The High Court of Oakhaven was a room with cold stone walls and tall benches that made you feel small. At the front of the room Lord Sterling sat on his throne- chair. He had been twisting the law for 40 years to help those who paid him. People called him the "Iron Judge" because his heart was as hard as the metal he took as bribes.
I was sitting in an area hidden behind a fancy screen. I was watching what happened in the court. Elara was next to me looking through a book with pages. She was using a tool called the "Eye of the Overseer" to look at the "Sins of the Court".
"Sterling has let 30 nobles off the hook this month " Elara whispered. "He thinks he can get away with it because he knows secrets about the King. He thinks the law protects him."
"The law is not a shield, Elara " I said. "It's a weapon.. I'm the one who will use it."
Sterling slammed his gavel down to quiet a woman who was crying because a Baron had taken her land.
[System Notification: New Objective. Legal Subjugation.]
[Target: Lord Chief Justice Sterling (Level 10. Law-Bender).]
[Trait: 'Legal Immunity'. He is protected by a contract with the Old Kingdoms laws.]
I didn't want Sterling dead. I wanted to use the law to take the nobles power. To do that I had to break Sterling.
After the court session Sterling went to his room. It was filled with scrolls and bags of gold. He was pouring himself a glass of wine when the candles turned a sickly purple.
"Who's there?" Sterling shouted.
"The guards are busy dreaming about their deaths " I said, walking through the door like it was made of smoke.
I was wearing my clothes and I had a powerful presence. The scrolls on the shelves started to curl and burn. Sterling was shocked.
"Your Majesty!" he said, trying to bow. "I was just preparing reports for your coronation anniversary! I'm your loyal servant!"
"Lies come easily to judges " I said, picking up his gavel. I squeezed it. It started to twist and look like a sad face. "You've spent 40 years selling justice to the bidder. Now you have to pay the price."
[System: Initiating 'Judicial Inversion'.]
[Environment: The Court of Ruin (Bedchamber Wing).]
Sterling. Reached for a bell but I grabbed him and pulled him into a purple hole.
The Court of Ruin was a version of the High Court. The benches were made of teeth. The jury box was filled with spirits of people Sterling had wronged.
Sterling was stripped of his robes and left shivering on a cold mirrored floor. The air smelled weird. Made his skin crawl.
[System Notification: Initiating 'The Sentence of the Flesh'.]
[R-18+ / Brutal Subjugation Mode: Active.]
"This is a mistake!" Sterling shouted. "I know the law! I am the law!"
"In this room the only law is what I say " I said. Isabella and Lira. They were going to help with the punishment.
The punishment started with Isabella touching Sterling with mana. It made him feel a lot of pain and intensity. Lira used a quill to write new laws on his skin.
Sterling. Begged for mercy. I took the gavel and pressed it against his thigh. It branded him as a " Magistrate".
The ritual was very depraved. Sterling was. His ego was crushed. He wasn't a judge anymore. He was a whimpering, animal.
"I... I am... Nothing..." Sterling gasped. "The law is... Whatever the Sovereign... Breathes..."
[Synthesis Progress: 100%.]
[Condition: Absolute Moral Dissolution.]
[Target Status: Lord Sterling. 'The Puppet Magistrate'.]
The purple dimension disappeared. Sterling lay on the floor ruined. His skin had marks on it.
The morning the High Court of Oakhaven looked normal. Sterling walked in, stiff and cold. He sat on his bench. Slammed his new gavel down.
"The Court is in session " he said. "There is a Royal Ordinance. All noble assets acquired through means are frozen. The nobles have to prove they got them honestly."
The nobles gasped. This was the end of their loophole.
". " Sterling said, smiling, "the Sovereign has appointed a new Court Auditor to oversee these seizures. Isabella, step forward."
Isabella walked in looking beautiful and deadly. The nobles looked at her and the Judge and for the time in 40 years they felt the law was against them.
[Divinity Recovery: +0.2% (Total: 3.3%)]
I watched from the shadows feeling happy. The trade routes were mine. The law was mine. Now it was time, for the step.