HORIZON 1.1

Part -1

"Murderer—you call me murderer." Standing in the middle of the podium, Yash began his last speech in front of the city.

The podium connected to a hemi-circular, black glassy wall at the end and was fifteen steps above the ground. 

Four cubicle objects—red, green, blue, and yellow—were floating above the wall, revolving in a disciplined routine, each presenting one constellation.

A shrine dedicated to constellations, where offenders used to come for their final trial, hoping that constellations would show up and forgive their punishment.
A custom of Zone from which no one had yet benefited because the constellation's presence had not yet been discovered in history.
But there was still hope. 

Temenos was filled with people.
 
"You all believe justice has been served, right? A murderer is being punished for his crimes."
There was no regret on Yash's face. He appeared focused and determined. 

His large, black eyes were filled with confidence.
Yash was dressed in black, a dedicated color for criminals.

"An unsynchronized boy who is responsible for the deaths of thirty-four people," he stopped.
Dead people's faces were flashing in front of him. 

He took a deep breath and remembered who had died. "I'm not a murderer. I am not unsynchronized. It doesn't matter what evidence has been presented or how it was twisted to be used against me. I was with them for more than sixteen years. The truth is, they were my friends, my family."
 
The tears touched the ground.
Yash turned his head to face the people in front of him.
Faces of sadness and rage were praying to the constellations.
Yash can't be forgiven. To them, Yash was a murderer seeking forgiveness in the Temple of Constellations, a sacred place he was defiling.

It took Yash some time to gain his confidence.
"They are gone, and I'm here, trapped in the zone. If any of us stood here right now, I believe he would say the same. We didn't want to live in this fabricated reality that you call Zone. Whether you agree with it or not, the zone is dying. Constellations keep you away from thinking about Zone the way I do. To them, you are nothing more than a source of energy. All of us are humans. All of us possess free will. Our desires can't be caged. So, in an attempt to set ourselves free, we did it."

Yash appeared to be motivated.
Instead of apologizing for the crimes he had committed, he accused the constellations, as he perceived them.
His voice was so clear and full of confidence that the throng in the distant corner could hear it.
People stopped chattering with one another. The air grew so quiet that one could hear the ripple of the river behind the temple.

Soon, at midday, when the sun would reach overhead, the constellations would weigh Yash's actions and deliver their judgment. Which would be irrevocable and final.
Soon, Yash's fate would be decided.
 
The oracle began when all four cubicle objects lit up at the same time.
"We are all humanity's last hope. We will all prosper together and never forget our fundamental tenets." 

There were four voices speaking in unison, both male and female.
"We know for sure that Yash does not want to live in Zone with us. He violated our regulations in every possible manner. We are well aware that there is no life in Horizon. Yash's bewildered mind is not yet ready to accept this. As a result of his heinous, illegal experiment, we lost 34 of our dearly loved souls. Constellations have heard his side and have decided that we cannot allow Yash to stay in Zone anymore. His lack of morals might affect the way we live. Sadly, in order to save the zone, we are sentencing Yash to death by defragmenter."