Chapter 3: Grand Council

A day passed, time for the grand council meeting. 

However, there's a… deafening silence. 

The people in the hall were testing the water, no one uttered nor broke the silence. 

They are silently observing, feeling each other out. 

"I formally announced that the emergency meeting of the Elysium Council will start now!" Mr. Fynn said in a serious tone, showing his authority. 

All members of the Elysium Council are here. The grand council is composed of the head, secretary, and the region representatives, as well as the Council Division Heads and the Beta.

A woman beside Mr. Fynn stood up, bowing her head and smiling to everyone. She's the secretary of the council, Ms. Perona of Aerilon Region. "A pleasant day to everyone! Allow me to briefly recapping the reasons for this meeting. Sadly, yesterday's awakening event did not go as planned. Together with their chosen child, the three elemental stones are successfully awakened. But Master Valen, the fire chosen child, remained unawakened and the fire stone unexpectedly disappeared. In addition, Master Valen's body begins to exhibit mysterious red lines, leading the Aquamedics to identify that his body is unable to control his wildfire energy. Therefore, the following are our agenda for today: first, we must discuss the disappearing fire stone. Second, we must figure out a way to locate it. Third, before the wildfire energy on Master Valen's body consumes him, we need to figure out another way to slow it down. Lastly, we should find a way to get in touch and locate the Alpha." 

"Aside from Beta and I, all of the council members are far from the grand stage and they are all in the imperial gallery. They barely saw what truly happened to the fire stone. Can any of the Beta discuss what truly happened in the event?" Mr. Fynn asked, looking directly at the direction of the Beta. 

Aerona raised her hand to ask for permission to talk. The head of the council just nod his head, giving her permission to speak. 

Without any proper and formal greeting, Aerona straightly answered the question thrown at them. "Yesterday, as the fire stone did not respond to the call of Valen. Tellus decided to use his earth stone to talk to the fire stone but it did not work. Then, the three of us decided to do it together but did not work either. After a few minutes, the fire stone started to fade until it was totally gone."

"Why would it fade? Maybe Master Valen is not the right bearer of it?" Mr. Wood immediately stated, he is the representative of the Terra Region. 

Those questions made Aerona's blood immediately boil. She stood up, clenching her jaws. "Are you—" 

She was disrupted by Tellus who spoke out of nowhere. "Each chosen child has a stone mark on their back." He flatly looked at Mr. Wood. "You better check it, so you don't ask those stupid questions while representing my home region," he continued, smirking at the man. 

"I agree with Master Tellus, every chosen child has a mark and we all know that it cannot be created nor fabricated as it can only be made by the stone of the creation," Ms. Hazel from Ignis Region, the head of council of knowledge, stated and agreed to what they said. 

The council of knowledge stores, disseminating, and organizes any information about the Aetheria. Also, preserving wisdom and history. 

"Then, any idea what happened to the fire stone?" Mr. Jacob–the representative of the Ignis Region, asked. 

"We actually have an idea about what happened. We saw how it faded… it might be a high level of illusion." Aella solemnly stated. No hesitation, her eyes showed confidence. 

People in the council hall glance darting around and turning their head, trying to guess and feel each other's thoughts. 

Silence filled the hall. Until Ms. Jacinta from the Terra Region, the head of the council of magic finally spoke, "What do you mean? If it is an illusion, some of the people will know it already." She leaned back to her seat. "The four of you will immediately know if that was an illusion," she added, delivering it with emphasis.

The council of magic handles and oversees any usage of energy in terms of standards and responsibility. 

"That is why there's the word high in what Aella just said," Aerona sarcastically answered, rolled her eyes then crossed her arms. "A high level of illusion," she slowly repeated and highlighted it word by word, as if mocking the way Ms. Jacinta emphasized her statement.

Ms. Jacinta, who's got humiliated by Aerona lowered her head, accepting and knowing that she would not stand a chance against the bitchy Beta. 

Ms. Shen, a representative from the Aquaria Region responded, "Who would do that?" 

"It's the Gamma… the Illusionist," Tellus playfully grinned, widely smiling as if he hit the jackpot of knowing it. 

Again, the people in the hall gazed and looked at each other, sensing each other. 

Mr. Fynn eventually declared, "Beta, you cannot just conclude that it was created by the Gamma. Just like you, they are following the golden rules set by the Alpha. They cannot create something that can cause commotion and chaos." 

"Pardon, Mr. Fynn." Aella gently bowed her head. "But, we are not concluding… as I said, it might be," she genuinely smiled. "We are just sharing our ideas."

"Do not forget that an illusionist cannot create something that he did not see. He can create an illusion based on what he has already seen. Now, think about it," Tellus said while playfully tilting his head.

"To add, elemental stone cannot be easily seen." Aerona flatly said, raising her eyebrows to them. "Unless, it's a sacred event like awakening or someone who can enter the sacred chamber," she added. She looked at them flatly. 

"So, you mean the Illusionist has already seen the fire stone?" Ms. Rhiya questioned, directly staring at Aerona. She's the representative of the Aerilon Palace. 

Aella gently nodded. Tellus just smirks. Aerona squinted her eyes. 

Ms. Shen, the representative of the Aquaria Palace stated. "What if someone who created the illusion saw it at the 4th awakening event?"

"Someone? You mean an average user of energy?" Aerona directly looking at Ms. Shen, raising her eyebrows. 

"Yes," Ms. Shen calmly replied. 

Aerona frowned, "Do you think an average level of user can create that illusion?" 

"I am just stating my idea," Ms. Shen answered, smiling at Aerona, who's definitely not being happy. "No need to be annoyed, Lady Aerona." 

"Who would not be annoyed with that stupid idea?" she replied, remaining composed yet annoyed as her eyes kept on rolling. 

"Now, now," Mr. Fynn mediated between the two. "Calm down. We will do a further investigation regarding that." 

Silence filled the hall again.

Tension can be felt throughout the room. No, it is Aerona's fiercing air that can be felt throughout the room. 

She did not keep her annoyance. Her brows furrowed, and she's frowning, letting everyone in the hall know what she was feeling at the moment. 

And, everyone can feel it. 

Ms. Shen, on the other hand, remained smiling as if there's no warning in the air. Staying relaxed and calm. 

"Now, now," Mr. Fynn broke the silence. He tried to divert the situation, "If I am not mistaken, the Illusionist is named Aric."

"Aric is an Aquarian. If we need a further investigation, we can initiate and lead it," Ms. Shen volunteered, still composed and not bothered by the fiercing air and glare of Aerona. 

Mr. Fynn clapped, trying to remove the tension in the air. "That's great! Then, I am officially giving the task of investigating the Gamma named Aric, the Illusionist, to the Aquaria Palace." 

Mr. Fynn stood up then a scroll suddenly appeared. He uses his water energy to write the task and signs it to be recognized as an official arcane scroll. 

After that, Mr. Fynn asked again, "Do you still have any idea about what happened to the fire stone?" 

The hall filled with silence.

"I somehow think that what if Master Flare might also be connected to this? He's the previous fire stone bearer," Mr. Vann uttered. He is the council head of guilds. 

The council of guilds are providing and managing missions throughout the continent of Elysium. 

"That's possible," Mr. Wane–the council head of harmony agreed, slightly nodding his head. "He has the power to order Aric to do it." 

The council of harmony maintains the peace and order throughout the four regions—Aquaria, Aerilon, Terra, and Ignis. 

"They are staying in the mortal world. I can take the responsibility in asking him," Ms. Gale volunteered, she's the council head of equilibrium. 

The council of equilibrium handles and maintains balance, and prevents any chaos that can be brought by the Aetheria in the mortal world. 

"Alright. I'm giving you this task, Ms. Gale." Mr. Fynn took out another scroll, wrote the task then signed it. 

"Any other ideas?" Ms. Perona asked, looking around in the hall, waiting for someone to state what was on their mind. 

Silence can be heard through the hall. 

"I will take your silence to conclude that our first agenda is done. For our next agenda, we need to find a way to locate the fire stone. The suggestions and ideas are open now," Ms. Perona said, smiling widely. 

Ms. Hazel raised her hand, and Mr. Fynn gave her permission to speak. "I only think of one way on how to locate the fire stone as soon as possible and that is with the help of another Gamma which is the Clairvoyant."

"That is actually a good idea but as of now we do not know who holds the stone of clairvoyance," Mr. Wane commented. 

"Alpha is currently finding the one who can bear the stone of clairvoyance. However, that is a good idea. We will take note of that." Mr. Fynn nodded in agreement. "As for now, anyone who has another idea?" he continued asking. 

Everyone looked at Tellus when he loudly clicked his tongue continuously while shaking his head slowly. "You will ask Master Flare about the creation of the fire stone illusion," he smirked. "Ask him too about the whereabouts of his former stone. They can sense it, don't they?" 

Mr. Fynn widened his eyes, knowing that Tellus really hit on that idea. "Indeed. Ms. Gale, if you do not mind, can we add that to your task?" he immediately asked the head council of equilibrium. 

"Of course, I would not mind." Ms. Gale answered. 

Mr. Fynn gave gratitude to her while rewriting the arcane scroll. Then, asked again, "If there are no other ideas and suggestions. Shall we go to another agenda which is finding a way to slow down the wildfire energy to Master Valen's body." 

"The Aquamedics managed to slow down the wildfire energy in Valen's body using the aqua healing but we cannot continue using aqua healing in his body," Ms. Shen answered. 

"That's given since Master Valen's body is full of fire energy. We cannot use another energy to fight with it, especially not water energy," Ms. Hazel added. 

"Using too much water energy would make his fire energy vanish." Ms. Shen looked at the table, avoiding any gazes from the Beta. "It can make his body a mortal one, or worse… it can lead him to death."

"We do not have any choice. Fire healing cannot be used. Its purpose is to destroy any unwelcome energy or viruses in the body… using it to Master Valen's body would make his fire energy… vanish," stated by Mr. Jacob. 

"How about using fire healing but with utmost care and balance, just stabilizing the wildfire in his body?" Mr. Wood suggested while doing an upright posture, trying to be positive. 

Mr. Jacob answered, "We cannot–" 

A presence disrupts him, it silences them all. 

No one moved, no one dared to speak. 

Until an elegant voice spoke with serene grace, "Valen's fire energy is the most powerful fire energy. It cannot be easily controlled." It was slow yet it screams with authority and grace.

All of the people in the hall kneel and bow. 

In sync, they said, "We are grateful for your presence, Your Majesty."

Alpha is here.