Sael was struck with shock at the Patriarch’s response. He had tried to think of all possible responses to the matters of the imminent doom of the continent.
He had thought up different scenarios, and yet this one did not fail to hand him over his balls of surprises.
The air, the dark chamber—everything was silent after the Patriarch’s question. All he had said to the news that the entire continent might as well be nearing its end was... "so?"
Aloof didn’t even begin to describe it; this was a level four apathy. The man did not share an iota of concern for the matters they tabled before him.
They were like a mini version of the Empire: ruthless, uncaring for the state of the continent they sat on, selfish.
It was a good thing that this was not the only path they were asked to take. Thalen had particularly told him something to say, who to ask for in this case. It was why he volunteered to go to the Kageyama clan instead of Annette herself.
He sighed, controlling his breath before speaking.
"If so... may I speak with Shin Kageyama?"
In that instance, all of them felt the air change.
Yeon was rather indifferent, his gaze fixed with focus. Jiang’s eyes narrowed with suspicion; he glanced back at them. And the Patriarch’s gaze also seemed to press on them with the weight of a mountain.
"What business do you have with my brother?"
Sael answered softly.
"His son is in Stelia... as this matter greatly concerns him, I was hoping to have an audience with him to convey the details."
The Patriarch’s voice crawled through the corners; it almost was like it was circling back to reach them from behind.
"What details?"
Sael lowered his head.
"I am duty-bound to relay only to Shin Kageyama and his wife."
The hall trembled; the darkness seemed to crawl away. The group felt their hearts plummet down to their stomachs. Before they could get a good grasp of their surroundings, it seemed like an enormous crow gazed down on them, its long sharp beak almost piercing out Sael’s eyes—who was standing in front of them.
But then... it was just the Patriarch standing before Sael.
He was tall and large; his black hair fell over his back and shoulders. His head was shaped like a box, his chin defined. His crimson gaze was the coldest Sael had ever set his eyes upon.
"I could kill you, right here... right now."
Sael smiled.
"Wouldn’t that be a disrespect to your brother? He may be an outcast, but he is your brother, the only surviving member of your siblings beside you. He is precious to you; you respect and adore him for his sacrifice and for his skills."
The man’s large hand grabbed Sael’s face and slowly raised it up. The Arrow Sage suffocated beneath the man’s hold; he felt his skull squeezing as if an iron grip was crushing it together.
He struggled silently, clenching his teeth, even as blood began to drip down from his nose.
Zahir frowned slightly and stepped forward from the crowd, still holding Jynxa strongly.
"Lord Patriarch. I am Zahir al’Noor... forgive my partner..."
The man looked at Zahir.
"The Noor clan were reputable nomads before their extinction. You have my condolences."
A chuckle sounded from behind the scarf covering his mouth.
The Patriarch sighed and released his grip. Sael fell to the ground, holding his head and coughing blood as he doubled over.
The Patriarch looked at Zahir.
"Have you e to avenge your clan?"
Zahir chuckled again.
"Oh, how I wish to gut your entire clan right this instance. But now is not the time. However, I do not deny that we have a score to settle. We need to speak to your brother whose son may be dying."
"What?"
The sound did not belong to anyone in the hall. It came from behind. Zahir and the group glanced back.
Two men walked down the hall from behind. One was a man with short black hair with a scar over one eye, along with another man, tall and slim with spiky hair.
The man with short hair walked closer to the group, ing face to face with Zahir.
"What did you say happened to my son?"
Zahir looked at the man with a cautious gaze before speaking.
"I believe he is in the continent of Stelia... fighting for the fate of the Central Plains. Tharion said to relay to you... that Northern is fighting to protect a world that belongs to his parents. He needs you to help move the entire continent to stand up as backup."
The atmosphere was tense and silent. Shin’s gaze illuminated the darkness in a strange way. The darkness crawled further away; light did not pierce the hall, but they could see around them better.
Shin turned to the Patriarch and bowed.
"Please, Lord Patriarch, grant me permission to leave."
"I will not."
The Patriarch’s response was immediate. He shot a grim glare at Shin and then turned over to the group.
"What is stopping me from slaughtering you in all this instance? You walk into my kingdom to sow seeds of despair?"
Sael raised his hand and slowly but painfully stood up. Then he looked straight into the Patriarch’s eyes with a blood-stained nose.
"You can slaughter us all. We don’t really care... but it won’t stop the continent from dying. Besides, the fact that your cousin died trying to protect a world for his parents while you sat down and watched that world burn."
Shin looked at Sael and clenched his hands at his side before turning to his brother again.
"I am sorry for just leaving when I just came back. But I am sorry, Suho. But I have to go and save my child."
The Patriarch stood silent for a second, then spoke with a sharp tone of authority.
"Leave us."
Immediately, the knights surrounding the group grabbed one person each and hoisted them out, quickly and silently.
Jiang, Yeon, and the tall and slim man were the last to step out, leaving Shin and his brother Suho.
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