Chapter 2

I dragged my shattered body into the center of the Tribunal. Each step left a vivid trail of blood across the polished jade floor.

My broken legs had lost most feeling. With every breath, fractured ribs savagely tore at my organs.

But I clenched my jaw, swallowing the metallic taste flooding my throat, forcing my spine to remain straight.

Even without wings, even with flesh and bone in ruins, I would not bend a single knee before these people.

Beneath the vaulted ceiling, twelve Elders sat upon floating judgment seats. Their golden eyes held no trace of mercy—only cold scrutiny.

Rapid footsteps echoed through the hall as Gabriel entered. Irene clung close to his side, draped in the shimmering Divine Cloak that should have been mine.

Seeing my blood-soaked state, Gabriel's stride faltered. A flicker of panic crossed his face.

But he quickly looked away, replacing it with an expression of pained righteousness as he strode to the center of the court.

"Archangel Gabriel." The Grand Elder's voice was hard as iron. "As her betrothed, why did you not protect Cecilia during the Ascension Trial? Nine consecutive failures have dropped her spiritual purity below the critical threshold. Do you contest the ruling to strip her divine status and exile her to the Abyss?"

I watched Gabriel quietly. I wanted to see what he could possibly say at this moment that would decide my fate.

Gabriel met the Grand Elder's gaze, his voice firm: "Elder, Cecilia's failures were not caused by the storm, but by the resentment and arrogance poisoning her heart."

Murmurs rippled through the Tribunal.

Without even glancing my way, Gabriel continued without missing a beat: "In all nine ceremonies, I prepared the Divine Cloak. But Cecilia, believing Irene had taken resources that belonged to her, used this as leverage to manipulate me."

"She deliberately refused the cloak before each trial, even actively dropped her shields. She attempted this self-destructive display to garner sympathy and force me to abandon my guardianship of Irene. As Archangel, I will not yield to such flagrant disregard for Heaven's laws."

To preserve his pristine reputation, to shield the healing angel standing behind him, he was willing to nail his betrothed—who had just shattered every bone for him—to a pillar of shame, branded as selfish and fallen.

"Gabriel, don't..." Irene's eyes reddened on cue, her voice trembling. "Elders, this is all my fault. My constitution is too weak—I needed the cloak's warmth to recover. That's what made Cecilia upset. Please, I beg you, don't exile her!"

A plea on the surface, but in truth, hammering the final nail into my coffin.

The Elders' expressions shifted instantly, filling with contempt.

The Second Elder slammed his armrest: "Outrageous! A former war goddess, blinded by petty jealousy, turning Heaven's sacred rites into a bargaining chip for attention. This is more unforgivable than incompetence!"

"I wasn't jealous." My voice finally cut through, hoarse but unmistakably clear.

Gabriel whipped around, hissing under his breath: "Cecilia, shut up! Just admit to what I said and let me handle the rest!"

I ignored him completely, raising my head to meet the Elders' lofty gazes:

"There's nothing to be jealous of. I only feel pathetic. Nine trials—and every single time, I placed my life in the hands of a bystander who never suffered a scratch."

I turned to Gabriel, my gaze flat and cold:

"Gabriel, look the Elders in the eye and tell them—in these three hundred years, when was the last time you actually handed me that cloak?"

Gabriel's face went ashen, struck speechless. He scrambled for a rebuttal: "Grand Elder, she endured the storm—her mind isn't clear—"

"Enough!" The Grand Elder cut him off sharply. "Whatever the circumstances, nine failed trials is an irreversible fact."

A parchment scroll radiating dark gold light materialized in the center of the hall. The Exile Contract.

Once signed, my name would be erased from the Celestial Record forever.

"Cecilia, divine status revoked, exile to the Abyss for seven hundred years of atonement. Do you plead guilty?"

At that moment, Gabriel's voice invaded my mind through our bond.

Cecilia, stop this. His tone dripped with that patronizing certainty. Sign it. This is just a formality. I've already arranged things with the guards on the first layer of the Abyss. Think of it as a brief isolation. Once things blow over and the Elders' anger cools, I'll get you out. Be good. Don't make this harder for me.

Isolation. Letting things blow over.

As I lay broken, facing the forced stripping of my divine core, in his eyes I was simply acting out as always.

He was certain I wouldn't dare actually sign that contract, certain that if he dangled a promise, I'd obey like I had for three hundred years.

"You knew exactly what the Abyss is, yet you lied and called it 'laying low.'" I forced myself upright through the screaming pain, cracked lips twisting into a bitter smile. "Gabriel, how did you keep a straight face?"

Gabriel froze for a beat, then flushed with anger: "What are you implying? I'm trying to protect you!"

I didn't waste another glance on him. Dragging my shattered legs, I limped step by agonizing step toward that dark gold contract.

"I plead guilty. I willingly relinquish my divine status and accept exile."

Without hesitation, I bit through my finger and pressed my divine blood seal heavily onto the parchment.

THRUM—!

The contract exploded in blinding crimson light.

"Cecilia! Are you insane?!"

The moment my blood mark fell, Gabriel's arrogance and composure shattered into raw panic and disbelief.

He lunged toward me, his Archangel's aura bursting uncontrolled as he tried to grab the scroll: "Give me that contract! She's delirious! This doesn't count!"

But it was too late.

The red light transformed into invisible blades that brutally shredded the remnants of my divine core. My knees buckled and I collapsed into the pool of blood, cold sweat soaking my spine, reduced to mere mortal.

The scroll dissolved into golden light that shot toward the dome. Heaven no longer had a war goddess named Cecilia.

Gabriel caught only air, stumbling to his knees before me. He stared blankly at the dissipating light, then turned to look at me with hands trembling violently, as if seeing me for the first time.

"Remove her." The Grand Elder delivered the command coldly.

Two guards stepped forward and roughly hauled me up by the arms, dragging me toward the exit.

As we passed, I saw Gabriel forcing composure back onto his face as he helped Irene to her feet, his jaw tight as he muttered:

"Forget her. She's just being dramatic. A place like the Abyss? She won't last three days. Once she's suffered enough, she'll come begging for my help..."

As I was thrown through the Tribunal doors, I looked at his slightly twisted face and laughed.

Gabriel, you would never get that chance.