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Chapter 134: The Gathering at Obsidian Spire
Chapter 134: The Gathering at Obsidian Spire
High above the city, where the winds howled like the whispers of the dead, Obsidian Spire stood as a monument of power and cruelty. Its black stone walls, veined with crimson magic, pulsed with a sinister glow, as if the tower itself was alive, breathing in the suffering of the world below.
Inside, the remaining council members gathered.
The room was massive, a circular chamber lined with towering pillars of onyx, the floor an intricate mosaic of blood-red glyphs. A single black fire burned at the center, its eerie glow casting warped shadows against the walls.
A long obsidian table sat in the heart of the chamber, and around it, they assembled.
The last of the Council.
And tonight, they spoke not as rulers, but as survivors.
A Council in Mourning and Rage
At the head of the table, a woman in a serpentine cloak leaned forward, her fingers tapping against the stone. Her emerald eyes, filled with cold fury, surveyed the room.
Lady Velmira, the Viper of Nocturne.
"This… cannot be ignored." Her voice was smooth as silk, but layered with venom.
Beside her, a man clad in gold-plated armor let out a snarl, his gauntleted fists clenching so tightly that the metal groaned in protest.
Lord Dain, the Tyrant of the Sunfury Legion.
"First Gregor. Then Isolde. Then the Glass Alchemist. And now Bastian Krayne?" His voice boomed, filled with rage. "Are we truly going to sit here and allow these assassins to erase us one by one?"
Across the table, a hooded figure chuckled softly, the sound dry and rasping, as if it came from the lips of a corpse.
Malakar, the Whisper in the Dark.
"It seems you are only now realizing the reality of our situation," he murmured, his voice like wind slipping through a graveyard. "This is not some rogue band of killers. This is calculated. Deliberate. Someone has made it their mission to erase us from existence."
A woman in scarlet robes, her pale fingers adorned with rings of sapphire and bone, leaned back in her chair.
High Sorceress Myndral of the Azure Coven.
She traced a circle in the air, and a phantom image of their fallen comrades flickered into existence—Gregor, Isolde, the Glass Alchemist, and Krayne, all severed heads displayed upon spears along the road leading to the ruins of the Ivory Tower.
The sight made the room boil with fury.
"We underestimated them," Myndral admitted, her voice laced with irritation. "That was our first mistake."
Velmira’s emerald gaze darkened. "And our second?"
Myndral smirked. "Allowing them to live this long."
The Unseen Enemy
Malakar’s voice slithered through the chamber. "This assassin… Seraphis. She is unlike any we have faced before."
Dain slammed his fist on the table, cracking the obsidian. "Then we crush her."
"And how do you propose we do that, o great warmonger?" Velmira drawled. "Krayne was a living mountain. He fell. The Glass Alchemist was a master of his craft. He fell. We all have our own strengths, but whatever this enemy is—they are systematically dismantling us, and you think brute force alone will win?"
Dain's eyes flared with fury, but Myndral cut in.
"She is right," the sorceress said. "This is not just an assassin. This is a storm, and if we do not act swiftly, it will consume us all."
The Plan to Kill Seraphis
Velmira steepled her fingers. "We must change the rules of engagement. We are reacting. We must strike first."
Malakar chuckled. "And how do you plan to kill a ghost?"
Velmira's lips curled. "By forcing her into the open."
She gestured, and the black fire in the center of the room flared, revealing an image of a city—an underground den of criminals, mercenaries, and spies.
"She operates in the underworld. That means she has ties, allies, informants. We burn them out. We cut them down. We send a message: any who aid her will suffer."
Dain smirked. "Scorched earth, then?"
Velmira nodded. "If she has nowhere to run, we dictate the battlefield."
Malakar’s shadowed figure shifted. "And if she doesn’t come out?"
Velmira’s emerald eyes gleamed. "Then we give her no choice."
A Bounty of Blood
Myndral lifted a hand, and the flames twisted again, forming an image of Seraphis’ face.
"A bounty," she whispered. "Not just gold—power. Land. Titles. We will make it so that every assassin, every warlord, every creature lurking in the dark will crave her death."
Dain grinned. "Turn her own world against her."
Velmira’s eyes flashed. "And when she is cornered, we strike the final blow ourselves."
Malakar’s whispering laughter echoed through the room.
"Let the hunt begin."
A New Enemy Awakens
As the Obsidian Spire burned with dark energy, messengers were sent out.
The underworld was about to become a battlefield.
The first to die would be Seraphis' informants. Then her allies.
And if she still did not emerge…
Then the entire city would burn.
The Council was no longer waiting to be hunted.
Now, they were the hunters.