Chapter Text
BAM!
The sound of Miles slamming his hands on the wooden bench echoed throughout the hall, ushering a wave of silence after it. All heads turned to him as his hands shook against the glossy wood. Had it been made from anything other than the branches of the Tree of Justice, it would've crumbled to dust.
"Objection! This is unacceptable!" The rest of the pantheon remained silent to his outburst as Miles took deep breaths to calm himself. To remind himself that violence wasn't the answer. Any and all disagreements must be resolved with words. That was his motto. "This is… This is justified self defense. It's quite obvious he was provoked and left with no other alternative. You can't sentence him like this."
"Edgeworth," Mia Fey, Goddess of Wisdom, finally spoke up, "That doesn't change anything.
"He killed a god."
Miles' fists trembled against the bench, struggling to resist actually breaking it because no matter how sturdy wood grown in the heavens were, it was still wood beneath a god's hands. Just like how Phoenix Wright was still a mortal beneath the law of the gods.
A bear that killed a human and ate its flesh must be put to death because it had gone against the hierarchy of society and posed a risk to all mankind. A mortal that killed a god not only exposed the possibility, but its soul has been tainted by a power against the hierarchy of nature.
A soul that committed deicide will kill again.
"It doesn't matter the circumstances. It's a risk we can't take," Barok van Zieks, God of the Afterlife added, voicing everyone's thoughts. "At the very least, I refuse to have his soul stay in my domain."
"..."
'So,' Miles translated in his head, 'it doesn't matter if I convince the rest of the pantheon. If I can't convince van Zieks, Phoenix's soul will be in limbo for all of eternity.'
There may be a way yet.
"In that case, we won't have him stay in your domain. We can have him reincarnate immediately–"
Miles barely finished his sentence when he was interrupted by the loud slam of a fist on wood followed by the jingle of chains. The God of Warriors, Simon Blackquill glared from the other corner of the room, the bench threatening to cave under his abuse. "Have you been listening to the discussion at all, Miles Edgeworth? Or has your affection for this human clouded the eyes of the God of Logic?"
The mental attack hurt more than any physical blow Blackquill could've sent his way. "I… It's not about that," Miles mumbled out, "This is about equality and a fair trial! Phoenix Wright doesn't deserve this!"
"You've argued that for hours!" Blackquill shot back, "None of us believe this is fair, but we are all in agreement for the sake of our whole society. For the sake of all of our lives!
"Would you trade the lives of all of your comrades, of every single god in the pantheon for the soul of one human?"
"I…" the words flew through Miles' head, but he couldn't land on a single one to say out loud to rebuke Blackquill. Even if it was Phoenix Wright , he couldn't possibly risk his fellow gods and goddesses. Especially not his father. Not Kaye. Not Franziska. All of them mattered just as much to him as Phoenix Wright did.
"This discussion is over. It should've been over hours ago," Blackquill crossed his arms, teeth grinding down on the edge of a feather hard enough that it snapped in two, landing softly on his bench in response to the crack that echoed through the room.
"..." it was the last argument Miles had been clinging to and when Blackquill laid it out so clearly for everyone– for him to see, he couldn't find a way to retort. Still… 'I can't give up on him. I can't give up on Phoenix.'
"Throw in your vote, Edgeworth," Mia said gently. A full agreement of the pantheon was necessary for big decisions like this. "Don't prolong this any longer."
"..."
Logically, Miles should do as Mia suggested. There was no changing the minds of the rest of the pantheon. Every one of them has already voted against Phoenix Wright. All he was doing was wasting everyone's time. Logically, he should give up.
But Miles couldn't forget that warm smile. The soft flutter of sunflower petals in sunlight. It could power the world. It certainly melted his heart.
He would never see that smile again. The unique pattern that made up Phoenix Wright would be forever erased from the universe. And he… And Miles couldn't bear it.
'I'm the only one standing between him and the removal of his very existence from this universe. This isn't a decision to be made lightly. It can't be reversed.
And I can't give up on him.'
"I–"
Bang!
This time, the God of Logic was interrupted by the sound of a gavel against wood. All heads turned to the figure that sat at the end of the room: the Goddess of Justice, Verity Gavèlle. "Enough. This discussion has gone on for long enough," she turned to glare at Miles and although he wanted to shrink back, he forced himself to remain steady and hold her gaze. He couldn't show weakness now. "Any further discussion would be a clear waste of the pantheon's time."
"But–"
"We are well aware of how stubborn the God of Logic is," her voice dripped with venom and the sound of multiple gods and goddesses shifting in their seats spoke volumes in everyone's agreement without uttering a single word. "We are also well aware how much value the God of Logic's arguments are for important discussions such as this." This time, there were audible sighs, "So I am allowing a short extension of the Case of Phoenix Wright."
"...!"
"Use this time to personally discuss the details of this case with each other," Verity says with finality as gods step away from their benches and file towards the exit. Miles would have to hunt them down personally later. The unspoken words of Verity's orders: find each other and make whatever deals and agreements necessary to bring this case swiftly to an end. If Miles was truly desperate, he would have to do favors for the other gods. Because certainly, there was nothing the other gods could do for him that would make him change his mind.
Unlike the others fleeing the room, Miles remained at his bench and closed his eyes, searching for the easiest target he could exchange a favor with, or which target would result in the largest number of minds changed with a single favor… 'Kaye will be easy to convince. As would Franziska given the right price. It'll be more difficult to change the minds of Blackquill or van Zieks–'
"Edgeworth," a grim voice broke him out of his thoughts and he looked up to find both Verity and Barok standing before him, on the other side of his bench. Of course, many of the other gods wanted to change his mind, too. Miles didn't think they would approach him so quickly, though.
"Ms. Gavèlle, Lord van Zieks," Miles returned the greeting.
Verity's expression was unreadable, passive as she normally looked while passing judgement. Barok, on the other hand, did not bother to hide his disdain. Not that he ever hid his disdain. Miles was fairly certain that his scowl was etched in as permanently as the scar between his eyes. Though, if he had to say, Miles did sense a higher amount of annoyance coming from the God of the Afterlife than usual. That wasn't unlikely, given how long the discussion had gone on.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Verity closed her eyes, tapping her gavel lightly on her hand, "We have a proposal. One that'll end this discussion of Phoenix Wright once and for all."
"You may try whatever arguments you'd like, I will not damn the soul of Phoenix–"
"We're not interested in convincing you to vote against him," Barok cut him off.
"You… You're not?"
Verity nodded a couple times before opening her eyes again. Perhaps she was just as antsy as Miles felt for this conversation and didn't show it. Miles only hoped he was able to school his emotions as well as she was. "If you are able to do this, I'm fairly certain you will convince the rest of the pantheon as well."
"Would it now?" after the hours-long discussion they had, this almost sounded too good to be true. Turning to Barok, he raised an eyebrow, "I'm surprised you're part of this proposal. You were adamant that Phoenix Wright's soul be damned."
Barok coughed into a fist and faked clearing his throat. The fact that his deathly pale face flashed a light pink didn't escape Miles, however. 'Oh?' whatever this was, he would save this as a bartering chip for the future.
"I was… convinced by one of the saints that there is worth in saving Phoenix Wright's soul."
"Oh? Must have been an incredibly convincing argument." There was no mistaking the flush that passed through Barok's face before he schooled his expression once more. "I'm surprised," Miles continued. As interesting as Barok's reactions were, he wasn't one to torture a coworker into revealing the details of their personal relationships. There were plenty of other gods who did that daily. "I didn't think any of the saints would be involved with the decisions of gods," normally they were much more focused on carrying messages and performing miracles to attain godhood. The wishes of the common people were usually loud and numerous enough that they didn't have time to pay attention to the universe defining situations that involved gods and goddesses.
Barok frowned, his discomfort becoming more apparent with the drawn out topic.
'Why? I'm just asking for details of the situation…'
"It appears that Phoenix Wright is actually the only descendant of this saint. The situation has been upsetting him so he requested my help."
"I see…"
To think the incredibly intimidating God of the Afterlife had such a weakness.
Verity cleared her throat, bringing attention back to the matter on hand– to Barok's apparent relief, "Well, Edgeworth? Do we have a deal?"
"Let's hear the proposal first," perhaps that trick would work on one of the younger gods, but Miles certainly wouldn't agree before he heard the request. He wasn't so desperate he lost his wits.
Verity's lips curved up into a small smile, as though amused that Miles called out her trick so easily. Perhaps she was testing him. "The entire pantheon is in agreement that Phoenix Wright is innocent, that he never intended to commit deicide."
"Then–"
"Let her finish," Barok warned and Miles almost regretted not taking advantage of Barok's earlier weakness.
"The reason all of us wish to remove and destroy his soul is out of fear of what he could do to our society if left unchecked."
"..." that was true. Even Miles feared what could happen in the future if Phoenix continued to reincarnate. As much as he wished to save his soul… even he couldn't put faith in Phoenix. 'Is that terrible of me,' he wondered, 'to save someone I can't even trust?'
"In which case, we simply need to prove that Phoenix Wright would not kill another god again."
"...!" Miles' eyes lit up. What a simple and elegant response! He felt a bit of shame for not considering it himself. "And how do you propose we do that?"
"Simple," Barok shrugged and crossed his arms. Miles could see why the God of the Afterlife intimidated other members of the pantheon. The tactic wouldn't work on a god with a similar aura, however. "We give him the chance to kill a god. If he doesn't take that chance, then it'll mean he won't kill."
"Of course, we'd need to do this at least twice. The first time must be proven to not be a fluke."
"Of course…" that made sense, "But, who would we risk for such a test?"
Both gods raised an eyebrow at Miles, who blinked back at them in earnest confusion.
"Well, his number one proponent, obviously."