In the ancient hall beneath Angaria where he had achieved many victories but also many more defeats, the Head was beaming happily as he saw the way in which it had changed.
Since time immemorial, the Hall had always been the same.
It was rectangular in shape, with one of the short edges holding the seat of honor, which he used to sit in, and the other having the map of Angaria, as if to remind everyone what their primary objective should be, no matter what they were discussing.
The other two edges had rows of seats with the ones farther behind being elevated, and many who were also part of the Order would immediately find out that this was very reminiscent of the place where the Heroes with the most authority met in the headquarters.
Like many places that were relics of the past, this hall also had gigantic proportions. The map covered the entire wall, which was a 60 feet(80.2 m) square, and the distance between it and the podium on which the seat of honor usually sat was a whopping 120 feet(160 m). Even the seats also looked as if they were made for giants, each being 5 feet off the ground.
Right now, though, both of these almost sacred places had changed, and it was partly this change which was making the Head express so much emotion. He was currently in the air right in front of the map, seeing the seats fill up with the members of the High Council, and those who saw him remarked on this change, and wondered whether it was because he had made the right bet.
These people were in the minority, though, as the rest were too dazed by the changes in the Hall.
First…the gigantic map had a crack in the middle, as if it had been attacked, and for a place which touted itself as being one which had never been successfully a.s.saulted in all of history, this was quite shocked. The cracks were concentrated on the southern part of the continent, but they still traveled to the rest of Angaria and the sea that surrounded it, too, making one wonder what they depicted.
The second change…was that on the podium where the seat for the Head of the High Council was supposed to be, there were now 9 thrones.
They were arranged in a peculiar fas.h.i.+on: there was one, gigantic throne with Dragons curling around its back and armrests which was raised even higher than the others, and its size would make one wonder whether a giant from the ages past had been born again.
In front of it were the eight other thrones, and each of them was fitted with the most extravagant of gems, and lined with the most costly and comfortable of fabrics of cus.h.i.+ons which could rival Ether blocks in price.
This was where the Head was looking at continuously, and seeing that the High Council had been a.s.sembled, he sent a message.
"Heroes of the Order, we await your arrival."
A heavy pressure developed over the area as soon as he said this.
One by one, the Heroes who had already gathered started to grumble or get expressions of irritation on their faces, but they hid them well.
They knew that this was the prestige that was afforded to one when they broke through naturally instead of using the grace of Heroes past, and obtained the kind of power that they could only dream about, so instead of being envious, they were aware that they should strive to explore their own Paths more and see if they could increase their own power.
A moment later, five hundred Heroes appeared in the air right in the middle of the Hall, together, before slowly descending to the ground.
The tradition was that this s.p.a.ce in the middle was supposed to remain empty, but these individuals were not people who would follow the traditions of an organization that was frankly, beneath them.
Each of them conjured thrones of their own, and initially, they were all bigger than the ones on the podium.
After all, these Heroes were used to being above all in terms of honor, but when a wizened lady conjured a throne which was smaller, they all looked at her with surprise.
She simply humphed…and one by one, these Heroes started to decrease the sizes of theirs, too.
The Heroes who were watching on took special note of this lady, and how she had put everyone else in check, and wondered whether she was more powerful than all the others.
However, as if understanding their questioning gazes, she settled into her throne and chuckled before saying, "Oh, I simply know to show grat.i.tude where its due…"
Expressions of shame appeared on quite a few of the 500 Heroes as she said this, but some also got relieved expressions, as if they had escaped a nightmare before it had swallowed them whole.
A few did show those of deep thought, too, but these few hastened to hide this instantly, making sure that no one noticed them.
Her soothing voice made the Heroes sitting in the stands start to whisper among themselves, but the Head stepped forward at this point.
"The High Council and the Conclave of the Order have both been a.s.sembled. As the reinstated Head and the Overseer of the Order, I shall be presiding over this meeting. The agenda is to decide the direction in which Angaria will go forward after these incidents that have been dubbed the "Axelorian Event". Now, please join me in welcoming…the Sovereigns of Angaria."
In the entire hall, silence prevailed for a split second, and before everyone could make a decision regarding whether they were going to stand or not, the pressure that had disappeared before after the settling down of the topmost members of the Order returned, but this time, it was more…raw.
In the next second, one hundred ma.s.sive bodies were teleported into the spot right in front of the podium on which the eight empty thrones were located, and their bodies bursting with muscles but attached to normal-sized heads which were all a dark-red in color with throbbing veins visible to all made the entire Hall shake as their weight settled onto the floor.
Unlike before during their battle, when they had been dressed in a ragtag manner mostly composed of torn clothes but wearing defensive trinkets, they were now all adorned with perfectly fitting blood-colored clothes on which armor that was emblazoned with a Dragon about to take flight was placed.
Everyone could hear the sound of the air aggressively being pushed in and out of their bodies, as if even the simple act of breathing was something that was supposed to be done with anger. Their eyes in which no pupils were visible were so bloodshot that they looked like just ma.s.ses of blood, and all in all, they were capable of striking anyone with enough fear that they would eliminate waste from all orifices in their body before running away with their heart in their throat.
An effect of this degree was visible on the Heroes in the stands. These Heroes of the Big Four, who had only just been exposed to the clear truth regarding how underpowered they were when compared to the true elites, were now reminded of the fact that the one for whom the seat of honor was waiting was in command of a force that could easily crush any individual in this room.
Even the Heroes from the Order got this thought in their minds, and many couldn"t help but grimace. True, together, they could defeat these hundred monstrosities, but who in this room would be ready to trust each other now, especially after the recent events that had just occurred? Who would be willing to fight while exposing their backs?
The answer was known to all.
Slowly, they all stood up, repeating the name that had been announced.
Sovereigns.
The Sovereigns of Angaria.
None of them could ever have expected that they would be rising to give respect to any sovereign, but it was now the truth.
After they had all risen, eight individuals appeared in front of the eight thrones.
All of them were dressed tastefully, and they all had different expressions on their faces as they took their seats.
Eloise maintained a neutral expression, showing gravitas that was befitting of a monarch.
Aran and Ca.s.sandra looked at each other and beamed, having never dreamed that they would rise so quickly to a position where they were respected by so many Heroes.
Kellor had a relaxed smile, as if he had always known that his trust in the man who had "saved" him all those years ago would carry them through whatever they had to face. Luther, who looked to his left, also had a similar expression, and it looked like the same thoughts were pa.s.sing through these two old men"s minds.
Faxul had a small smile at the corner of his mouth, remembering everything they had gone through together to get here, and beside him, Elanev was smirking. He marked all the beautiful Heroes in the room(who had the ability to change their appearance naturally after reaching their level) but then saw Eloise glancing at him, which made him blush and look down.
Finally, Robert was proud. His chest was as puffed out as it could be, and it looked as if he was trying very, very hard not to shout out to the world that it was his son who had saved Angaria from a dreadful fate.
They all took in the sight in front of them for a moment, but even after that, they didn"t sit down.
Many of the Heroes, for whom arrogance was also an "ability" that they had gained with their breakthrough, started to get p.i.s.sed off, thinking that they were being made to stand so that these eight, whose power levels were no match for theirs, could relish in the moment and demean them as much as possible.
True, the one who was responsible for them being alive and free gave much import to this bunch, but some started to wonder whether it was even worth it to live like this, constantly being belittled due to the fact that they had had to be saved.
However…a clear female voice resounded in the Hall, and its contents made all of the Heroes get startled expressions on their faces.
"We are not continuing to stand because of any selfish reasons. No…it is simply that there is one, other, who is arriving, and for him, we should actually be kneeling."
Even the Head"s face lit up with surprise as he heard this, but in the next moment, it was replaced by joy.
The eight sovereigns kneeled, but not before they turned around to face the majestic throne that was raised above theirs.
If anyone had had any doubts, they were all cleared now.
The Head was the first to kneel after the sovereigns, and after him was the wizened lady in the group of the Heroes from the Order.
Seeing her and remembering what they had been through, the other 500 also knelt.
Some did so right away. Some did so after thinking for a bit. Some even did so grudgingly.
But in the end, all of them knelt, and those in the High Council followed.
Their eyes were all on that throne…and after a second, the man they had thought would still need months to recover appeared.
His voice echoed in the room while an apparition of his body began to form, and as it was heard by all those present, they realized that Angaria had truly been ushered into a new age- the age...of the Sovereigns.
"The Hero Congress shall hereby begin. Rise, Heroes of Angaria, for we have much to do. The War has only begun, and I, Daneel Anivron...shall see it won. This is my Word, and my Word shall be done. Rise!"