Chapter 1012 - 1011: Before The Council [GT Bonus - ]

The black doors opened inward, and Enigma entered with Simon beside him.

The hall was circular. Pale stone covered the floor, crossed by thin black lines that met beneath a hanging lamp. Above it, the ceiling curved into a dark dome.

Twelve seats stood on a raised gallery around the room. Five, arranged opposite the entrance, were higher than the other seven. Every seat was occupied.

Simon followed Enigma toward the centre.

The doors closed behind them.

Some elders had restrained their auras so thoroughly that Simon could barely feel anything. Others allowed enough power to escape that he could sense it against his skin but he couldn’t measure any of them accurately.

However, he knew they were all stronger than him.

His instincts warned him most strongly about the five seated opposite the doors. Even the woman who appeared to be resting with her eyes half-closed made him reluctant to look away.

Then something stirred inside his heart.

The Seed of Pride.

Simon almost stopped moving..

Greed responded next, followed by Wrath. The three seeds stirred toward different seats, as though answering something he couldn’t otherwise perceive.

He kept walking despite the reaction and his surprise, holding their power within his heart.

The reaction had startled three of the elders as well.

But none allowed their surprise to reach their faces. The silver-haired man exchanged a glance with the woman whose hands gleamed gold, then with the broad figure seated beside her. Their attention briefly passed to the other two Grand Elders.

Enigma noticed nothing.

He stopped at the centre of the hall and placed his right hand over his chest.

"Enigma, Fourth Abyss Lord, pays his respects to the Grand Elders."

He bowed toward the five higher seats, then turned slightly toward the others.

"And to the Ancestral Elders of the council."

Simon stopped beside him. From here, he had to lift his gaze to meet the eyes of those seated above.

There was no table between them. No chair waiting for either visitor.

Enigma straightened and addressed Simon.

"These are the five Grand Elders. Grand Elder Dread Crown."

He inclined his head toward the silver-haired man directly opposite them.

The elder had dark-grey skin and two broad horns that branched upward beside his temples. Their blunt ridges framed his head like a crown. Silver eyes rested on Simon beneath heavy brows.

His crimson robe had a stiff collar and narrow silver borders. On its left breast was a small emblem: a black dragon curled into a circle, its jaws closed around its tail. Crimson cloth filled the space within.

The same symbol was sewn onto the left breast of every elder’s clothing.

The emblem of The Abyss.

"Grand Elder Red Calamity."

The second man was enormous, his shoulders nearly filling his seat. A dark-red mane surrounded a face with a broad muzzle, and two long fangs extended below his lower lip.

His sleeveless black coat exposed thick arms covered in old scars and crimson tattoos on his arms. A dark belt held it closed, with the black dragon embroidered above his left breast.

One claw rested against the armrest. He studied Simon without moving it.

Simon could not help but wonder the beast that gave the elder such a frightening appearance. Though, he could feel his Nine-Tailed Byakko Bloodline getting stirred at the elder’s gaze.

"Grand Elder Golden Tyrant."

The woman beside Red Calamity had bronze skin and four arms. Two hands rested in her lap while the other pair occupied the armrests. All four were gold from the wrists to the claws.

Her robe had been tailored around the extra limbs, its long black folds gathered beneath a gold belt. Small dark markings followed her jaw, ending beneath her ears.

Her eyes moved from Simon’s face to the wraps around his hands.

He kept them loose at his sides.

"Grand Elder Endless Maw."

The third male Grand Elder was much thinner.

His pale face looked almost human until Simon noticed the lines extending from the corners of his mouth toward his ears. His lips parted slightly, revealing another row of teeth behind the first.

He wore a loose black robe without jewellery. The sleeves concealed his hands, and the Abyss emblem could barely been seen on his clothes.

Endless Maw gave Simon a small nod.

Simon wasn’t sure whether that was reassuring.

"And Grand Elder Night Widow."

The last of the five was a woman with dark-violet skin and long black hair. A thin veil covered the lower half of her face, leaving two pairs of narrow eyes visible above it.

Four slender, jointed limbs were folded behind her shoulders. They rose above the back of her seat, motionless against the wall.

Her gown reached the floor. Black thread fastened the veil at her temples, matching the dragon on the left side of her chest.

Simon glanced between the five. None had spoken yet, but their attention hadn’t left him.

Enigma turned toward the remaining seats.

"These are the seven Ancestral Elders. Ancestral Elder Black Mountain."

A broad male Daemon sat in a chair built without an ordinary backrest. A dark shell rose behind his shoulders, its surface divided into thick plates. His head and arms were exposed, grey skin hanging in heavy folds around his neck.

He wore a black tunic beneath the shell, and one thick finger slowly tapped his knee.

"Ancestral Elder White Death."

A woman’s upper body rose above a pale serpent’s tail coiled upon a wide seat. Fine scales covered her throat and cheeks, while straight white hair rested over a high-collared black dress.

Her forked tongue briefly touched her lower lip.

"Ancestral Elder Bone Prophet."

The elderly man beside her had sunken cheeks and long fingers with no flesh over the bones. He held a closed book between them.

Three small eyes ran vertically down the centre of his forehead, above an otherwise ordinary pair. All five followed Simon as he shifted his gaze.

"Ancestral Elder Silent Plague."

The woman sat almost completely still, broad black wings folded behind her. Grey fur covered her forearms, and two thin antennae rose through her hair.

Her dark robe left her wrists uncovered. When Enigma spoke her title, her antennae inclined toward him before returning to their former position.

Simon tried to remember each title along with the face.

He couldn’t name their races, and he was curious.

"Ancestral Elder Wild Hunt."

The man had a narrow face, a short white beard, and branching black antlers. Dark lines were tattooed across his shaved scalp.

A long coat hung over legs that ended in split hooves. One was planted upon the gallery’s floor, and the other rested beneath his seat.

"Ancestral Elder Cinder Queen."

This woman had charcoal-coloured skin and short red hair. Two wings covered in ragged grey feathers rested behind her shoulders.

Her black coat was fastened to the throat. Beneath its sleeves, faint red cracks showed across the backs of her hands.

"And Ancestral Elder Black Tide."

The final elder was male, his smooth grey face framed by narrow gills along either side of his neck. His eyes had no visible pupils.

Webbed fingers rested upon his knees. A dark hood lay against his back, and the black dragon on his chest glinted when he leaned forward.

Twelve elders.

Simon had listened to Enigma describe their strength on the way here. Standing beneath their combined attention was different.

For a moment, Merath’s face came to mind.

He let the memory pass. He didn’t know what she had told these elders, or whether she had returned at all. There was no sense answering questions nobody had asked.

Enigma lowered his voice.

"Treat them with respect, Blackmoon."

Simon calmly nodded.

He had come to discuss joining The Abyss, not pick a fight with its council.

Enigma faced the higher seats again.

"Grand Elders, Ancestral Elders, this is the young Daemon I spoke of. His-"

"Let him speak."

Dread Crown hadn’t raised his voice, but Enigma stopped immediately.

The elder’s silver eyes settled upon Simon.

"Introduce yourself."

The Seed of Pride stirred again beneath Simon’s ribs.

It was the same response he had felt upon entering, directed toward the man speaking to him.

’Does he have a Seed of Pride too?’

He kept the question to himself.

Dread Crown watched him without impatience. Simon could feel the others waiting as well, and he wondered how much Enigma had already told them.

He met the elder’s gaze.

"My name is Blackmoon. I was born in the Duskfang Tribe, a small tribe in the Wildlands."

He paused briefly.

"I’m a Greater Demon... for now."

Then he fell silent.

Dread Crown waited another moment.

"Is that all?"

Simon nodded, then gave a small shrug.

"Yeah. Pretty much."