Passing Judgment: An AU Short

Alternate Universe

Iudico Building
Alphnum

AR: Adam Unum

“You want me to what, exactly?”

“Take her in.” Amara chimed. She played with one of the suspenders she was wearing and flashed a smile at Adam, who was looking at her in disbelief. “See, this one is a special case. And I think she’ll be of great use and assistance to you, Adam.”

He wearily glanced towards a far-off stall where this ‘assistance’ was sitting. He couldn’t make out her appearance exactly, only spotting a head full of long hair. “She looks quite peculiar. Where did you get her?”

“That’s the thing I’ll explain to you later.” She flashed a toothless smile. “For now, give her a test run and report to me later. I already showed her around.”

Adam had no choice but to agree. Winking at him, Amara called the girl – Illa – and Illa approached them, glancing around the bar’s set up with mild curiosity in her eyes.

From Illa’s point of view, the bar was very much hued in red. It was modern yet held a touch of sophistication at the same time; she noted that most of the drinks he had concocted were of varying shades of the color. (She spotted him making the lady named Amara a pink drink, however.)

“Adam, this is Illa. Illa, this is Adam.” Amara turned to Illa and patted her shoulder; “You’ll be working with him here at the Alphnum. I explained what you should do, right? Do you have any questions?”

“None in particular,” Illa replied carefully. She glanced again at Adam, who remained silent throughout their entire exchange. He kept looking straight, keeping a neutral expression on his face. “Do I have to be involved immediately?”

“I’d prefer that,” Amara admitted. She ran a few fingers through her brown locks, “But if you’d much rather watch a few more, you can. I’m sure Adam here,” she suddenly smiled and reached over to ‘pat’ Adam’s shoulder (Illa noticed a slight cringe come from the bartender) “Won’t commit any wrongdoing. Right, Adam?”

“R-Right,” he croaked. “Amara. M-My shoulder.” Amara let go and sit Illa at the bar, taking the stool next to her.

“Adam – my usual. And for Illa, make her your bestseller,” she instructed. Adam rolled back his shoulders, recovering, but nodded anyway and went off to make them. Letting a smile pass her lips, she talked while watching Adam. “There are different floors here in the Iudico, actually. Adam has been granted the privilege of working the first floor.”

“Ah – the ground floor?”

“Not quite.” Amara pointed down, “There’s actually a floor below this one, Nihilla. But we don’t count that one much. Above,” her finger pointed up, “You have more floors. You have Betucim run by Lia. And then, Gacedim run by Elysia. There are a few others, but you might be able to see them much later. I’m not quite the one for spoilers.”

“That’s a lie,” Adam remarked. Amara waved him off and he continued making the drinks, chuckling quietly to himself. “Just so you know.”

“That was one time,” she chided gently. Turning to Illa, she winked.

Soon after, Adam placed two glasses in front of them. “The usual drink for you, Amara. And a Sparkling Eve for Illa – I hope you like it.” he bowed and Amara thanked him, the two ladies taking a sip. Illa blinked at the burst of taste of bubbly strawberry and drank more, Amara pleased that she liked it.

“Congratulations, Adam. I think she quite likes it.”

“It’s delicious,” Illa insisted. Adam gave a short smile of his own, brushing away the brown locks of hair from his face.

“Thank you very much, Illa.”

* * * * *

Illa had encountered a number of interesting people during her stay.

A week into working, a raven-haired lady suddenly entered and demanded for Adam. Illa had nervously asked Adam to come up and when he did, said lady jumped over the counter and proceeded to drag him to the nearest room.

When the two came out, Adam looked blank while the lady was seething. She left and went back to her floor, leaving Adam to sigh in exasperation and take back the unconsumed drink. “That,” he muttered, “was Elysia, owner of Gacedim.”

(Illa was definitely sure she didn’t want to mess with that lady.)

When it came to the Judgments, she played a simple role. Illa would be waiting at the entrance, by the elevators. Once two people arrived, she would politely greet them and escort them to Adam’s bar.

Illa would then cross to the back, and after a few minutes, the Games would officially begin. Adam tasked her to explain the rules to the pairs, which she usually agreed to do. When it came to the Judgments themselves, she was made to watch and only sometimes help if needed. Despite that, Adam still valued her insights and often asked her about her opinion.

The most interesting case for Illa had been the pair Adam had judged not too long back.

She could remember the flowing brown hair of the lady and the way the male watched her, green eyes looking at her and he being unable to mask the adoration in his eyes. Illa patiently led them to their seats and joined Adam behind the counter, the latter greeting and asking if they wanted something to drink.

The green-eyed male asked for something non-alcoholic; the woman, on the other hand, asked for a glass of wine. He frowned her way (for an odd reason, he stopped upon realizing) but the other didn’t notice, proceeding to take a drink upon receiving their glasses.

Finally, when the time for Judgment came, Illa calmly explained the rules to them. She watched the lady’s eyes flick to her companion’s in worry.

Fast forward to the game itself, the couple was playing a game of bowling.

Illa watched silently as they talked and played. The male was doing his best to calm the lady down and ease her nerves, managing to take control of the game. The other, on another hand, made it seem like she wasn’t interested in him. However, as the game progressed, they found themselves closer to each other and laughing about the strangeness of their situation at that moment.

An upset feeling overcome her upon remembering why they were sent there – they were dead.

According to Adam, the two people were named Gabriel and Amaryllis respectively. He pointed out the similar ring on their ring fingers and Illa looked, noting the simple gold band. “Newlyweds, actually. They were on their honeymoon.”

“How did they die?”

“Elevator fell,” he replied easily. “They were the only ones inside. The two of them died together, in each other’s arms. And now,” his eyes flickered towards the pair, who was currently laughing over something mundane, “They’re both here.”

She bit her lip and nodded slowly.

Eventually, the game ended with Gabriel scoring four more points than Amaryllis. The brunette lady smiled with tears in her eyes and Gabriel approached her, cupping her cheek gently while his other hand wiped away her tears.

“We’re dead,” she whispered. He nodded.

“We died together.” The male planted a kiss on her forehead and Amaryllis held onto him, not quite wanting to let go. Behind them, Adam cleared is throat and the two looked at him as well as Illa.

“Congratulations, Gabriel. If you two would come with me–”

“Wait,” Illa interrupted. They looked at her and she felt her cheeks turn pink. “You two were on your honeymoon, right?” Amaryllis nodded. “…Adam. Shouldn’t we let them finish what was left?”

The male frowned a little, looking at Illa. “I’m not sure if that’s allowed–”

“Please,” Gabriel interrupted. His hand clutched Amaryllis’ a little tighter, “…at least give us an hour.”

Adam studied them, eyes going from Gabriel to Amaryllis. Amaryllis stayed silent yet met his gaze steadily, squeezing Gabriel’s hand. He sighed.

“Please take as long as you need.”

Illa found herself smiling.

* * * * *

“How do you find your stay so far, Illa?” Amara asked. She and Illa had encountered each other in the elevator; Illa was going back to Alphnum from her own room and Amara was off to meet Lia a few floors above. Controlling the elevator, Ryan glanced at the two of them.

“You’re helping out Adam, right?” Illa nodded and the dark-eyed boy snorted. “Good fucking luck with him.”

“Ryan.” The boy chuckled and pressed a button on the panel, bowing his head in Amara’s direction slightly.

“My apologies. Illa?”

“It’s…entertaining,” she admitted. Amara raised a brow, “I never told you the ending to one of the Judgments, I think? The one with the couple?”

“You never did.” Ryan listened in, “What was Adam’s decision?”

“He judged both of them for reincarnation.” Illa looked down and smiled sadly, “Both of them deserved to be happy. He loved her dearly and she loved him back. None of them had any malice in their hearts.”

Amara hummed, “Interesting. Seems like Adam made the right choice.” The elevator stopped at the Alphnum and Amara gave a wave, “Please tell Adam I’ll be visiting him soon.” Illa nodded and stepped out of the elevator, pausing to wave at both Amara and Ryan before walking off.

The doors closed and Ryan leaned against the wall.

“She’s the one who remembered how she died?”

“That’s her.” Amara’s eyes lingered on the doors, “She remembers her death but not who she is. No judgment could be passed on her, so…I decided to give Adam this peculiar case. In hopes that he could somehow judge her.”

“Huh.” The smile slid off Ryan’s face. “Is he passing? Or is he failing?”

“Who knows?” the elevator stopped at Betucim and the doors of the elevator opened, “I suppose I’ll have to pass that judgment when the time comes.”