At the center of the kingdom, a great balance was about to be born.
At first, there were two sets of balance scales: the Scales of Judgment, brought forth by a Japanese boy, and another brought forth by a young man of this world. They drew together, clashed, and were absorbed into one…and floated in the dim sky like a newborn babe having its first bath.
“Man creates man above man itself,” spoke a white-haired man. “Those who stand above others and judge humanity cannot be allowed to make mistakes. Only he who is absolutely righteous may conduct trials for this kingdom.”
The man was wearing a white robe adorned with golden thread—a raiment only worn by the one and only high priest, the proxy of this otherworld’s God.
He stood in a copy-pasted version of the Nippon Budokan, originally found in Tokyo’s Chiyoda-ku. The interior had been remodeled into a religious institution. He stood in the center of the first floor of what was originally stadium seating.
His decisive words echoed throughout the building.
“The high priest’s words are right and just.”
Thousands of his followers, filling the surrounding stadium seating, responded in chorus. In the darkness, they were all wearing the same white robes and held lit candles in their hands. They were to be the gallery of the trial.
Among the eerie scene of the crowd agreeing as one with the high priest…
“You and Tsukasa are not the same.”
…one boy spoke out against him.
“High Priest Gilvert Trinity…your righteousness is corrupt.”
The Japanese boy, the court assistant for the Chiyodaku Kingdom Courthouse, was wearing black robes with a design of the imperial mirror Yata no Kagami on them. He was embracing his stepsister who wore black robes of the same design. Her body was feverish and drenched with sweat.
In the vast, packed arena, the siblings looked all alone.
They were like two lonely crows that had fallen from their nest.
“How foolish. There’s no way some average young boy summoned from another world could even begin to understand the will of our God in this world. Yet you make such gross accusations.”
The high priest was dripping with confidence.
“I am God’s proxy. These two hands are the sacred hands of God. It is unthinkable that they could be sullied by evil deeds…”
He pretentiously spread his arms as he spoke. His two hands were glowing with bluish-white light.
“You poor, unenlightened Japanese people. Allow me to teach you the error of your ways. For to doubt me, in itself, is a sin.”
Bwonnng—the golden scales floating in the air towered above their heads.
The two pans that hung on either side of the scales were each more than sixty feet in diameter.
They floated above the heads of the high priest and the boy who held his sister in his arms. The pans were stilled by a mysterious force as they settled, as if comparing the weight of the opponents’ souls.
An aura of light emitted from the pans formed a line of text.
Accused: Akuto Satou, Tsukasa Wagatsuma
Charge: Blasphemy
The high priest spoke with an enraptured smile.
“I hereby sentence the brother and sister to death.”