Chapter 1 : THE COURT WALLS

On the continent of “Fong Tan,” where no one is born completely innocent, and no one dies completely guilty,

light splits into swords, and the earth cracks beneath the footsteps of those who do not smile.

Its history is not written in ink, but in blood spilled on snow,

and dreams beheaded in temples before they could grow wings.

In this world where courts weigh their scales on the silence of the dead,

“He” emerged from behind the wall for the first time.

A young man who knew the sun only from behind a stone window,

who knew neither love nor hate, anger nor joy.

He was not a legend,

he was not chosen,

he was the master of the court.

And though he had not yet seen the world,

the whole world feared the moment when he would open his eyes to it.

The wind knew his name,

and the walls, which had been pelted by rain for twenty years, now trembled in silence.

In 1872, on a warm spring morning in the south of the continent, specifically in the central southern plains where the fortress of the High Court stands

great, with walls so high that their ends cannot be seen, and all that can be seen are walls piercing the clouds and towering above them

Inside the fort, at the top of the tower, is the wing of the Supreme Court, its walls decorated with the most ancient paintings and legendary weapons hanging on the walls, things that cannot be seen except in the room of an emperor or the master of a satanic sect.

In that room, soft sunlight filters through a large window overlooking a small lake with a goose swimming on it and colorful fish below.

A person sits in a long, wide black robe interspersed with gray threads made of silver, wearing a completely white mask with a golden thread drawn across his left eye from the top of the mask to the bottom.

That person was sitting quietly, looking at a cup of tea that had already cooled.

That person was the current president of the Supreme Court.

While he was looking at the cold cup of tea and thinking deeply, with the mask completely covering his facial expressions,

a simple servant dressed in gray with some black knocked on the door.

“My lord, it is time for my routine with the three elders.”

Van replied without turning around, continuing to stare at his tea.

“Come in, servant.”

The servant obediently entered, knelt on the floor, and repeated the court's motto.

“Let the trees and seas of the sky submit to the justice of God, and let the birds chirp with the voice of balance.” ."

Then the servant looks at Van and says,

“The great court of elders awaits you in the grand inner hall.”

Van picks up a leaf that was flying in the air, looks at it intently for a moment, and says,

“You may leave.”

The servant gets up and quietly closes the door.

Van sighs and clutches the leaf in his hand, then opens his fist again to find that the leaf has disappeared.

Van looks at it and says,

“Why am I like this...”

Van gets up, his black robe opening as he stands, and heads toward the hall. A man dressed entirely in black appears to open the door for him.

Van exits and walks down the court hallway, which is decorated with expensive antiques, from old paintings to ancient manuscripts from various sects and families... The hallway wall is interspersed with a golden strip made of gold and a white floor made of pure white jade.

Van descends a staircase made of black stones until he reaches the outside of the tower, where he overlooks the lake he used to look at from his room and sees servants eating geese and fish and cutting grass.

Van continues on until he reaches a white courtyard, a flat white courtyard with a floor made of white dragon stone taken from the north of the Imperial Mountains.

Van looks at a great inner hall, a majestic hall that is completely black with golden banners bearing the emblem of the court, which is a sword cutting through a feather, surrounded by a dragon, a pen, and a sword in a circle embroidered in silver.

Van stands in front of a completely black gate that has no handles or anything to open it.

Then the gate opens by itself and reveals a huge circular space surrounded by three miniature towers above which are luxurious chairs made of rare black goose feathers with frames made of black metal used in the manufacture of ancient swords.

Van steps forward and sits in a chair placed in the middle of the three towers.

Van looks in front of him and sees the elder, Shin Jeon, nicknamed the Old Balance, sitting solemnly on his chair, wearing a white robe embroidered with a golden dragon, his chest exposed, his long white hair tied behind him, his eyes bearing the weight of fatigue and exhaustion, and his beard long and pure white.

To his right is the second elder, the court swordsman, Lin Hui, sitting calmly with his red sword resting on his lap, wearing a white robe interspersed with dark red threads, with a short beard mixed with gray and black, and short white hair with small black strands.

He wears a red ring bearing a strange emblem of a white spider.

He is met by a third council of elders, Jade Dragon and Wang Chao, and the youngest of the elders, wearing a white robe with green on his shoulders and back, with black hair tied with a green ribbon, a short black beard, and a warm smile.

He speaks and says

“This is a master greeting the court guards.”

The elders respond individually with one thing:

“This is a elder greeting the master of the court.”

Then the first elder, Shin Jeon, speaks in a calm tone:

“In reality, there is currently nothing that can be said about changes outside, but it seems that the hostility between the empire and the Lion Tower sect has intensified with the rise of its new master.”

Then he carries a report given to him by one of the seven judges, the third judge of the Supreme Court in Wadi Shar, and continues

“This report came to us from the sixth judge, saying that the Morim alliance is constantly sending delegations to Lady Shuhwa, one of the four evils, to reduce her activities in the central plains and reduce prostitution because it leads to landowners.”

The third elder continues, laughing softly,

“It seems that the new young people are enthusiastic these days, he, he, he...”

The first elder responlds, saying,

“In fact, I see this as recklessness from a certain perspective, and merely a way for the Morim Alliance to find a reason to declare war on the Four Evils.”

A third elder speaks after a moment of silence in a calm tone,

“The Morim Alliance is vast and full of different forces. I don't think they would unite to do something so reckless... What do you think, young man?”

The third elder says, looking at Van, who returns his gaze and says,

“We are a court and cannot cast suspicion on individuals or clear individuals of suspicion. For us, everyone is innocent and deserving of punishment, and we do not intervene unless our intervention is requested or we see that justice has been lost.”

The first sheikh speaks and says,

“I see the truth in what our master says, but our words of suspicion remain mere thoughts that will not leave this hall unless they are verified.”

The first elder returns the report he was holding earlier.

“I think that's enough for today, Your Honor and honorable elders.”

Some of the elders stand up and begin to rise, but then they stop and one of them speaks up.

“One moment, please, elders.”

The elders stand up, look at each other, and return to their seats. Then the first elder says

“Is there anything you would like to discuss, Your Honor?”

Van sighs, then speaks and asks,

“How much time do I have left?”

The first elder replies,

“One year until you receive your full sentence.”

Van looks deeply at the elders and says,

"Ever since I opened my eyes, all I have seen are servants, elders, and high walls. Beyond that, I see only a cold, white courtyard. I am required to judge fairly between great groups and powers, yet I have never even seen what the grass outside looks like... So I believe I must leave the court for a year before my inauguration, during which time I will see who I will judge between, and also... so that I can know who I am, where I came from, and whether I have a family, a homeland, or even a home outside the court... I want to go out and see the world, elders."

To be continued...