Ryuusei took note of the seemingly agressive looks he and the eighth judge were getting from the other two in the room, deciding to bring it up later when they were alone again.
He quietly sat down besides Judge Dushi, waiting patiently and silently as the Third Master spoke. He already felt like he had been invited to something big, so he better not spoil it.
”Alright, straight to business” Yasha started as the four judges leaned in to listen.
”You all know the four deadliest places of the afterworld; the Freezing Mountains, the Strained Desert, the Scarlet Canyon, and the Death Caves. All of the places hold different treasures, the mountains hold weapons, the desert holds magic, the canyon holds armors, and the caves hold stronger magic compared to the desert. I want the four of you to check on the places of significance, one per place. Yanluo—“ the master turned to the fifth judge ”—the caves, Chujiang, the canyon, Pingden, the desert, and Dushi—“ the master’s eyes land on the eighth judge ”—the Mountains…” the master stopped as he leaned against his chair.
He turned to each of the other judges except Dushi, nodding subtly as the three of left nodded as well and left the room, closing the door completely shut.
Now, the only people left in the room were Dushi, Yasha, and Ryuusei. The eighth judge was a little shaken by the unexpected exit of the other judges and the fact that he and Ryuusei were the only ones who were not invited to leave.
The master leaned in a little closer to the two.
”Congratulations…” the master told the eighth judge as he pat the judge’s back.
Ryuusei listened carefully while the Third Master spoke, mostly out of curiosity. He remembered the name of the mountains from a previous discussion, so he wanted to know a little more about what was going on.
When the other judges left the room, he was preparing to get up, when he noticed neither he nor the judge had been dismissed, so he sat back down, a little on the edge. He was surprised when the man congratulated the judge who looked just as on edge as he was. Wonder what was the congratulation for
”What for my lord?” the judge too, was confused by the congratulations. Something to note here was the fact that the judge had called the Master by the term ‘my lord’.
”You don’t know? You have just been granted a new rank” the Master spoke up as the judge’s eyes widened as if they were going to come out of his socket.
”You’ve been keeping your judgements fair and square, you’ve treated all your guests nicely and the comments from both heaven and hell agrees that your judgements are the most trustworthy. That’s why from today and right now onward…” the Master summoned a golden and amethyst badge in his hand, the gold was shaped as a diamond while the amethyst formed a dragon with a small ruby as its fierce eyes ”…you will be referred to a Grand Judge rather than a Judge” the Master waved his hand as the badge attached itself to the judge’s collar.
The judge stood up and bowed.
”Thank you my lord, I will cherish this badge from now onward” the judge claimed, straightening himself.
”Fun fact, you’re the first of this generation of judges to have been given this rank as well” the Master said with a small smile and a shrug.
The judge was in shock. He was speechless.
Hearing about a rank promotion, Ryuusei internally congratulated the judge. It must have been a great honor for the man, especially after the Third Master specified he was the only one of the current generation to receive that badge.
Still, that made him wonder. How would this affect him if the judge had been promoted?
This meant something deeper than meets the eye for the eighth judge. Other than the meaning, the rank granted him a boost in his magic as well.
”Well now, off you go, to the Freezing Mountains that is” the Master gave one last smile pass the shadowy hood he had on him and snapped his fingers.
The eighth judge and Ryuusei were transported immediately from the Master’s castle to the base of the Mountains. The temperature change was significantly, the winds which blow in all directions gave the judge chills down his spine. He eventually adapted to the sudden and unexpected change.
He turned to Ryuusei and pressed his thumb on the visitor’s arm, leaving a purple mark. He then casted a spell which created a sphere around Ryuu, giving him a warm sensation and a hint of euphoria.
”You’ll be safe in that bubble, reminder that the bubble only last for half an hour… let’s go find a weapon that would suit you while we’re here, shall we?” the judge asked, raising a brow to smile teasingly with a soft giggle.
Being suddenly transported on the freezing mountain came as a bit of a shock, not just because of the remperature. The first few seconds felt a little pleasant before it turned into a freezer.
That's why, when the judge summoned the bubble around him, he was deeply grateful.
"Mn. Let's go. Though, my lord, how will i know which weapon suits me?"
”One in two ways; the first being that the weapon will be magically attracted to you, or two, the weapon will shine when you get close to it. This though doesn’t work for people like me who already have weapons” the judge explained as he guided Ryuusei up the mountain path. There was nothing worth noting during the first three minutes or so and after that, the judge spotted a glowing light between the snow covered trees.
”And there’s one right there” the judge gestured towards the weapon.
(This weapon will be of your choice. You can also name it and give it a ‘signature magic’ if you’d like to)
(he'll get it that easy? or do we have a tiny bit of drama first? qvq)
(Oh… nothing’s easy in this world, who do you think I am. With that said though, I won’t spoil what will happen wink)
Ryuusei turned his head towards the direction the judge gestured, noticing the glow as well. He made his way between the trees, ending up in a small clearing on a cliff. In front of him, there was a messy pile of various weapons and rocks, yet the glow seemed to come from within that pile. One by one, the boy removed the rocks and some of the weapons in the pile, until reaching the source of the glow.
He stuck his hand in a large crevace in the stone and pulled out a golden item shaped like a crescent moon with an elongated diamond like shape pierced in one of its ends, no bigger than his hand with all fingers spread. The item's fluorescent glow persisted as Ryuusei turned it on all sides, inspecting it.
"Uum, my lord? What kind of item is this?"
It didn't look like a throwing star, nor did it give off any clue as to what it could be used for.
The judge examined the item from afar.
"I… I'm not entirely sure myself actually…" the judge accepted. The judge was, however, giving off a concerned face. Looking behind himself, the judge was met with a centipede-like creature, approximately the length of ten feet long and as wide as a muscled human. The creature opened its mouth and revealed three rows of teeth arranged spirally along its mouth. The teeth were rotating as the creature dug deep into the ground and headed straight for Ryuusei.
"Be careful!!" the eighth judge had yelled out, rushing towards his visitor though he wasn't able to match the speed of the damned creature that was underground.
(Fuck centipedes bruh o.o das one epic monstah * v *)
(clears throat Expect.More.Coming)
(Altrince gives a sinister grin and fades into the darkness)
In the blue doored room, there were two figures, both of which were playing instruments. Though unlike the fourth judge’s musicians, these people were playing quite modern instruments; one a piano, and the other an acoustic guitar.
They didn’t have any masks or anything really on them, they just looked like they were having fun.
Koki stayed in the doorway, watching the musicians and their fingers as they moved along their instruments with precise movements. Her eyes were filled with stars, she wished she could play anything as well as they did.
One of the musicians, the guitarist turned towards the door and saw the small girl outside. He invited her in as the female pianist nodded, welcoming her with a smile.
”Hey there lil’ fella, why don’t you come in a sit with us?” the man asked. He seemed warm, representing the first judge a bit.
Ryuusei managed to turn around in time to see a small glimpse of the creature and jump out of the way, barely escaping the thing coming at him - thank the heavens his reflexes were sharp.
While in mid air, he could see the hellish pit the creature's mouth was, erupting from the ground towards the skies, as if trying to swallow him whole.
"What is this thing?" he shouted towards the judge as he barely landed on a secure patch of land, a small distance away from the cliff edge he'd jumped from. He still carried the crescent moon item in his hand, holding it tight but still not knowing what to do with it.
One of the musicians, the male guitarist turned towards the door and spotted Koki. He went over and opened the door.
”Hey there fella, why don’t you come in and sit with us?” the man asked with a warm smile, resembling that of the first judge’s. The female pianist turned to the door and gave a welcoming grin as well. She seemed graceful and fitting for the elegant instrument she played.
The eighth judge rushed through the snowy slopes of the mountain, attempting to touch the figure the best he could only to miss by an inch almost every time. The creature knew his powers, it had to.
The judge threw his pearl up as it shined, giving off a bright purple that formed the shape of a sword.
”If I were to guess, it’s a Soul Gobbler, though not the typical ones… usually they’re only the size of a finger, this one is not” the judge answered before he jumped out of the creature area of attack.
”Damn it, I could really use Songdi right now…” the judge cursed to himself, he wanted the third judge to be here and for a good reason. The third judge was a fierce fighter and a talented one as well. His powers did not have as many restrictions as the eighth’s.
The creature came straight at the eighth judge when he wasn’t paying attention. The speed of the creature was phenomenal and the judge did not have the time to move away from the attack.
Shit… the judge thought as his eyes widened in both fear and surprise.
One of the musicians, the guitarist turned towards the door and saw the small girl outside. He invited her in as the female pianist nodded, welcoming her with a smile.
”Hey there lil’ fella, why don’t you come in a sit with us?” the man asked. He seemed warm, representing the first judge a bit.
"Hello, mister, miss." Koki greeted, hesitantly heading into the room and sitting against the wall. "You two play very, very good! It sounds awesome." She nodded energetically, still acting like they hung the stars.
A metallic vibrating noise rung in the air, before the Gobbler was deviated from it's path by a strong blow to the side, that nearly sliced it in half. The vibrating noise continued, this time accompanied by a long shiny object spinning rapidly in the air, before embedding itself in the ground, the vibration still strong.
Turns out that in the middle of the chaos, Ryuusei had felt that, throwing the weird object at the worm was the best idea, and so he did. He did not expect it to transform into a large lance that went flying in the air, attacking the Gobbler as it was charging at the judge. The weapon emitted faint purpleish blue light as it slowly stopped vibrating, its shape seemingly moving slightly, as if made of flames or liquid
The two musicians looked like each other and laughed.
”We’re still practicing, some parts aren’t as smooth as we want them to be but of course, practice makes perfect, right?” the male joked a bit. His eyes were very small, it looked almost as if he was closing his eyes at all times.
When Koki was seated and was leaning against the wall, the two started to play the piece they were playing before Koki had opened the door. It was then that it was clear that the song did have lyrics to it… which only the gentle male sang with his tender almost dreamlike voice…
At last, once again
The song that I sang
Reflected against
The surface of the moon
The scars that I hide
In the words I despise
Hopefully, you will see
All the pain that’s inside
From spring to the fall
From hot turned to cold
My heart and my soul
Couldn’t withstand such a change
The seasons, the cycle
I hope will end
For the winter I hate
Shall never come back again
All the tears that I cried
Have been frozen in time
The lunar reflected
The solar ignited
The fields, the songs
The righteous, the wrong
I don’t care…
Unless you are there…
And I run, and I run
And I chase after the sun
To the endless horizon
Where you were supposed to be
All I see, just a feather
Tender and sweet
As the clouds, pull you away…
From me…
(Poem Credit : Silver [Me])
(This might make sense later on)
”Thanks… you saved my life there…” the judge breathed heavily as he knelt down and touched the still twitching body of the Gobbler.
”Systematic Shut Down…” the judge said aloud as the body of the creature stopped moving completely.
”… and that lance, I have to say I’m quite impressed” the judge managed to crack a smile as he mentioned the weapon Ryuusei just got.
"Whoa!" Koki breathed, eyes wide. "That was amazing!" She cheered, clapping excitedly. "Are you two performers? If you aren't, you should! You'd get so much money and fame with how good that is!"
"Y-you're welcome, my lord…" He hadn't expected this outcome at all, let alone the transformation of the seemingly useless crescent moon item he'd received.
He approached the judge with steady steps, his eyes on the lance embedded in the ground. The crescent moon object was at the base of the weirdly shaped glowing blade, apparently connecting it to the long handle, with a seemingly sharp arrow like head at its end. When Ryuusei got close enough to it, the weapon seemed to melt, leaving only the gold crescent moon behind.
"I had no idea it could do this…" he muttered, picking it off the ground to look at it again