They escorted me through the academy's eastern hall in a silent formation. Instructor Athea walked slightly ahead, posture straight and unyielding. Headmaster Veyth kept pace at my right side, each step measured and certain. Orien stuck close behind, ready to steady me if I faltered. The further we walked, the quieter the academy became. Students stopped mid sentence, the faint echoes of doors shutting and the smell of ink welcomed me, it reminded me what I had lost, that once damaged but peaceful life. The weight of many eyes followed us down the long stone corridors, I felt trapped under their gaze.
We reached a circular chamber, a wide room of carved pale marble with tall windows that filled the room with bright summer light. The smoke from bonfires for the flame solstice visible in the city. At the centre sat a long table where three additional strangers sat. They were dressed in white and gold robes, shiny black masks that look to be carved from obsidian, obscuring half of their face, leaving their mouth and nose free. The symbol of their sin marked their forehead, paladin inspectors.
The inspector from Lust sat to my left, her smile was warm and welcoming and her eyes soft through her mask. Her gaze was inviting, like hoping I would sit beside her and trust her with my secrets immediately. She folds her hands on the table, her posture relaxed in a way that feels rehearsed.
The inspector from Deceit sat to her right, his back was straight and his fingertips rested lightly against the table as if balancing invisible scales. His gaze was cold and calculated, it moved across my face with no humanity behind it. A predator watching his prey.
Lastly, to the right of the Deceit inspector sat Wrath. His fingers were tapping the table impatiently unable to sit still. His attention drifted from me and the reports which sat in front of him. He looks like he's made his mind up already.
Headmaster Veyth guided me to the chair opposite them, he moved like someone who believed the truth bent for him alone. His chin lifted slightly as he sat, the faint shimmer of Pride visible on his forehead. He did not ask anyone if he could begin, he simply started.
''Veyrin.'' Headmaster Veyth starts, voice perfectly calm. ''You will answer plainly and completely. I will determine what is relevant.'' He pauses, as if granting me the dignity of acknowledging his dominance. ''Do you understand?''
''Yes, sir.'' I say
''Good, begin with your disappearance and then explain everything that unfolded afterwards.'' he replied.
I told them about being separated, how it happened after I left to relieve myself. I told them about the Nightmaw and how I tried to defend myself. The tall creature that attacked us and the cold it carried. I spoke carefully and slowly, ignoring my racing heartbeat to not mess up with the details.
I say nothing about the ruins, nothing about the silhouette of a wolf or the vision of the Eclipse. I had not seen them with my own eyes, but the eyes of a bystander. They belonged to someone else's truth. Not my own.
Lust tilts her head in curiosity and leans in closer after heaving a sigh, her voice was soft and coaxing.
''You must have felt very alone out there, you can tell us anything you want. We only want to help you.'' Her tone slid along my nerves like warm oil.
''Just trust me, everything will be okay. Just take my hand darling.'' she purrs.
Instructor Athea raises her hand and her voice.
''He will speak without interference, witch.''
She smiled without moving her eyes, then sat back into her chair.
Headmaster Veyth takes over, his voice carries more weight than the others combined.
''Describe the tall creature, in as much details as possible.''
So I did, I described the creature. My mind flashing back to the creature standing just above me looking me up and down just before It was about to devour me. The long limbs. The bark-like skin. The mouth, how it opened from its head to its chin with the crowd of teeth. The cold that follows it. The way it moved in and out of our vision.
The Wrath Inspector swallowed, he knew of the creature, you could see it in his eyes and body language. The other two stayed silent, letting the dread creep in.
Headmaster Veyth nodded slowly, each movement deliberate. ''You encountered The Bàs Gairthe. Also known as death summoned in the old tongue. A rare creature formed from concentrated suffering and death. They are born in places where great wrong has been done.''
Lust's expression shifted, it softened, but not in sympathy. More like curiosity sharpened by admiration. ''And one happened to stumble into you, fascinating.'' She says, smirk on her face.
Deceit frowned, '' The Bàs Gairthe do not appear without cause, something drew it.''
Headmaster Veyth presses his finger tips together then points to me. ''We are determining whether the thing that drew it to your group was in fact, you. Boy.'' A hint of disdain appears on his face before disappearing quicker than it appeared.
My pulse quickens, Orien steps forward to defend me. ''Headmaster Aldros, Veyrin has no Lightscar. No way of summoning anything. Please consider this as an accident.''
Headmaster Veyth does not spare him a glance. ''Monsters do not only answer to Lightscars, they answer to many things and I will find out the truth. Especially when my Niece was butchered to save this wretch.'' The look of disdain stuck to his face now, his eyes bore holes into my own and I could feel the weight of his words.
Lust spoke up once more. ''Enough now Aldros, let us do our work. Veyrin dear. Was there anything else? Anything you saw or felt that you did not yet share with us?''
I shook my head. ''No, nothing.''
Deceit cleared his throat, his voice was cool and controlled. ''Witnesses claimed the creature was entirely focused on you at first, why?''
''I don't know why.'' I responded.
''Did you lure it?''
''No'' I say.
''You did not intend to harm any members of your group?''
''No.''
His gaze sharpens, as if looking into my very soul.
''Do you want to harm anyone now?''
''No.'' I responded.
''Do you dream about harming others.''
The question felt like a blade in my ribs. ''No.'' I say.
''Do you suffer with nightmares or dark dreams?''
I look at Orien and hesitate.
The inspectors lean forward, almost in unison.
''I do not know how to answer that.'' I say quietly.
Headmaster Veyth adjusts his dress cuffs. ''Then answer it plainly. Do your dreams frighten you?''
I look at my hands. ''Sometimes.''
''What happens in these dreams, how do they frighten you?'' Headmaster Veyth continues.
''I do not know, I don't remember them when I wake. I just know I was frightened.''
The wrath inspector finally speaks up for the first time. ''Four people died on that expedition. Four. Some honourably some not.'' He looks to Headmaster Veyth and nods, like a small prayer to his niece. He continues '' All lost because something followed you whether you wanted it to or not. The young master Lucien Solbrax reported that you are cursed. He believes your presence drew them creatures and made the forest act strangely.
The word cursed landed with a thud in my chest, heavy and destructive.
Deceit leans forward. ''Do you feel cursed?''
''I do not know.'' I respond.
''Do you feel like those deaths were connected to you?''
My pulse beats unevenly. ''No, I didn't do anything. I tried. I fought. I lost and I survived.''
Deceits eyes sharpened with precision, hunting for a pause or stutter. ''So you did not contribute to their deaths?''
''No.'' I whisper.
Headmaster Veyth sits straighter, the light around him bending faintly. ''Then what did the creature come for? Do not say you do not know. Guessing is allowed if you lack the proper answers.''
Orien steps forward and interjects, voice strained. ''That is unfair, you asked him not to guess.''
The headmaster didn't look at him, his eyes locked onto me the whole time. Searching for the cracks that were sure to form. ''Veyrin, you were the only constant factor. You left the group. A Nightmaw attacked you alone. The Bàs Gairthe arrived immediately after. This is not a coincidence. Something directed them.''
My throat was tightening until I couldn't breathe.
Lust tries again. Leaning in as if offering comfort. ''You can be honest, you can tell us if you were drawn to something. Not just anyone can go missing in the Forest of sin and make it back safe. Sometimes these creatures respond to emotion. Anger. Pain. Loneliness.''
Deceit's voice cuts the air sharply. '' Have you ever wished harm on anyone? Even once?'' He asks.
''No.'' I say louder this time, anger and agitation building in me.
''Have you ever felt different from others? Hollow or wrong?''
''I'm Scarless, I'm always different.'' I replied.
Lust gives a sympathetic hum. ''And does that hurt you?''
Something inside me cracks wide open, my breath stuttered. My hands tremble against my knees.
The headmaster's voice softened with a kind of cold patience. ''Tell us what you fear, tell us. Who. You. Are.''
I try to hold myself together, but the pressure builds up too fast. My chest tightens and my vision blurs. Words begin to flow from my mouth without time to process them.
''I am alone.'' I say. ''Always have been. All I remember and know is Crownspire. I don't know where I came from or even know if I have parents. I have no one but Orien.'' My breath broke. ''I am Scarless. I walk halls where everyone looks through me. I bow. I disappear. And now when I finally found people who see me, you drag them away from me with every question.''
No one moves, Orien's eyes heavy with sorrow and Instructor Athea's mouth slightly twitching into a smile. The words kept coming because I could not stop them. My breath grew fast and shallow. I pressed a hand to my chest but it did nothing.
''I don't want anyone to die for me, I don't want to hurt anyone. I didn't want to be followed. I didn't want the monsters to come. I didn't ask for any of it. I… just wanted someone to look at me and not hate what they see.''
My breath collapses in on itself. I double forward slightly, trying to pull the air back into my lungs. It felt like I was breathing through damp cloth. My heartbeat threatened to shatter my ribcage.
No one spoke.
Orien moved towards me, the headmaster raised his hand to stop him. Instructor Athea takes a step towards the headmaster with a sharp look that says she will not allow him to dictate this interrogation any longer. Orien only stops because of her.
Wrath looked bored, his fingers tapping the table once more impatiently. Lust tilts her head with curiosity beaming behind her soft expression and Deceit simply resumes observing, unmoving.
Headmaster Veyth finally speaks again, his tone unchanging.
''I hear your pain, but your emotions do not answer my questions. Did you draw to beast to kill my niece worm?''
He had not listened. None of them listened. Everything I spilled from my lips evaporated before reaching their ears. My pain means nothing to them. They didn't even bother to listen.
Only Orien watches with grief behind his soft eyes. Only Instructor Athea stands with tension carved into her posture, one hand lifted as though she had to stop herself from pulling me from my chair. The rest remain…unmoved.
The headmaster speaks again, his tone final. ''I will ask you once more, did you cause the deaths on the expedition?''
''No,'' my tone is thin and tired.
Deceit waits for a flicker, stutter or a shift. Anything.
None comes.
Deceit nods once. ''He believes it.''
The headmaster stands quickly. ''Then is inquiry is concluded.''
Instructor Athea places her hand on my shoulder, steady and grounding. She whispered low enough for only me to hear. ''You are not alone. I saw what happened. You were brave.''
But as they led me from the room, the weight in my chest didn't lift. The silence that followed me felt deeper than before.
I had spoken my truth, ones that I never say aloud. I had broken open entirely. And none of them cared. None of them wanted to know the truth, they just wanted me to be guilty.