"Then how do we deal with Verilux?"
The question lingered within the room.
For the first time since the discussion had begun, none of the three leaders answered immediately. The atmosphere changed subtly as Haliaka, Hida and Silverbane exchanged glances with one another.
Eventually Haliaka exhaled.
"There is a way."
My attention sharpened immediately.
Unfortunately she continued before I could ask anything further.
"But the answer doesn’t exist within this settlement. The answer exists. Whether we tell you about it is another matter entirely."
That immediately made me narrow my eyes.
Commander Hida raised both hands.
"Don’t look at us like that. You appeared in our territory three days ago, started a war in Region Three, awakened Verilux, brought seven Saints into the Prime Territory and now you’re asking for information that entire bloodlines have died protecting."
When he put it that way it did sound somewhat unreasonable.
"We need to discuss this among ourselves," Haliaka said. "After that we’ll decide how much we’re willing to share."
’I can pull the information out from them.’ I heard Lyrate’s voice in my head. And for a second I was tempted to go that route but ultimately decided against it.
I looked between the three leaders. None of them appeared willing to continue the discussion.
"Take your time."
The leaders nodded.
Moments later I left the chamber together with my summons while the massive doors slowly closed behind us.
The moment the doors shut, Knight glanced sideways at me.
"You know you’re listening in."
I smiled.
"Of course."
Lyrate laughed.
"I would have been disappointed if you weren’t."
None of them seemed particularly surprised. The room they had moved into wasn’t protected nearly well enough to stop my perception. My perception spread effortlessly through the building and settled upon the chamber where the three families had gathered.
The conversation began almost immediately.
Commander Hida was the first to speak.
"We should help him."
Straight to the point without any hesitation or caution. Just exactly what I expected from him.
Silverbane immediately frowned.
"Of course you would say that."
Hida looked toward her.
"Seven Saints."
His voice carried through the room.
"Seven."
He pointed toward the door through which I had left.
"Do you understand how absurd that is?"
"We all understand."
"No." Hida shook his head. "I don’t think you do. For so many years we’ve hidden. We’ve survived. We’ve resisted. And we’ve been losing."
Nobody interrupted him. Because nobody could deny it. The Prime Territory still belonged to the Eternals.
That alone proved his point.
"We lose settlements. We lose bloodlines. We lose territory and our people."
His gaze swept across the room.
"Then suddenly a living Saint appears. Not one but seven."
The room remained silent.
Even through my perception I could tell the statement carried weight. Because it was true.
Silverbane eventually folded her arms.
"And if he’s a spy?"
That immediately changed the atmosphere. Several people shifted in their seats.
Others nodded. The concern clearly wasn’t unique to her.
Hida looked annoyed.
"A spy?"
"Yes."
Silverbane’s expression remained calm.
"We know almost nothing about him."
"He’s an Ironhart."
"And?"
That immediately stopped Hida. Silverbane leaned forward slightly.
"You heard the story. He entered the Null Realm. Then reached the Prime Territory. He somehow bypassed Eternal surveillance. He somehow arrived with six additional Saints."
Her voice remained calm.
"At what point do we stop and ask how?"
That was actually a fair question. One that I probably wouldn’t answer.
Hida sat back down.
"If he was a spy then we would already be gone."
"Maybe."
"No."
The commander shook his head.
"If the Eternals possessed that kind of asset they would have used him already."
One of the elders sitting further down the table finally spoke.
"What if he doesn’t even know he’s being used?"
Now they were getting creative.
Silverbane nodded.
"That’s also possible."
Hida groaned.
"We’re really doing this?"
"We should."
Silverbane didn’t back down.
"Because if we’re wrong, every settlement hidden within the Prime Territory becomes exposed."
Nobody argued. Because that possibility terrified everyone in the room. Eventually Haliaka raised her hand. The conversation immediately stopped. Unlike the others, she hadn’t spoken much.
She had simply listened. Which was probably why she was leading the discussion now.
"Let’s focus on facts."
The room quieted.
"What do we know?"
One elder immediately answered.
"We know he’s alive."
Another added.
"We know he’s an Ironhart."
A third continued.
"We know he possesses Saint-level strength."
"Along with six companions."
"All Saints."
Haliaka nodded.
"Good."
Her fingers tapped the table thoughtfully.
"What else?"
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Andrea finally spoke.
"I believe he’s looking for his family."
That earned several looks.
She shrugged.
"I followed him before everything went wrong. He wasn’t searching for hidden settlements."
Her gaze moved across the room.
"He was searching for Ironharts."
That caused another silence. A longer one.
Because unlike theories and speculation, that was direct evidence.
Eventually Haliaka nodded slowly.
"I reached the same conclusion."
Silverbane remained unconvinced.
"That doesn’t mean we hand him everything."
"No. We don’t. We help him. But carefully."
Now everyone was listening.
"He doesn’t receive our secrets or settlement locations or bloodline records."
Her gaze moved toward the others.
"What he receives is a test."
A few eyebrows rose.
Silverbane looked thoughtful.
"What kind of test?"
Haliaka’s fingers tapped the table once.
"The same thing we use for everyone."
She paused briefly.
"Trust."
Then Andrea frowned.
"How exactly do you plan on testing a Saint?"
For the first time that entire meeting, Haliaka smiled. A genuine smile.
"Oh that’s easy."
The matriarch’s gaze moved toward the closed doors. Toward me. Even though she couldn’t actually see me.
"If he truly came here searching for his family, then sooner or later he’ll have to choose between helping himself..."
She paused.
"...or helping everyone else."
And somehow I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like whichever choice she planned on presenting.
The discussion inside the council chamber continued for some time after I left. Even though Haliaka had already made it clear that they intended to test me before revealing anything important, the argument itself showed no signs of ending anytime soon.
The three families clearly shared the same enemy, but years of surviving in secrecy had made them cautious in different ways. Hida wanted action. Silverbane wanted certainty. Haliaka seemed more interested in making sure neither side did something stupid.
I spent most of that time walking through the settlement. From the outside it appeared small, but once I began exploring, I realized much of the realm existed within folded spaces connected through countless formations. Entire neighborhoods existed beyond what could be seen from the central district.
It almost felt normal. Which somehow made it worse. Because every person here was hiding. Their entire civilization existed because the alternative was extinction.
My thoughts were interrupted when a sudden commotion erupted near the council building.
Several people rushed past. Then more.
The atmosphere throughout the settlement immediately changed.
I looked toward the entrance of the council hall just as a man came running across the central square. His clothes were torn and traces of soul force instability covered his body. The moment he reached the doors, he pushed them open with enough force to nearly tear one from its hinges.