The Moral Verdict Geas didn’t fade into the air. It swelled in a nested, inescapable wave of pure, crystal-clear accountability.
The Lead Scales absorbed the final measure of spirit force from the Obsidian Gavel. Then, the crimson fire of state tyranny snapped. It turned into a blinding, silver-white flash that lit up every corner of the Granite Hall of Verdicts with the harsh, merciless bright glare of midday sun on fresh snow.
The contract ledger ratified: The Grand Moral Verdict Geas. Channeled through The Lead Scales Of Khorat. Target: The Entire Granite Hall Of Verdicts. Radius: 100 Paces (Total Court Compound). Status: 100% Total Truth Compulsion. Every mortal within the domain must confess their crimes.
For three seconds, total, unnatural silence dropped over the shattered courtroom.
The dust from the fallen ceiling hung suspended in the air. The sixty Templars stood frozen in their armor. The clerks cowered beneath their desks. The jurors sat numbed in their box.
Then the guilt-shock struck.
The physical sensation of the Moral Verdict Geas was described in ancient texts as the Baptism of Lead.
It didn’t inflict physical deep cuts or burn the skin with elemental fire. Instead, it operated directly upon the conscience of every living entity within its hundred-pace radius. In a human being who lives in ordinary, daily compromise, the geas produced only a mild, heavy ache in the chest bone. The quiet reminder of unreturned favors and forgotten apologies.
