"This is my first regulation.. Go easy on me." Said the young judge with a clear hint of embarrassment. He then turned around, and quickly noticed Daniel. "A three-way regulation as my very first task? This is going to be tough."
The three parties which the judge was talking about were, of course, Daniel, the red-robed young man, and the green-eyed prisoner.
"An Outcast of the Psionic dimension.. And a vassal of the Parasite King." muttered the kid judge while going through one of the books he was holding in his little arms.
This wasn't the first time that Daniel had encountered a judge, and since he had seen how easy it was for one of them to assign a punishment that could heavily impact one of the massive factions he had heard so much about, he quickly realized that, in front of them, it was better to be respectful.
"Okay, so.. An outcast that attempts to murder a representative of one of the factions is to be arrested for blah blah.. Mhh.. What are you here for again?" Asked the young judge to the prisoner, after reading a few lines from his thick book.
"I was arrested by Iewah's faction for killing one of their keepers of key. I was being taken to one of their prisons in wait for judgement." Responded the prisoner plainly.
"So, you were supposed to be under the care of Iewah's faction. Where are your guardians?"
"Killed by the vassal of the Parasite King." Answered the prisoner with an indifferent tone.
The young judge turned to look at the solitary worm that was wiggling in space, and asked "Why did you attack Iewah's faction?"
From his worm-like shape, the red-clothed young man said with a righteous tone "A bounty was placed on the outcast by its own faction. It is my right to hunt him down. I was not aware that he was in the care of the Iewah's faction"
A judge was supposed to be aware of how bounties worked, yet, this one was still inexperienced. So, after hearing the young man's words, he appeared slightly embarrassed. He then recalled something important, and after turning towards Daniel, he said "You are a native of that planet.. Why are you with them?"
Theoretically speaking, a native of an isolated planet was not supposed to be swayed by the members of the universal factions. The planet would give birth to a person that would reach a certain level with his power of choice, and the faction to which that power belonged, would be able to welcome that planet into their domain.
What was not allowed, was a faction's interference in the native's choosing process.
"Due to some unfortunate circumstances, I ended up leaving my planet. I was on my way back, when I've met the vassal of the Parasite King. He claimed that he would force me into conquering my planet for his faction." Responded Daniel plainly.
"LIES!" Shouted the red-robed young man with indignation.
"This is quite the mess.." Said the young judge before turning pensive. Five full minutes later, he turned to look at Daniel, and said "You are very powerful for your age, and you have been introduced already to the rest of the universe. I can feel the power of at least seven different factions inside you.. Spiritual essence, mental power, Iewah's gift, and affinity to mana being the strongest ones.. Have you already decided to which faction you will be part of?"
Daniel was not sure what kind of powers 'mental power' and 'affinity to mana' were, but from their names, he could sort of make an educated guess. He of course did not need to chose. Of the factions he had met a representative of, or heard about, only one was worth joining.
Between the indifferent and aloof spiritual faction, the merciless and cunning corrupted faction, and the vicious and murderous parasitic faction, he could not find one that was better than the other. As it was now, only Iewah's faction had proved to be in sync with the way of living to which he and his friends were used to. Or at least, that's how he thought about it now.
"Iewah's faction." Responded Daniel plainly.
"Splendid!" Exclaimed the judge with evident elation. It was clear that that, was the response that he was hoping for. "The Outcast is your prisoner then.. And that brings us to you." added the judge before slowly turning towards the red-robed young man, which had now barely managed to return to his humanoid shape. "The bounty you have come to obtain has already been claimed. Leave, unless you plan to represent the Parasite King in declaring war against Iewah's faction."
At the mention of declaring war against Iewah's faction, the barely formed face of the red-clothed young man became as pale as a sheet of paper. In his mind, all sorts of memories regarding the representant of Iewah's faction which he had met, started to form. Pictures of stars being cut in half by a sword's slash, hordes of dragonkin turning solar systems into groups of charred planets, and many more shocking instances.. he couldn't help but shiver in terror.
"Judge. As a member of Iewah's faction, I would like to ask for reparation from the parasitic faction. Thousands of innocent members of Iewah's faction have been killed during that man's mission of kidnapping one of our prisoners." Said Daniel before the red-robed young man could turn around and run..
And running, was something that he would regret not doing sooner.
"Of course.. That's your right." Responded the young judge while smiling awkwardly.
Each and every one of his actions screamed inexperience. What was odd about him, was that he didn't appear to be a young looking old man, but an actual kid that was performing the job of a judge of the universal government.
Daniel quickly recalled what the magnitude of damage the previous judge had forced the two emissaries to pay, so, without trying to go overboard, he said "Two galaxies. The closest ones to our Iewah's faction."
"WHAT!? That's ridiculous!" Shouted the red-robed young man in indignation. His faction was vicious and unforgiving, if he went back with such a burden on his back, he would not be able to see the light of another day.
"Quiet." Said the young judge with a serious tone. He then turned towards Daniel once again, and said "How did you come to that value?"
"In my previous experience with a Judge's regulation, the judge ordered a punishment close to that amount. Forgive me I went overboard, I don't have knowledge of what is worth what." Responded Daniel with as much politeness as possible. "In my ignorance, I am purely trying to set a reasonable value in exchange for the invaluable worth of a lost life."
"I understand.." Responded the judge while showing clear sympathy for Daniel. "It is a bit much, but I can settle for one galaxy.."
"JUDGE!! DON'T LET HIM FO-" The red-robed young man immediately tried to protest, but before he could finish, the judge waved his little hand, and turned the powerful red-clothed cultivator which had terrorized thousands of cultivators just minutes earlier, into a cloud of fine dust.
"I said quiet." Repeated the young judge after killing the young man mercilessly.
The prisoner looked at the death of the red-clothed young man with indifference. He was fully aware of what judges could chose to, or were capable of doing. The red-robed young man had underestimated judge's patience due to his age, and had complained about the punishment as if he wasn't talking to a member of the universal government to begin with.. That was his biggest mistake.
"I will report your faction's demands to another member of the parasitic faction. But be careful.. They can still refuse. At that point, your faction will have to withdraw your demands, or declare war.. So long." Said the kid judge before opening a kid-sized portal, and leaving before Daniel could even respond.
Once the judge left, Daniel turned to look around, and noticed about ten people which had survived from the attack of the long-legged worm parasite. They were looking at Daniel with eyes different from before.
In them, Daniel could see respect and a hint of fear.
After making sure that his friends were fine, Daniel turned to look at the prisoner which, surprisingly, hadn't left yet.
"Why are you still here? I don't have the power to keep you imprisoned." Said Daniel with a matter-of-fact tone.
"I have no intention of escaping." Responded the man plainly.
"Why not?"
"Because I wasn't captured in the first place. I turned myself in.".
Honestly speaking, Daniel had guessed so much. Ever since the moment he had seen the transformation of the vassal of the Parasite King, and the enormous green avatar of the prisoner, he knew that both of them had been keeping their true power hidden.
There was no way that the late seventh stage guards which were escorting the prisoner were powerful enough to subdue him, so, the idea that he had in fact turned himself in was not as absurd as one might have thought.
The only moment in which the prisoner was truly in danger, was when the monsters had started to appear in the ship.. And that was because despite his vast powers, the chains were still effective in keeping his powers in check.
"What now? Are you going to stay there until someone from Iewah's faction imprisons you again?" Asked Daniel with curiosity. He couldn't see any of the man's expressions behind his mask, and from the behaviour he showed with his body, it seemed that anything that happened around him did not truly matter.
"I will wait here." Responded the prisoner with indifference.
Daniel shook his head in annoyance, then, he said "Suit yourself." He then turned towards the few remaining cultivators, which quickly went through the portal he had just reopened without saying a word.
With nothing else to stop him, Daniel turned to look at the his planet of origin, and said emotionally "I'm coming home." He then dashed towards the planet with the fastest speed he could muster.
The prisoner was now floating in space while in a lotus position. He seemed to be ignoring Daniel, but the moment he made his way towards the planet, his pupils suddenly opened, showing a pair of green eyes which glowed brighter than ever.
The moment these eyes landed on Daniel, he immediately stopped in place due to an excruciating pain that had suddenly appeared in his head. He grabbed the sides of his head with his hands, and curled in a fetal position while screaming, and screaming.. It was almost as if somebody was using a scorching hot piece of metal to stab his brain.
Jerigh and Der turned to look at Daniel in panic. From his screams, he sounded like his head would explode at any given moment..
After a long agonizing minute, Daniel finally lost consciousness.
Extremely confused about what had happened to Daniel, Der and Jerigh turned to look at their surroundings, but the only person they saw in the vicinity, was the quiet and composed prisoner, which seemed to be meditating while waiting for something to happen.
Unable to find the cause of Daniel's pain, Der grabbed Daniel by his waist, and dragged him towards their planet of origin.
Once again, the prisoner opened his eyes, which had now gone back to their normal red color.. And muttered "You'll thank me for that.. one day."
—–
After a full day, Daniel finally managed to wake up, and together with his two friends, the three reached the atmosphere of the planet.
The moment they entered the planet's atmosphere, an immensely powerful immortal power scanned their bodies, and after confirming that they were in fact native members of this isolated planet, the immortal power disappeared, and they were allowed in.
Just minutes later, Daniel, Der, and Jerigh descended from the skies like three omnipotent deities.. landing right outside of a massive city.
