Scale of Justice

Aarick coughed up blood and rolled around to check on Morana. Three bullets pierced into him. None of them were fatal, but a slow death awaits him. His ears stopped ringing from the explosion, enough to hear Morana’s cry. He rushed towards her.

“Morana — Morana!” He placed her head on his thigh. She also got three shots, but wasn’t as friendly as Aarick’s. They hit her ribcage and her blood flowed like a river. Aarick applied pressure on the wound. “Breathe, Morana, breathe.”

“Aar — Aarick—” She coughed up blood. “G—”

Aarick held onto her hand. “Not you too, Morana.” Tears streamed from his eyes and blended with blood. “Please don’t leave me.” His voice cracked.

“Aa — rick, you need — to go on. Don’t worry,” she coughed. “We will see you soon.” She placed her other hand on his cheek and wiped his tears. “Don’t cry — you’re not alone. Now, please — listen to me. Go — save the world.” She gave him her last smile, then her hand dropped.

“Fuck…” He pressed his forehead against hers and let out a tearful scream.

Aarick stumbled deeper into the cave with blood dripping, leaving a trail behind him. Though he was in the cave, it wasn’t pitch black. There was still a source of light somewhere. He finally encountered a statue of a lady. She held on the strings attached to two plates in both hands, looking like a scale. The statue then glowed red and came alive, glaring down on Aarick. A coin with a symbol of a scale floated up and landed in Aarick’s hand. His eyes turned red, and the glow expanded throughout the entire room.

I bring myself back to my reality. Everything freezes. Luka still looks strong and healthy, Gavril still looks big, and Morana still sleeps soundly in her bed. The reality glitches and cracks open a void. The others disappear, but I know they are safe.

“Who exactly are you?” I ask the tall lady standing before me. She wears a white robe with golden bracelets. Her face contains a certain beauty that I can’t really describe. She looks like a painting.

“My first name is Rosemary,” she replies with a sweet voice. “It’s the only name I remember. Though I dislike calling myself by this name, I’m the Goddess of Justice. I see you are enjoying the — um, test drive. Is that how you call it?”

“You can say it like that,” I reply coldly. “But things seemed to behave not the way I wanted them to.”

“It was a trial to see whether you have the capability of keeping the world balanced,” she says.

“What do you mean by ‘balanced’?” I ask her.

“Balance between Justice and Reality.”