The Holy Council.
A name that over the centuries had become more like a legend than a real institution.
Because most of the beings who took a seat there were so powerful that even the kings of the continent never got to see them in their entire lives.
And now, for the first time in several centuries, all those silent monsters were gathering again in one place.
Not to divide territory, not to start a war, but because they had all understood one truth: if they made a mistake, perhaps no world would remain to fight for.
The Heavenly Temple floated at the highest point of the continent.
A place above the clouds, where even breathing was impossible for ordinary beings.
Thousands of massive white columns stretched into the depths of the sky, and between them flowed rivers of light.
Silver and golden runes moved on the temple’s walls, changing shape every few seconds, as if the building itself was thinking.
But despite the grandeur of that place, today even the temple seemed heavy.
Because those gathering inside were each capable of changing the fate of an entire race. Those who decided the future and path of the world, whose opinions were the will of the continent.
The massive doors of the temple opened silently.
The first to enter was the Holy Emperor, a tall man in a white and gold robe, its edges glowing with sacred mana.
But today, even that light seemed dimmer than usual. His face was tired, not the tiredness of the body, but the exhaustion of someone who had seen the greatest army in the continent’s history turn into a pile of ashes in less than a day.
His footsteps echoed quietly among the columns, and when he sat on his own stone throne, he was silent for a few seconds.
His gaze was still fixed on the images of that battle: images of dragons falling from the sky, knights who hadn’t even had a chance to scream.
And the being standing in the middle of all that hell, without even a change in his breathing.
A few moments later, the temple’s atmosphere changed. Small plants by the columns suddenly grew, green veins spread across the ground.
And then the Queen of the Elves entered.
Sel’nora Alwin.
Her long silver hair extended to the ground, and a crown of white branches rested on her head; a crown that breathed quietly, as if still a living part of the ancient forests.
But what stopped everyone’s gaze was her face.
Cold, heavy, and full of silent anger, because she had felt better than anyone what had happened to nature’s soul.
And most importantly, for the first time, a being had succeeded in severing the existential connection between the elves and nature. Something that should be impossible by any reasoning.
Elves and nature are connected in concept, and now that concept had been severed by a monster.
Sel’nora sat on her seat without saying a word, but at that moment, one of the white branches of her crown quietly turned black.
And the temple’s space grew heavier.
A few seconds later, the sound of a metal staff striking echoed in the hall. A thin man in a black robe entered.
Kyroth Blackthorn.
The Catastrophe Mage, the oldest living Archmage on the continent. His purple eyes moved calmly among the council members, and thousands of small magic circles floated around his body; circles each capable of destroying a city.
But the strangest part of his presence was that all those magics seemed unstable today.
"I still can’t analyze him..." Kyroth whispered quietly.
No one asked what he meant. Perhaps they were used to this old man’s madness and his incoherent, illogical ramblings, or because everyone already knew the answer...
The laws around him resembled no known system. He didn’t break the law; rather, it seemed he forced it to take a different shape from the start.
The temple’s atmosphere suddenly grew heavy. The temple doors opened again, and Ragnar entered.
And immediate silence reigned over the space. Even the council members unconsciously fell silent.
Because his arrival always meant only one thing: crisis.
His massive dark sword rested on his shoulder, and each step made the runes on the temple floor tremble for a moment.
Beside him, Seraphina walked quietly.
Thousands of silver runes floated around her body, and her presence was so controlled that she seemed more like part of the temple itself than a living being.
Ragnar sat on his seat, and at that moment, his gaze fixed on the entrance.
A few seconds later, another person entered. Younger than the others, and even extremely weaker. Someone who, by power standards, should not have been allowed to attend this meeting at all.
Serius.
His dark robe moved quietly behind him, and his eyes, without the slightest anxiety, slid over the council members.
The hall’s atmosphere became strange for a moment, because everyone knew in whose place he had come.
A Half Step-Divine, someone even lower than the Holy Council, and for that reason, even though this boy should not have had permission or the merit to be here, they had no choice but to let him in.
Ragnar stared at him for a few seconds.
"So you’re that old man’s disciple..." And then he said.
"My master had no interest in attending the council." Serius answered without changing his expression.
"Still as troublesome as ever." A sneer formed on Ragnar’s face. He had searched for those Half Step-Divines for years to be able to fight one of them.
But unfortunately, he had never found one of them, because for unknown reasons, they do not show themselves. Not that they don’t care about the world’s affairs, contrary to rumors, but they are afraid of something and hide.
But at that very moment, all the runes in the temple went out.
No explosion occurred, no wave of mana was released. It was as if the world itself had calmed down for a moment.
And then... she appeared.
Elisara.
The Divine Prophet.
She wore a simple white robe, and her pale golden hair fell over her shoulders, but her eyes... they were eyes that seemed to contain countless futures within them.
No one could detect the moment of her arrival, because it didn’t feel like she had entered; rather, as if she had always been there.
Even Ragnar did not look directly at her.
A heavy silence fell over the temple.
"We don’t have much time." And then Elisara said without ceremony.
With a movement of her finger, a massive image appeared in the center of the temple. The desolate ruin, the split sky, a sea of ash, and in the middle of it... Daniel.
Behind him stood the massive white-gold tree, and a shining fruit pulsed among its branches like a dormant sun.
Sel’nora immediately frowned.
Her gaze fixed on the tree.
"That thing... is not nature." And then she said with a cold voice.
The branches of her crown trembled. For the first time in her life, she could not comprehend the presence of a plant-based being.
Kyroth leaned forward quietly. Thousands of magic circles around him began to spin.
"He isn’t breaking the laws; he’s rewriting them." Of course, his words were still incomprehensible.
"The continent’s most powerful army was slaughtered, and he mind-controlled the dragons. How are we supposed to stop him?" The Holy Emperor said quietly.
"No." But Seraphina immediately added.
Everyone looked at her. The Lady of a Thousand Laws stared at the image of Varkas and the other dragons for a few seconds.
"Their loyalty was real." And then she continued quietly.
Because that sentence was far more terrifying than mind control. The dragons had knelt from the depths of their hearts.
Although many of them doubted this matter, since the Lady of a Thousand Laws had confirmed it, it certainly was not mind control.
So is that monster truly the Dragon God? What exactly are they facing?
Serius looked quietly at Daniel’s image.
"He still hasn’t shown real hostility." And then he said without haste.
Sel’nora shot him a sharp look.
"After massacring the army, that’s the conclusion you’ve reached? He slaughtered all my beloved children and then turned them into slaves using a demonic method! What do you mean he’s not an enemy?" It was clear the Elf Queen was angry.
"If he intended to destroy the continent... nothing would be left by now." But Serius added without changing his expression and without caring about her words.
Then his gaze fixed on the fruit.
"All his focus is on that tree."
This sentence caused another silence to form among the council, because if Serius was right, then this entire disaster was just a side effect.
And the main goal had not yet begun.
Elisara stared quietly at the image of the fruit. For a few seconds, something changed in her face. Very little, but enough for all council members to notice.
Fear.
"That fruit... must not be born." The Divine Prophet whispered quietly.
Ragnar finally looked directly at her.
"What exactly is that fruit and that tree? You’ve never explained this."
The silence lengthened.
And then Elisara answered quietly:
"I can’t say because it’s forbidden, but I can tell you that ever since that tree started growing, I no longer see a future for this world."
No one said anything, because this sentence was more terrifying than any other warning. And they finally understood the severity of the situation.
They had to both defeat that monster and destroy that tree before its fruit was complete.
Was such a thing even possible?
The temple’s atmosphere grew even heavier and more suffocating, and for the first time, even the monsters of this world were not sure what they were facing.
Ragnar quietly rose from his seat and placed his massive sword on his shoulder.
"So finally, it’s my turn." And he smiled faintly. The decision was clear.
Someone had to be sent to defeat that monster, and who else would go but him? The fact that the Divine Prophet had also wanted him to be at this meeting showed that the final goal was to send him.
So there was no need to waste time here.
But at that very moment, Elisara suddenly raised her head, and her eyes narrowed.
For the first time since the meeting began, she was truly shocked.
"...He has sensed us."
All council members immediately looked at the image, and then Daniel, inside the observation array, slowly raised his head.
His gaze locked directly onto the council. Not at the image, not at the magic behind it, but as if he truly saw them from millions of kilometers away.
And at that moment, a very faint smile settled on his lips.