While Lian and the others were under medical care, the High Council of Ipsix convened a session regarding Esculenta. Of the nine prestigious seats, only five members were present, their faces etched with varying degrees of tension.

  Avalon Peaceraft presided at the center, radiating a coldness that filled the room. To his left sat the rest of the council.

  "It seems we need not wait for the four absentees," Avalon proposed, his voice smooth as silk.

  The members nodded in grim agreement.

  Grandis Agenta, a man with wavy blonde hair and piercing sapphire eyes, raised his hand. "Your daughter has crossed the line, Avalon. How do you intend to handle this transgression?"

  All eyes locked onto Avalon. The room grew heavy.

  Avalon smiled, a gesture that didn't reach his topaz eyes. "The matter is already being handled by my son, Honest Peaceraft. You should focus on your own duties, Grandis."

  Grandis fell silent, his fists clenching beneath the table. He uses his son as a shield for everything.

  Next to him, Lafich Afarson, whose amethyst gaze was sharp enough to cut Avalon's icy demeanor, spoke up. "This isn't the first time your daughter’s selfishness has threatened the legal order of Ipsix. It’s becoming a pattern. How disgraceful!"

  Avalon tilted his head slightly. "That fact stings my heart like acid rain over my body. However, my daughter has always accepted the punishment befitting her actions. Is that not enough for you, Lafich?"

  Lafich clicked his tongue. "Punishment won't undo what's broken. Did she feel even an ounce of regret?"

  "She did. And whatever mess or damage she caused, my son repaired," Avalon countered with a snort. "In fact, he often leaves things better than they were. Wouldn't you agree?" he added, his eyes reflecting Lafich's image.

  Lafich looked down, staring at his clenched fists. My son this, my son that... That silver-tongued man is infuriating.

  "Does anyone else wish to discuss my family?" Avalon challenged, his gaze sweeping the room.

  Locro, a man with straight black hair and zircon-colored eyes who usually remained stoic, finally broke his silence. "How could you keep pushing your own responsibilities onto your son?"

  "Ah, Sir Locro. How delightful to hear your voice after so many sessions of silence," Avalon remarked, the corner of his mouth curling upward.

  "Answer the question," Locro snapped.

  "Is it a sin to entrust responsibility to the heir of the family, Sir Locro? It is merely preparation for his future station."

  Locro snorted. "You never change, twisting words like it's nothing."

  Avalon gave a casual shrug.

  Yurin, a council member with brown hair and emerald eyes, raised a hand. "Are you aware your daughter met Esculenta in Syntax, Sir Avalon?"

  The topaz in Avalon’s eyes darkened. "Of course. As a father who watches over his daughter, I am well aware. Is that a problem?"

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "Then why allow it?" Yurin pressed. "She was released from her exile within the Oblivion Tower. And more importantly, she handed the Space Sigil over to Esculenta. That is a grave concern."

  The council members nodded in unison.

  "As I stated," Avalon repeated, "Honest has already taken measures. My trust in my son is absolute; I am proud to have such a reliable successor. Why dwell on it any longer?"

  Lafich clutched his trousers. "The destruction in Syntax... Vellion City fell, all because of that meeting!"

  "Lafich, let us not twist the truth." Avalon’s voice turned icy. "Esculenta acted in self-defense. It was the people of Syntax, with their cruelty and unilateral aggression, who caused this chaos."

  Lafich’s mouth hung open, but no words came out. Avalon had checkmated the room.

  "Sir Aidin will be furious," Locro warned. "Can you truly withstand his wrath?"

  "Should Aidin's anger boil over, his wrath will be directed at the people of Syntax, not us," Avalon replied. "He understands the boundaries."

  "His wrath affects all of Ipsix!" Locro shouted, slamming his hand down on the table. "He opposed the Esculenta Code experiment from the start!"

  "Sir Locro, lower your voice," Avalon whispered, yet the command was deafening. "Lest you forget, all of you here voted 'Yes' during the session. And Esculenta himself agreed to it."

  Locro flushed, unable to find a retort.

  "I only hope Sir Aidin does not do something extreme due to Esculenta’s trauma," Yurin murmured.

  "Do not worry," Avalon said, standing up. "Aidin cannot defy the destiny decreed for him, and neither can we. Every soul bears the burden of its own choices, but the collective path of Ipsix is set."

  "And what of Sir Charon and Haze?" Grandis interrupted.

  "My father-in-law and Haze?" Avalon mused. "My father-in-law is still grieving, it seems. And Haze... Haze is obedient. He would never dare cross our father-in-law."

  "You and Haze are both sons-in-law to Sir Charon, yet you are as different as heaven and earth," Grandis remarked.

  "Grandis." Avalon’s tone turned sharp. "We are here to discuss the progress of the experiment, not family gossip. You are overstepping."

  Grandis stood up, banging the table. "Avalon!"

  Lafich quickly grabbed Grandis’s arm, shaking his head. Grandis sat back down, fuming.

  Sir Avalon always knows how to dismantle his opponents, Yurin thought, sighing.

  "So, what now?" Locro asked.

  Avalon looked at each member, a chilling smile forming. "The Esculenta Code is a success."

  The room fell into a dead silence.

  "Isn’t this exactly what we prayed for? With the Esculenta Code in our hands, those Queries are nothing more than a fading memory for Ipsix," Avalon added with a cold gaze.

  "And Sir Astor?" Yurin asked.

  "Sir Astor... he was the architect of this success," Avalon remarked.

  He carries a heavy burden, one he chose for the sake of us all, Locro thought.

  Avalon adjusted his coat. "If there is nothing else, this meeting is adjourned."

  He turned and left the room without a backward glance.

  ***

  After the doors closed, the remaining members stayed in their seats.

  "That white-haired devil!" Grandis cursed.

  "Calm down," Lafich sighed. "Anger only gives him satisfaction. We must worry about Aidin."

  I can still remember how Aidin's aquamarine eyes were flaring on that day," Yurin whispered, shivering. "That gaze... I’ll never forget it."

  Lafich massaged his temples, the weight of the blood pulsing beneath his fingers. "Avalon said we have nothing to worry about. And yet," he sighed, "I find no way to evade Sir Aidin’s impending wrath."

  "Putting that aside," Locro interjected, his gaze shifting between them, "have you all heard the word regarding Avalon’s daughter?"

  "Of course," Grandis answered immediately. "It places Sir Charon in a precarious position. He is weakened, vulnerable before Avalon’s influence."

  Lafich leaned back, a dark thought slipping through his lips. "Is this, too, a part of the Charon blood curse?"

  "LAFICH!" Locro’s voice boomed like thunder, sharp and soaring.

  Lafich snapped his mouth shut.

  "You have not known Nyx and Astor long enough to speak so boldly," Locro added, his tone cold and cautionary. "Never let such reckless words escape your tongue again."

  Without waiting for a response, Locro stood and strode out, leaving the three of them anchored in the stifling quiet.

  Lafich closed his eyes, his shoulders slumped in exhaustion. "Was our choice back then... truly the right one?"

  Grandis simply shook his head, the gesture slow and filled with unspoken words.

  "We cannot look back," Yurin said. "We can only prepare for the storm that follows."

  One by one, they left the suffocating room, the shadows of their decisions trailing behind them like Outer and Lian.

  To be continued...