Aziz smiled with a relaxed, almost teasing air as his gaze met the greedy glint burning in Supreme Elder Diallo's eyes.
"Oooh?" he said, drawing out the word with amusement. "And how exactly do you figure that?"
Diallo's expression darkened as he stepped forward. "For starters, you failed to capture the culprit behind the beast tide, and seco-"
"No." Aziz cut in, his voice crisp, calm, and brutal. "You failed to capture him, because you are too weak to protect your Institute."
The hall fell into a stunned silence.
Aziz's words were a slap across the face of every Elder present. Not just in tone, but also in veracity. And yet, none of them could offer a rebuttal.
The truth, no matter how disrespectfully delivered, was still the truth.
Aziz continued, tone turning drier, as if he found their silence boring. "As far as the agreement between our nations goes, I was to teach two members of your Institute the path of the Weapon-Wielder. That's it. There was nothing in the agreement about protecting your little institution or becoming your personal bounty hunter."
Murmurs flickered through the Elders like sparks on dry grass, but not one of them dared voice their outrage aloud. Because, once again, he wasn't wrong.
Diallo's eye twitched, but he kept his voice steady as he pressed on with the real question. "And what smart-ass answer do you have for this: you became a Beast-Warrior…
Without the permission of the Institute!"
Now the room truly stilled.
Every Elder present sharpened, leaning forward ever so slightly, their gazes fixed on Aziz.
This was the real question.
Weapon-Wielders were a path still in its infancy – if you could even call it that – within Ulo. A very attractive path? Yes, but it still was yet to be institutionalised. Beast-Warriors, however…
They were Ulo's backbone. Its pride. Its secret weapon.
If their methods were compromised – if their monopoly on Beast-Warrior creation slipped into foreign hands – it could destabilise their value in the eyes of the rest of the world. Even the threat of that was enough to make every Elder in the room sit up and pay attention.
But before Aziz could deliver another barbed retort, Idir raised a hand. "Wait a second."
All heads turned to him.
"Before we hear Aziz's side," Idir said, "I'd like to finish what we started. We never did let Jabari finish explaining what happened the day of his failed awakening."
Diallo scowled but said nothing.
"I agree," he finally muttered. His voice was cool and controlled, yet held the edge of barely contained fury. "Boy. Tell us what happened that day."
But Jabari didn't so much as glance at the Supreme Elder.
Instead, he turned toward Idir and spoke plainly, tone devoid of emotion.
"I met Grand Elder Nala and August on the way to my Master's house. She told me she'd be overseeing my awakening.
When we arrived, she asked the old man to remain outside since he wasn't a formal member of the Institute."
He paused. "Inside the training hall, the Grand Elder explained that before I could begin, I had to perform a blood oath. It would prevent me from revealing any of the secrets I was about to learn regarding the Beast-Warrior awakening process."
"So I did."
"Wait," Idir said sharply, raising a hand again. "Mr Aziz, I'm sorry, but from this point on, the story will likely include confidential information regarding Beast-Warrior rites. I'll have to ask you to wait outside."
Aziz didn't respond immediately. His eyes flicked to Idir, then slid across the hall to Zaire, who had already begun to rise, sensing what was about to happen.
"Don't worry," Zaire said calmly as he stepped forward. "As long as I'm here, I won't let anyone mistreat my apprentice."
With that, he made his way across the room and stood beside Jabari, shoulder to shoulder.
Aziz nodded once in silent approval.
Then, as usual, he ruined the moment with his trademark smirk.
"I hope you don't piss your pants without your dear old Master around to protect you."
"Get lost already, would you?" Jabari groaned, rolling his eyes at the relentless shamelessness of the man.
Aziz spun on his heel with a mock salute. "Fine, fine. Just don't blame me when your petty old Supreme Elder does something reckless without me here to smack some sense into him."
Diallo's eyes burned red with fury. His fists clenched, joints cracking audibly under the pressure.
But Aziz didn't give him the satisfaction of a parting glance. He strolled toward the exit with all the care of a man leaving a tea party, the very image of someone who feared nothing and no one.
'You couldn't just leave without antagonising the Supreme Elder one last time, could you?' Zaire thought grimly, his hand tightening over the shaft of his spear.
The tension in the room coiled tighter as Diallo turned his glare onto Zaire, his voice cold and cutting. "Zaire, why is it that when a foreigner tells you to jump, you ask how high?"
Zaire met his gaze calmly, not a flicker of emotion betraying his thoughts.
"It has nothing to do with him," he replied smoothly. "Jabari is one of the most talented students the Institute has ever seen. In my eyes, he's no less gifted than even Zuberi Khaldun."
At those words, Jamal's eyes darkened. His jaw clenched as he shot a glare toward Jabari, the praise stinging sharper than a blade. Ever since the selection, the spotlight he once believed was his by right had shifted – first to August, and now even more so to Jabari.
And now? An Elder had dared compare him to Zuberi Khaldun – the one said to be the greatest talent the Institute has ever seen.
Jamal's hands curled into fists beneath the table, knuckles whitening as he struggled to hide the rising tide of jealousy boiling in his gut.
But Zaire continued, unaware or unbothered by the storm his words had stirred.
"I simply don't want to see something happen to him because someone fails to control their greed, or their pettiness."
Diallo's aura rippled. "Are you referring to me?" he asked, his voice laced with threat, his body subtly tensing as if ready to strike.
Before the atmosphere could ignite, Idir quickly raised a hand. "Supreme Elder Diallo, Elder Zaire, please. Can we wait until we're alone before settling any internal disputes?"
The two men locked eyes for a long, crackling moment. Neither spoke. But they also didn't move.
Idir took the silence as reluctant consent and pressed on, forcing his tone back to cordial. "Apologies for the interruption. Jabari, please continue."
Jabari nodded, his voice as even and steady as ever. "After I performed the blood oath, the Grand Elder showed me the [Lightning Breathing Technique] and had me copy it."
Idir leaned forward slightly, quill poised. "And how long did it take you to grasp it?"
Jabari blinked. "One attempt."
The room froze.
A sharp intake of breath could be heard from several directions.
"You're saying," Elder Yared asked, springing to his feet, "that you managed to grasp the form and timing of [Lightning Breathing Technique] after one attempt?!"
Yared was a lightning-element Beast-Warrior himself – he knew how difficult the technique was. It had taken him over fifteen minutes, and even that had earned him the praise of Elders.
Chidi stared at Jabari like he had grown a second head. It had taken him nearly twenty-five minutes. A feat that his master told him would make him an elite.
One by one, eyes turned toward Jabari, filled with disbelief. Or envy.
Then came Diallo's voice, like a thunderclap.
"You're lying!" he roared. "It took me eleven minutes, and I was hailed as a genius for it. There is no way you learned the [Lightning Breathing Technique] so quickly!"
Jabari looked at him, expression unreadable. He didn't dignify the accusation with a response.
Instead, it was August who answered, his voice level, calm, and defiant.
"I was there. He's telling the truth."
Diallo's glare turned instantly on the young giant. He unleashed a wave of pressure, even heavier than before. But August had prepared himself this time.
His breathing deepened, his legs tensed, but he stood his ground. This time, he didn't flinch.
Idir cleared his throat, trying to salvage the atmosphere before it cracked again. "I guess Elder Zaire was right – your talent is truly something else," he said with a slightly envious smile.
Jabari let out a soft sigh. "Even though I did manage the breathing, I slipped a couple of times the longer I had to keep it going…
I was nervous."
Idir raised a brow. "You were nervous with only the Grand Elder and August watching you, yet here you stand, calm as ever, with us Elders, the Seeded Students, and the Supreme Elder himself all staring at you. What changed?"
Jabari shrugged, speaking without arrogance or posturing – only 'honesty'.
"I don't know. I guess, after what happened the other night, you all don't seem so scary anymore."
A moment of silence passed. Then, several Elders' brows began to twitch.
The statement hadn't been delivered as a challenge. It wasn't meant as disrespect. But the casual sincerity behind it made it sting even more.
In the wake of that night, Jabari had stared down a Magical Beast horde, fought and even killed fellow students, and punched a sociopath who controlled an entire beast tide.
What was an angry Elder or two compared to that?
"Haha, I see," Idir chuckled lightly, giving Jabari a reassuring nod. "I suppose that does make sense, considering everything you went through.
So, what happened next?"
"Well," Jabari began, his voice measured and calm, "because I made a few mistakes out of nervousness, I asked the Grand Elder if she and August could turn around while I attempted the awakening process. She agreed."
He paused, his expression darkening slightly as the memory resurfaced.
"As soon as I activated the breathing technique, my entire body was hit with pain. It was unbearable. Then…
I don't really remember what happened. The next thing I knew, the old man burst into the room and somehow relieved the pain."
His voice grew quieter. "I was barely conscious after that. When I finally came to, the old man looked pale and weak. He told me the Grand Elder had already rushed to HQ to report the incident."
Jabari looked back up, face unreadable. "If you want to know anything else, you'll have to ask him."
There was a quiet murmur among the Elders, broken suddenly by a snide voice from the corner.
"This all happened because your willpower was too pathetic, and you couldn't deal with a bit of pain," Jamal sneered, arms crossed, voice thick with derision.
Jabari didn't even glance his way.
"Idiot," he said plainly, rolling his eyes.
The room froze.
"What did you say?!" Jamal sprang to his feet, hand on his sword hilt. "I dare you to say that again!"
"Shut up and sit down!" Diallo's voice thundered across the chamber, snapping like a whip.
"Teach-"
"SHUT UP!"
Jamal sat down like a scolded child, eyes wide with disbelief and humiliation, his face burning with shame.
As tension hung thick in the air, Elder Idir stepped forward with a sigh, his voice gentle but firm.
"Jabari not only passed the Trial of Will, scoring high enough to earn his place as a Seeded Student, but he also set the record. If he were truly lacking in willpower, then by that logic, none of us would be Beast-Warriors."
A few Elders nodded silently in agreement.
Jamal's eyes dropped, shame deepening – but it was fleeting. His gaze snapped back to Jabari, this time not with embarrassment, but simmering hatred. His pride wouldn't let him accept he'd been wrong. Instead, it twisted the blame and aimed it like a dagger.
'It's his fault.'
"But if it wasn't willpower," Elder Idir mused thoughtfully as he seemed to peer into Jabari's very soul, "then how could you not last even a second? Are you sure you performed the [Lightning Breathing Technique] properly?"
On the surface, Jabari's face remained neutral. But beneath it? His heart pounded.
He couldn't tell them the truth.
He hadn't used the [Lightning Breathing Technique]. He'd used the [Empyrean Breathing Technique]. But no one could ever know that. Not now.
"I performed the technique exactly as it was shown to me," he said steadily, keeping his tone even and eyes clear.
Idir's eyes never left his. Not even for a second.
But after a few long moments, he looked away. "Then I really don't know what the issue was," he said at last. "There's nothing more to be said. We'll have to wait to hear back from HQ."
He clapped his hands lightly, shifting the tone of the room. "But in the meantime, let's address the more pressing matter, shall we?"
"I'll go and call him," Elder Yared said, referring to Aziz.
As Yared turned to leave, Jabari continued to study Idir.
Something had been bothering him ever since the trial began. Idir had stood up to Diallo. He'd even taken control of the proceedings from the moment things began to spiral out of control. And as arrogant as he was, Supreme Elder Diallo – the head of the branch – had simply allowed him to steer the narrative without protest.
Jabari's eyes narrowed faintly.
'Just who is he, exactly?'
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