TBATE - The Help of a Certain Being

The Council

Behind me, all three of those bastards shrugged in futile attempts to hide their more than amused expressions as Olfred nudged us forward.

A glaring light seeped through the crevice of the wall, which had split apart. My eyes adjusted until I could finally make out what was ahead. A brightly lit corridor with an arched ceiling stretched high above us.

I noticed names engraved across the walls, hidden amongst the intricate and mysterious carvings.

Something more interesting about these carvings were the markings above and on the sides of many of the carvings.

They weren't just any markings–those were runes–powerful ones.

My eyes strained for a moment, watching as the runic markings unfolded into a legible lettering.

'Rise', huh. Must be the doing of some ancient mages multiple centuries past.

Simple chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and the hall was brightly lit, so the white light gave the space a cold, emotionless feel, which kinda killed my vibe.

"It is best not to converse with us or any of the Lances now that we're inside the actual castle," Olfred whispered, an unusual chill to his voice, as we entered through the shit-looking door.

I say that because it looked like a child built it. Anyway...

We walked the rest of the way in silence, only the echoes of our footsteps filling the hall.

On either side were doors that didn't match the metallic corridor; there were doors of different colors and materials, all distinct from one another.

Seemed like something you'd see in a noble's mansion, so I knew this was something that was added and hadn't already been there.

Varay eventually stopped at a seemingly random door that split the corridor. She knocked on the door without pause until it swung inward, revealing one beefy ass dude.

"My lords." The guard immediately knelt, his head bowed.

"Rise," Varay replied coolly. The guard stood back up but did not make eye contact with either of the Lances.

Instead, his gaze fixed onto me. He eyed me suspiciously, then moved to Nico and Arthur, and he regarded the three of us both curiously and cautiously.

"Inform the Council of our arrival." Olfred waved the guard away impatiently.

The armored man gave another quick bow and disappeared behind a hidden black door that could've passed as part of the wall until it was opened.

A few moments passed before the guard returned and fully opened the door for us, allowing us in.

"Lance Zero and Lance Balrog have been given permission to meet the Council, along with the prisoners Arthur Leywin, Kuro Helstea and Nico Sever."

I snickered to myself, hearing Olfred grumble quietly to himself. "Bah. Code names."

We passed the guard and stepped through the hidden door, and boy. The tension in the atmosphere? Shit was not good vibes.

We were in a large circular room with a high-rise ceiling that seemed to be made entirely of glass.

The room was sparsely decorated, with only a long, rectangular table at the very back.

The six members of the Council were seated behind the table, each one looking at me–us–with different expressions.

"Your Majesties." Olfred and Varay both bowed toward the Council as the kings and queens rose from their seats.

Before Arthur and Nico could follow, I stopped them.