The Arcadia System

"It seems the next topic is the reason why we are all here," asserted Circe.

"You are right. I have a clue of what is about? And I must say, it is not something you would like to hear on a good day," sighed Aello.

He stopped focusing on his drawing book and lock his stares at Met. The others were curious about what the next topic was. Aello was never one to joke like this.

Suddenly, the hologram above the tablet at the center of the tablet changed to show a blue ball. The sphere had greenish spots and lines all over it.

However, those who were educated would know what the sphere represented. It was the planet of Arcadia.

Small red pins appeared beside Met in an instant. He picked them one by one and threw them to specific coordinates on the ball.

With a serious tone, Met voiced, "For millennials, our cause has been to watch over this beautiful continent. However, we all know that is not our true cause, only a side cause. In fact, we have no true cause. We exist as a family."

He continued after a short pause, "But be that as it may, if there is one thing close to our true cause, it would be the shards of Sheol, right?"

The moment he said that, the others stopped their casual expressions and shot a fierce look at him. They were beyond stupefied at what he said, especially his last few words.

They knew Met's pride stopped him from pulling a prank of this scale. So, whatever he was going to say probably has merit.

Met wryly smiled as he observed each one of them, "The situation is more serious than you think. A year ago, rumors began spreading about the revealed locations of some of the shards. Two months ago, another rumor spread out about one of the shards being in Xoris. Apart from this location, there are five other rough locations. Each of them is marked on the globe. Check them, what do you think?"

"Let's see. They are actually two in Xoris. Three in Kyas. The other continents are free. That is strange, I don't remember any shard being in Kyas. Also, didn't we deal with one shard in Xoris? Do you think it is among the two?" realized Circe.

Yevhi butted in, "Oh, those shards. This is interesting."

Meanwhile, unlike most times, Reve was left in the dark. Whatever those shards were, they were so intense that Circe kept it a secret from even him!

For the Gehenna Order to reveal complex emotions while discussing the shards was even more of a mystery to him. He mentally noted to ask Circe about the shards later.

Met offered, "Do we need to act or will others do the job for us? I reckon with the widespread of the rumor, it will attract a lot of attention. Moreover, after much thought, I have to come to a conclusion that the rumor is most likely false---"

Midway through his speech, he was cut off by Aello in a respectful manner, "With all due respect, we are aware of that. The locations of the shards aren't that easy to unravel. The shards are ancient secrets. All those who know of it vowed to never tell a soul. Of course, some of them found a way to bypass this covenant. That is why I'm aware of the shards. Going with that, it can be assumed that no one would recklessly make a rumor surrounding the shards."

Circe asked Met, "It seems that there is a party behind the rumor. They intentionally spread it and for what reasons exactly? Is this the "calm before the storm" you spoke about?" 

"I am in the dark just like you. However, the rumor is of no concern to us. The only thing we should be concerned with is how the rumors originated. The other factions should have deduced the same thing. My subjects are paying attention to the rumor. Should it change, I would call another meeting," announced Met.

"Then what? We have no business with the shards, only what is inside the shards? When do we act?" red fumes exuded Zev as he flexed his fist.

"Yes. We have been hidden in the darkness for a while. We cannot announce our presence. The world is hostile to us," warned Khirah.

As a magical creature that had migrated from the nearby continent, Kyas, he had seen his fair share of discrimination.

"Ahhh! Why are we even being careful? I say we go to Xoris and take all the goody-goodies?" chanted Yevhi

She couldn't hide her excitement as she jumped on her seat. Her wings shook vibrantly.

"Goody-goodies?"

"Ahem. I mean the shards. I say we take them all," shouted Yevhi.

Her warcry was as convincing as Circe's lies. 

Fye sighed once more, "Except, we can't actually do that. Only four of us can.  Plus, we can easily spark a war."

"Then we will spark a war! I'm not scared. I say its time we change their misconception about us. We are no little beings begging for their mercy," shouted Zev.

For the first time, his fury was unbound and Reve got to see, first-hand, what such fury could cause. A sharp aura extended out of him. The surrounding froze as only him was left to rant. Only him boiling with such a rage that it could burn even the coldest mountains.

Met retorted with a calm tone, "We are not hiding from them. We are hiding because it is convenient. What do you suggest we do? Blow up Xoris and what? How different will we be from the titans? Wouldn't that just be another annihilation war?"

His rain of rhetorical questions instantly shot down anything Zev wanted to say.

"Certainly, we should only act when the situation calls for it," agreed Aello.

The others nodded in agreement. They reached a conclusion and that was to wait further. They had been waiting for eras and were in no hurry now.

Seeing this group of people deciding the fate of Xoris like gods, Reve finally understood the mentality of Amethyst. Of course, they were quite mild compared to Amethyst.

Reve squeezed his fist, 'I want to be strong.'

...........

It seems the privilege chapters have scattered my schedule. I will prepare four chapters tommorow to compensate that.

Keep voting