Made from blackened rock resembling obsidian, the Angelic Order's headquarters was truly a spectacle worthy of their prestige.
Adorned with a trim of gold, the dark-colored building stood completely apart from the park that surrounded it, the green grass complementing the deep hues wonderfully.
Eleanor could feel the holiness exuding from the walls of the building, a warmth that soaked through her skin and into her muscles and bones.
The overall design was no less awe-inspiring than the archbasilica of the Church of Depths, which housed the homes of the eight-member Council of Sages.
Through a thin veil of golden light, the entranceway soared—a short staircase of black marble that shone with a radiance fitting of a deity.
Pillars supported the domed roof that shot higher into the sky than any other building in the city, only beaten by the castle not far to the north.
Vertical windows stretched from the ground up, allowing plenty of natural light to enter, flowing from the glowing roots of the tree above.
Servants, workers, and apprentices bustled around the entrance, carrying papers, artifacts, and even solid gold from various places.
The blonde-haired girl could only marvel at the building that looked like it was pulled straight out of Heaven itself, yet remade in the image of death.
As she made her way through the shimmering curtain of light, she felt a cool, peaceful aura wash over her, cleansing her of all impure emotions and thoughts.
It was the same feeling she had felt when within her own cathedral in Sea Fallen, the watchful eye of god always protecting her in her home.
However, here, a different deity reigned, his authority far outranking even that of the God of Depths, a primordial beyond time itself.
He is a great being and should not be sullied in comparison to even an Angel…
For a moment, she closed her eyes, praying to this god for her safety within his lands, then continued forward, ascending the short steps and arriving in a grassy pavilion.
There, a cafe served a strange watery substance unfamiliar to the girl, her mouth immediately filling with saliva without even knowing why.
Forcing herself to clench her fists and resist the temptation, she took a breath and moved with haste, not daring to keep her Guardian Angel waiting any longer than she already did.
Scooting past the countless tables filled with men and women of various races, she noticed a similarity that they all shared.
Do they have badges attached to their necks to label them…?
While it wasn't the strangest thing she had seen in the depths of the Great Beyond, she couldn't quite get it out of her mind, a feeling of concern building in her chest.
She wished to stop, to investigate these people who dined on a drink that smelled like paradise itself; however, time was of the essence, and she couldn't waste a second.
Shutting her eyes and walking past the odd scene, she finally arrived at the normally sized doors that prevented any stragglers from entering the enormous building without permission.
A man stood at the door, his looks disheveled and his foul stench wafting through the air and into Eleanor's nostrils.
Dear Lord… Please protect this man…
Resisting the urge to gag on the putrid scent that resembled urine and sweat, she put on a false smile, approaching while internally cringing with disgust.
"H-hello, sir… Are you the gatekeep—"
She was cut off as he hucked a wet chunk of phlegm at her feet, his teeth showing their rotten crevices as the odd black pole he was holding in his hand shimmered dimly.
"Angelic scum."
Then, before she could even respond, he snapped his fingers.
Blip!
Eleanor's vision swayed, then warped into a world full of colors that stretched off into infinity, like beautiful tapestries of indecipherable scenes.
But, only a second later, she came back to reality, the doorway now behind her and her body firmly planted on a chair.
Her heartbeat pulsed loudly, her cheeks blushing red with embarrassment as she assessed her situation.
I-I was teleported into a…
She hesitated, noticing the empty benches surrounding her and the raised platform at the very front of the room.
"Arianna Moon, in the case of murder ten thousand, one hundred, and thirty-two times, how do you plead?"
Below the platform, Eleanor noticed a woman with wispy silver hair that resembled metal, piercing crimson eyes like a hawk, and a pitch-black trench coat.
It was someone she could never forget, the woman who was present in the Mausoleum of Dreams the very day of her death.
I-It's her trial…
Recalling the short paragraph detailing the Trial of Hell in the guidebook, she kept her voice silent, the judge sitting atop the bench staring down at the accused calmly.
The results of this trial will determine her punishment within Hell and how long until her soul is permissible to decay… However, if she is proven innocent, she will be allowed to rest in Neutrality.
The blonde-haired girl knew that there was not a shred of evidence in this world or the previous one that could alleviate the crimes that woman had committed, the inevitable fate soon to come to her.
"I plead guilty."
It was an unsurprising response by the former member of the Seven Head Order, to which the judge responded with a silent nod.
Raising the gavel slowly and then slamming it down with considerable force, the judge announced the verdict with a booming voice.
"Arianna Moon and her accomplice, Sylvia Arcturus, will be sentenced to ten thousand, one hundred, and thirty two years of suffocation as a retribution for the thousands of souls they caused to be crushed under the Great Sea Wall. Furthermore, upon completion of this sentence, their souls will be transferred to the Devil of Wrath to serve as souls for his torture."
Eleanor nodded firmly, the punishment not nearly vile enough for individuals who had committed mass murder on such a scale.
She had an accomplice other than Adam as well… How could there be that many cruel people in our world?
As a priestess, she was obliged to let those who sinned confess their transgressions in the name of god; however, to them, she could not find it in herself to pray for their salvation.
With one final slam of the gavel, the silver-haired woman with the black trench coat and another figure who had been hidden beside her burst into black flames, vanishing from sight soon after.
They did not make a sound as the fire consumed them, long since aware of the fate that awaited them the moment they made a pact with that man.
Now, with their departure, Eleanor was left alone with the judge, who slowly rose from their seat.
Two luminous white wings appeared on their back, allowing them to float gently towards the girl, finally giving her a chance to get a proper look at the person.
She was a woman, one with emerald green eyes and long blonde hair that resembled Eleanor's own, a shimmering halo hovering above her head, much like with other Angels she had seen.
Unlike the false Angel from earlier, however, Eleanor could tell that she was a True Angel, one of undeniable strength.
"Your Eminence."
She bowed her head low, attempting not to gaze upon her form for any longer than needed.
The True Angel, bearing a white cloak, sized the small girl up, determining and gauging her qualities as if she were a racehorse.
"Raise your head."
Eleanor did as she was told, not daring to make the Angel ask twice.
There was a brief silence before the woman spoke next, her expression one of solace and peace.
"You are Eleanor Lynn, someone who fell victim not simply to the Sea Fallen Incident, but also to the gaze of a deity."
And she didn't stop there.
"You are a priestess of the Church of Depths who has guarded her heart against the world itself for how it had wronged you. You are a child who faced a history more vile and cruel than those sentenced to the Hell below, someone burdened with the aura of death since but a fetus. You have received the attention of that man and have gained the respect of the Fallen Angel herself."
Taking a breath, she held out her pale white hand, a translucent orb made of liquid light appearing.
"Lastly, you are the Apprentice of the Angel of Justice, Prudentia. The one who overlooks the judgment of all souls and the devout messenger of the God of Truth and Equity."
Placing the object she had made out of light itself within the child's palm, she smiled, the sound of a scale resounding in Eleanor's ears.
"Now let us see if you are truly a just soul."
…
Eleanor stood on a stone floor, a familiar scene playing out before her eyes—the fires of Sea Fallen blazed around her, and the sight of her, albeit younger, standing beside Mia appeared.
Prudentia stood next to the modern version of the girl, watching as the younger one allowed every orphan into the bunker before herself.
"You prioritized the safety of the youthful before your own. This shows that you bear an understanding of the value of life and hold strong morals that override your own survival instincts."
She paused, holding her hand up, making the memory flash forward in an instant.
When the flow of time settled down again, they watched as the little girl finally crawled into the hole, her gaze directed up at her friend Mia, who was preparing to climb in after her.
The Eleanor of the present attempted to turn her gaze away; however, the Angel of Justice stopped her.
"You listened to her request of entering first; however, in that regard, you left behind the strong morals you had previously sought to uphold."
The young priestess was forced to witness once again as a lone incendiary grenade landed beside Mia, its pin pulled and on the verge of explosion.
All of a sudden, right as the object exploded, the memory froze, the Angel's expression grave.
"There is no need to witness a soul's final moments again. Such suffering would be unjust."
She pursed her lips, disregarding the tear that slipped down the teen girl's face.
"You were selfish. If you had defied her wishes and forced her to enter the bunker first, she would've lived, and you would've died. That fact is certain, regardless of your knowledge of the events that transpired that day."
Eleanor did not make a noise as the scene shifted away to another memory, the one of her and Godrick talking in the cathedral on the day of her abduction.
Prudentia spoke as the visual played in the background.
"There were signs of your mentor's corruption you ignored for years. When you spoke with his wife on holiday, she tried to alert you to his abnormality; however, you glossed over everything without a second thought. Why did you do such a thing? How could you knowingly allow a man who defied the nature of justice to walk free?"
The blonde-haired girl simply ground her teeth together, the words blatantly biased, her actions being misconstrued.
How could I have known! He was my mentor, not a monster!
Yet she repressed such feelings, the presence of a True Angel silencing all the arguments that she wanted to make.
A moment later, the scene shifted yet again, showing her handing out bread, the sack running dry as she came up the end of the street.
"You perform a selfless act once more, giving out the rations of the Church of Depths to those believers too unwell to make their way to service."
She paused, taking another look at the scene.
"But you neglect to consider the situations of others once more. That child there, the one with the black hair and emerald eyes."
Pointing towards a girl that Eleanor recognized to be a member of the Styx family, she continued speaking.
"She is old enough to work and earn a living on her own through many means. Why must you provide her with provisions instead of the sick and dying? Are their lives meaningless when they're a child? Who picks the value of a life?"
Within the priestess's chest, she felt the scale that had been placed within her hands tip towards a direction unfavorable to her.
She's not even 10 years old! How can I ask a child to work in the Sea Fallen factories!?
Again, the questions bubbled up inside of her, her voice remaining constrained even though she wanted to scream.
And once again, the scene changed.
This time, it was another one that she would never forget, an event so wondrous that even the Angel of Justice paused.
Opening the doors to a prison cell, Maria Elaris looked down at the sorry state of Eleanor Lynn, her golden gaze full of pity.
"H-Her Holiness…"
For the first time, Prudentia stumbled over her words, her eyes locking onto the pitch-black chains binding the True Angel's wrists.
"W-what have they done to you, my lady?"
Before the True Angel could speak more, the memory started, showing how Maria rescued Eleanor from her confinement.
Then, the scene dissolved into turquoise fog, not leaving any time for the Angel of Justice to do her analysis or point out Eleanor's supposed flaws.
The woman furrowed her brow in confusion, the terrain around her unfamiliar and different from anything she had seen in any memories before.
The fog rolled over the ground, and faint taps, like those of many tiny feet, could be heard in the darkness, accompanied by the conversation between Aaron Grimstall and Eleanor of the past.
Enveloped in the nothingness, the only thing they could barely discern was a silhouette of a small creature darting through the mist, its form impossible to identify.
"Y-you… This memory shows your…"
The Angel trailed off as if she didn't know what to say, the anomaly in her abilities clearly shaking her mental state considerably.
First, she had been unable to control the vision of the Pontiff; now, as she tried to warp between various memories over the next weeks of Eleanor's life, nothing but the laughter of an elderly man rang out.
The Angel of Justice appeared stressed, her face exuding sweat that acted as weights, balancing the scale inside the blonde girl's heart once more.
The Ghostship is preventing her eyes from witnessing it…
Eleanor bit her lip, beginning to question if the blond boy who had helped her return to Sea Fallen was truly working alongside the feared Slayer.
Finally, after a short period, the scene reflected the docks of Sea Fallen, Aaron's face coming into view.
It was the moment of their goodbyes, a sad tinge of concern shooting through the girl's chest as she watched it again.
"This memory is clear to me."
Prudentia spoke aloud, disrupting the child's thoughts.
"You are dishonest. You hide your truths. You bury the emotions that cling to your heart like a murderer burying a corpse, praying no one notices the disturbed ground."
The scale in the priestess's heart dropped with such force that it caught Eleanor's breath, her eyes bulging.
"You, Eleanor Lynn, never wished to depart from that boy, did you? You found him amusing, entertaining, and most importantly."
She paused, a slow smile coming across her lips.
"You thought of him as a tool."