abyss of Agony
Above the brain – black Crynthos
Above the heart – green Crynthos
Abdomen – red Crynthos
Tail – sliver Crynthos
Delicate line of nerve connected each point. Renji traced them with his finger, wondering what secret this web of energy held. Why did the eyes alone represent the two afterlife paths? What purpose did the colored Crynthos serve?
He reached for the Old Man, ready to ask about the diagram. But the corridor was empty. The librarian had gone, leaving Renji alone with the cryptic illustration.