The heavy doors of the trial chamber shut, and silence lingered for several long breaths.
The six priests remained seated on their high dais, their faces shadowed by stained glass light. Then the youngest priest broke the stillness, his voice sharp and bitter:
"A coward. He dares refuse the gods' judgment twice. This boy is no Sage—he's a fraud."
The sharp-eyed priestess folded her hands, her eyes glittering like cold glass.
"No… he is not a fraud. He believes in what he says. But belief does not change the truth. Power of this magnitude is dangerous, no matter the wielder's heart."
The chamber rumbled with murmurs.
---
Another priest, older and heavyset, rubbed his temples.
"You all speak as if the boy is a threat. But what I saw was not danger—it was innocence. He refused to kill, even when pressed. That is not cowardice. That is restraint."
"Restraint?" the youngest priest spat.
"Or weakness?"
The eldest priest, who had remained silent, finally leaned forward. His voice cut through the chamber like a blade.
"Enough."
---
All turned toward him as he rested his hands on the dais.
"Young Ark is not yet fully understood. That much is clear. But to dismiss him outright would be folly. No—this boy is something new. A seed. The question is not whether he is dangerous."
He paused, his piercing eyes scanning each of the others.
"The question is whether he will grow into salvation… or destruction."
---
A tense silence followed.
The priestess frowned.
"Do we allow such uncertainty to walk free? To touch lives unchecked?"
The heavyset priest countered:
"And what would you do instead? Chain him? Burn him? Do you wish to provoke the gods themselves by crushing a gift they've sent?"
The chamber stirred with unease at the thought.
---
The eldest priest raised his hand again.
"We will not destroy him. But neither will we ignore him."
He leaned back, eyes narrowing.
"Place him under observation. If he chooses wrongly—if his power brings disaster—we will act. Until then… let the boy walk his path."
The priests exchanged uneasy glances, some satisfied, others not.
At last, the eldest spoke the final words that closed the deliberation:
"Ark, the so-called Sage, is neither condemned nor absolved. His trial continues. And the world will judge him soon enough."