So, hear me out, what if The Blasted Steps are the remnants of the old City of Stone that existed prior to Grand Mother Silk?

>Judges are, even in their larval stage, excited to serve as guards of the City
>They only attack those impure of soul
>Unused code shows that if you did a no-kill run of the game up until that point that you'd have been allowed into the city by the Judges
>The existence of Sinners' Road also seems to imply the guilty would have to take the hard way around into the back of the city
>This implies that the Judges are serious about their
But also
>The Citadel promoted the pilgrimage in order to get more workers, so it wouldn't make sense to filter out the "unworthy"
>The Last Judge entrance to The Citadel leads directly to The Underworks, which is exactly where The Citadel needs more workers the most
>Judges are not mechanical beings, they use brass as armor and weapons and are heavily religious

We know that a pilgrimage existed before Granny Silk or the Conductors, which is what all the bells and prayer beads are for/from. Blasted Steps is also made almost entirely of stone. Stone pillars, stone roads, everything is stone and bells. Carved stone at that.