The Court of Judgment

Synopsis

The moment poison entered his veins, death-row inmate Chen Mo lost consciousness. When he awoke, a bronze collar engraved with scales was fastened around his neck. Before him stood twelve towering gates of the gods, while an ancient oracle echoed in his ears: pass the Twelve Trials of Olympus and earn a new life; fail, and be imprisoned forever in the River Styx.

Apollo's labyrinth of light and shadow concealed deadly traps. Athena's court of truth was half-truth and half-lie. Ares' blood-sacrifice arena offered no way out at every turn. Chen Mo used candlelight to create a "shadowless man" and clear the first trial, then passed the second in absolute silence. Blood and grime revealed an inscription on the inside of his bronze collar: it was the blasphemous oath he had carved into the Temple of Delphi seven years ago.

An even deeper fear emerged: after every three trials, the "Wrath of the Gods" descended from the night sky, annihilating half of all life. His companions began betraying one another to seize the tokens of pardon. And in Chen Mo's fractured memories, he seemed to have once helped design this eternal trial under another identity.

When the Gate of Zeus thundered open amid lightning, Chen Mo finally understood: the rules of the game were not his true opponent. The gods who made them were. And the countdown dwindling on his collar pointed toward an ultimate rebellion that even Mount Olympus could not withstand.