"My Executors would prefer you to drown. Liken to the olden trials of Stars, Moons and Beholders– it shall be performed by a Beholder and a Star."

Galia retrieved the Justitia Scale from her Dimensional Storage and weighed it against his sins. The object functioned purely on Qliphoth derived from 'Sins', which was previously believed to be from Nex.

But this alone made it susceptible to manipulation. As a result, the light behind her intensified with the snap of her fingers, and Raoul's body contorted until he thrust his chest outwards.

"Bartholo. Tighten the restraints. By all that is whole and glorious, the flesh and the vessel that contains what is most undoubtedly 'us', sewed in skin and bones – hides the truth."

She spoke as though reciting sacred scripture. Suddenly, a piece of the floor disappeared.

"May our Healers infuse liquid miracles. Confess, Raoul."

Galia's smile became wicked. She enjoyed watching him flail. Her golden, feathered arm clasped the Justitia Scale until it bent out of shape. In truth, it was the weight of Raoul's measured sins that caused it to bend.

But this was not enough proof.

Once Orth and Thras injected their claws into the sides of his abdomen, a cross-shaped crushed his sternum.

"Gah… Gaaaagh…" Raoul gagged.

Galia poured his blood into the scales as the twins uttered medical measurements and observations. A faint hymn shook the Branch, and it caused pieces of his ribs to begin sliding across the floor.

They moved to precisely beneath Galia's feet as the rod splintered like an umbrella opening. It tore Raoul's body apart, flaying and destroying fur, skin, clothing – until his ribs were exposed to the light.

I'm glad I didn't bring Joy along. I knew it'd be brutal, and there'd be some rib-reading, but shit… Do they do this for everyone?

Thankfully, no. This was only reserved for those whose truths were obscured. As a result, it was a last resort.

Red light formed along Raoul's ribs as the weight of his blood shattered the chalice. And there, etched along those ribs, were the details of his sins.

Galia did not read them aloud.

She only needed to grin to convey precisely what she found.

"Treachery." Jury whispered, her Mantle of Sin bleeding profusely with the same words.

"Of the highest order." Galia announced it to the world. "Of familial blood. Of Divine Light. Of one's nature."

Her golden claws craped against his ribs, creating an oddly harmonious sound like how one would drag a stick along a xylophone. The discordance of his groans, and the utterance of the twins disturbed Frost more than the torturous procedure.

Once his sins were splayed for the world to see, and for the light behind her to confirm, she Galia called upon two figures to approach Raoul.

"Aaaaahhh. Heeeeh~ Another Repenter~ Ooooh! And it's a Star! I'm getting… So… So…"

A Scarlet Healer all too familiar to Frost collapsed at Raoul's legs. Her hands roamed long his body, her fingers digging deep into organs with zeal.

"Poena. This is unsanitary. High blood pressure will cause Dr. Ignis' heart-patch to burst."

The second figure to arrive was a Blood Angel. She noticed Cer immediately and gave her a small wink. Frost could have sworn she mouthed the words: "Babe."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Baby? She thinks I'm still small or something?" Cer was unfortunately oblivious to this.

Poena glossed over Frost entirely. She didn't even recognize her. Nothing made her more happy and ignorant than someone who required honest healing. The Blood Angel, with the mere movement of her right hand, severed her left.

"Facilitating Soul Transferal. Give me a moment to reconstitute his blood." Bloody wings formed behind her. They floated just a meter away from a bloody canister that was almost taller and wider than herself.

This contained Reconstituting Fluids. Then, after shoving her arm into his chest, she plopped two cube glass containers beside her feet.

"Poena. Overheal his arteries. Put the red ones into the containers."

"Already making them all wiggly and long~"

They syphoned his essence into both containers. Eventually, his blood was no longer his own, but Frost's own. At the same time, the pole minced him from the inside out until he was nothing but a smooth paste.

Poena produced a broom-like device with a blade attachment to scrape him off the floors and dump him in equal chunks into the contains. One contained one crimson eye, and another a whole piece of his paw.

Frost watched it without blinking. Raoul's soul was transferred into both containers. One contained the majority (the paw), and the other was but a mere fragment (his eye).

What she noticed was that his Stats were constantly being depleted as well. She recalled how the Repenters mentioned they were weakened since joining Oboros Infinitas.

She found the reason. His lack of a complete Soul, and the dimming of his very own Light has caused his Stats to plummet. Unfortunately, she did not catch how low it went.

But she'd find out once he revived.

"For the Requiem." The Blood Angel flicked her stub, and fingers crawled out like the legs of a hatchling spider. "And this, for his Leviathan. Ensure he reaches a Blood Reservoir and most importantly, a Replication Anchor within the next 12 hours. Failure will result in this piece of his Soul to extinguish."

She gave one piece to Res – the Paw.

And the other…

"Look at you. Cubed up. Same shit. You can't move an inch. Like always." Cer refused to take it.

Thus, it naturally fell into Frost's hands.

Preserving Glass Coffin

< A device used to contain liquified specimens. Specimens are able to live for up to 12 hours. Utilizes Octanid Liquification Vessels to secrete preservation enzymes in low quantities >

"No contract?" Jury questioned.

"'It' signs it with whoever it wants. If it doesn't, then it rots. Up to him. You'd be surprised by how many refuse to sign a contract with a Division. Demon-bound Contracts are quite fascinating."

The Blood Angel – Alcina, the Witch of Mechanical Illusions – smiled gracefully as she combed her long hair with bloodless fingers.

She continued: "A paw for the past. An eye for the future. Think nothing of it, for the illusionary Eyes I prototyped … have all but fallen. Mechanical interventions are but illusions of…"

She tapped a bolt that was embedded into the side of her head.

"… craving for what isn't there."

"Still got a screw loose?" Cer asked.

"Tightened. Only because I knew you'd be here~" Her attitude changed immediately in Cer's presence.

Her tone became softer, and the cryptic language shifted to a maiden in love.

Another important Witch had appeared, and she happened to be one of Cer's… Lovers? Concubines? Harem member? Frost had no idea what to call her relationship with her Healers.

That being said, this Witch was responsible for prototyping Calder Industries' Eyes, which mean she was several centuries' years older than Cer. Though this was an afterthought as Frost held Raoul's gaze.

"I have many things to say. But it would be best to talk to something that has a mouth." Frost latched him to her lonely hip, where several heads would usually hang from. "This concludes the procedure?"

"It would be twice as long." Galia snapped her fingers, and the dome of magical circles vanished along with the light. "With a demonstration of their Corrupted Persona, of course. Our friends at Oboros Infinitas believe it helps etch the trifecta of his psyche. In their words: 'It shall paint a picture of their whole.'"

Ego, Shadow and Persona, with the 'Whole' being the Self, huh.

It was oddly straightforward. Though this was only because Galia conducted it herself. Frost was surprised that she didn't have any words to spare for Raoul. Neither did his sisters. No one mourned for him. Not even the twins seemed to acknowledge what had happened to their old Wayfarer.

… He's completely locked out.

"He did it to himself." Nav repeated Cer's scalding words. "No point feeling bad for someone's who's already dead. He betrayed everyone. Including you."

Indeed.

Raoul was irredeemable, even to Frost's standards. His actions had cost him everything, and he now sat suspended in the container, judged even after his judgement.

"Not everyone, but I understand what you mean."

Her eyes flickered to the indifferent twins. They rejoined Frost's group. She [Cleansed] them of their filth before their eyes moved to Raoul's pitiful form.

Nothing's changed in their eyes. But…

"But? What do you see?"

A flicker.

Something impossibly small sparked in their chests.

It was a colorless flame.

I have no idea. We should take them with us to the City of Strings. See if we can investigate further while we're there.

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