Ch 2:The Council

It all started as an illusion. An illusion which no longer remained itself but changed into a reality. Humans found it perfectly normal to find harrowing creatures among them, they found it completely normal seeing one of their own getting devoured by the horrors. They whispered it was sacrifice. They said it was embracing safety. Even though they knew these creatures were unspeakable horrors, they still didn't mind until one day someone did. A scream tore through the throats of the young boy, reverberating through the plains, the mountains shook, avalanches rocked the land, the ground beneath shook and crumbled,the air tensed,its vibrations destructive,the lakes rippled,the seas roared and the oceans' fury buried everything beneath it...the reality no longer remained sane and under the weight of the will imposed by the boy, the illusion finally gave way to the reality- chaos. War ensued though nobody knew their nemesis even though creatures of every kind got killed. Interbreeding occured rapidly, new creatures came into existence only to die from the blades of unknown swords...and a cycle started. This was the birth of the First Loop.

Rain felt frustrated at finding herself in a room full of political figures. If she could, she would have already painted most of their cheeks in shades of red. Though she was sure her hand would hurt from that...but she didn't mind as long as that could lessen the inner burning in her heart.

'Pretty sure Master ditched this on me...'

On one hand, only a handful of the council members were present; the others simply chose to ignore the summons of her master, even though they knew the risks of angering the fearsome Dark Angel.

Who knows, maybe they are getting bold these days!

On the other hand...

"It has been quite a long time since I last had a king beheaded by my beloved greatsword. I wonder if you would be kind enough to maybe... fulfill the wish, dear friend..." Words came spewing out of the unrestrained mouth of a portly man dressed in an extravagantly dressed red robe with glistening stars sewed all over it. He was the Emperor of Valtoria, the infamous Kingslayer,Cassius Valtoria.

Across from him on the long table sat Lucas Evenstar, the King of the Evenstar Kingdom. Showing more restrain and with only a slight wrinkle on his forehead, he replied, "...we can meet on the battlefield on another day, Cassius, for now I wish to be done with this cumbersome meeting and be on my way back home...I have work to do unlike few others."

"You are no fun at all..." Cassius Valtoria, the Emperor, dramatically sighed ....while simultaneously yawning. He then looked at Rain and said in a low tone, "Alright let's get it over with, Messenger. Someone has a lot of work u see."

Every person on this world first learnt to talk,walk and learn things that would be required for their survival. Along the way they would inevitably learn to always address any citizen of the Domain with respect: whether it be a child or an old one, be it the fittest person or a cripple. Someone might frown upon this and assume it as "dictatorship" and might show their disappointment.

However, this wasn't a rule imposed on them...in fact this habit was something common people picked up from their rulers themselves!

...In case someone might be wondering, Domain is neither an empire nor a superpower. In fact, it is just a small city; however what made it special was the fact that it was the same city ruled by Dark Angel Ally, the only one left of her race.

Legends have it back a millennial ago, when a coalition of rulers had been on the verge of collapse in a losing battle-- the epicentre being the same city where she lived today-- a woman had appeared out of nowhere, tearing the very fabrics of reality and had whispered a single word "Domain" ....the rest was an obliterating damage that crushed the very city, leaving nothing in its wake.

Decades later, she returned back and claimed it as her sanctuary, with no person in the entire world capable of opposing her. Since then, she had never ever been replaced and she rarely communicated with any other part of Zenim.

Instead she spent many years diligently making a cabinet...upon whom she ditched all her duties!

She made sure that every single living creature of her city had food,shelter and a comfortable life to lead. She was seen as the epitome of fairness and rightfully so!

Adored and feared by the masses, the nameless city she ruled came to be known as 'Domain'...the word which had laid the foundation of the city, both figuratively and metaphorically.

And now that she had called upon a council meeting of all the rulers of the world, all of them should have joined it...though it now seemed that the fear and reverence their forefathers once had for the Dark Angel had now dulled, weathered by the rise of arrogance and a carefree life in the Era of Peace.

Rain was a loyal subordinate of Dark Angel Ally.

She found herself in a dilemma, foreseeing the Cabinet's dissatisfaction with the results of this meeting. It was meant to be a test to investigate the preparedness of the several kingdoms and empires. For what...she dared not say...

The times were changing again, mists of Death's exhale touching their necks. Some might dodge it, while others shall succumb.

The most torturing fact was that she couldn't reveal those...unless she wanted chaos and bloodshed among themselves.

"So this is what you all should do..." She started with a brief discussion on how the spawn areas were to be isolated with every necessary kind of shops, settlements as well as creatures to be spread around it.

Obviously each and every emperor alongwith Dark Angel Ally had been visited by these so-called Entities and their delegations. The public announcement was just a trick used by the Entity to try to swindle the masses and cement their trust in them.

She glanced around the entire length of the table, scrutinizing faces for emotions. Lucas sat with a grim face, his face betraying the burden he wouldn't share, Cassius ever proud and boastful, sat across him with his usual grace, already thinking of ways to traverse in the approaching storm. Champion Okar say nearby, his broad shoulders slumped lazily while his intelligent eyes broke Rain's words into pieces of puzzle to be fitted in the jigsaw of his mind. Several others sat, all with varying reactions, not daring to make any interruption as Rain revealed plans and cautions.

By the time Rain completed debriefing the entire process and ended the meeting, it was already dusk with twilight settling in soon.

She looked at the back of the departing leaders and thought with a grim expression on her face hidden deep within darkness, "May we survive..."