War of the Hearts

Chapter VII

"There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
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The five Union leaders and Aina were gathered around in a room for a meeting. A table stood in the middle of the room with a stained glass wall behind them covered in a star pattern. Foreteller Invi and Foreteller Ava were sitting at the table, Foreteller Gula and Aina were sitting on the table, backs facing to the others, and Foreteller Aced was leaning against a shelf when Foreteller Ira appeared. "There is a traitor among us," He bluntly stated.

"Are you certain?" Foreteller Invi asked. "What proof do you have?"

Foreteller Ira presented his hand, palm up as light collecting onto it before bursting. A hologram of a Chirithy appeared. "I found this sniffing around," He explained.

Aina squinted at the Chirithy to see what was wrong. Everything about the dream eater seemed normal, just that it looked darker than usual. "Is that...a dark Chirithy?" Foreteller Ava questioned.

Foreteller Invi gasped as she stood up, pushing her chair back. "Is that...a Nightmare?!" She cried.

Doing a double take at the Chirithy Foreteller Ira presented to them, they realized Foreteller Invi was correct. Foreteller Ava gasped as well when she came to the realization and stood up in her seat. Foreteller Gula looked a bit anxious but relaxed and Aina had a panicked look on her face. They all knew what a dark Chirithy meant; someone was lost in darkness. Foreteller Ira threw glances at all of them, as if he was trying to pinpoint who it belonged to.

"It's not me," Foreteller Aced shouted.

"There's an easy way to solve this," Foreteller Gula suggested, turning away from the group. "If we all summon our Spirits, then we'll know."

"Unfortunately, there are countless wielders in our Unions," Foreteller Invi shot down his idea. "It would easy for any of us to summon a Chirithy that isn't a Nightmare. I'm afraid your suggestion wouldn't help us get to the bottom of this."

"Yeah, in that case, who's to say that the Nightmare you saw belongs to one of us?" Foreteller Ava yelled, slamming her hands down onto the table. "It could belong to anyone in our Unions."

"That's highly unlikely," Foreteller Ira sighed. "Do you recall the tool the wielders were given in order to make them stronger? We generally don't concern ourselves with what they have at their disposal. However-I believe those tools were the Nightmare's doing."

"The bangles?" Foreteller Ava asked. "I know when they're equipped, they have the power to collect dark energy, but I thought we all agreed that was okay. Aina even got the okay from Akari and Sunako."

"Yeah," Aina nodded, confirming Foreteller Ava's statement.

"Collecting is fine," Foreteller Ira corrected. "But using that power is the equivalent of using the power of darkness."

"It's a brilliant plan," Foreteller Gula sighed. "everyone knows that all Spirits look the same, and wielders exist in spades. There's no way to tell."

"Oh, no," Foreteller Ava groaned. "Everyone's already equipped their bangles."

"So what now?" Foreteller Aced demanded as he placed his hand onto the table. "How do we find out who's behind this?"

"Seeing as those bangles couldn't have been acquired by just anyone, I believe it's one of us here in the room," Foreteller Ira explained.

"No, Ira. I respectfully disagree," Foreteller Invi shook her head. "What proof do we have that the bangles are tied to the powers of darkness, or if a Nightmare is to blame? We shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"Ira," Foreteller Aced chastised. "Some leader you are. You've managed to plant seeds to doubt in all of us with that speech. What? Did you expect the traitor to give themselves up with that accusation of yours? That was foolish."

Foreteller Ira gritted his teeth and glared at Foreteller Aced from underneath his mask. "Aced," Foreteller Invi warned. "That's quite enough."

"It looks to me like the Master made the wrong choice," Foreteller Aced sneered as he stalked out of the room.

"Wait," Foreteller Invi demanded as she got up. "Where do you think you're going?"

Foreteller Aced shut the door before Foreteller Invi could get to him. "I think we're done here," Foreteller Gula said as he got off the table, brushing the skirt of his robe. "I trust that you will keep all of us updated." He smirked as he left.

"I hope...I hope we call all resolve this soon..." Foreteller Ava muttered as she got up and left the room.

"I'm going to go as well," Aina said as soon it was just the three of them. She got off the table and gave a small bow to her two Foretellers before leaving the room.