Then, a voice slithered through the void, its timbre as smooth as poisoned honey, every syllable honed to a deceptive sheen.
From the heart of the fractured assembly emerged a figure, bathed in an unblemished radiance that cut through the surrounding chaos.
Cloaked in a robe emblazoned with the sacred sigil of the Light, it proclaimed in a voice that dripped with practiced authority, "I stand as counsel for the Defense."
Lin's muscles coiled like a spring, his instincts screaming that this confrontation had been orchestrated long before his arrival. The odds, it seemed, had been stacked against him from the start.
The Defense executed a bow with exaggerated elegance, a display designed to lull the unwary into complacency. "We concede that certain procedural nuances may have been overlooked," it began, its tone dripping with false magnanimity.
"We do not dispute the presence of... collateral emotional effects. But let us be clear: the very notion of fabrication is a matter of perspective. When a civilization embraces a divine figure, regardless of its origins, divinity is conferred in hindsight. This is not deception, but rather, the artful cultivation of faith,a necessary measure for the preservation of order."
Zhou's sharp intake of breath hissed through the air. "They're saying truth is irrelevant; only consensus matters."
Lin stepped forward, brandishing the anchor. "I submit secondary evidence."
The Defense smiled,a flawless, beautiful smile that held not a trace of warmth. "Denied. Additional submissions are restricted without the presentation of Sovereign Override Authority."
A cold dread coursed through Lin's veins. The tribunal had rigged the game from the start, rewriting the rules the instant he stepped into the arena. Without a sovereign token,a relic so rare even the gods seldom possessed one—his complaint would be dismissed as nothing more than an "unsubstantiated emotional outburst," erased from the tapestry of history as if it had never existed.
Suddenly, Zhou's voice crackled urgently over their private comm link. "Lin! The override coin,your mother's last gift!"
His fingers trembled as he fumbled inside his coat, finally closing around the cracked coin. It pulsed with a faint, indomitable glow, a beacon of hope in the encroaching darkness. Though not a recognized sovereign mark, it bore the hallowed stamp of Clause 315: "Special Audit Override. Mortal Emergency Activation",a desperate measure, a last - ditch gambit.
Lin's grip tightened around the coin, his knuckles white. Then, with a resolute sweep, he raised it high, a symbol of defiance against the oppressive tribunal.
In an earth - shattering explosion, the mirrored plane shattered into a million shards.
The anchor in his other hand and the override coin resonated in a powerful symphony, sending shockwaves rippling through the very fabric of the tribunal.
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