The courtroom lights suddenly went out, leaving only a dim yellow bulb dangling from the ceiling, like an ulcer ready to burst. Every eye in the audience rolled with a wet gurgle and turned toward the empty jury seats.
The judge spoke slowly, his voice like rust scraping across glass:"Now—we summon the Ghost Jury."
The air turned frigid. The floor at the center of the stage split open, spewing out beams of ashen light. Faces began to emerge inside them.
—Fragments of Karl's soul.
Not just one, but countless copies, like shards of a shattered mirror reflecting endless versions of "Karl." They filled every seat in the jury box. Some wore torn military uniforms, some still bore wounds from nightmare trials, others had only half a face left—but their gazes were eerily the same: cold, scrutinizing, like death itself eyeing its next harvest.
"Defendant Ethan," all the Karls spoke at once, voices overlapping into a hair-raising echo,"you stand accused—of tampering with fate."
Ethan's breath caught.
Tampering with fate? What kind of charge was that?
One Karl sneered and stood up."You should have let me die in the lab, but you dragged me out. And the result? I became a key to the void—torn apart, exploited, trapped inside your obsession. Your so-called salvation was nothing but selfishness."
Another Karl's voice was sharper."You pretended it was for me, but in truth, it was for yourself. You couldn't stand being alone. You turned me into your pawn, even rewriting my destiny to keep me at your side!"
A third Karl spoke in a low, venomous tone."You feared loneliness, so you dragged me down. You feared the void, so you pushed me deeper into it. Your so-called friendship was nothing more than imprisonment dressed in warmth."
Each word cut like a blade, slicing straight into Ethan's deepest fears.
He wanted to retort, but his throat was parched. Images flashed through his mind: that night, he had shouted silently, Don't leave me alone! He had pulled Karl's dying body back, not entirely for Karl's sake, but with a selfish impulse.
On stage, all the fragments of Karl pointed at him at once, their gazes like nails pinning him to the charge.
The audience's eyes widened, as if waiting for the climactic scene. The judge hissed gleefully:"Tampering with fate—an aggravated offense."
The air warped violently. All the Karls stepped down from the jury box, their ghostly forms closing in on Ethan.
"You must be judged.""You must be consumed.""You must vanish with us."
Their voices overlapped, like a grotesque choral performance.
Ethan gave a bitter laugh."Brilliant staging. Pitting me against my best friend—this is void's favorite trick, isn't it? Turning trust into weapons, memories into torture devices."
But before he finished, the Karls lunged. Their cold fingers pierced his chest—not drawing blood, but spreading black nightmare veins across his body.
A thunderclap exploded in his mind.
He saw a vision: himself standing alone in ruins, Karl torn into fragments, while he smiled at everyone and declared, I saved him.
The illusion shattered. Ethan staggered back, the nightmare markings trembling on his chest, almost solidifying into chains.
The Karls shouted in unison:"Admit it! You are no savior—you are a hypocrite who meddles with fate!"
The courtroom froze, ready to collapse like a theater set.
Ethan's fists clenched white, his breath ragged. Finally, he roared:"Maybe I was selfish, maybe I feared loneliness—but at least I didn't abandon you! If that's tampering with fate—then let fate go to hell!"
With that, the nightmare power inside him erupted, sweeping out like black fire and scorching the Karls' soul fragments.
They screamed, cursed, and twisted, before dissolving into the flames.
Silence returned. Only the audience's countless eyes remained, glowing with glee, like theatergoers thrilled by a good farce.
The judge struck his gavel with mock solemnity."Conflict resolved. Defendant—still guilty."
Ethan lifted his head, lips curling in a cold smile."Guilty? Heh. At least this time, I'm guilty with myself."