The figures seated within were cloaked in black and white robes, each wearing a unique grey mask resembling an animal. The eerie silence was broken when a man in a lion mask rose from his seat at the center of the room.
The Lion: "Be seated, everyone. We have pinpointed their whereabouts."
The council murmured quietly as all members took their seats -- save one. A man wearing a leopard mask remained standing, his posture calm but purposeful.
The Lion: "All except the Leopard. You may tell the others what you know."
The Leopard inclined his head.
The Leopard: "Colleagues, I bring news from my jurisdiction. A slumlord in the city has rented a home to a most infamous family... the wife and child of the late Charles von Virtus."
The room grew still. All eyes -- or masks -- were on him now.
The Leopard: "As you may recall, Charles once sought the Sword of Greed, one of the seven deadly weapons. He failed its trials and, as a result, cursed his bloodline. The curse ensures that the eldest of his descendants will hear the blade's call until the day they die, compelling them to seek it. This cycle will persist until either the bloodline is extinguished, or the sword is freed."
His words hung in the air, heavy with implication.
The Lion: "You may sit now."
The Leopard returned to his seat. The Lion stepped forward, his monochrome cloak brushing the marble floor.
The Lion: "We are gathered here today to decide what must be done about Charles' son. As his only heir, the boy will inevitably hear the blade's call, if he hasn't already. Should he succeed in claiming it, the consequences could be catastrophic. This could be the beginning of the end."
A murmur rippled through the room as some members exchanged heated whispers.
The Lion: "Quiet. Save your insights for your turn to speak."
Most members fell silent, though one continued speaking -- a hunched figure wearing an owl mask.
The Lion (sighing): "Elder Owl, you seem especially eager to voice your thoughts. Would you like to begin?"
The Owl rose slowly, pushing down the back of the front seat as he cleared his throat.
The Owl: "Thank you, Lion. I thought you'd never ask."
He addressed the room with a croaky, measured voice.
The Owl: "Esteemed colleagues, I believe this is the opportunity we have been waiting for! We should enlist the boy into our ranks and aid him in claiming the blade. With one of the seven deadly weapons in our possession, we would hold an invaluable edge in the war to come."
A figure in a snake mask rose sharply from their seat.
The Snake: "Optimistic as ever, Owl... But you speak of this as if it were a simple matter. The bearers of such weapons are notoriously unpredictable. They serve themselves above all else, so trusting the boy to remain loyal would be foolish at best."
The Owl raised a hand to counter, but another figure stood -- a tall, imposing presence in a dragon mask.
The Dragon: "For once, I agree with the Snake... If the blade is to be claimed, let it be by one of us, not some reckless child."
The room broke into murmurs again as the Owl raised his voice, attempting to cut through the noise.
The Owl: "Colleagues, please! Let me finish."
The Lion clapped his hands, producing a thunderous blast of energy that silenced the chamber with its might.
The Lion: "Let the Owl speak."
The Owl nodded in gratitude before continuing.
The Owl: "I understand your concerns. But let us not forget that seeking the blade comes at a terrible cost! Those who undergo its trials risk irreversible psychological damage. Consider Charles von Virtus himself -- he was never the same after his failure... That is a fate I would not wish upon any of you."
A figure in an octopus mask stood, their voice sharp and confident.
The Octopus: "Owl, I must challenge your theory -- Charles' suicide was not the result of 'psychological damage', if that's what you're implying. He killed himself because his embezzlement schemes were exposed, as I explained in a prior meeting."
The Owl shook his head.
The Owl: "You are too young to remember Charles before he sought the blade. I do not claim his suicide was directly caused by the trials, but they set him on the path to ruin. Before then, he was an honest man. The trials warped his morals, his mind... That is why I strongly discourage any of us from attempting to claim the blade. We are too old, too set in our ways."
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The Owl gestured toward the chamber.
The Owl: "The boy, however, is young! His mind is malleable. If we guide him carefully, we can shape him into an ally against our enemies. Yes, bearers of the weapons of sin are unreliable --but without them by our side, we cannot hope to survive the coming war."
The Snake slammed a fist onto the table, rising once more.
The Snake: "Colleagues, I urge you to consider another path! Let our enemies destroy each other in the war to come. When the dust settles, we can strike the survivors with all our might. There is no need to risk awakening the deadly weapons..."
The Owl let out a dry laugh.
The Owl: "And yet you call me the optimist... Snake, do not fool yourself. We are outnumbered. Even if we waited, we would stand no chance against the surviving faction. The weapons are our only chance."
The Dragon joined the Owl, their booming voice echoing in the chamber.
The Dragon: "The Owl has a point. Snake, your cowardice will doom us all! We must claim the weapons if we are to prevail."
The Snake: "And your recklessness will destroy us!"
The Dragon: "Well, sitting on our asses waiting for our enemies to do everything for us will spell our undoing surely! The path we must tread is obvious --"
The Lion (roaring): "SILENCE!"
The chamber fell deathly quiet.
The Lion: "Sit down... Everyone except the Snake."
Without hesitation, they do as their leader commands.
The Lion: "So what would you have us do in regards to the child, Snake? What if he attempts to claim the sword?"
The Snake gulps nervously, knowing how damning his next words could be. Still, he had to speak them.
The Snake: "The safest option... would be to kill the child. The odds of someone like his father showing up and attempting to spontaneously claim the blade in the next centuries are very slim. You all know how long the weapons have laid dormant, after all... I know it sounds drastic, but killing the child could give us centuries of peace!"
The Fawn immediately stands up.
The Fawn: "Never! We shall not rob the child of his life!"
The Lion: "Fawn, si --"
The Snake: "Yet you're fine with manipulating him and scarring him forever to fulfill our goals?! Please! We're obviously far past the time for moralities...!"
The Fawn: "But at least he's alive! What you suggest is -- "
The Lion: "QUIET DOWN!"
The entire room quakes under the power of his voice. All bickering ceases, as they hold onto the furniture around to avoid losing balance.
The Lion: "I have heard more than enough. You have made your points... Now, we vote."
He raised a hand.
The Lion: "Those in favor of killing the boy, raise your hand."
The Snake and the Rat cast beams of grey light toward the ceiling.
The Lion: "Two. Those in favor of doing nothing?"
The Sloth raised a single beam.
The Lion: "One. And those in favor of aiding the boy to claim the sword?"
A dozen beams shot upward. The Lion raised both hands, conjuring a ball of grey energy above his head. By shutting his fist, it collapses on itself, producing a resounding boom that echoed like a gong.
The Lion: "It is decided. We shall aid Virno von Virtus in claiming the Sword of Greed."
Applause rippled through the chamber. The Lion stepped forward, his voice calm but authoritative.
The Lion: "This brings us to the matter of who will oversee this mission. I propose the Leopard, as the boy resides in the city under his jurisdiction."
Before the Leopard could respond, a figure wearing an elephant mask stood abruptly, his deep voice echoing through the chamber.
The Elephant: "With all due respect, Lion, I do not trust the Leopard for a mission of this magnitude. Considering his ties to Pharisee, that would be most unwise."
A collective gasp rippled through the room, with some quietly commenting on the fact that their real name had been uttered. Even the ever-composed Leopard flinched, his gloved hands tightening on the armrests of his seat.
The Lion: "Elephant, you tread dangerous ground. Sit down."
But the Elephant pressed on.
The Elephant: "What? Will we not speak the truth here? I call him by his name, because he was unworthy of the role of the Puma. Pharisee is a traitor, and the Leopard was his closest ally. It stands to reason that we should not entrust him with such an important task when there are other members better suited for the role!"
The chamber buzzed with murmurs, and the Bull stood next, his voice booming.
The Bull: "The Elephant merely says what many of us are thinking. The Puma betrayed Eclipse halfway through his assignment in Mortmundus! If the Leopard shares his sympathies -- or worse, his ambitions -- we may be placing the sword directly into the hands of a double agent."
The Lion's steps echoed across the marble floor as he approached the Bull's seat. The tension in the room was suffocating, the air heavy with unspoken accusations.
The Bull (nervously): "Please, Lion, I mean no disrespect toward you. But surely, you understand our concerns...!"
The Lion stopped inches from the Bull, leaning forward until their masks were nearly touching.
The Lion (low and menacing): "Do you not disrespect a fellow member of Eclipse by insinuating his disloyalty without proof? Do you not disrespect ME by suggesting I would appoint a traitor to such a mission? Make no mistake, Bull -- your words undermine ALL this council stands for."
The Bull wilted under the Lion's piercing gaze. Beads of sweat formed along his brow.
Straightening, the Lion turned and strode back to the center of the chamber. His voice rang out, cutting through the silence like a blade.
The Lion: "Listen to me, all of you. Eclipse survives only so long as we trust one another. Yes, the Puma betrayed us. Yes, he fled with valuable knowledge and joined the enemy side. But the moment we begin to doubt each other's loyalty, the moment we allow paranoia to fester, is the moment we crumble from within."
He paused, scanning the room.
The Lion: "Eclipse remains for as long as we trust our fellow brothers and sisters. We are gathered here today because you can entrust the people sitting next to you with the future of our world. We may not be as numerous or as battle-tested as our opponents, but by combining our intellect we will achieve our goals despite those shortcomings. The moment we start doubting those who stand beside us, is the moment we crumble. The moment we opt not to act a certain way or share certain information, out of fear one of us may be a spy... Is the moment we could be dooming us all to be destroyed. I want everyone to remember this."
The heads of all seated members weighed heavily... Especially those of the quickest to point fingers.
The Lion: "The Leopard's loyalty is not in question. The Puma chose his path alone, and he will face judgment soon enough. Three of our own have already been dispatched to Mortmundus to deal with him. I will not tolerate further accusations against the Leopard -- or anyone else --without evidence. Is that clear?"
The chamber fell silent. Slowly, the members nodded or murmured their assent.
The Lion (calmly): "Good. Leopard, you will proceed with this mission. Find the boy and ensure he is prepared to claim the blade -- that is your task."
The Leopard stood, bowing his head slightly.
The Leopard: "It shall be done."
The Lion nodded, turning to address the chamber one last time.
The Lion: "We are dismissed."
With a clap of his hands, the grey flames of the torches extinguished. The doors creaked open, and the masked members filed out silently, their shadows stretching long against the marble walls. The Lion lingered a moment longer, his mask catching the faint light of the empty chamber, before departing after his comrades.