Malediction of the Depth – Silence in Judgement

Bashie Mahzala tilted their head. Then, unexpectedly, they began to hum.

The sound was beautiful.

Not discordant like the calliope music still playing in the background. This was pure, gentle, a lullaby that seemed to reach directly into Lea's exhausted mind and soothe it.

The tension in her body began to ease.

The pain in her head started to fade...

"Shhh~" Bashie Mahzala hummed, swaying gently, "You're so tired. So worn and stressed. That won't do at all. Can't have my guest collapsing before we even start talking properly."

Their childish voice somehow made the lullaby work better, not worse. Like a parent comforting a frightened child.

Lea's thoughts began to clear. The overwhelming exhaustion was still there, but manageable now.

Contained by the gentle melody.

"Better?", Bashie Mahzala asked, still humming between words. "Good, good... Now we can chat properly!"

They spun in place, trailing impossible patterns, diamond eyes all rotating in different directions.

Lea's mind formed questions, but she was too tired to voice them. Too drained to force words past her lips.

Bashie Mahzala giggled, "Oh, you don't need to speak! I can hear the questions anyway! They're loud in your head! Like bells! Ding ding ding!"

They leaned forward, that massive diamond eye focusing on Lea.

"Question one!", they held up a finger, "Why is the world like this? Why all the suffering, the chaos, the rules that don't make sense?"

Their humming continued, weaving through their words.

"I can't answer that, because the big BAD thing oppressing this world would wipe it from your mind the moment you got out!! Like it never happened!!", they made an exaggerated gesture of something exploding, "And that would be sad."

Instead, they pointed toward the north. Their finger extended impossibly, stretching across the circus tent, through the canvas, toward something beyond.

"But! The answers are there in the North!!", they pulled their finger back, and it snapped to normal length, "Don't go yet, though! You're too weak! You'd just die! Or worse, become something that wishes it could die!!"

Their humming intensified, the lullaby becoming more complex.

"Become a Herald of the Star first! That's what you mortals call a 'god' but that's not quite right! Gods are just... hmm... how to put it...", they tapped their mask thoughtfully, "There are two types of gods!! Yes!! Uh... hm... let me think about it later..."

Lea's thoughts formed another question... Is Charlotte a Herald of the Star?

Bashie Mahzala burst into giggles, "Charlotte? Her situation is super special!!"

They spun again, faster this time.

"Someone so prideful... so absolutely, wonderfully, terrifyingly PRIDEFUL... would never bow down to anyone or anything! Not even the Stars themselves! She's...", they paused, as if searching for words. "She's a chosen one!! Yes!! A Chosen One!!"

They left it vague, but Lea caught the implication. Charlotte wasn't a Herald. She was something else entirely, something that existed outside the normal rules.

Chosen One of Time... Lea thought of the first line in Charlotte's Honorific Title. What could Chosen One of Time truly mean?

The lullaby continued, gentle and soothing despite the nightmare circus around them.

"Question two!", Bashie Mahzala held up two fingers, "Why did I help Charlotte create the mystical system?"

They slumped dramatically, as if suddenly exhausted.

"It's all a lie by that girl!! I didn't do anything at first, not at all!! Seeing how much chaos that girl caused made me step in!!", they waved their hands prantically, "I'm just stuck with her for failing my duty in the past— ah!! That's completely unrelated to this world!! The big boss is actually quite scary when dishing out punishment!!"

Lea's exhausted mind formed another question: Who is the big boss?

Bashie Mahzala stopped spinning. Their mask's diamond eye focused completely on Lea, all three pupils aligning into a single point.

"The big boss is...", they waved their hand, and reality rippled.

An illusion formed above them. The circus tent faded, replaced by a vast, starless sky. But then stars began appearing, not the normal stars Lea knew, but galaxies. Entire spiral galaxies, glowing with impossible colors, arranging themselves into a pattern.

An Eye.

A massive, cosmic eye, formed from galaxies and stars, watching over all of existence with patient, eternal attention.

It was unnerving. Beautiful. Terrifying. Sublime.

All at once.

Lea stared up at it, her exhausted mind barely able to process what she was seeing.

"That's the Big Boss.", Bashie Mahzala said softly, their childish voice suddenly carrying weight, a deep respect as well as fear, "The one who watches. The one who guides. The one who makes sure the universe doesn't collapse into total chaos..."

The illusion faded, and the circus tent returned.

Lea's mind formed one final question. The one she'd been avoiding, the one that scared her most.

What is the relationship between Charlotte and Sinclair?

The words finally escaped her lips, barely a whisper, "Charlotte... and Sinclair... what..."

Bashie Mahzala stopped humming for a moment. Their entire demeanor shifted, not sad, not serious, just... careful.

"Oooh, that's the big question, isn't it? The one that makes everything complicated!"

They began humming again, softer this time.

"Charlotte despises Sinclair on a personal level.", their tone changed again, "But not for the reason you think! Not because Sinclair is the 'Disciple of the Heretic', that's actually kind of funny to Charlotte! Like a jab of sorts!!"

They leaned closer to Lea.

"No, Charlotte hates Sinclair because they're bound together in a way that no one could comprehend properly!", their voice dropped to a whisper, "They're like... two sides of a coin that shouldn't exist."

They pulled back, resuming their humming at full volume.

"That's all I can say! Any more and your brain would go pop! And we can't have that!!"

Lea's consciousness was fading now, the exhaustion finally catching up despite Bashie Mahzala's lullaby. Her eyes were closing, her body going limp in the chair.

"Shhh~", Bashie Mahzala hummed louder, the melody wrapping around Lea like a blanket, "Sleep now, you've earned it! You've been so brave!! So strong!! So wonderfully stubborn!!"

They waved their hand, and the chair transformed into a bed. Lea sank into softness that shouldn't exist.

"Dream sweet dreams! Not the nightmares you usually have! I'll keep those away! Just for tonight!", Bashie Mahzala's voice was gentle now, genuinely caring despite the childish tone, "When you wake up, you'll be back with your friends..."

The last thing Lea heard before sleep claimed her was Bashie Mahzala's lullaby, humming in that beautiful, impossible melody.

And though they wore a mask, though they had no visible face, Lea could feel them smiling. Not cruelly. Not mockingly.

Just... kindly.

A smile from an alien god who genuinely wanted to help.

Even if they were also utterly terrifying.

"Sweet dreams, little one~" Bashie Mahzala whispered. "I pray to the Loofy Clown to protect you..."

The circus tent faded.

The nightmare dissolved.

And Lea slept, truly slept, for the first time in days.

Protected by the lullaby of an entity from the furthest corner of the universe.

Who spoke like a child but held the power to reshape reality itself.

Who called themselves the Shapeless Comedy.

Who existed to bring joy and laughter to a meaningless universe.

And who, despite everything, seemed to genuinely care.

In their own strange, incomprehensible way.

=0=0=

"So, this is it, huh..."

Charlotte stood over the rubble of what had once been the capital of Zankur. People are going around looting the city, taking whatever is left.

Basically, a revolt had occurred across the nation due to the war. Kres proved itself to be more than just a trading hub, and Zhenkur decided to betray Zankur and invade it. And another raid led by some Great Desert tribes.

Effectively, Zankur is gone. The royal family, who had ruled over the land for thousands of years were overthrown by the rebel leaders, which included a Fourth Step demigod.

Charlotte gazed toward the white flag bearing a red upside-down triangle, the flag of the rebels, fluttering on the highest top of the crumbled palace.

"Malediction's Fourth Step, orchestrate the fragmentation of a nation, the result must be the downfall of said nation... huh, I should've worded it better."

The ritual for Malediction, in general, is to cause suffering, unlike Lea's Path of Divinity. Realistically, she can start from any of the required Paths. But Malediction is both the easiest one to obtain and to shield against that.

Simplifying, it would be to destroy a nation through manipulation.

"You performed quite well, Villain.", she glanced at the bearded man who came toward her, "Ryteline, Zankur, Zhenkur, and Kres. You orchestrated a war between the four countries, as well as made the two republics move in favor of the war."

"And who would you be?", he spoke, smiling all confident.

"You can call me Vasilias.", Charlotte shrugged, "Just here for some sightseeing."

The man,Hensu, studied her with calculating eyes. Then his smile widened, "Well then, since you're here... let me test something."

He gestured, and a child was dragged forward by his subordinates. A girl, maybe eight years old, crying silently.

"My new Fourth Step powers...", Hensu said casually. "I'd like to test them. But first—"

He grabbed the child by the throat, "Who are you really? You don't feel like a normal bystander."

Charlotte tilted her head, expression completely neutral, "Just a tourist."

"Liar.", Hensu's grip tightened on the child's neck, "Tell me the truth, or I'll—"

"Kill her?", Charlotte cut him off, "Then go ahead."

Hensu blinked, "What?"

"I said go ahead and kill the child.", Charlotte repeated, her tone suggesting she was discussing the weather, "If that's what you want to do, do it. Don't use her as leverage against me."

Hensu flinched. He was evil, yes, he had orchestrated a war, destroyed a nation, killed thousands. But actually murdering a child in cold blood, right in front of someone...

He let go of the child, "You're bluffing."

Charlotte sighed, "No, I just don't care."

She walked forward. Hensu activated his Hexes, curses designed to cause suffering, to bring enemies to their knees in agony.

They washed over Charlotte like water off stone. She didn't even slow down.

"What—", Hensu started.

Charlotte reached the child, who looked up at her with terrified, hopeful eyes. Hoping for rescue. She grabbed the girl's shoulders. And tore her in half, tearing away the hope at its peak.

The sound was wet, final. Blood sprayed across the rubble. Hensu staggered back, eyes wide with shock and horror.

"WHY?!", he screamed, "She was just— why would you—"

Charlotte dropped the two pieces casually, blood staining her pale robes. She looked at Hensu with those unchanging azure eyes.

"Because children are the future.", she said simply, smiling, "It is all too easy to kill the future."

Then she reached out and touched Hensu's forehead.

Hensu's scream cut off as Charlotte's fingers pressed against his skull. His Fourth Step powers tried to resist, tried to fight back, but it was like an ant trying to stop a mountain.

"You orchestrated a war, destroyed a nation, killed thousands.", Charlotte said with casualness as Hensu convulsed, "All for power."

"But do you know what is more fun?", her smile grew wider, "It is to knock people who don't know their place down a peg."

"O' Ancients of Old, May you be Forgotten."

Light began to form around her hand. Hensu desperately tried to fight back, trying to pull her hand away.

"O' Spirits of Nature, May you Return to Nothing."

Hensu began to feel something was very wrong. He tried to create Cursed Constructs, stabbing Charlotte to get out— but it was all useless.

"To you, wayward soul of this world... May your Existence be Denied."

All of his Cursed Constructs crumbled, all of his power began to be eaten away by an invasive power...

"N-No!!!", he desperately tried to pull back, to escape.

"Phantasmal Denial."

"Arrrgggh!!!!"

His powers were stripped away, vanished like dust. However, something was very different...

Charlotte let go of him, staring down at the collapsed man with an uninterested, apathetic gaze.

"W-What did you do to me...?", he stared at his own hands, then looked up at Charlotte—

His heart suddenly tightened as he stared into her eyes... as if thousands of eyes were judging him...

"I just unlocked all of your supposed Attributes, making you normal. More normal than any native of this world.", Charlotte snapped her finger, a rift in reality opened behind her, "You may not have your powers anymore, but you will get a second chance."

"Think of it like a Restart or Prestige in a clicker game."

Hensu stares at the retreating back of the Lady. He did not understand what she just said...

After getting a bit of distance, Charlotte spoke, "Voidborn is the alternative name of the Scions of the Universe."

He felt a slight headache, clutched his head for a bit— wait... did she just give him forbidden information?!

"Mild headache and not going insane...", she smiled, "Good."

His eyes were empty now, unable to comprehend what she did. Whatever Charlotte had done to him had broken something fundamental.

Charlotte looked at her blood-stained hands, then wiped them on her robes with mild distaste.

"Tch, I need to clean it...", she clicked her tongue, "How inconvenient."

She walked away as blood turned into chalk, scattering to the wind, leaving behind the broken man and the torn child. Just another day for the Mother of Mysticism.

Just another very human whim fulfilled.