How many truths have died... because the judge saw through the eyes of his memories?
When wounds blind one's sight, certainty becomes more dangerous than ignorance, and judgment turns into a blade that strikes the innocent before the guilty.
The moment a judge begins to put himself on trial... ruin is born.
Chapter 11: Am I in Reality?
After Eilia delivered a mistaken judgment, he no longer knew where to go.
He walked away from the scene, every step heavier than the last, until even the air itself seemed to press against his chest, suffocating him.
LiliE broke the silence, saying:
"I told you not to judge... but you insisted. And now, who will bear the responsibility? You have taken two innocent lives."
Eilia answered, desperately clinging to what remained of his conviction:
"But... they were guilty. One was beating his mother, and the other was beating his son. How could I not judge?"
LiliE replied in a calm voice, yet it struck harder than any scream:
"They were guilty... yes. But they did not deserve death. You judged before seeing the whole truth."
Eilia shouted in anger:
"Be quiet, LiliE!... Be quiet!"
He continued walking...
...
Tap...
...
Tap...
His feet finally stopped.
Tears slowly streamed down his cheeks.
He whispered with a trembling voice:
"What have I done...? Why did I rush?"
"Will you be satisfied with me... or will you despise me?"
"What have I done with these hands?"
"I wish I had died before doing that..."
Memories flooded his mind like a torrent.
He remembered the days when he used to search for the truth before delivering any judgment.
He remembered the very first victim who stood before him, crying out with every last shred of hope:
"I'm innocent..."
But he did not believe her.
Now...
He was the one searching for the truth.
He raised his head toward the sky and whispered:
"Who am I...?"
"Have I lost the light I once believed in?"
"Or has the darkness I fought... finally won?"
Then he began murmuring words that rose from the depths of his heart, as though they were a confession he could no longer bury:
"Ah... if only time would turn back, I would have taken my soul with her and left..."
"I wish I had died in her place and never heard the news of her death..."
"The deeper the wound grows... the more the heart longs..."
"My heart... help me die..."
"Why does it hurt this much...?"
Silence fell...
LiliE spoke in a faint voice:
"I know who those words are meant for..."
Then she closed her eyes and continued:
"But... don't expect the past to grant you its forgiveness."
Eilia reached the bank of a quiet river.
He sat silently by its edge.
He held the violin with both hands.
He closed his eyes...
Then he began to play...
[Slow, mournful notes, as though they were an endless farewell. The bow glides hesitantly across the lower strings, releasing a cold lament that cuts through the silence, mourning a soul that has lost its way.]
"Am I awake... or is my night an illusion?
The throne of my judgment... has fallen into ruin.
I see you before me... drifting like mist.
Who among you is pure... and who is the captive?
Are you criminals... stripped of conscience?
Or are you victims... of a merciless age?"
[The melody stretches painfully slow. His fingers move heavily across the strings, while the faint friction echoes like the groan of a heart exhausted by regret.]
"I erased minds... beneath the shadow of memories.
And returned drowning... in an ocean of confusion.
I can no longer see... the certainty of what is right.
My weapon has become... ashes melting away.
The Prince of the Courts... has lost his path.
And my melody... embraces the drowning."
[The movement of the bow slows until it nearly stops. The notes fall like raindrops upon an abandoned grave.]
"For one sin... did my eyes grow blind?
Has my judgment become... a prison of suspicion?
The innocent die... beneath false assumptions.
While the wicked live... behind silent prisons.
I have lost my way... and the guide is gone.
I no longer possess the strength... to bear this endless burden."
[The sound descends into its deepest register. Eilia's hands tremble. No anger... no hatred... only a man mourning what he once called "justice."]
"Who will heal... the wound of judgment?
If my justice... has become the affliction.
Be silent, O violin... for judgment has died.
Nothing remains... but the ashes of grief.
My eyes have gone blind... to the truthful.
And I have become the executioner... of the broken."
[Absolute silence devours the echo of the final note. The bow slips from Eilia's fingers, while the violin remains silent, as though refusing to continue the requiem. He tries to speak... but nothing escapes his throat. He closes his eyes... and after a long silence... only a single whisper leaves his lips...]
"Forgive me..."
...
...
The water did not move.
The leaves did not tremble.
Even the wind...
Seemed to have forgotten how to blow.
A faint smile appeared on Eilia's face.
...
Heh...
...
Heh... heh...
...
Ha... hahaha...
He slowly raised his head, his eyes drowning in an endless void.
Then, in a quiet voice, he said...
"The Judge is dead..."
Silence fell once more.
Then his smile slowly widened.
He said:
"Prepare yourselves..."
"You will witness..."
"The most horrifying Judge this era has ever known."
...
...
To Be Continued...
"When the heart betrays its own conviction... justice loses its judge, and ruin finds its king."