On the bridge of The Sovereign Eye of Judgment, Xuan Ming watched mortals seal themselves inside the Skyway’s shielded elevator.
They were not soldiers forming ranks. They were riggers, cooks, medics, and survey clerks. Several helped detained Tribunal crew members into the shelter with them.
Bai Ze’s voice came over the fleet channel. “The tower has a public power plan and open inspection records. I ask you to review them before firing.”
Xuan Ming closed the channel.
Adjudicator Shuang stood beside him. “The junior judge has been influenced.”
“He has started judging details and forgotten the boundary,” Xuan said.
That boundary had shaped his whole life. Mortals below, immortals above. Anyone who wished to cross had to surrender their old ties and accept the courts’ rule. The arrangement was cruel at times, but it prevented any mortal ruler from carrying an army into heaven.
Austin’s elevator changed the meaning of the crossing. A farmer could buy a ticket. A smith could carry tools. A village could receive power from the same sky that the Tribunal claimed as its own.
