Accusations and jeers filled the Tribunal of Forbidden Arts without pause.
Irena Valkyria had all but seized control of the stage, weaving her carefully prepared evidence and pulling the strings of judgment.
Alone upon the black stone dais stood Serena Alveir—her every breath weighed down by hundreds of eyes eager to condemn.
And then—something began to shift.
A Hall Turned Altar
The Hall of Flames fell silent as the presiding judge's voice rang out.
"Serena Alveir, do you admit that your power has no record in any tome, and that each time it appeared, the beasts attacked?"
Whispers flared like wildfire.
"No need to ask. The truth is clear!""She's the cause, without a doubt!"
The chamber grew heavy, as though it were no tribunal at all—but an altar, prepared to sacrifice one woman.
Words That Refuse to Break
Serena bit down on her lip, her eyes trembling yet unyielding.
"I admit that my power is unlike any other, found in no record. But what I have used it for—was to save lives, not destroy them."
She stepped forward, her voice trembling yet firm.
"On the day the northern gate fell, had this power not existed, countless children would have perished. That—was the truth I saw with my own eyes."
For a moment, the hall fell quiet.But the chorus of denouncement quickly drowned it out.
Valkyria's Trickery
Irena advanced, her voice sweet and cold.
"Well said… but words without proof are worthless."
At her signal, an attendant stepped forward, raising a crystal of recorded magic.
"This is evidence from that very day. Let the images speak louder than her claims."
Light flared, casting images into the air: the beasts emerging immediately after Serena's silver light ignited.
A false vision—cut and twisted to appear as though her power had summoned darkness itself.
The uproar was deafening.
"I saw it with my own eyes—it's true!""She is disaster wearing the mask of a guardian!"
Despair and Resistance
Serena's face turned pale, her heart clenched so tight it might stop.
She knew the vision was a lie, yet what argument could she raise against proof that shone before all?
"This… is not the truth…" she whispered.
Irena lifted her fan to her lips, a smile as cold as ice.
"How pitiful. You still don't understand, do you? Truth in this world is not what is—it is what people choose to believe."
A Leaking Truth
Suddenly—the crystal shuddered. Light flickered violently, warping the false image.
"What's happening?!""The record is failing?!"
A new vision emerged—the hidden fragments that had been cut away.
It showed Serena leaping in front of the beasts, her starlit blade cleaving through darkness to shield the children.
Gasps broke the silence, spreading through the hall.
"She… she really saved them…""Then the first image—was it tampered with?"
Unbending Resolve
Serena raised her head, eyes burning bright.
"This is what I spoke of! This power is no curse—it is the light that protects life!"
Though her body trembled, she stood tall at the center of the dais.
"Call it demon, call it forbidden, call it whatever you wish—but I will not allow it to be branded as darkness!"
Her voice rang so firm that even the judges faltered for an instant.
The Prince Who Rose
Lucius could no longer endure.
He rose, his voice resounding across the chamber.
"I saw it myself! Without her, those children would have died!"
He swept his gaze across the nobles.
"If we reject the truth before our very eyes, clinging only to what has been manipulated, then what are we but fools who let prejudice destroy the realm?"
The court broke into chaos—some wavering, some still shouting their scorn.
The Hidden Hand
In the shadows, Kyren Adelric slowly lowered his hand.
The faint magic woven into the crystal's memory faded away.A subtle smile touched his lips.
"Even a sliver of truth is enough to shake the web of lies… Irena."
An Unshaken Smile
Yet even as the tide turned, Irena did not retreat.
She smiled, eyes sharp as frost.
"Beautiful… but insufficient. Yes, she saved some lives—but that does not prove her power will not one day bring greater disaster."
Her gaze swept the hall.
"If such a force remains, it may yet become the ruin of us all."
Cries of support rose again—not as thunderous as before, but still strong.
The Girl Who Stands
Serena stood at the center, encircled by darkness—yet the light in her eyes did not fade.
"Even if the whole world denies me… I will stand by the truth I know."
Her heart pounded not with fear, but with resolve—the choice to never bow to deceit again.
Closing Scene
A trial that should have sealed her fate today was shaken apart by a fleeting glimpse of truth.
The accusations had not vanished, yet a seed of doubt had been sown in the hearts of many.
And behind it all—a shadow guarded her in silence, waiting for the moment when every falsehood would be laid bare.