Eight figures sat around a stone table. Its surface was empty—like the rest of the room.
The silence was not empty, but alive—thick with power, memory, and an electric edge.
The walls –which were an inky black– lit up like starlight as the first Man spoke.
He had tanned skin and a strong nose.
His cheeks were sunken slightly– and his eyes were the color of iron, with hair the color of fresh soil.
The Man was handsome and his aura was unfathomable: honest, loyal, and aloof…
But impossibly deep.
Across from Him sat a Woman with blonde hair, eyes of crystalline blue, and deathly fair skin.
Despite Her cold appearance she radiated feelings of gentleness, Her voice sweet as she spoke–
"Greetings. It's a pleasure to be back with all of you. It's been far too long since our last meeting."
Murmured agreements washed over the room and a Woman with dark features, both skin and hair, snorted.
She was sitting across the table from the blue-eyed Woman, and next to the light-brown haired Man.
"Yes yes a pleasure, now can we get on with it so I don't have to keep staring at… Him."
Her contemptuous gaze traveled towards the Man next to the other woman.
He leaned back in his chair, arms folded, smirking.
His hair was a sandy blonde, his eyes light green, skin light.
"Mhmmm- I'm excited to get this over with too, as lovely as you all are… well most of you anyways."
A young man piped up, his hair was bleached, his skin white and freckled.
"Yes, yes, I'm so excited, all of you! Oh, how I've missed you. She'll tell you about it—won't you?"
Turning towards a figure who was completely shrouded in darkness.
"No."
Her voice was surprisingly feminine, besides that nothing else was to be said.
"Pfft."
A young Woman with a straight nose, and pitch black eyes giggled, before all the heads turned to look at Her.
She fell silent, her face straightening into a cold stare, Her dark curls rose and fell with every breath.
The Man next to her glared protectively. He had native features, and strong bronze skin.
Once He relaxed however His face shifted, turning into that of a beautiful Woman with dark braids.
Her bronze fingers thrummed on the desk.
The shroud of darkness spoke up.
"Topics of discussion?" Her voice rang like finality— muting the other People.
"War."
"Also War."
"The Turf War too."
The dark cloud bristled.
"Topics besides war."
A slight pause–
"None."
"None."
The Man with green eyes raised his hand.
"The experimentation of the Kingdom of Light on a mage, dual path."
He leaned in, finally sitting up into a serious position.
"I believe it restricted the subject from being able to choose their own path… and you know I just hate restricting freedoms.
Do you have anything to say for yourself… Light?
The question wasn't a challenge. It was a line drawn in sand.
The bleach-haired Man tapped His fingers on the desk.
"It's my kingdom. I chose to experiment to raise the power of my citizens, that is my own jurisdiction."
His voice was honeyed arrogance.
The kind smile on the Man's face faltered for a second, brightening once more right after.
The orange-eyed lady spoke up.
"I normally despise old Zephy– but, it's quite boring if you kill all the mages with failed experiments before they even get a chance to fight…"
Her eyes flashed red.
"Where's the passion in that?"
The soft-spoken braided Woman spoke up as well.
"It's simply unnatural."
The dark cloud rippled.
"You may shift the topic to the various wars."
The green-eyed Man spoke once more.
"Tell that flack to stop targeting my mortal villages."
The orange-eyed Woman laughed.
"Fine, fine, I'll stop, it was only a distraction anyways."
"You're such a prick."
"Nuh-uh…"
"Yuh-hu–"
"Enough!"
The black cloud flashed with onyx lightning.
"Next… please."
The Woman with blue-eyes looked towards the brunette.
"The land and sea turf war is coming along nicely! May the best one win!"
The Man only nodded in response, but clearly pleased.
"Any other topics of interest…?"
The black cloud asked in Her soft voice.
"No.
"No.
"None here."
"Not me."
"Nope!"
"Not at all`
The air in the room had slowly gone from warm to cold, all the People quickly grew tired of eachother.
The starry walls slowly lost their luster.
The expanded space started to recede, shifting the backdrop from a brilliant galaxy to a dark stone room.
A pop– like the sound of wood cracking over a fire, and the red-eyed Woman disappeared.
A gentle whistle, like the rustling of wind through branches, and the green-eyed Man was gone too.
A roar, like a crashing wave—and the blonde Woman faded.
A flash, like a lightning strike—and the bleached-haired Man dispersed.
A strike, like the splitting of stone, resounded and the soil-haired Man took his leave.
A cry– like that of a myriad of animals: birds, mammals, and the likes, sounded out, and the Woman with braids whisked away.
The noise of the room grew eerily quiet, as the curly-haired Woman turned ethereal like a ghost.
The black cloud receded… and a young Woman with-
-
You thought you could see Her…?
You thought wrong.
A devilish grin, rows of white teeth, too numerous to count, human, but not.
Pearly white– but too pristine, too many.
-
Kai awoke…
Today was the day.
Kai would finally face the Black Dragon.