Days later, deep within the heart of the Sun Elf territory, in a chamber hidden behind a waterfall that sang with ancient magic, the Council of Whispers held its first true session. The air was thick with tension and the scent of damp stone and old growth. Haruto sat at the head of a rough-hewn stone table, Lyra at his side. Across from them was Chieftain Lorian, his expression unreadable but his presence a testament to their fragile alliance. Next to him was Elder Bryn, the dryad representative, her form subtly shifting like leaves in a breeze. Akari was there, her hands clasped tightly, and Kenji, the sword-of-light wielder, had arrived just hours before, his face grim.
"Valerius consolidates power faster than we anticipated," Kenji reported, his voice tight. "He's purging the military command of anyone loyal to the old king and replacing them with his own sycophants. The public narrative is that you, Haruto, used shadow magic to bewitch the guards and orchestrate the entire scene to discredit the crown."
"We need to counter that narrative," Akari said, her healer's mind seeking solutions. "We need to get the truth to the people." "The truth is a fragile weapon against state-controlled news and fear," Lorian countered, his voice like grinding stone. "My people will not march to war for a 'narrative.' We need a strategy. We need leverage." It was then that Kenji delivered his most critical piece of intelligence, learned from a drunken, boastful captain in Valerius's inner circle. "The Duke… he isn't just defending.
He's planning a new summoning. He believes the first summoning was flawed—that it brought over a 'defective' hero. He intends to summon a new one, a 'pure' hero he can control from the very beginning." A cold silence fell over the chamber.
The idea of another person from their world being dragged into this conflict as a pawn was sickening. "We cannot allow that," Haruto said, his fists clenching. Shadows flickered around him. "Where? When?" "The ritual is complex," Kenji said. "It requires a massive source of power and a specific celestial alignment. The royal astrologers have identified the date: one month from now. The place will be the Royal Sanctum, deep beneath the palace.
It's the most fortified location in the kingdom." "Then it is impossible to stop," Lorian stated flatly. "Nothing is impossible," Lyra interjected, her gaze fixed on Haruto. "It is merely a problem to be solved.
We do not need to storm the sanctum. We need to understand it. Haruto, your shadows can go where no soldier can. Kenji, you are still welcome in the capital. You can be our eyes and ears."
A plan began to form, not of brute force, but of intricate espionage. They would use their diverse strengths like instruments in an orchestra. The Dryads, connected to the world's ley lines, would monitor the flow of magical energy to the capital. The Sun Elves, with their far-seeing crystals, would watch troop movements. Kenji would gather logistical information from the inside.
And Haruto's shadows would be the final key, infiltrating the deepest sanctums to learn the ritual's specifics. They were no longer a rebel army. They were a intelligence network, a web of whispers stretching across the kingdom. They would fight the Duke not with swords of light or shadow, but with the one thing he could not control: information.