Night 10

What justifies action? Is it the reasoning that supposedly fueled it? Or is it considered just when put into perspective of what would've been done? It doesn't seem to matter. The consequence of the action is inescapable, no matter if it was justified.

The young woman walked through the dimly lit corridors, passing one teal door after another. Candles flickered silently. A distant noise then caught her ears, and she paused to look over her shoulder at the darkness behind her. She heard a metallic rumbling with the sound of a man singing.

Quickly, the young woman faced forward and hurried around the right corner of a three-way intersection. She ended up in a light-less dead-end. The rattling noise grew louder and closer, as the singing became more distinct. The young woman turned, looking to the intersection, which she quietly backed away from until she was pressed against the wall. It was too late to run now. She could practically feel the metallic rumbling sending vibrations through the wall, and the man's voice bounced throughout the hall.

"Do you know, who I am?~"

Light steadily crawled into the intersection. It was followed by the source, the glowing heart and money sign that sat in the cages hanging from Judgment Boy's metal arms. The scale-like creature moved steadily through the intersection, like a passing ship.

"They call me Judgment Boy!~"

The singing figure proceeded out of sight, not slowing nor looking in her direction. Steadily, the sound of his voice and the rattling of the railing grew quieter, as the light from his cages slipped away. After several long minutes, it was near silent and empty once more. The young woman exhaled, just now realizing that she had held her breath. She still stayed where she was, listening for anything else outside of burning candle wicks and her own heart. She saw and heard nothing else stirring in the halls beyond. Suddenly, Judgment Boy dropped down from the ceiling, which the young woman reacted to by falling on her lower back. He jerkily stopped, inches from the ground in front her, much like how a dropped body would after its noose goes taunt. As his glowing cages swayed to and fro, he hissed with a grin, "Judgment…"

With his unblinking eyes settled upon her, his booming statement started without hesitation, "A murder has taken place and your superiors have begun the search for the culprit. No one knows that you are the one responsible. However, if you don't take action then you will be discovered and you will be taken in for questioning. If you try to cover your tracks then there's a chance that you will only make it worse for yourself. What will you do?"

The young woman looked from Judgment Boy and tried to find a way past his cages and the chain of round weights that hung under him. However, he took up the entire hallway.

"You cannot escape judgment," Judgment Boy spoke up, causing her to look back up at his face. Due to his smiling lips, he seemed to say with delight, "No one can."

Finally, after a long moment of staring at him, the young woman averted her gaze and answered, "I would come clean."

"So you say," he challenged, still grinning. Judgment Boy continued, "I say we consult the Balance of Truth."

Abruptly, he rapidly began to spin around while shouting, "Judgment!", and the young woman instinctively ducked her head. She didn't bother watching him spin several times around at a dizzying speed, with the yellow and pink lights darting around the hall. As suddenly as he had started, Judgment Boy came to a complete stop, calling out, "Now!"

She heard the bottom of one of the cages open and the sound of Judgment Boy's body creaking as it tipped to the side. The young woman then watched as the glowing heart fell before her and broke to pieces with a soul-crushing shatter. She looked over the scattered pieces around her, watching the light fade from them as Judgment Boy made a booming declaration, "You choose to hide the evidence. You steal the equipment of a recently deceased comrade to replace your own. Your superiors put you under inspection, and you manage to fool them. You lie in the face of your close comrades though you know that the blood is on your hands. Now you get to live with it."

With a creak, Judgment Boy turned around and moved straight down the hall, with the greedy light of the money sign swallowed up by darkness.

Moon's Meow: Alright, another Judgement Boy appearance and we're just about halfway through the story. I hope you guys are having fun reading and I'll see you again next week, where we'll learn some more about our guest.