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Chapter 12 : Celestial Judgment
🕑 Added 2024-08-09 16:55:59 +0000 UTCOrion and the others trudged through the dim corridors, the atmosphere shifting. The passageway opened into a room unlike any they had encountered before. It was spacious and stark, with a cold, sterile quality. In the center, three swords stood embedded in the ground, their blades gleaming ominously under the faint light.
Orion surveyed the scene with a frown. “Three swords? We only need one for each team. Why so many?”
Mona, her eyes scanning the room, replied thoughtfully, “Perhaps it’s a test of worth. Maybe the path we took was the most challenging.”
Kitzler, growing impatient, piped up, “Alright, let’s grab all three and get out of here.”
Bennett stepped forward, grasping one of the swords. “Here goes nothing,” he said with determination as he pulled it free from the ground.
Emily, following suit, retrieved a sword for her team. Orion took the final sword, and with a nod, he declared, “Alright, everyone, let’s head back.”
As Orion and the others approached the door they had previously opened, the passage seemed to warp around them. The air grew dense, as if the walls themselves were closing in, and an icy chill settled over them. The oppressive force seemed to claw at their very souls, making their breaths come in shallow gasps.
Orion's pulse quickened, his senses heightened. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his instincts screamed at him. 'Mortal danger.' This was no ordinary threat; it was something far more sinister. His mind raced, but his body was frozen in place by the overwhelming presence. “What the hell is this!” Orion exclaimed, his voice barely more than a whisper. The weight of the fear was palpable, almost physical. Before anyone could react, a figure materialized in front of them. Kitzler, with a look of sheer panic, bolted towards the door, slamming it shut behind him. “Bastard!” Orion shouted in frustration. “I’m going to kill that guy!” The figure was a chilling sight—a man with an ethereal presence, white hair flowing around his shoulders, yellow eyes that glowed with a malevolent light. His long, flowing robe was a mix of red and white, adding to the otherworldly aura that surrounded him. In the face of this terrifying presence, panic erupted among the group. "Who the hell is this guy?" some of them said simultaneously with desperation.
The figure’s gaze was fixed on Orion, never wavering. With a cold, disdainful smile, he spoke, his voice smooth and mocking. “It took some time to find you. But before we continue, it seems the room is rather crowded.” His expression one of disdain. “I suppose it’s time to clean house.” Before anyone could react, the figure moved with such swiftness it was as if he had teleported. Orion's eyes struggled to follow the blur of motion. With deadly precision, the man’s polearm flashed through the air, striking down two of Emily’s teammates in rapid succession. The attacks were so fast, they didn’t even have time to cry out. They collapsed to the floor, lifeless.
The room erupted into chaos. Emily’s eyes widened in sheer horror as she stared at the lifeless forms of her teammates. Her breath came in short, ragged gasps as tears streamed down her face, her hands trembling uncontrollably. “No… No, this can’t be happening!” she cried, her voice cracking with despair.
Bennett’s face turned ashen, his usual bravado gone in an instant. He looked around frantically, trying to make sense of the sudden carnage. “WHAT DO WE DO!” he shouted, his voice tinged with panic.
The man, with his expression as cold and unmoving as ever, shifted his gaze toward Emily and the remaining members of her group. Orion, though still grappling with the shock of the scene, managed to force out a desperate command. “Wait!” he called out, trying to process the gravity of their situation.
Summoning his resolve, Orion launched himself forward with a burst of Pyro, closing the distance between him and the malevolent figure. He quickly erected a wall of ice to shield Emily and her friends from the approaching threat. The icy barrier shimmered with promise, but the man’s presence remained as formidable as ever. With a movement so swift it seemed almost supernatural, he sliced through the ice wall as though it were nothing more than a thin sheet of paper.
In the midst of the chaos, one of Emily’s friends, with a look of sheer determination and sacrifice, pushed Emily out of harm’s way. But the gesture was in vain. The man’s polearm cut through the air with deadly precision, and the friend fell to the ground, lifeless. Emily’s eyes widened in horror as she saw her friend fall, her voice breaking into a heart-wrenching scream. “Sarah!” she cried out, desperation and grief flooding her voice.
Orion's heart pounded furiously as he watched the figure advance toward Emily, his rage and despair mounting with each passing second. His lip quivered with anger and helplessness, and he bit down so hard that blood trickled from the wound, a physical manifestation of his internal torment. His gaze was fixed on the man, who seemed to move with an almost supernatural ease.
The man raised his polearm, preparing to deliver another deadly strike to Emily. Without a moment’s hesitation, Orion gathered every ounce of Cryo energy he possessed. His vision narrowed on the figure as he channeled the raw power, his hands trembling with the effort. With a guttural shout of determination, he hurled a concentrated blast of Cryo energy toward the man.
The blast cut through the air with a chilling swiftness, a freezing wave aimed directly at the foe. But the man’s reaction was instantaneous. He spun around with a fluid grace, his polearm slicing through the air to parry the attack as though it were nothing more than a trivial annoyance. The force of Orion's Cryo strike dissipated harmlessly against the man’s own weapon.
Orion's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched the man effortlessly deflect his attack. Time seemed to stretch out painfully as he witnessed the man finish off the last member of Emily’s team.
Emily was left in stunned silence, her voice lost in the void as she stared numbly at her fallen teammates and friends. The devastation around her was too overwhelming for any cry of anguish.
Mona, her face etched with determination and desperation, snapped into action. With a resolute thrust of her hand, she unleashed her Hydro Vision to its fullest extent, conjuring a colossal water bubble that enveloped the man. The bubble expanded rapidly, the swirling torrents of water crashing around him in a desperate bid to trap him.
“Now, Nico!” Mona shouted, her voice filled with urgency. Nico, seizing the opportunity, leaped into the air with a fierce battle cry, his sword poised for a decisive strike. But as he descended, the man’s expression remained impassive. With a flick of his polearm, he pierced through Nico's attack mid-air, the weapon's tip slicing through the space with lethal accuracy. Nico’s eyes widened in shock as the polearm's blade punctured his side, sending him spiraling downward.
To everyone’s horror, the man stepped out of the water bubble, which had failed to contain him. He walked forward with a casual grace, his polearm held aloft, while Nico fell to the ground, mortally wounded. The light in Nico’s eyes dimmed as he lay there, defeated and broken.
Mona’s gaze turned toward Nico in despair. “Nico...!” she cried, her voice choked with anguish. The water bubble dissipated, leaving the man standing amid the devastation with an unsettling calmness.
Orion stood amidst the chaos, his mind reeling from the brutality he had just witnessed. With a sudden burst of clarity, he shook off his stunned paralysis and shouted, “STOP! BENNETT, CARRY EMILY AND GET THAT DOOR OPEN NOW! YOU TOO MONA LEAVE NOW!”
Bennett, his face pale and eyes wide with shock, hesitated for a moment before snapping into action. He rushed over to Emily, who was still in a state of frozen disbelief, and lifted her gently but urgently. “We NEED to get OUT of HERE!” he shouted, his voice strained.
As Bennett and Mona scrambled to open the door, the man’s gaze shifted towards Orion. For the first time, a cold, unsettling smile crept across his emotionless face. With terrifying speed, he leaped towards Bennett, who was still assisting Emily.
“No, you won’t!” Orion roared, his voice laced with raw determination. His eyes flared with an ethereal light, and his hands began to radiate a powerful, otherworldly glow. Channeling his newfound energy, Orion unleashed a barrage of light Polearms, a pillar of divine brilliance that rained down upon the man.
The figure barely managed to dodge, though one of the searing light pillars grazed him, causing him to stagger momentarily. Orion, now imbued with a celestial aura, focused his gaze on the figure with a fierce intensity. His eyes glowed unnaturally, matching the luminescence of his hands, and the star patterns on his scarf shimmered with an otherworldly brilliance.
“There you are, child of light,” the man said, his voice carrying an ominous calmness as he addressed Orion. His gaze was fixated on Orion with a chilling mix of recognition and contempt.
The figure’s lips curled into a disdainful smirk as he heard Orion's question. “Us?” he echoed, his voice dripping with contempt. “I have no business with the other insects. That’s why I was ‘cleaning the room.’”
Orion's eyes flared with anger at the man’s comment.
The man’s gaze remained fixed on Orion, his expression unchanging. “Indeed. I don’t care if they live, die, or escape. Alas, I’m merciful.” With a gesture, he extended his hands towards the door, still maintaining his unblinking stare at Orion.
“Merciful?” Orion spat, his voice a mixture of disbelief and rage.
Bennett and Mona wrestled with the stubborn door, their efforts proving fruitless as it refused to budge. Bennett's frustration was evident as he muttered, “How the hell am I supposed to get this thing open?”
Before anyone could respond, the figure raised his hands with an air of disdainful nonchalance. A surge of energy erupted from his outstretched palms, and the door disintegrated in a spectacular explosion of wood and metal. Debris scattered through the air as the once-imposing barrier was obliterated.
“Now they can leave,” the man said, his voice carrying an unsettling calmness.
Bennett, seizing the opportunity, quickly picked up Emily, who was still in shock. He turned to Orion with a desperate plea. “Come on, let’s get out of here!”
Mona, catching on, urged Orion to follow. “Let’s go!”
Orion, his eyes burning with determination, shook his head. “Go on! I’ll catch up.”
Bennett’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you crazy?”
Orion's face hardened with resolve. “GO!” he roared, the anger in his voice seeking no argument. After a brief pause, he added more calmly but with equal urgency, “Go. Now.”
With that, Bennett and Mona hurried through the shattered doorway, carrying Emily with them.
As Bennett and Mona rushed through the shattered doorway, their figures receding into the distance, Orion felt a fleeting sense of relief knowing his friends were escaping to safety. But as he turned back to face the looming threat, his resolve solidified. He clenched his fists, his eyes still glowing with an ethereal light that flickered and waned.
With a voice heavy with determination, Orion muttered to himself, "I want to kill him so bad." His ethereal aura began to dissipate, and his vision grew increasingly blurry.
Summoning the last of his strength, Orion confronted the enigmatic figure. "Who are you? What do you want?"
The man’s face remained impassive, but his voice was smooth and deliberate. “You may call me a Celestial Emissary. I did not come here to take your life, child of light. If you adhere to the heavenly principles, you may continue to live in Teyvat. Otherwise, you shall face sealing or death, like all who oppose these rules.”
Orion's voice wavered, disbelief and fatigue creeping into his tone. “What are you talking about?”
The Celestial Emissary’s expression was inscrutable. “That is all we ask.”
As the Emissary’s words sank in, Orion, despite his extreme fatigue, struggled to summon the energy to retaliate. With a final, desperate effort, he raised his trembling hands and tried to unleash a barrage of light, the same attack he had used before. His vision was blurred, and his strength felt almost depleted, but he pressed on with a fierce resolve.
The Celestial Emissary’s gaze remained cool and detached as he observed Orion’s weakened attempt. A faint, mocking smile curved his lips. “Don’t be foolish,” he said with a cold, dismissive tone. “Being stubborn is hardly becoming of you. Save your strength"
“What if I don’t? After what you have done here?” Orion's voice was barely more than a whisper now, his vision blurring further as his strength waned.
The Emissary’s gaze remained unyielding. “Then I wish you fortune in the wars to come.”
Orion, his eyes nearly closing, spoke with pure, unyielding determination. “I will... find... you...”
The Emissary’s lips curved into a cold, calculating smile. “No need. We will.”
With those chilling words, the Emissary’s form seemed to fade into the shadows, leaving Orion alone and on the brink of unconsciousness. The Emissary’s chilling words hung in the air as Orion, his strength finally giving out, collapsed to the ground. His eyes, once glowing with ethereal light, flickered one last time before dimming completely.
