The Empyrean Council

"Hmm…I guess the most relatable terms would be gods, deities, celestials, and all other similar terms." If not for noticing earlier that this man has no inkling of a shadow behind him, while we all do, I would've called this bullshit.

He realizes I'm eyeing the floor under him and affirms "Seems like you've noticed, that's just how we are." Smiling, he continued "Many call us creators, but I believe we are much closer to mere architects. We can jump-start realms and establish their conditions but it's mainly just influencing their development."

Damn, I suddenly feel so small.

"We? How many are you?" Lucian scowls. "A good number." The man nods, chuckling a bit. Sounds like a fucking ton to me.

"Are you saying that there are many realms similar to our world?" looks at him intently. "Not that many in a similar stage, after all, it has been difficult to get to the progress of your world."

Clapping his hand together, he exclaims "That's actually why we've brought you here." Next to me, Rai suddenly shoots up from his chair and I startle at his scream "Transmigration! Are we transmigrating!?" His eyes shone bright like he wasn't kind of dead earlier.

The man seems to find him amusing "Not exactly, but close enough. We couldn't transplant you into someone else because then your current spirit would be unable to reincarnate. You'd have to live out this life to safeguard your future self."

Rai deflates from that but recovers fast "Then do we get to go to another realm?" He's like a balloon, this guy.

"We've looked into it and determined that it would be possible to send you guys to either of these" He motions and three projections jump at us.

He's not serious, is he? I'm looking at the projections and my stomach starts churning. We've been preparing for war for a big chunk of our lives so I would've imagined my tolerance to be better but, just what the fuck are those?!

In the center of the table, a projection shows a large expanse of greenery, when suddenly a giant arm swings at what seems to be a large stone.

Rina flinches as I notice the large stone move. The ground seems to shake and the stone pounces on the arm. Wait, pounces? How can a stone be pouncing? "Ehem…Those would be the giant Cyclops, natives of the realm. They can be very moody at times, but we noticed that humans managed to survive for a time once they've learned to hide." The man sounded genuine. He probably thought that was a good thing.

It's suddenly chilly and I look over to see Lucian glaring daggers and the man seems to have caught on "Well, there are other options if you're not keen on the first one" as he points to the other two projections.

"Do we choose between the Cyclops battlefield, Ice Age, or a Zerg infestation?" Lucian summarizes the projectiles and I rarely agree with him but he's definitely on the money for this.

"Earlier you said that humans managed to survive. Pretty sure you meant that since someone's still alive there, then we could probably make it, huh?" Idris said mockingly.

Sheepishly, the man tries to appease us "Sorry, we figured that at least there were humans here. Your previous realm has been our most successful realm for humans." Solandis was deemed a success?! That's what they call a success. Seriously?!

The man seems to contemplate our worries and cautiously starts "I can think of one more realm, but I'd have to consult the council before I can discuss further. I hope you won't mind." He shimmers out and we stare blankly at the chair. Uh huh, gods.

__________

Elsewhere, Tyr glides through the halls, his white robe gracing the ground as he passes by. The door opens as he overhears several voices. "You think they'd be able to do it?" A young lady asks a young lad. "Don't think so" he looks at the projection, scrutinizing the five humans. "I think they can do it, they look strong." The lady muses as she brushes her hair to the side.

"You're just saying that coz you think they look good. Just because they look good doesn't mean anything. Look at how many of those that you liked got broken like a match stick." The young lad snorts.

It's not like we have a choice. Tyr thinks to himself as he watches the five of them.

Humans are really fragile, but their ability to adapt is admirable. For such young adults, who have been told that they've been effectively displaced, they seem to be handling it better than expected.

"What are we going to do?" The chipmunk asks, well I don't think he'd appreciate me calling him that. His thick wavy hair, large brown eyes, and rounded cheeks remind me of a hoarding chipmunk.

Rai Orwell, the chipmunk, the unfortunate soul who got mixed up in this seems to have steeled himself. Surprisingly he didn't wallow in crisis.

He looks at his other companions and the the tallest of them answers "Check what's on you for now." He proceeds to stand up, at 193cm, he's on the tall side of humans.

Idris Ainsworth, the number one medical cadet.

His tidy two-block dark brown hair, and clear and calm dark-gray eyes, match his measured demeanor. "You've seen the realms, it doesn't matter where we go, they're all dangerous. All we can do now is prepare." He proceeds to empty the bags on the floor, checking for rations.

"At this rate, we're lucky that it happened right before leaving for the camp." It's the tiny angry girl. Eliana Selene Thornhill. She blew on her bangs, ruffled her jet-black bob, and stood up, trying to grab bags to check.

Admirable desire to protect and willingness to sacrifice. It's a shame she couldn't continue with her life on Solandis.

"Don't bother lifting them. Any more and the bags will start wearing you." Tall and arrogant, even his walking felt like a predator stalking prey. He stoops down to grab the bags, his thick black hair brushes Eliana.

"Sorry I wasn't born an ogre, like you." she glares at him.

"Yeah, you ended up a midget." he drawls while tugging at straps.

His eyes, hmm…is it possible that he's part Vermillion? I should probably check.

Tyr continues to watch as Eliana smiles coldly at the smirking Lucian. That's the Captain and the Vice Captain, how were they able to work together all these years? Tyr wonders as the two proceed to elbow each other. I don't remember 167cm being short. I wonder if I missed developments in human society.

"Aside from the standard issue items, I have some solar power banks, my phone, and my tablet. I wonder if we'd be able to use those once we leave this place." she shows them her loot and then proceeds to stand, she twists her long auburn hair before stopping the captains. "Work now, fight later." with her sighs audible, the two stop bickering to continue checking on their packs. I should probably get going too.

"It seems like you were right. It might be worth giving them a shot." Tyr looks around the podium, and around him are large panels portraying different gods.

They started murmuring to each other when an older man tapped his scepter on the ground. It was a light tap but it silenced the whole dome. "Considering our situation, they seem to be our only hope. This is a very rare opportunity and we must not waste it." The elder seems to have made up his mind. Tyr thinks as he nods appropriately.

"But elder, what do we do if they ruin Eryndor instead? We've tried to recreate Eryndor but couldn't even come close." Asked a gentle lady, whose flowing hair swayed with the petals constantly falling.

Tyr looks around, risking to mention what he knows about Shen's plans. "I have thought about it and I suggest we continue with Shen's ideals." Murmurs started up again and it took another tap from the elder to quiet the floor.

"Before Shen disappeared he had prepared a progression for human advancement. He supposes that too much at once would damage the human body and the realm, while too little or no improvements would eventually wipe them out." Shen, this little shit, this better work.

"These kids already had abilities from their time as Solandians, but they wouldn't be able to progress properly if we do not equip them with Aether cores of Eryndor." I open my palm and show them the cores, small shimmering gem-like cores floating around.

"They need these to be able to harness the realm's energy. Shen was focused on developing these before he disappeared.

According to him, this would enable the inhabitants to progress through their abilities by interacting with the realm. I am familiar with the first twelve ranks, but I was unable to hear about the rest." I sigh as I can't help but remember Shen's excitement when he explained his cultivation idea.

"Are we able to tinker with the cores?" General Guan Di looks at me from his panel.

"Yes, though only minor imbuement, the cores need to go through a breakthrough while in the body to sync the physical vessel and the spiritual abilities. This was Shen's solution to the alarming number of humans imploding from their inability to withstand too much power." I should really stop hesitating.

"I suggest that we imbue the cores with enough Aether that matches their current Solandian elementals. It would allow the cores to take in their existing abilities, speeding up their progress."

The crowd murmured in agreement and I felt a little more relieved "I also plan on reinforcing Shen's system. Other than his disappearance, progress on Eryndor was probably halted by the lack of incentive. Smaller Tribes have been dwindling, and are too focused on survival, while the largest tribes refuse to allow the smaller tribes to develop." Looking at the elder's expression, I know he understands.

"This is of utmost importance as Solandis is in a critical position, we do not know if the humans would survive. We are running out of vessels and it would take several millennia before we can again gather enough energy for the seeds to make another attempt. Eryndor must survive."

General Guan Di catches my attention as he muses about the severity of the situation "Tyr, you are level-headed and as the most familiar with Shen and his plans, would it be possible for these kids to look for him?" He sounded hopeful, and it wasn't just him, we've all been hoping for this for the last nine centuries.

"I have tried working on Shen's system, but it'll be out of our reach once they leave, so I've planned for them to look for a bridge." I chuckle nervously before continuing.

"I'm also here to ask if it would be alright to ask the kids for their suggestions, I figured that as different entities, we are unable to figure out their needs as well as themselves. Our failures may be due to our inability to pinpoint their greatest needs. I was planning on incorporating reasonable ideas as compensation for their bad luck." Also, I don't want to get stabbed for not compensating them.

"I consent." The elder smiles at me and says "You should hurry back to them, too long and the kids might panic." I don't think panicking would be the problem, I'm worried they've started stabbing each other. I smile to myself while bowing.

Before I head back, I must check on something.

The Hall of Fate is sprawling and packed with scrolls upon scrolls of history. Here we are summarized as scrolls, and I'm here to check if my hunch is correct. I call forth his scroll, reading as far back as I can go, and true enough, no wonder.

I hope this works. I don't know who to pray to, how ironic. I laugh to myself as I return to the kids.