Surrendered To The Lord Of Sin

Chapter 105: Loyalty

No one stopped him. Of course, he wouldn’t.

His gaze slid briefly to Vaeron—just a flicker, just enough—before returning to Acheron. "The attack wasn’t clean. Not like the others we’ve seen,"

Acheron said nothing, but the subtle tightening of his grip on the staff was enough to urge him on.

"The creatures were there, yes. From their level of destruction, we could deduce that those were the Phantoms. They breached the ward, spread through the fair, did exactly what they were meant to do," His fingers tapped lightly against the table. "But they weren’t the most interesting part,"

Elder Acheron’s gaze sharpened. "Was it the part where the Vespera splinted the earth, or where this... light was born from?" He asked, the dangerous curiosity in his tone indicating his absolute interest.

"The light wasn’t summoned," he added, almost idly, taking him slightly aback. "Not in the way we understand summoning. There was no structure to it, nor control, or even restraint,"

"You are speaking in circles," Acheron’s voice cut in, low.

Greed huffed a quiet breath, something between amusement and impatience before straightening slightly. "Fine. I’ll be clearer," He said, letting a pause linger before continuing. "After careful observations, including the reports from the folks earlier, there were two forces at that fair. One tore through the ground, split it open like it was nothing. I saw how violent, crude, and almost... desperate it seemed," he said.

"Vespera is a Fire Wielder," Elder Acheron reasoned.

"Vespera’s ability stretches beyond infinite imaginations," Vaeron cut in calmly, and Elder Acheron’s eyes fell on him. "The fracture in the earth could be the result of a triple-power convergence, not three separate forces—but three reactions feeding into one another. When a high-density energy discharge meets resistance, it doesn’t simply disperse. It converts. Force becomes heat. Heat disrupts pressure..."

"... and pressure seeks release." Elder Acheron completed with a thoughtful gaze.

Vaeron nodded. "If that release is channeled downward instead of outward, it amplifies. The ground doesn’t just crack but it’s forced apart, split along its weakest structural lines,"

A brief pause followed, heavy with understanding. It was because when a triple-power convergence occurred, it could seem like a fault under sudden strain.

"Now add motion," he went on. "A secondary force—wind, or something akin to it—generated from that same discharge. It accelerates the spread and widens the fracture before the earth can settle. That is how you get a divide like the one at the fair. Not a simple attack... but a chain reaction. One force triggering the next, each amplifying the other."

For a moment, no one spoke.

Greed’s brows lifted just slightly, interest sharpening behind the usual mockery. "That’s not a simple burst of power," he said. "That’s control... or a complete loss of it,"

"Both can look the same," Vaeron replied.

Acheron’s staff tapped once against the stone, not loud, but enough to anchor the room again. "And the second force?" he asked.

Greed exhaled slowly through his nose, his earlier levity thinning. "That’s where it gets... unpleasant," he said. "Because whatever that light was—it didn’t behave like the first that fractured, but erased."

A subtle shift moved through the chamber. Vaeron didn’t interrupt this time, but his expression had gone still in a way that felt deliberate.

"It came after the rupture," he continued. "Not alongside it. Which means it wasn’t part of your ’chain reaction’," His gaze flicked back, sharp now. "It answered it."

Acheron’s eyes narrowed. "Opposing forces."

"Not just opposing," Vaeron said quietly. "Corrective,"

That drew attention.

Greed’s mouth curved faintly. "Corrective?" he echoed. "That’s a generous way to describe something that wiped out half a fair,"

Vaeron’s gaze shifted to him, steady and cold. "If it hadn’t, the spread from the initial rupture would have continued."

Acheron studied them both, something calculating settling behind his eyes. "Then we are not looking at one source," he said. "We are looking at two powers that collided."

"Yes," Vaeron answered.

Greed tilted his head again, slower this time, something more thoughtful creeping in beneath the surface. "One tearing open," he murmured, almost to himself. "The other... containing. It came from within the chaos."

"And how are you certain of the position?" Elder Acheron inquired, curiosity mixed in his tone.

"I am certain," he said. "The mark it left behind was traced down towards the other end of the divided earth. From the report gathered, it was also mentioned that this light was sudden,"

"How sudden?"

"In a manner that erased the entire Phantoms," Vaeron responded.

Elder Acheron leaned back slightly, eyes holding a calculating weight which grew more telling as seconds passed by. They all knew what that meant. An ability enough to wipe away half of the fair wasn’t simply disastrous, but wanting.

"I want more information about this... unknown ability, and its wielder as soon as possible," Elder Acheron finally spoke after a while. "While we wait on the Punishment and Vespera to answer to us, I need clues. Something isn’t adding up,"

"I can have that sorted out," Greed suggested, his tone deceptively innocent, as though he were offering to handle a minor inconvenience rather than something far more delicate.

"No," Elder Acheron’s refusal came at once without room for negotiation.

Greed’s gaze flickered toward him, a faint crease forming between his brows. "And why not?"

"Because this does not require your curiosity," Acheron replied, his voice steady as stone. His eyes shifted, settling with deliberate weight on Vaeron. "It requires precision,"

The meaning was unmistakable. A brief silence followed before he added, more quietly, "Lust will handle it."

Greed leaned back slightly, studying them both, the faint smile on his lips sharpening into something more knowing. "Of course he will," he murmured.

Vaeron said nothing, but the stillness in his posture spoke enough. Despite the fact that he enjoyed seeing the jealousy reek of his brother, this didn’t sit well with him. "And why should I?"

"Give me one reason why I shouldn’t find your presence suspicious, Lust," he questioned, eyes holding a dark gravity akin to suspiciousness.

"I wouldn’t be here if you did," He responded flatly, unbothered by the seriousness it required.

That seemed to have lessened the tension in the room for only a slight moment. "Good," Elder Acheron responded. "Because this would prove your loyalty. I do hope you understand what happens when you withhold trivial information that concerns us,"

The warning was clear. It didn’t sound like a threat but certainly didn’t sound like nothing either, and silence stretched again, this time, more heavily and measured.

Vaeron said nothing, though his thought flickered to the werewolf princess. For the briefest moment, an emotion flickered in those hazel orbs, something relatively close to concern. What was that?

Realizing his response was needed, "Of course, Elder,"

For a moment, both of them shared indecipherable looks, until one broke the stillness. Elder Acheron simply leaned backwards, his grip on his staff tightening.

Finally, "It seems both of you would be needing time away from this table," He said. "For now, this council stands in recess. You will take this time to master yourselves, because what you displayed here today is not strength. It is a fracture, and a fracture, at a time like this, will see us all undone."

Neither of them spoke at that.

"Until then—leave this chamber. Both of you." The dismissal was cold and final.

Vaeron did not wait. He turned at once, the sharp lines of his armor cutting through the torchlight as he strode toward the doors.

Greed remained where he stood for a heartbeat longer, amber eyes following him, the earlier amusement disappearing into thin air as he followed.

Elder Acheron’s gaze lingered at the door longer than necessary. Those russet eyes seemed to weigh something closer to suspicion and much worse, understanding.

Finally, he tore his gaze. The wind howls outside, hail hurling at the glass of the window, carrying the unmistakable aura of something lurking behind closed doors.