The judge picks a piece of paper lying on his desk, and begins reading from it.
- "Firstly, can you confirm that your name is Nyx, with no last name to speak of?" He asks.
- "That's my most popular name, yes!" Nyx answers.
- "Secondly, a background check revealed that the blood sample analyzed by our experts closely matches that of a citizen of Oakvale, namely Vanessa Kegan. Any comments on the matter?"
- "She's with me! Vanessa, tell them." The stars in Nyx's eyes suddenly disappear, and her tone turns a lot more hesitant. "Uh… hello?... I'm Vanessa Kegan…"
- "It seems to be a case of spiritual possession then." The judge turns to Calliope. "I henceforth prohibit the death penalty, at least until Vanessa Kegan is properly exorcised. I trust you have no objection?"
- "That is fine by me." Calliope flatly replies.
- "Thirdly…" The judge stops for a second, noticing Vanessa's hands shaking from the stress. "May I speak to Nyx?"
- "Sure…" The stars return to Nyx's eyes. "I'm here!"
- "Do you have an attorney? If not, you can choose to represent yourself, or be assigned one of our court-appointed attorneys." The judge frowns. "Granted, the situation is… highly unusual. I was informed earlier this week that our attorneys unanimously agreed that they would rather lose their license to practice law rather than defend your case."
- "Ah. Well, I'll just represent mysel-"
- "I'll be her attorney!" A voice shouts from the door of the courtroom.
Through said door walks Julian, wearing a neat black suit with a red tie and holding a small briefcase. He had styled his usually wild hair back, held together by gel. He was standing on the air, about a meter above the ground.
- "And who might you be?" The judge asks, slightly frowning.
- "Julian Leventis! I'm not a lawyer but I passed the entrance exam for the Fourth Branch. Legally, I'm technically allowed to practice in cases of emergency. And this looks like one."
- "...Very well. You will be representing Nyx in this trial."
Julian walks over to stand next to Nyx, making his way there on a platform of solid air. Nyx notices Angelica silently laughing in the audience, giving him a thumbs up as he tries to ignore her.
- "Hey." He finally says, stopping next to Nyx and coming closer to the ground, as if he was going down an invisible staircase.
- "...Aren't you gonna get in trouble?" Nyx replies.
- "I can't believe you're the one asking me that. As far as I know, I'm not the one facing something like a million death sentences."
- "But…"
- "I've made up my mind. Granted I tried getting Agnes to do it instead, since she's a lot better at that sort of stuff, but she didn't look like she could defend you to save her life."
- "...Okay." Nyx slowly smiles. "Thanks for being here with me."
- "No big deal."
- "Order." The judge strikes his mallet down twice. "Thank you for your presence, Sir Leventis. In this trial, the city of Crystal Rose is the plaintiff, and the prosecutor…"
- "...Will be me." Calliope finishes, floating away until she arrives at the center of the courtroom, under the glass dome. Most people could only distinguish her silhouette bathed in sunlight, but Nyx's eyes could still see Calliope's face. Her neon blue irises had turned almost completely black.
- "Good god…" Julian sighs. "Yup. I'm going against one of the three Grand Archmages. Regular Tuesday."
- "Is she that good of a prosecutor?" Nyx asks.
- "Nah, uh… She's one of the closest things we got to a queen, along with Lord Augustus and Lady Evelyn. I really don't know what I can and can't say to her…"
- "Twenty two thousand, four hundred and ninety two." Calliope cuts.
The room immediately goes silent.
- "A number?" Nyx finally says. "What do you mean?"
- "That is the number of graves that must be dug, as a consequence of your actions."
- "…" Nyx's face grows a bit paler, but she remains silent.
- "Your honor." She turns to the judge. "I am ready to begin."
The judge snaps his fingers, and a golden light emanates from him. It congregates into a humanoid form next to him. It resembled an old man with a long beard, holding a short sword in his right hand.
- "My magic now oversees this courtroom." The judge declares. "I demand the public be silent during the proceeding of the trial."
- "What's that?" Nyx asks Julian. "It kinda looks like Solomon."
- "That's Judge Verissimus' Judgment magic. He's an Irregular, like me and you." He replies, choosing his words very carefully. "It can detect lies, and from what I know it can even smite people depending on what they say."
- "Oh okay, kinda like what Vivianne can do."
- "Yeah?... I'm pretty sure it's a load of horseshit though. He probably just uses Radiant magic to try and scare criminals into confess-"
The figure of light raises its sword above its head before pointing it at Julian. A blinding white light emanates from it, shining on Julian like a projector.
- "Do not lie in my courtroom." Judge Verissimus commands.
- "How did he even hear me?..." Julian whispers.
- "Do speak up, I cannot understand what you are saying."
- "...It's nothing important. Sorry for the inconvenience."
- "Very well." He turns to Calliope. "You may proceed."
- "Nyx." Calliope's voice resonates throughout the room. "You stand accused of large-scale terrorism against the kingdom of Specta. Multiple eyewitnesses have confirmed your presence in front of the headquarters of the Arcane Guard's Fifth Branch before the events of that night. You then proceeded to summon the entity known as Lady Night, in order to lay waste to the capital."
- "I didn't do it to lay waste to the capital." Nyx cuts.
- "...What was your motive, if not that?"
- "Getting everyone to stop letting her do what she wants."
- "What she wants?... Clearly all she desires is destruction, and you gave her exactly that. I fail to see the logic in your argument."
- "If I left her alone, even more people would've been in danger! Why can't you-" Nyx starts, her eyes glowing brighter by the second.
- "Are we ignoring the fact that Lady Night is supposed to be the director of the Fifth Branch? I would question the authorities that allowed her to occupy that position in the first place, rather than my client." Julian cuts, nudging Nyx on the side with his elbow. "Calm down." He whispers.
Murmurs propagate through the crowd behind them, and Calliope visibly hesitates.
- "...We still are unaware of her whereabouts." She finally declares. "But rest assured, the situation is under control."
In response, the light figure standing next to the judge points its sword at Calliope, its radiance overpowering that of the sun. Verissimus deeply frowns.
- "Lady Calliope." He calls. "No lies shall be told in my presence."
- "...Allow me to rectify." Calliope replies. "The situation remains uncertain, but we are investigating the matter. The best elements of the Fourth Branch of the Arcane Guard are working tirelessly to bring answers to the public."
The light from the sword fades, and the figure next to the judge returns to its idle stance.
- "Or so you claim." Julian crosses his arms in front of him. "My client's only goal was to prevent Lady Night from gathering even more power before going rogue on her own. It should be noted that she had been gathering her strength for the two thousand years that YOU carelessly granted her. And under Section 3, Subsection 5…"
Julian slowly stops, unable to remember the exact number. As silence sets in, he could almost feel the pressure from the crowd's gaze on his back.
- "Oh, I think I know what you mean!" Nyx exclaims. "It's Section 3, Subsection 5, Paragraph 2, Line 10 of the Criminal Code."
- "Right, thanks." Julian breathes a sigh of relief. "According to this, the entity responsible for such an event would be the branch of the government overseeing the operations of the Fifth Branch, and not my client. In other words, the Church of Solomon!"
The crowd erupts in violent protest, and Verissimus strikes his mallet on his desk.
- "Order in the courtroom!" He yells.
- "It appears you are telling the truth, and that this event was indeed inevitable, however… this law only applies to citizens of Specta." Calliope finally answers, after a few seconds.
- "...Huh?" Julian frowns, before his eyes widen. "Oh shit."
- "What is the entity named Nyx?" Calliope locks eyes with Nyx.
- "Me? Like, the way humans describe me? I'm God." Nyx calmly answers.
The courtroom falls silent once more, as all eyes turn to the light figure standing next to the judge, including Verissimus himself. Said figure stays completely immobile, and Calliope glances at the judge.
- "Your honor." She calls. "I believe your magic is malfunctioning."
- "Judgment magic does not… malfunction." Verissimus replies, seemingly almost doubting his own words. "It carefully assesses the subject's beliefs and memories before giving its verdict. The only option would be that she well and truly believes herself to be a god."
- "Can you not tell if her memories were rewritten, or if she is under the effect of a powerful suggestion spell?"
- "I believe I can attempt…" Verissimus turns to the light figure. "Analyze all her memories, and search for any spells afflicting her mind."
Seconds pass. Then, a minute. Then two. After about five minutes of tense silence occasionally cut by the crowd sharing theories, the light figure shatters. It explodes outwards into hundreds of shards that dissolve into the air, and a stream of blood begins flowing down from Verissimus' nose. He leans forward, pushing against the desk to stay upright.
- "That is odd." Calliope comments.
- "Lady Calliope. Her memories are too extensive to be fully processed." Verissimus painfully utters.
- "But I remember you being able to assess mine? And my existence predates the existence of the kingdom of Specta. Are you implying…"
- "I am not implying. She has existed longer than you, and most likely longer than all humanoid species. She might even predate this planet."
- "..." Calliope's eyes slowly widen in horror. "This cannot be."
- "It very much can!" Nyx shouts. "Are you finally going to listen to me now?"