Chapter 118: The Final Judgment [III]

Ignis rubbed his temples with a heavy groan, the amber flames of his hair dimming slightly. "Can we please get on with this judgment already?"

"Seriously, this entire proceeding is giving me a headache," Morcant, the God of Death and the Underworld, who had been silently observing everything, finally said. "If I spend much longer listening to Asgorath, I swear I’m going to develop a massive migraine."

Asgorath immediately pointed at him. "Now that’s what I’m talking about. Finally, somebody with common sense."

He turned toward the rest of the council. "Please, listen to Morcant. None of us wants to spend any more time listening to this. Artemis and Selene clearly aren’t going to tear each other apart, which is honestly disappointing. Can we get back to my judgment? I would love to wrap this up."

He clapped his hands together with an exaggerated grin. "Come on. Let’s finish this so I can go home and see my family."

The reaction across the High Council was one of sheer, exhausted frustration. Asgorath had always been like this. Nothing ever truly penetrated his skin. For as long as any of them could remember, he had possessed a unique talent for turning every serious matter into a joke. Threats did not intimidate him. Punishments did not frighten him. The Abyssal Prison, a place every celestial feared to be condemned to, did not humble him. Even now, after years in essence-draining restraints, he stood before the highest authority in the Celestial Realm acting as though he were enduring a mildly inconvenient meeting.

The worst part was that arguing with him rarely accomplished anything. He spoke whatever came to mind, ignored every attempt at intimidation, and somehow managed to frustrate everyone around him until they wanted the conversation to end more than he did. To the council, standing here for even an hour indulging him was a dangerous prospect. If they kept him in this hall long enough, Asgorath would inevitably find a way to frustrate them to the point of madness, likely committing another severe crime right in the middle of his own final judgment hearing just to see how far he could push them.

"Let’s just get this over with," Moros grumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose as his dark robes billowed slightly.

Elaria, Goddess of Wisdom and Knowledge, leaned forward from her elevated seat, her golden eyes locking onto the red-haired deity. "Asgorath, do you fully comprehend why you are here? Do you know why you were locked up in the Abyssal Prison in the first place?"

Asgorath tilted his head, a smirking grin still lingering on his lips. "Who wouldn’t know why they’re locked up and being judged? Of course it’s because of my good deeds to the universe."

Elaria closed her eyes for a moment before releasing a slow breath.

"You were locked up because you once again interfered in the affairs of mortals. You altered events within the Human Realm despite having no authority there. As a god, you are strictly forbidden from interfering in mortal affairs, especially in a world that is not your domain—"

"But the Human Realm is everyone’s domain," Asgorath interrupted. "Those being practically worship anything with power. They don’t even care what kind of deity you are, which makes it the perfect realm for any god to establish a domain."

Aethelgard, God of War and Valor, scoffed from his throne, resting his massive gauntleted hands on his knees. "You do not even possess a domain in the Human Realm, Asgorath. Not a single mortal worships you there. Nobody even knows who you are."

?"That’s where you’re wrong," Asgorath shot back instantly, placing a hand over his chest with dramatic offense. "My beautiful, gorgeous, outstanding wife Clara knows me."

"Your Clara is not even a human," Moros pointed out coldly.

?"But she’s in the human realm, isn’t she?" Asgorath asked with a smirk, clearly enjoying the exasperated looks on their faces.

"Your wife does not worship you as a god," Lyra, Goddess of Fate and Destiny, chimed in softly, her fingers pausing over the strings of her golden lyre. "She only knows you as her husband, which makes it entirely invalid as a divine domain."

Asgorath looked toward her, throwing his hands up in mock exasperation. "But in her heart, she knows what and who I am! I still have a domain there as long as one person knows who I am in the Human Realm, even if they’re not actively worshipping me."

"Asgorath, I still find it difficult to understand why you completely abandoned your own realm and domain and chose to spend your time poking around in the Human Realm," Ignis said, leaning over his armrest with a puzzled expression.

"Point of correction: I did not abandon my domain," Asgorath retorted, straightening his posture. "My domain is far too strong to need its god watching over it twenty-four seven. They are more than capable. Dragons are not weaklings. They can take care of themselves."

He turned on his heel, flashing a wide, triumphant grin at the council.

Artemis, who could no longer stand seeing that smug face, slammed her palm down once more. "You lot are instigating him again," she snapped. "He is intentionally diverting from the main topic! No matter how anyone tries to explain simple reasoning to him, he will never listen. Asgorath is far too unreasonable to reason with."

Asgorath turned his sharp smirk toward her. "Coming from someone who wouldn’t mind seeing the children of her own sister go extinct just because of some petty feud? Talk about top-notch unreasonable."

Artemis bristled, her purple eyes flaring with starlight as she reached for the bow resting beside her throne.

"Enough!" Moros barked, rubbing his forehead with a heavy, exhausted sigh.

"Artemis is right. We’re diverting from the matter at hand." He looked toward Lyra. "Please, let us go back to the main point. Just round it up and stop giving him a chance to speak."

"Come on, I’m not that—"

"Shut up, Asgorath," Lyra called out, cutting him off before he could launch into another defense.

Asgorath pressed his lips together, sealing them shut with a dramatic gesture, his eyes dancing with amusement.

"Asgorath, you have broken far too many divine laws to count, more than any celestial in recorded history. Not only did you meddle where you had no right, but you also shattered the universal veil separating two entire realms."

"Seriously, which part of ’round it up’ do you not understand, Lyra?" Moros snapped. "He has already served his term for that offense. If you cannot focus on the matter at hand, you might as well let someone else handle the judgment."

Lyra stared at him for a moment before slowly rubbing her temples, clearly regretting her decision to handle the judgment. Asgorath, meanwhile, burst out laughing, throwing his head back as though the entire situation had become far too amusing.

"At this point, it’s obvious that you all are enjoying my company far too much," he said between laughs. "Now you’re bringing up good deeds I’ve already been punished for. Seriously, if you wanted me to stay longer, you could have just said so."

"That was no good deed!" Moros snapped, his voice booming across the amphitheater. "That was you recklessly meddling where you did not belong!"

"Yeah, whatever," Asgorath muttered, waving dismissively. "All I know is that I was helping Selene’s descendants." He immediately pointed toward the Moon Goddess. "Selene, tell them. You know I was helping your children, right? At least support me a little."

"I never asked you to," Selene said with a shrug.

Asgorath slapped a palm against his forehead.

"I keep forgetting you’re too soft-hearted. Seriously, I still don’t understand why you’re so scared of your sister. You are literally more powerful than her. Forget about all that intimidating armor she always wears and all her posturing. She’s a weakling, and you just let her—"

"ASGORATH!" Artemis roared, shooting to her feet as her purple eyes blazed with fury.

Asgorath raised his hands in mock surrender. "Fine! If you don’t want me to point out the obvious, then I won’t." He turned toward the dais and sighed dramatically. "But seriously, what is even taking you guys so long to just state my final judgment? You keep going in circles, recounting all the good deeds I’ve done like it’s a history lesson. Just go straight to the point and tell me. Am I free to go back home or not?"

Moros stared at him in disbelief. In truth, he was more frustrated with himself. He was the one who had told Lyra not to let Asgorath get to her, yet somehow, he had still allowed the Dragon God to get under his own skin. He clenched his gauntleted hand into a tight fist against the armrest, his jaw tightening as he struggled to understand how a primordial being could remain so utterly insufferable. Moros could not even begin to comprehend how the universe had ever allowed Asgorath to reach godhood.