*Lei*

I awoke in a dark, damp, cold room. My wrists were shackled to the brick wall. Thankfully the shackles were long, allowing me to move my arms with relative ease.

Footsteps could be heard coming from down the hall. I pulled my upper body up. The room was a jail cell.

"Hello," said Eien as he turn his icy eyes toward me.

"Eien, where are we? Why am I being kept here?" I said. "What happened?" My turquoise eyes hit the floor. "Actually, how is it that I'm even alive?"

"You turned into a monster of the Abyss. They need to make sure you're not a threat to us. Don't worry you'll be facing trial soon."

"Trial?"

"Yeah, the Seven Grand Judges will be deciding your fate." He held an apple toward me and threw it. I managed to catch it in time.

The Seven Grand Judges? As in the Supreme Magic Council? Why are they involved?

"Enjoy that apple. That's all you'll be getting until the trial is over," Eien said, putting his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He snickered and took out a green notebook from his pants pocket and threw it. "There's that too. I wrote a little in there, hope you don't mind. Honestly, you're more analytic than I expected."

I glanced down at the notebook and then looked up to see Eien walk away. "Wait! Tell me, how are the others?" I asked.

The prince stopped and tilted his head toward me. "They're preparing for your trial. If they must defend you they will be ready to do so." He paused. "There were a lot of deaths in that battle."

I punched the mattress under me. "I couldn't... I couldn't save them."

He whispered something that almost sounded like "Neither could I." Eien started to walk away. "Get some rest, you only have eight hours until your trial."

"What time is it?"

"It's already night, as for the day, it's already been a week since the battle," he said. "The dead are still currently being identified and brought back home for burial rites. We are fortunate that we managed to hold down the enemy in Kyuu Seishin."

Eien left me alone in that dark underground... there were no animals but the place was still as daunting as if there were rats all around me.

I couldn't sleep, all night I thought of my classmates, those dead in the attack. Were my friend alive? Had we managed to close that portal?

Sighing, I opened my notebook. No idea how that guy got it, but having it with me was nice. A gasp escapes my lips as I stare at what was written in red ink on the back of the front cover.

What?

The silence was finally broken by more footsteps. This time my visitor was a raven haired, dark skinned woman.

"Lei Lan, your trial will be beginning," she said, staring right into my yes. She had extremely beautiful onyx eyes that seemed to absorb all light into them.

I smiled. "Finally, I've been waiting all night anxiously."

She laughed as she opened the cell. "Funny, you're the first person whom seems to be anxious for a trial in which he may be executed."

I jumped back. "Executed..." I let out a nervous chuckle and stared at my notebook as the chains unlocked on their own. "Why am I not surprised?"

So that's what that guy meant with 'high stakes'.

"You mean you weren't told? That boy, Eien, was allowed to speak to you in exchange for telling you." She walked over to me and removed the handcuffs that held me chained to the wall. However, she quickly put on me a new pair. "You seem like a good boy, nothing like what I imagined a 'monster' to look like."

I chuckled, this time genuinely. "You know, looks can be deceiving."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know."

She escorted me upstairs. The natural light hurt my eyes, having not seen it for a day, though it felt comforting.

"This way," the woman ordered.

I gazed around the place. The surface looked like a palace with its colorful marble statues of cloaked wizards, there had to be like one for every element of magic, even the obscure kinds.

Another thing that made it look like a palace beyond the crystal chandeliers, and red curtains were the hand drawn portraits of the seven Magus Maximi. Each one had a golden and silver frame and were arranged in reverse chronological order starting with Takehaya.

"Takehaya no Mikoto," the woman said, gazing at a man who greatly resembled Eri and Serein. "One of the three deities that governed this world, one of the three heavenly rulers. Also the first Emperor of the first United Xelerian Empire."

"Ōhirume and Tsukumu are the other two," I said, gripping my notebook.

"Yes," she said, nodding. I noticed a smile dot her face when I said Tsukumu. Was she in any way related to him?

The second and third portraits were blackened by smoke so one couldn't see much detail. The second king kind of looked like Iah with his long hair and way of smiling. There was also something about the guy which reminded me of a cat boy I met years ago. No idea why that was considering one had red another green hair, and one could transform into a cat and the other a dragon.

The third king was actually a queen. She also reminded me of Iah in addition to the woman escorting me... Something about the way she looked at you, as if she knew she was stronger than you yet also humble at the same time. Then there was also a resemblance with Nyima's mother...

My escort stared at the portraits of the second and third rulers for a while as if revering her dead ancestors. Were they her ancestors? The way that she smiled at Tsukumu's name and stared at these two who bare great resemblance to Iah... Could this woman have been the mother of Iah?

We move on to the fourth and see another woman. She had the same white hair and golden eyes as Boukayou. Her smile was more similar to that of Eien as well as Mr. Obi as was her pose. She just oozed out the sense of superiority that those two did.

This one is definitely my least favorite.

The following portrait was that of another woman. Unlike the last four rulers this one was the first one to have brown skin instead of fair white skin or beige skin in the case of the second king. Her eyes were also big, like those of the Rios, my mother's clan.

I knew her name from stories my mother told me... The legendary Queen of the Seas, the Princess of the Empire, the Third Takehaya (the second being the second king himself)- her name was Aqua Rios.

The following portrait was of a man who every time I see him I am shocked. He looked so much like me except his eyes were a different shade than mine, also they weren't as slanted as mine.

"Ventus Rios," I whispered in awe.

"Are you two related?" my escort asked, staring at me with interest.

I smiled. "Yeah. He's my great-granddad, the father of my mother's dad."

She nodded and glanced back at the burned portraits. "I see..."

Finally, we came across a seventh portrait, that of the current king; the Seventh King Daisuke no Mikoto, son of Takehaya no Mikoto and Kushina Amadeus."

"We're here," the woman announced. She opened the doors below the portrait of Daisuke.

I stopped and turned toward the empty portrait to the left of the doors.

One day, my picture will be displayed in this hall. I'll pass this trial and make that dream come true. Oh no! I forgot to ask Eien what happened with the exam!

"Come on in," the woman said, touching my shoulder.

I shook my head and walked in, keeping my head low to hide my embarrassment.

Instantly my ears filled up with chatter. Over a hundred people filled up the seats of the court room. Despite the number of people, I quickly caught sight of Wanikiya and Adela. However, I caught no sight of Zelde, Iah, Nyima, Hikaru, or the others, not even my own siblings. Yen and Kun were probably trying to reassure my parents back home that everything was going to be fine.

Eien was also here but kept his distance from the others.

The woman nudged me forth. "Good luck, I must go now." She vanished in a puff of water vapor.

"Who was that woman?" I asked, staring at the empty aisle.

Two nearby guards grabbed me and yanked me over to the front of the court room. One pulled my arms back while the other placed and secured a metal pole in the space between my hands and back so I wouldn't dare escape.

I would've yelled at them to be gentle, but doing so would've probably made things worse for me.

In front of me were seven seats, those of the Seven Grand Judges, the supreme judges of the magic world. The same seven who decided what is or isn't dark magic (not all dark magic is darkness magic nor is all darkness magic dark magic), and also oversee international laws dealing with subjects such as magic organizations to mundane issues such as international trade.

A purple haired man walked into the courtroom. Accompanying him was a brown haired, brown skinned woman who resembled Aqua and Ventus. The two wore crowns made up of gold, silver, and platinum leaves, and were dressed in long, silk, purple robes.

The woman took a seat next to Wanikiya as her husband walked to the front of the room. "We're here for the trial of Lei Lan, now the seven decide this young man's fate!" Daisuke said. Seven figures manifested themselves on top of the ivory seats. Each one of them had their face covered by a different colored veil.

"Lei Lan," one of the judges says. He partially lifted his veil allowing me to see black strands of hair and a piercing blue eye, features similar to that woman from before. Was he her twin brother? "Pay attention young man."

"Sorry," I say, lowering my head.

I thought I heard him laugh. "Now Lei Lan, we are here to decide to your fate." He paused, allowing King Daisuke to take his seat next to his wife.

"The charges against you are that you are a threat to this world, a monster, a being of darkness," another judge said. This judge wore a red veil over her face. "Several witnesses report seeing you turn into what we call a 'Demon of the Abyss'. Are these charges true, can you really turn into a demon as they have stated?"

I nodded. "I am not sure if I can still do it, but... yes that's true." The crowd erupted into a collective gasp and simultaneous chatter.

"He admitted it!" someone yelled. "He's a demon. He's a terror to us all!"

"Now," the red-veiled judge said with a calm demeanor. "He only admitted that he can turn into one, it's not like he said he's some murder. Also, we would love it if you could refrain from screaming your assumptions. This is a court in which we, the judges, decide. There is no room for a mob to decide what is true and not based on some rumors in the media."

"Mr. Obi step forth and give us your case against this boy," the third judge says. This one wears a light green veil, symbolizing the element of wind.

Mr. Obi got up and glared at me with hatred just like he did back when we first met. "This boy isn't normal. He killed a group of those vile creatures without using proper magic, rather he blasted them with lasers infused with dark energy. This dark magic was just like one of the forbidden spells spoken of in the Chained Books. It devoured its targets, turning them into nothing."

Chained Books? Wait, how does he know what's in them if they're forbidden?

I glanced around at the audience. Wasn't anyone else wondering the same thing? Or were contents of a forbidden book common knowledge to a magic teacher?

"May I say something?" Eien said staring directly at the judges.

"Yes," the red veiled woman says.

He flashed the judge a smile before stating his case. "Lei's attacks weren't anything like the forbidden spell Mr. Obi describes besides the end result. The power wasn't even a spell but more like a simple energy blast. Only this one was super charged by his newly acquired powers."

Eien approached me and smiled. He kicked me in the stomach without warning.

"What is he doing?" Daisuke asked, slightly raising from his seat.

"That guy," Adela said, curling her hands into fists covered in flames. Wanikiya grabbed her arms. She flashed him a dark look. "Let go of me! I have to help Lei."

"Adela, calm down," he says.

"Calm down?" she snapped. "How am I supposed to calm down when our friend is being beaten up before our very eyes?"

Adela...

Eien moved in front of me, blocking Adela from view and punched me square in the jaw. "Come on monster, fight back!"

I clenched my teeth and my fists, a thin aura of darkness enveloped me. I wished that I could hit him back. No, that would've looked bad.

"Adela," Eien said, shaking his head at her. "Why do you defend him? If he's a monster?"

"He's not a monster. Would a monster save his comrades?"

"Didn't he almost choke you?" Eien said, grinning.

"What?" I asked, as my mouth fell open despite the pain it caused.

Eien stepped out of the way, allowing me to see Adela's furious face.

"You tried to kill her," the prince continued. "Had it not been for Wanikiya stopping you, you would've become a murderer. Zelde who was at the scene confessed this information to me, so I have little reason to doubt its authenticity."

"Damn her," Adela yelled. "To think that I trusted her..."

"Is that true?" the fourth judge says. This one wore a yellow veil.

Adela gazed at me with distressed eyes. Eien is right... I did try to, didn't I? I almost killed Adela... He was right... I truly have become... a monster.

Wanikiya touched her shoulder, snapping her out of it.

Adela nodded. "Yes that's true."

Eien kicked me over the head with the back of his foot.

"Stop it!" Adela yelled as flames erupted from her hands.

Why did she keep defending me? I tried to kill her! Eien was right, I have become a monster.

"The monster is going to come out," Mr. Obi said, stepping back. "Everyone prepare to flee or fight."

"No, restrain yourself Lei," Adela cried. She shrugged off Wanikiya and ran over to me, jumping over the barricade to aid me.

"Stand back Adela," I yelled. Looking down at the floor, I took in a deep breath. "I won't become a demon! I won't become a monster!"

"Lei," Wanikiya cried, staring at the two of us. "Adela it'll be best if you return."

I gazed up at Adela and Eien, and at the judges whose faces I couldn't see behind those veils. "I won't allow the darkness to control me like that again."

"What assurances do we have?" Mr. Obi snapped.

I smiled. "Well I haven't been taken over have I?"

Eien turned around and put his left hand on my shoulders. "The boy has a point. As you can all see, he managed to survive all that without turning."

"I believe that we've seen enough," the fifth judge said. She wore a white veil. She turned toward her colleagues. "Don't you all agree?"

The yellow veiled man nodded and vanished from view. One by the one the other five followed until on the white veiled woman was left.

"We will now make our decision," the white veiled woman said, vanishing from view.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed having a longer chapter to read for a change xD. I hope to publish the conclusion to the trial tomorrow :3**