Thief Of Existence

TRĒS

There was a time when Arian was chased by a huge wild boar after she killed one of its babies. It was so angry that its eyes were almost red with fury. It had powerful strides and stomps that Arian found difficult to run away from. Even her adrenaline rush wasn't enough to boost her speed and most of the time, she would trip from a tree root or slip in a puddle. It was her first failed attempt in hunting and at that time, as the boar relentlessly tried to catch up with her, she was so afraid for her life.

That was exactly how Arian felt the moment the Goddess of Time asked her if they should proceed with the cross-examination.

There was no doubt that the deity had it all planned, even Uniene looked like she was in on it. Arian began to consider if all the deities planned on making her trials hard for her to serve as her punishment. The Goddess of Time looked at her with squinted eyes and a smirk that seemed to tell Arian that there was no way out. She looked at the box of spectators and saw that they too had a sinister look on their faces. Only Ylis looked worried and concerned for her.

Arian finally understood how it felt to be prey. She had been a predator for so long, hunting and killing defenseless animals left and right. She felt that the world was on her fingertip and that she was powerful enough. All of that diminished as she looked straight into the Goddess of Time's eyes. They were burning to see her difficulty. Uniene's eyes were the same.

They want to see me fail.

"What is it, Arian?" the deity groaned as she twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. She loved seeing the mortal's nervousness. Arian looked fearless when she stepped inside her courtroom and seeing her quiver in fear made the Goddess of Time feel pleased with herself.

"We don't have all day, Arian. Should we proceed or not?"

"No, we should not. I'd like to present myself."

The deity rolled her eyes as she flipped her hair.

"You see, mortal, I'm not in favor of those presentations anymore."

"You allowed them during my father's trial."

"But you're different from him and I know that you are aware of it."

Ylis watched Arian bravely arguing with the Goddess of Time. She had never met a mortal who was so determined to talk back against the deities. Arian was a mortal unafraid to speak her mind. In a way, Ylis was proud of herself that she was her Fae of Mortal Guidance.

"I am different, that's true," Arian said with confidence, "which makes me much more deserving of the right to present myself in this court."

"Why are you so desperate to carry on with your presentation? I can see very well in your memories that you haven't prepared anything," Lada weighed in the conversation, her arms crossed. Uniene happily included it in the court exchange records. The Goddess of Time roared with laughter, pointing at Arian insultingly.

"You badly want to present yourself despite not having prepared anything! Now that's hilarious. I don't know how highly you think of yourself but it's not enough to get through me," the deity giggled. Arian tightened her fists then she slammed them on the table. The breaking sound of wood echoed throughout the entire courtroom. Everyone froze in silence, even the Goddess of Time, as they watched Arian's shoulder rise with every heavy breath she took.

"Being able to present will give me a chance to show the good that I have done. Though I must agree that presentations are full of glowing self-compliments, these allow you to keep in mind how I wisely used my time at some points of my existence. However, if we go straight to the cross-examination, you will just focus on asking me how I wasted my existence, my time. I know that this is a sort of trap, Your Divineness, and I'm not falling for it. Whatever you planned with Uniene and Lada, I am against it!"