It was early morning in the New Arcadia Empire. In its capital, even in the area where the smaller clans lived, everything was silent... very silent.
In the residential area, inside a luxurious room at the top of one of the houses, a young girl with green hair stared out the window, her face filled with discouragement. She was looking toward the city where the clans were located.
A wisp of black smoke could be seen rising from that place. It was faint now, almost disappearing. Finally, it was time for it to end, after all, that place had been burning for nearly three months.
According to the information that had reached her, all the buildings had been constructed with magical materials — which was why it took so long for them to be completely destroyed.
The door to the room opened.
A young man, the same age as her — her twin brother — calmly entered the room, pulled a table closer to her, and placed a steaming plate on it. He then murmured softly:
"Lucy, you need to eat. Our test is coming up soon, you can't be mentally down. We need to give our best until he returns."
She sighed, glanced at him, then turned her gaze back toward the direction of the almost invisible smoke.
Lucius continued: "Trust him until the end. Lady Rhea said his mission hasn't been declared a failure yet... he could come back eventually."
"Lady Rhea..." Lucy clenched her fists, and tears fell from her eyes. She had been holding it in all this time, but hearing that name was the final blow.
"You're always pretending to be strong in front of your brother, but I'm always the one who has to deal with you when you're like this..." Lucius said, sighing. "If you keep this up, I'll tell Darian everything later... I know mom taught you to be strong, but pretending to be strong while hiding the pain doesn't help much. You really need to be strong, believe that everything will be okay."
She took a deep breath, then turned her attention back to the soup her brother had prepared.
It smelled great, and her appetite kicked in immediately.
Her brother had amazing cooking skills. Not only that — with household chores or anything requiring subtle motor skills and good taste, he was an expert.
As for her... she was terrible at all of it. But unlike him, she was good at feeling and reading people, able to see things and think in a completely different way than him. It was as if each twin had poured all their attribute points into one area, leaving the other with zero.
At the same time, the two weren't opposites in how they thought or saw the world. They almost never fought and understood each other in a strangely natural way. And it wasn't just between the two of them — they also knew Darian very well, and understood exactly what was inside of him.
Those three weren't ordinary siblings. Even these two didn't have the mindset of regular teenagers. They had both experienced the feat, the pain of losing their father at a very young age, then their mother... and all the fear that came with the harsh life they led. They didn't have time to argue — they accepted each other's flaws and needed to rely on each other's strengths to survive.
After Lucy ate everything, she turned her gaze back to the window for a moment.
"Darian's taking too long. The whole clan he lived in... it's been completely destroyed. Everyone's imprisoned, and the trial should happen any moment. It's possible that..."
She stopped mid-sentence, unable to finish.
Lucius shook his head, and they fell into silence. The crime they were accused of... there was only one sentence, which was why the trial had taken so long to gather all the evidence.
The only outcome would be death.
***
That wasn't a quiet day in the capital for no reason. In fact, in the central area, all the leaders of the major High Human clans of the Empire, along with many high-ranking figures from the Empire, were gathered in a single building.
The building was a circular hall. The center was almost five hundred meters across, and several meters of seating rose up in a circle around it.
This was the largest courtroom in the empire, used only for trials involving very big matters, with many important people involved.
In the center of that courtroom, 115 High Humans stood, all shackled, with black cuffs on their arms and legs.
In front of them stood Rhea and Damon, with dark expressions and soured looks. Behind them... all the clan members.
Before them stood the supreme judge — probably the most feared and respected figure in the empire, just below the Emperor.
He was a man who appeared to be in his early thirties, with long black hair tied back, and an extremely calm and beautiful appearance.
Around him were Freon, the vice-leader of the largest clan in the empire, and five other vice-leaders from the other most powerful clans.
A little lower than these important figures, there was a woman in military clothes, reading aloud through an electronic device:
"All the evidence for the accusation has been presented. With all of this, it's conclusive and indisputable that the Azure Haven Clan directly betrayed the Empire, allying with the Solar Federation Empire and causing the failure of the last Rank C mission."
"It's not conclusive if the common clan members were part of this. But the Three-Ring High Human, Rhea, and the clan leader, Damon, acted together."
"Due to their family connection and the perfect timing, it's certain that the One-Ring High Human, Leander, was used by them. He was sent on the Rank D mission that was declared a failure ten months ago. Though there is no proof, everything suggests that this was all planned by these two, who arranged the death and failure of that group of young people to coincide with the failure of another higher mission."
As she finished, the judge looked at Freon. He bowed — as the accuser, he had the right to speak last. Then he roared, furious, his eyes filled with hatred:
"This woman sacrificed her own son! She also killed my son and harmed my clan. We lost an artifact core; it will take years for us to participate in another Rank S mission. This was irreparable damage, even worse for the Empire, added to two mission failures."
The supreme judge snorted, showing some boredom. But then his eyes lit up.
Everyone waited for his words, while Rhea, Damon, and everyone behind them could only tremble, powerless. The chains prevented any movement, any use of power — even speaking was impossible at that moment.
The judge stood up, and everyone stared at him:
"Well... two failures have already happened in the past, as well as betrayals. Based on history, the damage from these two failures will last for at least twenty years. This will lead to the loss of countless High Humans, who will die due to insufficient resources in missions. The penalty for this is level 5 execution."
"Now, the penalty for betrayal, in this case, also requires the maximum penalty of level 5. So... you're quite lucky! It's been nearly a century since anyone unlocked the level 6 penalty."
He finished with an excited, macabre smile blossoming on his face.
"You are considered the highest danger to the Empire and must be punished immediately, here and now. Since everyone could be involved — or not — and the level 6 penalty is stricter to ensure the safety of the Empire, all of you will be punished together. Bring forth the Nine Hells Artifact!" he ordered with a booming voice.
Within minutes, a hundred people in military uniforms entered the hall. All held blood-red needles in their hands and surrounded the clan members at the center with cold gazes.
The judge made a light gesture: "First, to set an example, the leader will go first. Then, the woman. After that, the rest. BEGIN!"
One figure stepped forward...
Without waiting a second, the red needles shot from their hands, piercing Damon in several places on his body.
There were no screams... he couldn't scream.
But all the hundreds of important figures in that place watched as his skin darkened and dried, his eyes bulged, and his vital energy slowly drained away...
It first absorbed the life from the body; then, the soul was sealed, to be refined in unprecedented suffering.
Right behind him, Rhea had blood tears streaming from her eyes, standing, unable to even move.
She had lost everything...
Everything she loved was gone...
When her son's body fell, everyone felt like her life had completely ended.
That first figure moved and removed the needles. One of them was black — this one was kept. There was Damon's soul, which would undergo a period of refinement.
It took just a few minutes.
"Next." — the supreme judge ordered.
Then, the needles flew and struck Rhea mercilessly.
At the same time...
*Tap-tap-tap-tap...*
Hasty footsteps echoed, entering the courtroom.
It was a military man from the Empire, who stopped in front of the supreme judge, staring at him in silence. The judge looked at him coldly, granting him permission to speak.
"The Rank D mission that was declared a failure ten months ago... they... they returned. In fact, they managed to complete it!"