The Second Question: Passion
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After the First Judgment
The light dimmed.
Not gone—only waiting.
All around the world, the young opened their eyes, still trembling from the soul-crushing weight of the first question.
Some blinked through tears, changed forever.
But for others…
It was over.
They had been cast out.
Thrown from the black sea of judgment, they crumpled in the real world—limbs spasming, breaths ragged. They clutched their books, now charred at the edges. Some screamed. Some wept. Some simply collapsed, broken not by pain—but by truth they could not find.
In the SkyCloud arena, dozens fell to their knees. One boy vomited. Another tore at his robe, sobbing hysterically. A girl fainted with her eyes open, haunted by the memory of silence where her soul's answer should have been.
The audience—elders, teachers, parents—watched without intervening.
They had all seen it before.
They knew the truth.
Heaven does not mock. But Heaven never lies.
---
The Black Sea Again
For those still within the endless void of sky and sea, the silence had shifted.
The Heavens, patient and formless, once again descended with their presence.
"What is your Passion?"
This time, it was not a revelation.
It was a summoning—an invitation for the soul to speak for itself.
Across the world, individuals stirred within their trials, lifting their heads to answer.
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Kael
Kael stood at the edge of the sky-ocean. The echo of the first answer still pulsed in his heart:
To be free.
But freedom alone was not enough. What would he do with it? Why did he crave it so deeply?
Kael had been born in a wealthy family. Not too wealthy, beither can they be considered middle-class. Kaels parents are strict regarding to mamy "noble" etiquette but Kael finds them disgusting.
He pursues Nobilty, just as his parents hoped. But his defination of Nobility is different from what they might have imagined.
Since young, Kael had always loved to help others. The smile on other's face brought pure joy the naive and innocent Keel. That pure joy had been diminished since his parents forbade him to go outside of family or Academy after he became a teenager.
Hia jokester personality is all just so he can see others smile. Hidden behind the mask, he feels genuinely happy only when he helps others.
And thus—
He spoke out his Passion, his blood boiling.
"Chivalry."
[HEAVENLY JUDGEMENT : CHIVALROUS SOUL]
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Ayna
In her void, the sea had become crystal, reflecting thousands of symbols. She stood alone amid a library of stars.
Her first answer—To be wise—still hummed through her like music.
Now the question was hers to answer.
She saw herself crawling into ruins, deciphering forgotten scripts, outwitting mechanisms and puzzle. Ever since Ayna could remember, she had always been curious. Her curiosity however was concealed by her introverted personality.
As a result, despite being curious, she often avoided asking questions to others. Instead she asked herself, sought answer to the questions through logic, deduction and knowledge.
Books have been her eternal companion. Ayna is the opposite of Kael, the extroverted jokester trying to make everyone laugh. She only wants to keep looking, keep searching, keep deducing mysteries.
Ayna smiled to herself, and answered clearly:
"Discovery."
[HEAVENLY JUDGEMENT : SEEKER'S SOUL]
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Damian
His sea boiled. His sky was red. His first word—To be sovereign—still thundered like a crown above him.
Now, the second question.
He did not hesitate. He did not need time. He had lived it since childhood. Every aspect of his life, legacy and training had all been to steer him towards authority.
However, even his parents, even the whole Sunblade family had underestimated Damians thrist for Authority. The luxury, comfort and peace of his family did nothing to satisfy his desires. He wanted more.
"Authority," he said so with the same unquenchable thrist.
[HEAVENLY JUDGEMENT : GREEDY SOUL]
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But in Neo's realm…
The question reached the kneeling figure, shackled and silent beneath the Obsidian Throne.
And he… quivered.
As if the very syllables of the question carried needles.
His entire form trembled, not from confusion, but from remembering.
Something foul. Something long buried.
But still—he said nothing.
Instead, from atop the throne, the seated Neo leaned forward once more, his crimson eyes flaring brighter.
And then—he laughed.
A maniacal cackle that didn't echo, but infected. It seeped into the air, turned the colorless sea oily and thick, sent ripples through the sky like a drumbeat.
And the Heavens—that unknowable judge—did not interfere.
Instead, it watched.
From the black sea and sky, images began to rise—
not reflections, but memories.
Or were they dreams?
Or perhaps... nightmares?
The line was blurred.
Each vision shimmered like firelight across water.
A younger Neo, no throne, no madness, only… thought.
He sat at the edge of a ruined street, staring at broken things—broken machines, broken people, broken dreams.
He was not crying. He was asking.
"Why is life hard?"
And no answer came.
So he asked again.
And again.
Until one day, as though struck by divine simplicity, he whispered:
"Life isn't hard."
His eyes widened, mouth parted.
"It's the people. The people make life hard."
And then—with the innocence only a child could dare wield—he declared:
"Then I'll remove them. All the ones who make it hard."
"I'll build a new world. A place where life doesn't have to suffer."
"A world of peace… forever."
"A Heaven that no one can break."
The sea of his mindscape caught fire. So did the sky.
These were no ordinary flames. No heat. No smoke.
These were the Flames of Passion—vivid, eternal, primal.
And at their heart sat the throne.
And upon the throne, that crimson-eyed Neo, basked in the inferno with that impossible grin.
A grin that knew no fear, only purpose.
The shackled figure still knelt, now fully engulfed in flame, yet unmoving. Enduring the flames of passion, suffering by his own thoughts.
But the Heavens had seen enough.
And with no ambiguity, they passed down absolute Judgement.
[HEAVENLY JUDGEMENT : ENLIGHTENED SOUL]
A passion too great for sanity.
Too divine for mortals.