Sovereign of the Karmic System



"I am accused of what?" Daniel asked dumbfounded.

Order's palm slammed heavily against the table, startling the nearby aspects of existence. "Of the unjust murder of the aspects of Horror and Equilibrium." He repeated. "What say you?"

Once again, Daniel could not believe what he was hearing. He had indeed played a crucial role in the deaths of those two particular aspects of existence, going as far as killing one of them himself, but unjust? He could not believe that words had been used.

In a fit of indignation Daniel turned to look at the aspect of Instinct, the so-called seer that had been tasked with verifying the truth in Daniel's words. A creature whose infallible instincts should have revealed to him that both of those deaths could hardly be called unjustified. "What makes their deaths unjust?" He asked. "Prior to their deaths, both Horror and Equilibrium were actively trying to kill me. Am I not allowed to defend myself?"

Order did not answer the question and instead turned to look at the aspect of Authority, who had just now finished putting his outburst into writing. Her fingers brushed against the edge of the book, stopping only once they came upon a slip of blue paper stuck in between pages. As she pulled the piece of paper, a stack of pages flipped to one side, uncovering a different section of the book.

"According to our records, Lady Equilibrium was slain while fulfilling her duties. Her objective being the judgment and subsequent annihilation of one of Destiny's champions, the then wielder of the karmic system and mortal cultivator Dan Hiel." She read. "You, lord Karma."

For the first time, at the mention of the aspect of Equilibrium, a semblance of emotions other than anger had appeared on Order's barely visible face. His hands resting heavily onto the table, tightened into fists as the hatred within his eyes deepened. His chest deflated and inflated slowly as several deep sighs escaped his chest. 

To him, the late aspect of equilibrium was more than a figure he would meet at intervals of thousands of years. She was a third of the triumvirate that kept in check all aspects that did not belong to the primordial pantheon, and so the two had done together with the aspect of law for billions of years. The nature of their relationship was the closest thing to a friendship any member of the pantheon had ever experienced, and it was mostly his desire to avenge her unjust murder that had fueled his hostility towards Daniel.

"She was doing her job. Ridding the multiverse of filth like you under order of High Lord Fate himself. You had no right to kill her." Order said through gritted teeth.

"I will ask again, was I not allowed to defend myself?" Daniel asked one more time.

To answer was the aspect of Authority, whose fingers were casually flipping to the next page of her book, "Had you been an aspect of existence at the time, lady Equilibrium would have had no right to judge your existence through the lenses of her power. Her murder, whose details are still unknown to us, took place before you joined our ranks within the pantheon of aspects of existence, therefore your death sentence was deemed warranted, and just."

Daniel let out a loud scoff. "And I assume you find no problem with the notion that a champion of destiny could have killed an aspect of existence within her own domain, where she was at her strongest. Correct?" 

Instinct's interest was piqued.

"What are you implying?" Sentience asked just before any other aspect could.

"That you are a bunch of idiots." Daniel responded before turning to the side in dejection. In his mind the memories of Equilibrium's death played on repeat, showing the sequence of events that had culminated with her death at the hand of the aspect of Conflict. Thousands of years old, and yet still clear as the moment he had witnessed them. Nevertheless, while Daniel's knowledge and Instinct's unique ability to perceive the truth could have easily exculpated him of at least this one crime, Daniel chose to hide the truth. 

What was the point? He asked himself.

Escaping the charge of Equilibrium's death would not prevent him from being found guilty of the other murder, for he was the one who had killed the aspect of Horror. He had done so in front of the aspect of Chaos, and in front of Instinct's powers, denying would have been futile. If he could not escape punishment altogether he might as well not waste time trying, he thought. In any case, he had come here ready for a fight, and the only way he saw to avoid one, would have been for Sacrifice to surrender the hostages and let them leave peacefully. A possibility that became less likely every second.

Even if the mention of Conflict could have somehow caused both charges to be dropped, Daniel would have still remained quiet, for he was unwilling to reveal any more details of his ascension. Details that Instinct could have used to infer the exact sequence of events, the specifics of his ascension, and what he had to pay in exchange to succeed.

"There is something he is not saying." Instinct said. His eyes narrowed into slits as his body leaned forward, as if observing from that bit closer could make a difference. He then turned towards the aspect of Order, and begged with impatience, "Ask him more. Ask him what happened. Any answer will do, no matter whether truthful or not."

The two exchanged gazes, but while Instinct's was one of intrigue, Order looked back with unwillingness. He knew that the instincts of the naked man would never be wrong, but this time, they had the potential of uncovering secrets that could spare Karma from judgment. After all, Daniel had not rejected their accusation. What else could intrigue the man so, other than a turn of events, a revelation that Daniel was innocent all along?

He did not want that to happen, but eventually Order's true nature took over and he chose to follow Instinct's suggestion. 

Before he could speak, however, Daniel interjected. "What of Horror's murder, then? Our battle was a duel between aspects of existence, and of equal tier. How is the outcome any of my fault?" He asked Authority.

"Your fault did not lie in your actions, but in your justifications, Lord Karma. Our records indicate that it was you who annihilated countless of his champions, and killed him during a sanctioned quest for expansion." Authority explained.

"He did so to protect us! We would have been wiped out without his intervention!" Roley retorted while springing up on his feet, attracting the attention of every aspect of existence present, all shocked by his insolence, "First you accuse him of murder for killing the aspect of Equilibrium as a mortal, and now you blame him for defending us. Make up your damn mind. Either we are worthless enough for our existence to mean nothing, or we aren't."

"Enough with you!" Sentience bellowed. The painted lines of blue power had once again merged into a single dense blob, then shot in Roley's direction, intent on eradicating any form of consciousness present within his body. Before the attack could hit its mark, however, a lick of golden power whipped it out of course, bursting it into sparks of blue light.

The clash had been invisible to the eyes of mortals, and yet, the power it produced reverberated across space, causing the entire universe to tremble uncontrollably.

"Lord Karma, please have your followers remain seated, and quiet. This is no place for him to speak." Authority said in fear that Daniel would retaliate, and chaos would ensue. 

Luckily, despite her worries, Daniel did not seem bothered by Sentience's attack. He had remained seated the entire duration of the trial, only bothering to look back at them in short moments of defiance or whenever he had a question to ask. 

"Answer the question, then." Daniel said while ignoring Sentience's angered stare.

  "You did so to protect mortals, therefore placing mortal lives above that of a high member of the pantheon." Authority responded.

A *tch* sound escaped Daniel's mouth as he once again turned to look at the opposite table. What he had guessed would happen had finally happened. 

His eyes brushed past the several faces, and stopped once they came upon the aspect of Sacrifice. "Nice ring." He grinned after a few moments of careful inspection. At the same time, under the table, the side of Roley's foot had tapped his own, causing a hint of excitement to appear on his face.

"Something is about to happen." Instinct suddenly said, alarming his two companions.

Before the two could do anything, Daniel's voice echoed, "Well then, guilty of both. What is my sentence?"

Waves of excited white flames emerged from the towering body of Order, who stood up menacingly. Never in his wildest dreams had he hoped to hear these words from him, and now that he had, there was no hesitation to stop him, "Representatives of the pantheon, what punishment do your factions seek for the crimes of Karma?" He asked.

Sacrifice and Deceit immediately sprung up on their feet. "In honor of High Lord Chaos, we ask that the murder of Lord Horror is punished by death." The former said.

After him, the aspects of war stood up, "The faction of the primordial aspect of Conflict requests for a trial by combat."

"What about you two?" Order asked the aspects of Control and Authority.

The two looked at one another, then turned towards the aspect of  Instinct. "My Lord, what do you make of this?" Conflict asked, breaking the silence she had maintained throughout the trial.

Instinct smiled. "I think that he is hiding something. Enough information to possibly turn the tides of this trial, but that he is refusing to disclose it, choosing the path of violence instead." He said with a matter-of-fact tone. "I also think that it does not matter whether your faction asks for his acquittal now, since he confessed."

Control and Authority once again looked at one another, and after sharing a nod, Authority rose to her feet and said, "The faction of high lord Fate asks for capital punishment." 

Satisfied by the outcome, Order turned to Sentience, who stood up like the rest had before him, and said, "In the name of high lord Origin, I ask for the death sentence as well." 

On the opposite side of the table, Instinct shrugged in resignation. As the seer, he was not allowed to vote. Not that it would have made a difference.

After all those present gave their judgment, Order's body relaxed, allowing for his deep voice to leave his throat in a clear tone and in between slow breaths. "You have been judged unfit to be a part of the pantheon, and will be executed under the authority of the high lord Fate." He said as an infinite amount of white flames engulfed the hall. "Find solace in the thought that your power will live on in your next reincarnation."

"Let's see if you can kill me first." Daniel said as his hand rose above the table. In between his fingers, a single fist-sized orb of colored glass.

"DODGE!" Instinct yelled as the orb escaped Daniel's grasp.

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