Chapter 1
The first thing I heard when I opened my eyes...
...was my own breathing.
Heavy.
Broken.
Each breath felt like a punishment, as though even the simple act of staying alive had become unbearable.
For several long moments, my vision was swallowed by a thick grey haze. Everything around me was blurred, distorted.
I couldn’t understand where I was...
or how I had ended up here.
I slowly drew in a deep breath and forced my eyes open.
Silence.
An unnatural...
oppressive silence.
It was so absolute that I could hear every breath escaping my own lungs.
My heart began pounding inside my chest.
With trembling movements, I lifted my head.
And then...
I froze.
Before me stood an enormous throne.
No...
Calling it a throne would be an insult to what I was looking at.
It had been carved from black stone, towering so high that standing before it made a human feel no larger than an ant.
Two colossal stone lions guarded either side.
Their eyes were lifeless.
Yet for some reason...
I couldn’t shake the terrifying feeling that they were staring directly at me.
Watching.
Waiting.
Judging.
This wasn’t a royal palace.
It felt like a courtroom...
Not one where men were judged...
But where fate itself delivered its verdict.
A chill crawled down my spine.
My eyes darted across the endless chamber.
There were countless souls.
Thousands...
Perhaps millions.
All dressed in pure white robes.
Their faces were empty.
Emotionless.
And somehow...
I felt every single one of them was looking only at me.
My body shivered.
“W-Where...”
My lips barely moved.
“...where am I?”
The words disappeared into the endless silence before they could even echo back to me.
Then...
Something beside me caught my attention.
Someone...
was sitting there.
A girl.
Her clothes were soaked in blood.
Her head hung lifelessly forward.
Long strands of dark hair covered her face completely, hiding every feature.
She didn’t move.
Not even once.
She looked...
as though life itself had abandoned her.
My heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
I didn’t know why.
But the moment I looked at her...
An unbearable ache twisted inside my chest.
It felt...
wrong.
As if I knew her.
Not just knew her...
As if she was someone I could never forget.
Someone precious.
Someone whose existence meant everything to me.
Yet no matter how desperately I searched my mind...
Nothing came back.
Only darkness.
Only emptiness.
And that terrified me more than the silence surrounding us.
I tried to move my hands again.
Once.
Twice.
Then with every ounce of strength I had.
Nothing.
They didn’t move...
Not even an inch.
“W-What...?”
Panic gripped me as I looked down at my wrists.
No ropes.
No chains.
Nothing.
My hands were completely free.
Yet...
It felt as though some invisible force had wrapped itself around my body, holding me captive.
“No!”
I strained against it with everything I had.
The muscles in my arms burned.
Veins bulged beneath my skin.
My breathing became ragged.
But my body refused to obey me.
“Is anyone there?!”
My voice echoed through the endless chamber.
“Get me out of here!”
“Who are you people?!”
“Where am I?!”
“What is this place?!”
“And...”
I looked at the blood-soaked girl beside me.
“...who is she?”
My voice trembled.
“Why...”
“Why can’t I remember anything?!”
My heart pounded violently against my ribs.
Fear was beginning to consume me.
Then...
My eyes drifted to my chest.
My entire body froze.
Right through the centre of my chest...
was a deep, horrifying wound.
It looked as though a sword had been driven straight through me...
...and then ripped back out without mercy.
My breathing stopped.
With trembling fingers, I reached towards the wound.
The moment my fingertips came close—
Agony exploded inside my skull.
“AAAGHHH!”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
And suddenly...
Fragments of memories burst into my mind.
Bang!
Gunfire.
Screams.
Blood.
I was fighting.
Surrounded by dozens of armed men.
Bullets rained toward me from every direction.
One struck me.
Then another.
Then another.
My body was drenched in blood.
Yet somehow...
I kept fighting.
Then...
Someone appeared behind me.
A burning pain tore through my chest.
A sword.
It had pierced straight through me.
My breath caught in my throat.
Everything went cold.
But it didn’t end there.
Another blade.
Then another.
Then another.
Steel ripped through my flesh again and again.
My body was carved apart without mercy.
“NO!”
I screamed as the memories shattered.
My eyes flew open.
I gasped for air, my chest rising and falling uncontrollably.
Tears streamed down my face before I even realised I was crying.
“So...”
My voice barely escaped my lips.
“...am I...”
“...dead?”
The words echoed inside my own mind.
Dead.
The thought alone felt heavier than the world itself.
My heart sank into darkness.
Then...
My gaze returned to the girl beside me.
This time...
Something inside me changed.
An unbearable ache spread through my chest.
Something...
Someone...
was pulling me toward her.
I leaned forward as far as the invisible force would allow.
Then...
A single glimpse of her hand slipped through the curtain of her hair.
And everything inside me shattered.
A locked door deep within my memories burst open.
“S...”
My lips trembled.
“...Supriya?”
My heartbeat stopped.
“Supriya!”
I shouted her name without thinking.
“Is... is that really you?”
“Supriya!”
“Please... listen to me!”
I struggled against the invisible force with everything I had.
“Wake up...”
“Please...”
“Just once...”
“Look at me...”
Then—
“SILENCE!”
The voice crashed through the chamber like thunder.
The entire hall trembled.
Even the air itself seemed to shake.
Every sound vanished.
My breath caught in my throat.
Instinctively, I looked towards the gigantic gates.
A monstrous figure stood there.
Towering.
Nightmarish.
A massive spear rested in one hand.
His eyes burned like molten fire.
He swept his terrifying gaze across the entire court before roaring,
“Silence...”
“Every last one of you.”
Then...
The monster lowered his head.
In a voice filled with absolute reverence, he announced,
“His Lordship... has arrived.”
And in that very instant...
The entire Court of Death fell into complete silence.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face.
Again and again, I tried to lean toward the girl beside me.
“Wake up...”
My voice trembled.
“Supriya...”
“Please...”
No response.
I couldn’t even hear her breathing.
With every passing second, the fear inside me grew stronger.
I forced myself forward once more, desperate to reach her shoulder.
Just a little closer...
Just enough to touch her.
But it was useless.
That invisible force still held me prisoner, refusing to let my body obey.
“What the hell is happening?!”
My voice cracked into a scream.
“Will someone tell me where I am?!”
“What is this place?!”
“I... I’m going to lose my mind!”
My cries echoed through the enormous hall.
Yet...
No one even looked at me.
No one answered.
It was as if I didn’t exist.
Then—
BOOM!
A deafening crash thundered through the chamber.
The entire court trembled.
Instinctively, my eyes shot toward the gigantic black gates.
Slowly...
The towering doors began to open.
As the ancient gates parted...
The massive torches lining the endless hall ignited on their own.
One...
Then another...
Then another...
Within moments, the entire court was bathed in a haunting golden glow.
At that exact moment...
Every soul in the hall rose to its feet.
No one gave an order.
No one spoke.
Yet every head lowered in absolute reverence.
The silence that followed was terrifying.
So complete...
that even the sound of a single breath would have shattered it.
The monstrous guard standing before the gates slammed the end of his mace against the stone floor.
BOOM!
His roar shook the very walls.
“Attention!”
The command echoed endlessly throughout the Court of Death.
“The Lord of Death approaches.”
Then...
I saw him.
The air left my lungs.
He wasn’t merely a king.
He wasn’t merely a god.
He was Judgment itself.
Tall.
Majestic.
A being whose very existence radiated unimaginable authority.
An ancient golden crown rested upon his head.
His thick moustache framed a face that carried both infinite compassion...
and unwavering justice.
His broad shoulders seemed capable of bearing the weight of the universe itself.
In his hand rested a colossal mace...
A weapon that looked less like steel...
and more like the embodiment of death.
With every step he took...
The entire court seemed to bow before him.
Reality itself felt heavier.
Time slowed.
Even my heartbeat forgot how to beat.
Behind him walked another divine figure.
Unlike the Lord of Death, his appearance was calm and composed.
Yet his eyes...
His eyes held the wisdom of countless ages.
In his hands rested an enormous golden ledger.
Every page shimmered with a soft celestial light...
As though every soul that had ever lived was written within it.
I couldn’t stop staring.
Only one thought echoed inside my mind.
If he wished...
He could change the fate of the entire universe with a single word.
But...
None of that mattered to me.
Not his overwhelming presence.
Not this terrifying court.
Not even the fact that I might truly be dead.
My eyes returned to the girl beside me.
“Supriya...”
I whispered.
“Please...”
“Just once...”
“Open your eyes...”
At that moment...
I didn’t care about my own death.
I didn’t care where I was.
I didn’t care who these divine beings were.
There was only one question consuming my soul.
Was Supriya still alive...
...or had I already lost her forever?
The Lord of Death walked slowly toward the colossal throne.
Every step he took echoed through the endless hall.
The moment he seated himself upon the throne...
Every soul in the court bowed at once.
Two celestial attendants stepped behind him, gently waving ornate fly-whisks.
The flames burning beside the throne roared to life, burning brighter than before.
For several long moments...
No one spoke.
The silence was so profound that it felt as though time itself had stopped.
Then...
The divine man who had entered behind him stepped forward.
Holding the enormous golden ledger in both hands, he slowly opened it.
The pages turned on their own.
One after another.
Each page shimmered with a faint golden light.
Then his solemn voice echoed across the Court of Death.
“My Lord...”
“Two human souls have arrived today.”
“I humbly request that judgment be passed upon their deeds.”
The Lord of Death slowly turned his gaze toward me...
Then to the girl sitting beside me.
For several moments...
He simply watched her.
Without saying a word.
Finally, his deep voice broke the silence.
“Has this young woman regained consciousness?”
The divine scribe folded his hands respectfully.
“No, My Lord.”
“Though her mortal life has ended, her consciousness has yet to awaken completely.”
The Lord of Death raised his right hand.
Without the slightest expression...
He snapped his fingers.
Snap.
The sound was soft.
Yet it echoed through the entire court like the strike of fate itself.
The very next moment...
The girl’s fingers twitched.
A slow breath escaped her lips.
Her head moved ever so slightly.
My eyes widened.
“S... Supriya!”
I threw myself toward her with every bit of strength I had.
“Supriya!”
“Are you alright?”
“Please...”
“Look at me!”
“Supriya!”
I kept calling her name.
Again...
And again...
My voice echoed throughout the silent court.
For the first time...
The Lord of Death looked directly at me.
His eyes were calm.
Emotionless.
Yet the power within them was so overwhelming that it felt as though my very soul had been laid bare before him.
He watched me in silence for a few moments.
Then, without changing his expression, he spoke.
“Chitragupta.”
“Present the complete record of the sins and virtues of these two humans.”
“At once, My Lord.”
Chitragupta turned another page of the radiant ledger.
The instant it opened...
The entire court was illuminated by a brilliant golden light.
My heartbeat grew even faster.
Every beat echoed inside my ears.
The court fell silent once again.
Every soul fixed its gaze upon Chitragupta.
He lowered his eyes to the glowing script before speaking.
“My Lord...”
“As for this young man...”
He paused briefly.
Then continued.
“Throughout his entire life...”
“He has committed no act worthy of being counted as a sin.”
I felt...
Nothing.
No relief.
No pride.
My eyes never left Supriya.
Chitragupta continued.
“His record of sin is completely empty.”
“His ledger of virtue stands full.”
“He has lived his life with righteousness, honesty, and selfless intent.”
The Lord of Death listened without interruption.
Then...
Chitragupta turned to the next page.
The expression on his face changed.
He drew a slow breath.
“And now...”
“The record of this young woman.”
The silence inside the court became suffocating.
“She has taken the lives of many innocent people.”
My heart skipped a beat.
“Though she has performed deeds of virtue...”
“They are vastly outweighed by the burden of her sins.”
The world around me seemed to stop.
My breathing became shallow.
I turned toward Supriya.
She had only just awakened.
Confusion filled her eyes.
She had no idea what was happening.
Chitragupta did not close the ledger.
Instead, he bowed respectfully toward the Lord of Death.
Then, in a voice that carried the weight of eternal law, he declared—
“According to the sacred laws of Dharma...”
The entire Court of Death fell into absolute silence.
Even time itself seemed to hold its breath.
Then...
He pronounced the words that shattered my world.
“This young woman’s soul... is condemned to Naraka.”
