Among the royal court sat the fourteen royal judges, and before them knelt a woman shackled and beaten.
The royal courtroom was filled with silence as the judges glared at the figure in front of them.
"We gather here to pass judgment on Oriana, Hand of Death," the voice of the middle judge filled the room.
"The defendant is being accused of the following crimes: Genocide of the Red-fangs, Genocide of the Widow-backs, destroying the seed of two worlds, and the murder of over two billion souls. If found guilty, the punishment will be death."
Oriana did not feel bad about what she had done, and there was no denying the accusations. It had to be done, and these people would never understand.
She kept her head down as she listened to the fourteen pass their judgment for each crime.
"We have witnessed firsthand the slaughter you brought upon the Red-fangs and are certain beyond doubt that Oriana, Hand of Death, is guilty of their genocide," the middle judge stated.
Oriana smirked.
She would do it again if given the chance.
She did contracts for Death, and if it wanted her to kill billions, she would, no, she did kill billions.
"The Widow Backs faced the inhumane and unjustified cruelty of Oriana. They were slain in cold blood, and for this, we find Oriana, Hand of Death, guilty."
The crowd in the courtroom cheered.
They hated her. Every soul hated the Hand of Death.
She couldn't remember the last time she met someone who didn't fear or despise her. She had not spoken a word in centuries and wanted to face her death in silence.
"The destruction of two worlds witnessed by me, Head Judge of the Fourteen, as she consumed the life seeds within and let every soul vanish along with the world. For this, we find Oriana, Hand of Death, guilty."
The memory of consuming the life seed brought a smile to her face.
The power she gained from those tiny seeds was beyond anything she had ever imagined.
"With the genocide and the destruction of two worlds, we find Oriana, Hand of Death, guilty for the murder of two billion souls."
She did not regret any of these crimes. In her mind, they had to be done.
She could have questioned her orders from Death, but she saw no reason to. She had one purpose, to kill, and she excelled at it. She would not be kneeling before the most prestigious court if she were just another contractor for a god.
"Judgment has been passed upon the guilty. Do you have any last words before the punishment is passed down?"
Oriana lifted her head, giving a bloody smile to the head judge.
Her face turned serious, and she glared into the judge's eyes before spitting bloody mucus on the marble floor.
Her head fell once more as the two escorts beside her struck her with the butt of their polearms.
"Very well. On account of the royal court, we pass the punishment of death by royal fire on Oriana, Hand of Death," the voice of the head judge deepened with the power of his six cores behind it.
The crowd erupted in cheers as the judges rose to leave the courtroom and prepare for the public execution.
Before they could make their way out, a presence filled the room as the doors shot open, startling everyone.
Everyone except the prisoner.
"Death will not be brought to this monster," a commanding voice echoed.
"She will be soul-bound and sent to an outer-world."
The crowd gasped.
Silence returned.
Oriana's head snapped up.
Soul-bound?
She would rather die the worst death a million times over.
And to the outer world? She couldn't fathom such a punishment.
Surely, someone would see reason and stop this.
Her eyes locked with the royal king's.
"No." The word slipped out before she could stop it.
The king raised a brow.
"No?" he said, disbelief in his tone. No one has ever heard the Hand of Death speak.
"You do not get a say in your punishment, Oriana. You committed unspeakable crimes and will receive the worst punishment imaginable."
Panic set in.
She couldn't remember the last time she felt it.
'It's been one... no, two hundred years since I've felt this.' She thought, searching for an escape in her mind.
The outer worlds were nearly dead. They held souls, but no power. She would fade into eternal nothingness.
She would not let this happen.
"No," she repeated.
To her surprise, her voice was calm. Soothing.
"I will die, as it is meant to be."
The king ignored her and turned toward the head judge.
"Get the ritual ready. We'll bind her to her swords. If it's used to kill, so be it. The outer-worlds are dying anyway."
"As you wish, King Leeron," the head judge said, rubbing his necklace before disappearing.
When he returned, Oriana's blades were in his hands. The other thirteen judges were taking their places for the ritual.
Their first mistake was bringing her blades.
Hope sparked as she felt the blades call to her.
She stared at the shining blue swords, powered by the souls she reaped with them.
Each judge had six filled cores. She had eight.
One away from the Dragon Realm.
She was holding back from advancing to her final core, but now she had no choice. If she wanted to survive, she had to bring all she had.
The head judge descended the stairs. White marble thrones towered behind him.
He dismissed the guards and placed the blades before her.
Their power pulsed; the essence of death radiated from the swords. Each blade a piece of Death's scythe, she had earned them when she was chosen by Death.
Oriana's heart sank. She would never see them again. For the last two hundred years, those swords had never left her side, and now? Now she will forever be bound to them, but never able to use them.
She wasn't strong enough to face all the judges, but she would not give up easily. She would take as many with her as she could and force them to kill her.
.
She closed her eyes and reached for the death essence within the swords. She felt the power fill her and enter her cores. She guided it toward the final core and forced it to fill.
Pain ripped through her.
It wasn't enough.
'Am I not ready?' Her vision started to blur as she kept forcing the essence into her core.
"In the name of King Leeron and Acubus, God of Judgment, we offer your soul to be bound to the artifacts present, the Fangs of Death," the judges chanted.
The room shook. As power radiated from the fourteen judges. Together it was like facing down a God.
The blades resisted her pull. The essence pulled away from her as she continued to force it to her last core.
Oriana screamed in her soul. She wouldn't give up. She pushed harder.
The blades responded, finally releasing their hold on the essence.
Her eighth cores flooded with blue energy, death's energy and the ninth opened.
Her soul ignited.
Her shackles shattered.
She rose, her eyes glowing with an eerie blue light. The feeling of death and decay radiated around her as her power surged.
Whispers were heard throughout the room.
"a soulbinder?"
She did not hesitate. She lunged toward the head judge, her swords where they belong, in her hands.
The head judge's body hit the floor before he even realized what happened.
"YOUR SOUL IS NO LONGER YOURS TO WIELD BUT THE ARTIFACTS TO HOLD!" the remaining judges chanted.
The ritual tugged on her soul, but she resisted. They would all die. One by one.
Another judge fell.
'Four down. Ten to go.'
The king's guards moved, necklaces glowing. Power erupted, trying to stop the Hand of Death, but she was a monster and there was no stopping her.
Oriana shrugged off the different abilities that landed. She had one goal, and dammit she would see it through.
She threw a sword at one judge as she kicked off the floor to meet another judge with her other blade.
'Six left.'
The ritual continued. The pull on her soul became more noticeable, but she fought on.
'Three left.'
The last word of the ritual was finished and her entire world stopped.
'No.. no no no.. NO!'
It was too late. Her soul had been bound and despite the power she held, she was defenseless. Abilities continued to land as she took a lightning bolt to her thigh, and a dragon made of air bit into her neck, but none of that compared to the tear within herself.
Her arms stopped.
Her legs buckled.
She dropped to her knees, blades clattering to the floor. Their blue glow dimmed as the power drained.
The blue glow in her eyes faded. Her mouth fell open, but the words would not come out.
She looked up one final time, meeting the Kings eyes.
'I don't know how and I don't know when, but I will kill you, I will kill all of you.'
They saw her as a monster, but nothing will compare when she returns.
The blades levitated, humming with power as Oriana's body and soul were torn from reality. The two swords became one, and the Hand of Death was gone