Destinies : Connected by Fate✔️

Chapter 12

*The Imperial Palace: Council Hall*

A suspenseful silence blankets the usually lively Council Hall. The heads of the respective departments and the elders of the extended royal family from Kynlun, TengHo, and Jiangu (the neighboring states) were summoned by Emperor YiLei to be present at the Council Hall half past noon. None except General Teng knew the reason for the emergency meeting.

"All rise!" The royal sentry announces, and all eyes turn towards the arched doorway.

Emperor YiLei walks down the aisle, taking his place in front of the throne, bows before seating himself. Without wasting time, he gets down to business. "Respected Elders and my loyal countrymen, every Yuanjian here knows our history. Finally, the time we have been waiting for is upon us. The words of the first have started to take form. Last night, General Teng observed the alignment of the planets," he pauses and beams at his audience, "the time for The First to walk among us once again is almost here."

The council hall breaks out in excited whispers.

"YiLei," An old man seated to the right of the throne, a step lower than YiLei, speaks, "not to dampen your spirit, but we still haven't found the key. Without the key, your words are no more than wishful thinking."

The excitement dies down. The hopeful, jubilant expressions turn into resignation.

"YiLei, you know where our race stands today. You know how important it is for us to find the key. What are you doing to search for the key?" The old man pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head, "Have you made any progress in depicting the words of The First?"

"Senior Han, you are aware that part of it was lost. From what we could translate, we know that the key is related to the human race. You know that is the sole reason we decided to pardon them even after what they did to this beautiful planet."

Most Senior members nod in agreement; YiLei continues, "Any day now, we expect the beacon to reveal the lock. Once we know what we are looking for, I believe the key will present itself."

A young distinguished-looking man with sharp, hazel-colored eyes and a prominent nose stands up and bows. "Your Majesty, I am aware of the importance of finding the key and the need for keeping it a secret, but if we are to look for it, we need more eyes and minds at our disposal. Except for you and the Senior members of our generation, the beacon and the key are more or less myths to us. I would request you to..."

"Li Kun! How dare you speak out of turn!?" The gentleman from earlier, Senior Han, bellows.

Moving in front of the old man, the Emperor shields the young man addressed as Li Kun, "Senior, please calm down. Kun is not wrong. That was the second matter I wanted to talk about."

Silence falls around the hall; all eyes come to rest on YiLei, who stands in the middle of the room. "Only three members of the council and one other except the General and I know the whole truth about the beacon and its key. The secrecy we have been sworn to and abided by has kept us alive till now. But these are dire times." YiLei's eyes drift to the ceiling of the room. It depicts the tale of the origin of the Yuanjians and their escape from their home planet, XueJian.

"I feel that the time has come to inject new blood into the search." YiLei addresses the two graying men on either side, "Senior Han, Senior Wen, I would like you to join me to discuss in detail about this issue." He turns to look at the rest of the members. "Meanwhile, I want each and every one of you to keep a lookout for anything out of the ordinary. However unimportant it may seem, I need you to look into it."

The council members nod in agreement, and YiLei continues, "The crown prince has decided that our barriers need reinforcing, and YiHuang is helping him with it. Rest assured, the royal family is doing everything in its power to keep you all safe."