109. Judgment

Isaac exhaled a long breath. His shoulders slumped, suddenly exhausted. His head throbbed, and he could feel the beginnings of a migraine. He winced and rubbed at his forehead, gritting his teeth as he pushed himself back up so that he was standing on the red barrier. He was acutely aware of it moving beneath him, and he eyed it warily, only relaxing when it drifted back over to the section of the path that hadn’t been destroyed by the erosion.

Isaac stumbled a little as his feet touched solid ground again. His eyes shifted around, half expecting something else to appear out of the inky darkness, but it remained still and silent, the drifting rubble jarring amidst the typically empty surroundings.

“Well that was fun,” Casimir remarked.

Isaac’s eyes darted over to the angel, who was still hovering up in the air with an amused grin. He frowned, gaze shifting over to the barrier sphere enclosing Remus. From what he could tell, the demon seemed to be unconscious judging from the fact that he wasn’t moving. Or at least, he hoped he was unconscious.

Casimir ended up confirming it for him when the angel knocked his fist against the barrier a few times as if he were knocking on a door, the motion casual and relaxed. Isaac winced as the sphere shook slightly, but Remus didn’t stir. The angel whistled.

“Damn, he must be really out of it. He used to be a super light sleeper, woke up if you breathed in the same room.” He snorted. “Or maybe my memory’s messed up.”

“Don’t do that,” Isaac muttered. Casimir raised an eyebrow, turning to face him.

“Why? Even if he wakes up, it’s not like he can do anything.” He jabbed a thumb at the demon in question and hit the sphere again for good measure.

“Just don’t.”

The angel shrugged. “Eh, fine.” He pulled back from the sphere, this time pointing to Isaac. “Anyways, you’d better start heading over to the Golden Lands before Lucius decides to change his mind,” he said cheerily. Isaac swallowed, glancing back in the direction the demon had disappeared.

He opened his mouth to respond, about to argue on instinct that Lucius wouldn’t do that, but the words didn’t come out. His jaw clicked shut again, the memory of the demon’s cold, uncaring gaze still vivid in his memory. He rubbed the back of his hand, his skin still a bit dry.

Maybe Casmir had been right, a voice said in the back of his head. Maybe he really didn’t know anything about the Underside or about its inhabitants at all.

“…Thank you,” he finally said, temporarily swallowing his dislike for the angel. “For stopping him.”

“Aw, no problem! It was for selfish reasons though, just so you know.”

Isaac didn’t bother humoring Casimir with a response. He simply turned away, facing the long path back through the Abyss. “We should hurry,” he said instead. He could feel the chill of the realm settling deep into his bones.

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It was odd, he thought. Before he’d been so eager to find the perpetrator, but now he found he could barely look in Remus’s direction. He didn’t feel any vindication or victory, nor did the sick feeling in his stomach at the thought of Olzu, of the shredded corpse he’d seen in the alley, disappear. His fingers clenched. He just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

Isaac took a few steps forward, then paused when he realized he didn’t hear any wings flapping behind him. He turned around and saw Casimir watching him with a raised eyebrow, still in the same spot as before. The barrier sphere, however, was closer, Isaac noted, having seemingly drifted along with his movements.

“Sorry, but you’re on your own,” the angel said, eyes gleaming with amusement. He waved nonchalantly at the barrier. “Don’t worry though, my magic’ll hold ‘til you get to the Golden Lands.”

Isaac frowned. “You’re not coming?”

Casimir snorted. “I’m not stupid enough to try stepping into Lilith’s realm. But hey, I’ll be sure to watch the judgment, so I’ll be there in spirit!” His white wings fluttered a few times, sending gusts of wind outward that blew the floating debris even further away.

The angel grinned, waving as he rose further and further up. “Tell Lilith to make it fun!” he called, and with another flap of his wings, he was gone, disappearing into the void just like Lucius had.

Isaac was left alone on the winding path, an unconscious demon trapped in a red barrier beside him and the vast expanse of the Abyss up ahead.

He clutched his tablet a little closer, turned, and continued forward.

—

Isaac didn’t encounter anyone on the path back. He kept waiting for someone else to appear, maybe another Aberration, but all he heard were his own footsteps ringing around him. The barrier drifted steadily a few feet behind as he walked, and Isaac kept glancing back at it, slightly unnerved. It remained intact, however, and always stopped before it could get too close.

Sharil wasn’t there, nor did he see any other demons on the way out of the realm. Maybe they’d left with Lucius, he thought distantly. That was probably for the better, especially if they reacted the same way to Remus.

Still, as Isaac sat down on the empty subway car, the sphere stopping just beside the sliding doors, he couldn’t help but wish someone would appear just to break the all consuming silence that had settled in. He tapped his finger along his arm, glancing back every time a shadow crossed over the car from the tunnel. Every now and then his eyes would drift over to Remus, but the demon remained unconscious. All Isaac had were his own thoughts to distract him.

He closed his eyes, mulling over what had happened. I will be watching the judgment, Lucius had said. Then came Casimir’s laughing voice mentioning the same word: judgment.

Now that he thought about it, Isaac had never really considered what would happen once the perpetrator was caught. All he’d focused on was finding the one who’d done it, but not the aftermath. It made sense that Lilith would be the one to make the ultimate decision, he supposed.

His fingers tightened around the tablet. And yet, for some reason the thought made him uneasy. Lilith had never acted like the sort of person who’d be especially strict or cruel in the past. But then again, a voice whispered in the back of his head, he hadn’t thought Lucius would be like that, either.

Isaac opened his eyes again, leaning his head back against the window and exhaling. The silence was quickly growing unbearable.

Maybe he should stop thinking so hard about it. He’d done what he’d set out to do: found and caught the perpetrator. Brought closure to the tragedy. And yet, he didn’t feel remotely satisfied.

Isaac’s finger stilled, and he stared distantly out at the passing tunnel walls.

The ride to the Golden Lands had never felt so long before.