Codex Wars: Judgment of the Forsaken

The Gate of Order — or at least that's what it's called — is more than just a passage.

It is a threshold between worlds: on one side, the realm where Laws govern all; on the other, the space from which those Laws were born.

According to legend, the first universal rules are kept there — the Ius Primordiales — laws so ancient and pure that they shape the very fabric of reality itself.

It is said that anyone who reaches this place, no matter their origin, lineage, or power, may be touched by these laws… and perhaps even carry one with them.

And those who do?

They are said to be destined to reach heights they never dared to dream of.

And that was exactly why Ezra and his group were there.

He was after a Codex — a key to understanding the Laws.

The others, for their part, sought blessings, artifacts, or anything that might bring them glory… and power.

"Ezra… what do we do now?" Dorian finally broke the silence, swallowing the pride that weighed in his throat.

Ezra didn't turn. He kept his eyes on the horizon and replied calmly, "Nothing. Let the Host come to receive us."

No one argued.

The words sounded strange, but no one dared question him. After all, Ezra was never one to explain much — and pressing him for answers was, at best, pointless.

Time passed. Ten, maybe fifteen minutes.

That's when he appeared.

A mannequin.

But unlike the others: there was no deformity in its frame, and its entire structure was pure white, traced with golden patterns like filigree across its body. There was something ceremonial in its movements — something almost… human.

It approached in utter silence.

Each step echoed against the hollow walls of the place, and even Ezra, steady until now, felt his body tense.

Everyone was on edge.

Each for their own reason.

Breaths held. Hands hovering near weapons. Eyes fixed on the white-and-gold figure before them.

The mannequin simply stopped in front of Ezra.

Then, with almost solemn grace, it placed a hand over its chest and gave a precise bow — respectful, elegant, flawless.

Ffffhh… A soft sigh slipped from Ezra's lips. 'So in the end… I was right.'

"He… bowed?" Bastian murmured, barely audible. One eyebrow arched slightly, as if his mind was still trying to process what his eyes had just seen. "To Ezra?"

The mannequin then turned without a word, raising one arm and pointing toward the path it had come from — an empty direction, veiled in soft mist.

"I think… it wants us to follow," said Mei Lin, still unsure if the gesture could be trusted.

"And that's exactly what we'll do." Ezra turned, leaving no room for debate.

He grabbed Mei Lin's wrist — firmly, but not harshly — and began to walk.

"Lead the way," he murmured, staring at the mannequin like they shared some silent code.

The others hesitated only for a heartbeat… and followed.

With each step, the world around them unfolded, like a veil being slowly lifted.

The misty ground vanished beneath their feet, replaced by solid, polished stone — cold surfaces in muted shades of gray. The haze that had made everything indistinct now began to recede, revealing structures.

First came the columns.

Tall, white, austere.

Standing like ancient sentinels, they held up unseen vaults with unwavering strength. Their bases were adorned with carved leaves rendered in such intricate detail they almost looked real.

Some cracks marked the marble, like wrinkles on an old face.

Soon, the pillars gave way to arches.

Massive arches, intertwined across wide corridors, forming a labyrinth of ancient stone and echoing silence. There were courtyards adorned with human statues — and others that defied all classification. Creatures with elongated bodies, hollow or many-faced heads, and eyes that seemed to follow every movement.

The tension remained, but a growing sense of wonder began to rise.

Over time, the style began to change.

Now they found themselves among wide staircases, towering obelisks that seemed to pierce the sky, and dry fountains at the center of perfectly symmetrical plazas. Each step felt like crossing into a new era, as if the world itself were parading its history before the group's eyes.

Then came the stained glass windows.

Softly filtered light cast dancing shadows across the floor. They passed through silent libraries, where spiral staircases floated midair. Books, caged in metal frameworks, flew from shelf to shelf, pages flipping on their own, as if begging to be read.

There was an ancient melancholy in the air.

Kael paused once, gazing at a shelf that seemed to whisper to him. His eyes shimmered.

Edward raised a hand to his chin, awestruck, trying to make sense of where they were.

Mei Lin hesitated every three steps, her wide eyes absorbing everything, as if her body couldn't keep up with her racing mind.

Soon, the architecture stopped following any recognizable logic or pattern.

The walls became translucent — almost liquid. Glass and metal intertwined with pulsing lines of light.

It felt like walking through the inside of a living, ancient mind.

Panels floated around them, covered in arcane equations and technical codes — a fusion of magic and science even Ezra couldn't fully decipher. The runes, the symbols… they felt alive.

'Is this what the old world was like?' Ezra wondered, eyes gleaming, taking in every detail as if afraid it might all vanish. 'So different, yet somehow familiar.'

At one point, they passed through a corridor lined with unusual statues.

The first was humanoid. Long, silky hair carved in black stone, horns arched backward like an ancient crown. Folded wings at its back. It held a mask close to its face. There was something both beautiful and threatening in its presence.

Ezra approached, eyes tracing the details. The stone's chill clashed with the statue's ambiguous expression. Pride? Pain? Power?

That's when he saw it — a faint glint.

Almost instinctively, he knelt.

There, still hooked to a broken bit of chain, was a small black earring. It was delicate and intricately patterned, and something about it made Ezra slightly dizzy.

He glanced quickly over his shoulder.

No one was watching.

With a subtle movement, he took the earring and slipped it into his coat pocket, covering it with his palm for a few seconds.

The metal was surprisingly warm.

Only then did he rise again, eyes returning to the statue.

He exhaled slowly. And resumed his inspection.

The second statue had no defined form. A translucent, viscous mass with objects suspended inside — books, tablets, scrolls, chunks of rune-burned metal. Ezra leaned forward slightly.

'Are those… Codex?' he wondered, intrigued.

The third was monstrous. Bestial. Clawed hands, teeth bared in a mouth that took up half its face. The body was twisted, covered in stretched skin, and from its belly spilled petrified entrails, as if it were locked in a perpetual state of self-devouring.

Lena looked away.

The last was the most imposing.

A giant, hooded figure with long, branch-thin fingers. In one hand, it held a quill. The other remained hidden beneath the cloak. But the most disturbing part was what lay beneath the hood: nothing. A dark abyss with no face, no feature — just an empty pull that seemed to draw the gaze inward.

And then, before Ezra could process any more, something shifted.

A light.

Bright. Pure. Without warning.

As if the horizon had burst into white.

Everyone instinctively shielded their faces or squeezed their eyes shut.

Breaths caught in their chests.

Sound vanished.

The mannequin stopped.

And, without haste, pointed forward — just as it dissolved into the light.

✦ ✦ ✦

Ezra opened his eyes.

There was no ground. No sky. Only a vast, endless void filled with stars that floated like dust over a still, eternal lake.

"Bloody hell…" Dorian muttered, eyes wide, unable to tear them away from the surreal expanse.

"Ezra… Ezra, you're truly capable of amazing feats sometimes..." Bastian let out a nervous laugh — one laced with awe and a flicker of excitement.

But a thought crossed his mind, and a sigh escaped him. 'Though… it's sad that, inevitably, the time has come.'

They were surrounded by darkness — but not just any darkness.

It was alive. Vast. A deep blackness where the only light came from tablets, books, letters, journals, cards, and every imaginable form of recorded knowledge.

They floated in the distance like constellations — up close, like lanterns in the middle of a cosmic night.

'How beautiful… 'Mei Lin thought, reaching out toward one of the suspended books.

Beatriz intercepted her hand at the last second. "You haven't learned anything from everyone else's mistakes?" she whispered, serious.

"Better not touch anything just yet," Rurik advised, his voice gravelly. "Even after resting, my Vis is far from steady."

The group moved on in silence, stepping between the lights.

Each step was reverence.

Each breath, a quiet act of respect.

And then… the space changed.

The lights — countless and scattered — began to spin.

In orbit.

And at the center of their movement… appeared a tablet.

Not just any tablet.

A colossal one.

Alive.

Majestic.

It was carved from ancient stone, yet it pulsed as if it had a heartbeat of its own. No words were etched into it — only symbols forged from emotion, lines radiating pure intent. Golden light wove across its surface like embers guided by some ancestral will.

Ezra stepped forward.

His heart pounded.

His skin tingled.

"Lex Primus…" Ezra whispered.

And then he felt it.

Not with ordinary senses — but with his whole being.

The Vis, for the first time, vibrated on his skin, in his bones, deep in his soul. As though every particle of his existence recognized that presence.

And greeted it — in silence.

Ezra clenched his fists.

A smile slowly formed — worn, wide, almost trembling.

It wasn't just victory.

It was relief. Exhaustion.

Almost disbelief.

"Finally… finally…" he breathed, as if begging for permission to believe it was real.

Mei Lin took a step forward, her voice low, uncertain: "This is the true…"

"The First Ordainment," Bastian finished, after a brief pause. His tone was neutral — as if even he wasn't sure what to feel. There was awe, yes… but something else beneath it.

Beatriz nodded slowly. Her posture remained rigid, as always, but her eyes were locked in place, wary. Without a word, her hand went instinctively to her chest — an unconscious reflex.

"Ezra…" Rurik tilted his head slightly. "You did it. We've reached the source."

Nyra let out a nervous laugh — one of those that escape when the mind starts to break from too much. "This is… big," she said, taking a deep breath. "Like, way bigger than I imagined."

Dorian swallowed hard. His fingers adjusted his glasses without thinking. "Impossible," he murmured. "But… it's real."

Lena folded her arms. Her eyes stayed fixed on the tablet, as if trying to understand every symbol, every curve. "Something like this… shouldn't even be reachable," she said, almost like stating a fact.

Edward wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, discreetly. When he spoke, his tone was restrained, almost embarrassed.

"Man… I think I'm crying." He chuckled awkwardly, lowering his head. "I don't even know why."

Kael remained silent. His eyes followed everything, alert, as if waiting for the exact moment. When the lights began to appear, he only whispered:

"We're about to be written."

And then, the Lex Primus shone.

With a brilliance that seemed to pierce through everything — flesh, time, space.

Ten sparks of light burst forth from the tablet, as if they were freshly born creations.

Each one with its own color and essence:

A silver bolt.

A blue ember.

A green breath.

A black fragment like the void.

A purple wave like memory.

A rosy glow like hope.

A pulsing red like wrath.

An absolute gold like the sun.

A white so pure it burned the eyes.

A deep blue like the abyss.

They spun silently around the group — like planets orbiting their fates.

And then…

As if summoned by something beyond comprehension, they shot forward.

Each one — straight toward one of them.

Fast. Direct.

Like spears launched by reality itself.

✦ ✦ ✦

Mei Lin was the first.

The white glow enveloped her like a serene veil. She arched her back, exhaling a quiet breath — as if finally letting go of everything she once was. For a moment, she was no longer the same.

Something ancient had unbound itself within her, as if all she had been was being gently unraveled.

A seal of curved, symmetrical shapes emerged over her chest, spinning slowly, pulsing in rhythm with her breath.

Dorian came next.

The black fragment struck him like a violent whisper.

His body vanished for a split second, swallowed by shadows. When he reappeared, his eyes were wet. He was trembling, smiling, crying all at once. A dark mark bloomed beneath his left eye.

"The truth…" he murmured, more to himself than to anyone else, "it's too dark to forget…"

Rurik received the blue ember.

His skin gleamed like freshly forged metal. He dropped to his knees — not in pain, but in reverence.

The symbol that formed on his back resembled an ancestral rune, fused to his very being. He said nothing. But in that silence… there was pride.

Lena was struck by the purple spiral.

She staggered back, eyes wide, a scream caught in her throat — but she didn't resist.

When the seal formed, stretching from her side to her ribs, she simply closed her eyes. And murmured something. Words she didn't recognize. But that seemed to know exactly who she was.

Nyra burst into red flames for an instant.

The fire danced across her body without burning her. It dissolved into her, as if it had always belonged to her soul.

She laughed — a low, husky, dangerous laugh.

"Finally…" like someone reunited with an old enemy who was also a part of her. The mark burned on her right hand, a living tattoo made of flickering flame.

Beatriz raised her arms instinctively, trying to shield herself. But the green breath wrapped around her gently. She slowly lowered her fists, eyes wide in disbelief.

She didn't understand — she simply felt. The mark settled at the center of her waist, like a core breathing with her, as if the very air had chosen her.

Edward received the rosy glow like an unexpected punch — soft, but intense. He fell, landing softly in midair, eyes wide, cheeks flushed.

"That was… that was nice?" he said, with a nervous laugh. "Did anyone else feel that?"

The mark traced itself from shoulder to shoulder, just beneath his neck — a tribal collar made of light.

Kael was taken by the deep blue wave.

His body showed no reaction outwardly — but his eyes… his eyes said everything. They shone so brightly they looked like galaxies. A calm, unwavering symbol emerged from his shoulder down to his left forearm, as if it had always been there.

He didn't smile, didn't speak loudly. He only murmured: "Now I understand…"

Bastian was the second to last.

The silver bolt pierced through him like a lance.

He clenched his fists, his face contorted for a moment — not in pain, but from sheer, compressed power.

When he opened his eyes, they burned. His smile spread, but there was something in it… It wasn't pain. Nor ecstasy.

Just a sharp brilliance. And a smile — restrained, impossible to read.

✦ ✦ ✦

Ezra waited for the last.

The golden light danced in the air.

It moved toward him — slow, deliberate, as if carried by destiny itself. Warm as the sun. Perfect. He clenched his fists, his heart pounding. His eyes locked on that promise — of everything he'd ever searched for.

And then, he closed his eyes.

Waiting.

Accepting.

But he didn't see… that the light stopped.

That something stood in its way.

The spark hesitated. Swirled in place. Tried to go on… but couldn't. As if something — or someone — had pulled it from its path.

Ezra frowned.

The air turned thin, heavy as lead.

A familiar shadow fell over him, and slowly, he opened his eyes.

The light was gone.

Nothing had touched him.

The feeling that surrounded him now… was absence.

Silence.

And then — he saw him.

A tall figure, standing firm.

Arms relaxed.

A wide smile on his face.

"Ezra…" The voice was deep, resonating like distant thunder muffled by fog.

But it was familiar.

Too familiar.

"You really are my little golden goose."

Ezra blinked.

His body froze.

The world tilted.

His mind scrambled to understand…

But his heart already knew.

He raised his eyes slowly, almost afraid to confirm it.

It was Bastian.

And Bastian… Was glowing.

Both his fists wrapped in living light.

A silver bolt spiraling down his right arm.

A golden current burning along the left.

Ezra stepped back — and though there was no ground, it felt like it was collapsing beneath his feet. That light… That light was meant for him. And now… it was gone.

His chest tightened.

His throat dried.

The words came out low, broken, trembling: "Bastian… why?"

The smile remained.

Ambiguous.

Unreadable.

"Because sometimes, Ezra…" He stepped forward, and his shadow swallowed Ezra's. "…I can't do anything but follow the Laws."

His eyes gleamed.

Not with guilt.

Not with pity.

But with conviction.

"And the First Law…" A pause. A whisper, like a sentence passed down by fate: "…is the Law of the Strongest."