Chapter 1145: The Old Order had returned [Part 1]

Chapter 1145 – The Old Order had returned [Part 1]

Meanwhile, the Upper Realm was having a rather unpleasant day.

Which was impressive, considering the Upper Realm had been designed to make unpleasant days look like someone else’s problem.

Its skies remained perfectly blue. Its rivers still shimmered with liquid starlight. The gardens bloomed in harmonious arrangements, and the great bells rang with their usual immaculate timing.

Everything looked peaceful.

Everything looked holy.

And inside the Light Court, everyone was approximately three sentences away from committing a theological crime.

The Old Order had returned.

Not through private letters.

Not through intermediaries.

Not through the discreet little meetings they had been holding behind closed doors for centuries.

They had marched straight into the court.

Openly.

Celestaria stood beneath the enormous stained-glass dome, her silver-white robes falling in immaculate folds around her. Beside her stood Archon Vizreel, Guardian of Balance, his expression as unreadable as ever.

Selena stood slightly behind them.

Other High Custodians occupied the ascending tiers of the chamber, their halos casting overlapping circles of light across the marble floor.

Opposite them stood the representatives of the Old Order.

Their leader, High Preceptor Aurelion, was a tall angel with six wings and a halo formed from three interlocking rings. His robes bore an ancient insignia that had not been used by the governing court in generations.

He looked at Celestaria as though she were an unfortunate administrative error.

"The current order has grown weak."

His voice carried across the chamber.

Straight to the accusation.

Celestaria folded her hands.

"Hello to you as well, Preceptor."

Aurelion ignored the remark.

"The Light Realm has endured since before your current council existed. We maintained the boundary between purity and corruption. We preserved the laws that distinguish those worthy of ascent from those condemned to descend."

His wings spread.

"And now you would compromise those laws for negotiations with demons?"

A murmur passed through the court.

Celestaria remained still.

"We are negotiating procedures for the classification and transfer of souls."

"You are negotiating with the Lower Realm."

"Yes."

"The Light Realm has never needed the Lower Realm."

Vizreel’s eyes shifted toward him.

Celestaria answered first. "Whether we need it is irrelevant. Souls pass between the realms under laws that affect both."

"The Light should remain untainted."

"It remains untainted."

Aurelion laughed. "Does it?"

Celestaria’s expression did not change.

"Our agreement is intended to ensure that innocent souls are not sent below and that souls responsible for grave wrongdoing are not improperly retained here."

She paused.

"Some sins are not simple. Some people commit harmful acts because they are threatened, coerced, or denied any meaningful choice. Others exploit technicalities in the judgment process to escape accountability."

The chamber grew quieter.

"Those cases deserve examination."

Aurelion stared at her.

Then his smile widened.

"Ah."

Celestaria disliked that particular sound.

It was the sound of a man who had found a sentence he could drag into a dark alley and murder with interpretation.

"So you admit it."

"I have admitted nothing beyond what I said."

"You believe the natural order is wrong."

"No."

"You believe the division of souls between the Upper and Lower Realms is unfair."

"I believe its administration can be improved."

"You would correct the laws of creation?" Aurelion threw back his head and laughed. "I have never heard anything more pathetic."

Selena stepped forward. "Then perhaps you haven’t been listening."

Several angels turned.

Celestaria closed her eyes for half a heartbeat.

Selena.

Not because Selena was wrong.

Because Selena had a remarkable talent for turning a formal disagreement into a public execution with excellent diction.

Aurelion looked down at her. "Do you have something to contribute?"

"Yes." Selena’s voice remained calm. "The natural laws aren’t necessarily wrong. But their procedures have loopholes."

"Loopholes?"

"Exceptions. Ambiguities. Places where evidence can be concealed or manipulated." She met his gaze. "And some people abuse them."

Aurelion’s halo brightened. "You speak of sacred judgment as though it were a merchant’s contract."

"No. I speak of the people affected by it."

Selena took another step forward.

"Suppose someone is forced to commit a crime under threat of death. Suppose an innocent soul is condemned because testimony was altered. Suppose a powerful individual conceals their wrongdoing behind an oath or a technical exemption."

Her eyes hardened. "Do you want those souls sent to Hell without review?"

"That is not what I said."

"Then answer the question."

Silence.

Selena did not look away. "Would you accept an innocent soul being tortured in Hell for something they were forced to do?"

Aurelion’s expression cooled. "The judgment laws account for intent."

"Then you should welcome procedures that verify intent."

A few of the younger Custodians exchanged glances.

One looked dangerously close to smiling.

Aurelion noticed. His wings drew inward. "You presume that our ancient institutions require correction by a council that has begun taking instructions from a demon."

There it was.

Lux Vaelthorn.

Celestaria had been waiting for his name to appear.

She simply hadn’t expected the Old Order to move this openly, this quickly.

Then again, the news from the Lower Realm had arrived only hours earlier.

King Kaelmor had ordered extraordinary audits against all Seven Sin Houses.

Every single one.

Celestaria knew enough about Lux to suspect he had done something spectacularly inconvenient to the king.

What, precisely, remained unclear.

But Kaelmor’s response had been immediate.

And now the Old Order had emerged from its centuries of carefully cultivated silence.

At almost the same time.

Celestaria glanced toward Vizreel.

He gave the slightest nod.

He had noticed too.

Aurelion extended one hand toward the council. "Celestaria. Vizreel. Your fellow Custodians. You have allowed Lux Vaelthorn to influence the direction of the Light Realm."

Celestaria’s gaze sharpened. "Lux Vaelthorn requested an official audience."

"He is a demon."

"He followed the required procedures."

"He is the son of Greed!"

"And he attended a scheduled meeting rather than arriving with an army."

Vizreel finally spoke.

His voice was quiet.

It nevertheless silenced the chamber.

"Lux Vaelthorn approached this court through recognized diplomatic channels. He submitted proposals. He attended negotiations. He accepted that any agreement would require review by the relevant authorities."