The man approached the table where the council members were seated, his leather shoes making a soft sound with each step until they settled onto the carpet. He swept his gaze over them one by one as if judging everyone's appearance, until his eyes stopped on Lira, and then he rested one of his arms on the table, sighing slowly.

— The strongest military ship was sabotaged by the same individuals who attacked the city of Boston. I haven't made a single decision since an entire city was devastated by Yaolians, but you took the lead. The C.E.M council is made for and ONLY for judging or deciding someone's fate before the organization's tribunal, not for going directly to the battlefield! — Exclaimed the superior.

— Sir... — Ari tried to say, immediately being interrupted.

— Besides that, you let the individuals escape, and furthermore, you lost one of your own! — He took a deep breath, trying to keep his calm. And then he began to walk around the circular table, passing by the members and stopping behind Dax.

— Luckily, we captured one of them, and the trial must begin now. As soon as it is over, you will discover your punishment.

He said his final sentence before walking away and closing the door right behind him, making a clack that sounded like pure hatred. The room fell silent without the threatening presence of the high-superior. Lira waited a few seconds before lifting her face. The bluish reflection from the screens scattered around the room made her eyes look even colder as she rested her fingers on the circular glass table.

— He is not wrong. — She said in a low tone. — But if we had won… the situation would be worse.

Keon looked up at her attentively, his clasped hands warming each other with the heat of constant sparks.

Lira waited a few seconds before lifting her face. The bluish reflection from the screens scattered around the room made her eyes look even colder as she rested her fingers on the circular glass table.

— He is not wrong. — She said in a low tone. — But if we had won… the situation would be much worse.

Keon looked up along with Ari, still with his hands clasped, his face seeming to light up a little.

— Does this have to do with the conversation we had before the mission?

— A few days ago, I went to Hawr's office to request authorization so they wouldn't punish agent Vargas, shortly after her and Rource's trial; they were planning to execute them despite our decision. I saw Hawr hiding some files before I walked in; he quickly covered it up, just giving a thumbs-up and leaving the room. I found it strange because there is nothing the superiors know that the council shouldn't know, and I started reviewing old C.E.M records. And then I found out about the Datum a Sacris cult. — Lira continued.

The name seemed to weigh heavy in the air. Dax averted her eyes for a moment; Ari remained motionless.

— Fanatical beings obsessed with the divine relics. They planned to defeat that group because two of them were children of "Kieria", and from what I read, they were the only ones capable of stopping their plans, and so the cult wanted to kill them before they discovered the power they held.

— But well, what does this have to do with our defeat? — Dax inquired.

— They planned to destroy the group first and then attack the C.E.M afterwards, which is why I sent troops to look for the members of the terrorist group to stall them, without them knowing, of course. And then I decided that if we went after the group and got defeated, no one from the C.E.M would try to hunt the group down due to the risk. This way, we managed to delay them for a while so they wouldn't destroy the C.E.M nor take the relics.

— Religious terrorists... But what about the risk of them almost killing us? — Asked Dax, crossing her arms. — Do you really think a cult could attack on that scale?

— I don't think. I know. — Lira answered dryly. — There are entire cities that vanished from records after clashes involving relics. The C.E.M has hidden this for decades.

Keon stood still for a few seconds before speaking:

— So you manipulated the mission from the beginning, knowing we could all die?

— Yes, Keon, it was all or nothing.

Vierius was kneeling on the polished quartz floor, bound by chains to an iron pillar that seemed to be worn out, almost rusting. His knees were turning red from being directly on the floor for so long, his wrists and ankles were tied. He looked to the side; Galactor had already woken up but couldn't roar because the chain binding him was also in his mouth. He expressed a certain anguish and hatred as if tasting old steel in his mouth, slamming his tail against the floor trying to draw attention with the noise. Vierius could only look down, thinking about how to act without drawing too much attention. The glass door suddenly opened, followed by several heavy leather boot footsteps. The five council members took their places at the long, circular table. Ari held his breath for a moment upon seeing Vierius, who had been captured.

— Vierius, the non-human being... — Began Dax, her voice echoing solemnly through the tribunal. — On September 22, 2010, the group of individuals of which the defendant is a part acted as the protagonists in the deliberate destruction of an entire city and the genocide of its population. Acts which are formally categorized as crimes of Transnational Terrorism, Aggravated Mass Murder, and Destruction of Public and Private Property. Given the weight of these accusations... what does the defendant say in his defense—

Vierius pushed himself forward, the metal frame of the pillar making a noise as it hit the chains, at the very limit of his bindings.

— We didn't destroy that city on purpose… — he took a deep breath, trying to maintain the calm he always had. — We were defending the people. Fighting against monsters that would have killed many more. You didn't see what we saw.

Dax maintained a stoic and serious expression, without accepting his argument, she just continued:

— That doesn't justify the losses, nor your "heroism". Shortly before that, we also had a report of one of our laboratories destroyed, by the same individuals and with the participation of Hamura. On that day, only the street had been the battlefield, but a few weeks later, a city became your stage, you clowns.

To the right of the magistrates' bench, Keon crosses his arms worriedly, and whispers to Lira:

— This is the destruction of hundreds of billions of dollars. How can we keep this group alive when the very least we should do is declare the death penalty for the guilty?

— My plan is to give him a few more days to live; we can postpone his sentence until we find the rest of the group. We have to make them defeat the cult first within that timeframe.

In the jury box, the lower-ranking agents whisper among themselves in indecision over his penalty, but one of the jurors starts shouting indignantly:

— Let's end this once and for all, sentence him to the death penalty! There is no more salvation in this subject's rotting flesh!

The other agents in the jury gain the courage to speak out against Vierius, starting to stand up one by one to boo the hybrid. Dax begins to strike the gavel on the sounding block, trying to maintain order. The sound begins to fill the large, empty courtroom along with many protests. Ari stands up from his seat to speak against the voices:

— An objection, gentlemen of the jury! Please, listen before it's too late. — Ari objected, waiting for a minute of silence. — Look at him! Justice cannot be so blind as to destroy what we do not even understand. If this man is indeed a hybrid, his blood and his body hide vital secrets about what exists out there. Killing him today isn't delivering justice; it's an act of pure ignorance! Are we going to bury the only chance of getting answers? I ask that you postpone the execution for just a few days. Let's keep him under maximum security and let scientists truly examine him. We need to know what he is before deciding his end! — With Ari's speech, the jury calmed down, leaving the room quiet once again.

— The accusation brought to this court is too grave to be ignored. If the defendant is not entirely human, his very existence changes the terms of this trial. We will not be accomplices to a blind execution. I grant a period of three days for the scientific team to bring us a definitive report. Until then, the defendant remains alive, under the full custody of the State. Court is adjourned for today — Dax strikes the gavel on the table, closing the tribunal.

Two guards approached the three of them. One of them pressed a shiny black weapon — a sub-relic — against his back, while the other released the chains from the pillar, keeping only the ones that bound his wrists and ankles. Vierius let them take him. A tear falling onto his blue clothes. While they dragged him towards the exit, he turned his face to the side. Galactor was still chained, his tail slowly beating against the floor in contained frustration, his red eyes burning with hatred changing into nervousness and fear. Their eyes met for a brief second.

Vierius spoke softly, almost just moving his lips, knowing that Galactor would be able to read them:

— Stay calm… it's not over yet.

Galactor gnashed his teeth against the chain gag, but stopped beating his tail. Passing by the council bench, Vierius looked up. His eyes stopped on Lira. She was observing him with that calculated coldness, without looking away. He held her gaze for a few seconds, his voice coming out low but clear enough for her to hear:

— We are still heroes... even if the people don't recognize it. — He took a pause, his breathing heavy.

Lira didn't answer him; she kept staring at him until he passed through the door. She tilted her head slightly, as if registering his words. Ari tried to signal to him with his hands, saying "Vierius, I will help you!". The guards pushed Vierius out of the room. The glass door closed behind them with a muffled sound, leaving the courtroom. Vierius, Galactor, and B34 were blindfolded so they wouldn't memorize the path to the rooms. Without knowing where he was being taken, Vierius was thrown into a solitary containment cell alone, a few meters away after passing through the elevator, having his blindfold removed right after.

B34 processed all the images he had captured in silence, from the beginning to the end of the trial down to the cold cell. He was sealed in solitary confinement where it constantly threw electrical signals at the nearest metal, forcing B34 into an eternal reboot cycle. Vierius was in a solitary cell where the walls were too rough to climb or break, and the metal door would shock anything that touched it on the side facing the cell. Finally, and much less importantly, Galactor was thrown into a basic cell, without any blindfold or chain holding him, in which he started to run so fast that he managed to walk on the walls. Left in that infinite military complex.

A little farther away, still in Albany, Pyramid's escape pod has just landed on the roof of a house, this time without destroying anything. The alien awakens, opening his single eye; he was drenched in honey that the escape pod had provided for his recovery. He quickly gets up from the ship's seat, thinking desperately of his son upon remembering him; he looks around searching for his son, but cannot find anyone.

— Galactor..!

His single eye glows completely white the one time he blinks; he dashes forward, starting to run at Mach 15 speed, leaving an amber trail, his cloak reacting violently to the wind. Using the buildings for support and momentum, he dodged all the pedestrians and cars before he could touch them. He traveled the entire city landscape in seconds, checking every structure. Gradually, his speed increased along with his despair.