POV ???:
Antoine's breath hitched as he collided with the hard concrete yet perfectly smooth floor, and the rough shove from the guard in a stark black uniform left him panting. Pain radiated through his body, a dull ache pulsing in his head. The buzz of neon lights that were casting sharp shadows across the smooth, metallic walls, which were devoid of any ornamentation or color, made his head hurt even more.
As he lay there, gasping for air, the guard's heavy boots echoed into the distance, leaving behind a haunting silence.
"Antoine? So they also brought you here," came a voice, brittle yet familiar. Twisting his head, Antoine's eyes met the disheveled figure of Judge Icecreem. The elderly man, once dignified in his expensive suit, now appeared broken, his white hair matted and his face marred with bloodied calluses—silent witnesses to his brutal treatment.
He sat in the corner, staring blankly at him.
A realization dawned on Antoine as he pushed himself off the cold floor, the smooth surface of the sterile floor offering no grip and his hands slipping slightly as he tried to gain his footing 'Judge Icecreem, they took him too.'
"Well, well, we are together again," a female voice cooed, slicing through the thick air. Antoine froze, only then noticing the absence of the cell door closing. The woman's footsteps were light, almost inaudible, yet each step felt like a hammer to his heart, pounding closer and closer.
He could feel it—the change in the room as she approached. The air grew dense, suffocating as if charged with ominous energy, and the sterile neon lighting flickered.
Even the judge, a man who had seen much, visibly paled, his eyes widening as he stared at the woman behind him. The temperature seemed to rise unnaturally, with sweat beading on Antoine's forehead. The heat was oppressive and unyielding.
"What a swindle you are, Antoine de Saint, taking bribes to sabotage your clients..." Her words cut through the air, each syllable dripping with a venomous chill.
Antoine's mind raced. 'Is this why they've come for me?' Yes, he had taken bribes, but the ferocity of their response was unexpected and unnerving.
He turned, and his gaze locked on the woman. She was strikingly young, her platinum-blonde hair and slightly glowing purple eyes lending her an almost ethereal presence.
A flicker of recognition sparked within him, but he couldn't place her. 'Why would someone like her be involved in my case?' he wondered, a mix of fear and curiosity gripping him. Her dark coat, adorned with intricate silver embroidery, spoke of a rank he couldn't quite decipher, yet it screamed authority and importance.
'Only the Empire... and their twisted theocracy would send espers for something like this,' he thought bitterly, a cold dread settling in his stomach. The rumors he had dismissed as Federation propaganda—of the Empire using espers, torture, and mind-altering techniques for interrogations—now seemed terrifyingly real.
When the empire conquered the planet, he just wanted to believe it to be nothing but baseless propaganda spread by the Federation, but now that he faced a real superhuman face-to-face, his knees trembled.
"So you don't even remember the child whose life you helped to destroy..."
POV Tia:
Tia stood in the brightly lit interrogation room, her hands clenched into fists so tight that her knuckles turned white. She could barely keep her composure as she faced the two men.
She had always wondered why her lawyer was so incompetent, but now, with the imperial investigative capacities behind her, she has found the real reason.
'TRAITOR, taking bribes to sabotage me when I was a mere child!' She remembered the day when they pronounced her too dangerous to walk freely.
Tia's eye flashed dangerously—if she hated something, then it was the traitors and hypocrites after people like them destroyed both of her lives!
Her voice, when she finally spoke, was laced with a cold fury that reverberated through the silent chamber. "What a beautiful sight! The judge who sentenced me and the lawyer who betrayed me!" The words felt hollow, ringing with a sense of irony and pain.
However, now that she faced two of the people that destroyed her childhood, she couldn't help but pause—she didn't know what to do.
'Torture them? No...' Despite how ruthless she became—murdering people in droves without even blinking—a faint echo of humanity flickered within her. She could kill without remorse, but torture was a line she found herself unwilling to cross unless necessary.
'They are just cogs in a rotten, corrupt system,' she mused, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over her coat, the emblem of her new identity with the Empire.
It was the modern era with surveillance everywhere, and catching him in the act of taking bribes was easy. Yet, there was no punishment in the corrupted Federation.
'They caught you taking a bribe? Then, no problem! Just bribe the person that caught you!' She almost spat in disgust at the Federation—the country symbolizing everything she hated.
Initially, Tia resented the Empire for forcefully recruiting her, feeling her autonomy stripped away. But her perspective shifted as she observed the Empire's unvarnished nature. Unlike the Federation or the Witch Council, which cloaked their corrupted turd-like core in fake glitter, the Empire was open about its cruelty and nature.
It valued power and contribution above all, a stark honesty that resonated with Tia. If one had power, then they could live like kings within its borders, ruling over their planets however they wanted.
'Maybe this is where I belong and the place to start my journey...' Tia thought a sense of belonging was unexpectedly taking root within her. She admired the Empire's aesthetics—its stylish colors, pompous architecture, and the undeniable sense of power it exuded.
As she contemplated her future within the Empire, her lips curled into a wide and beautiful smile. "Now? Tell me, what should I do with you?"
(AN: Seriously, what should she do? Also, the two busy weeks have passed, so I should have a lot more time from this day on. (At least, till the end of this month, I should be able to release a chapter almost every day.)