The Hall had fallen still.The light that had lingered after the verdict faded slowly, until only the dim silver glow of the hourglass remained above. The marble floor shimmered faintly where Tomas had stood, a fragile echo of the soul that had just passed on.Lyra stayed where she was, her fingers clasped loosely in front of her. She wanted to speak, but something about Kaelen’s silence warned her not to.He had returned to his throne, yet his posture was not as composed as before. His head rested lightly against his hand, his gaze unfocused as if he were seeing something far beyond the Hall.She waited a few moments before stepping closer.“Judge,” she said quietly. “The soul has crossed peacefully.”Kaelen did not answer right away. When he did, his voice was low. “Peace is only a word we give to endings. For them, perhaps. For us, never.”Lyra frowned slightly. “Do you not feel at ease when a soul passes with calm?”Kaelen’s eyes lifted to her, calm but distant. “Ease is for the l

The world reformed around her.Mist thinned into marble, and the vast silence of the Arbiter’s chamber gave way to the low hum of the Hall of Judgment. The air here was heavier, darker. The light that filtered through the tall arches carried no warmth, only the pale shimmer of souls waiting to be weighed.Lyra exhaled slowly. Her hand still tingled from the sigil pressed into her skin. She opened her fingers. It was gone absorbed, hidden somewhere deep beneath her aura but she could still feel its pulse.She had walked among the divine and returned. And yet, the feeling that clung to her was not reverence. It was fear.Kaelen stood by the dais when she entered.He was still as stone, his back to her, his gaze fixed upon the spectral pool that floated before the throne. A single fragment of light drifted above it a soul, newly brought for judgment, flickering between form and shadow.Lyra paused at the entrance.There was something different about the air around him. The stillness that

The air around them began to hum.Light crawled over the walls in trembling lines, running along the ancient carvings that told the story of judgment and its keepers. The mist that had once filled the pool now spread through the hall like smoke, curling around Kaelen and Mira until they were the only shapes left standing.Lyra called out to them, but her voice was swallowed by the noise. The divine sigils etched into the floor were breaking apart, glowing in strange uneven bursts.“Kaelen, let go!” she cried.He did not hear her.Mira’s eyes were locked on his, and for a moment the weight of centuries seemed to vanish. In that stillness, there were only two people the Judge and the woman he had once loved standing in the place that was never meant for love at all.“I waited for you,” Mira whispered. “When the world went dark, I waited. I thought you’d come for me.”Kaelen’s voice was almost too quiet to hear. “I tried.”“Did you?”“I begged for it. I begged to trade my soul for yours.

The air had grown heavy.Selene felt it first, a subtle change in the world around her. The quiet hum of the Judgment Hall had shifted, no longer calm but pulsing, alive with a rhythm she didn’t understand. The golden veins that ran along the marble walls dimmed, as though the light itself was holding its breath.She stood at the edge of the bridge that crossed into the mortal reflection, her pale hair stirred by a wind that did not exist. Below her, the river of souls flowed in soft, luminous waves. The surface was calm, but she could feel something beneath it, a pulse of power that didn’t belong there.Kaelen stood a few steps behind her, his arms crossed, eyes fixed on the shifting water. He hadn’t spoken in some time. His thoughts were far away, his expression drawn in that quiet way that always made her uneasy.“Something’s coming,” Selene said softly.Kaelen’s gaze flicked toward her, sharp but distant. “You can feel it too.”“It’s like the realm is… watching.”He said nothing.

The chamber of judgment was not meant for mortals to see.It stretched beyond what the human eye could follow, filled with slow-moving ribbons of silver light that wound around pillars carved from stone so pale it almost glowed. Every surface shimmered like the air itself was alive, whispering the language of souls.At the far end of the vast hall, a great window overlooked an empty expanse. It was not the sky. It was not darkness either. It was something in between, like the edge of existence itself.The Watchers stood along the high steps that led to the judgment throne. Their faces were hidden by veils of smoke and light, their bodies unmoving as they waited. None of them dared to speak. The air was heavy with silence, too heavy even for thought.The Herald moved quietly among them. His voice was calm but his hands trembled slightly when he touched the sacred staff that hung near the gate. He had served the Arbiter for centuries, but tonight the air felt different. The weight of th