The Twelve Pillars Convene
Twelve pillars of light stood in a perfect circle. Not a single seat was empty. Translucent forms filled the round table, each according to its own density. The hierarchy of the seats seemed to divide even the quality of the light itself.
The head seat rose a beat later. Murmurs filled the interval first.
"A spirit beast class, they say."
"I heard reports of a dragon type."
"The observed energy scale on-site makes it clear it's not just a simple Irregular."
"All Irregulars so far have been humanoid. No exceptions."
"Exactly. If a non-humanoid has been confirmed, doesn't that mean we need to overhaul the classification system from the ground up?"
"Shouldn't we provisionally register it as a pre-classified advanced entity and investigate first?"
"Based on reports from mercenaries and solvers?"
The words carried a mocking laugh. A silence of agreement followed, heavier on the assenting side.
"It's not testimony—it's residual energy. You've seen the on-site readings."
"The observation gear belonged to mercenaries too. Questionable if it even meets council standards for precision."
Words cut each other off. There was formality, but no order.
The head seat's light completed itself. It was an old man. His eyes caught the eye before his wrinkles. Deep-set eyes that had never once hurried.
"Silence."
One word. Low. The round table fell quiet. One by one, in turn, mouths closed. The process itself was the order of this assembly.
The chairman's gaze fell on one side of the table. A seat one step below the twelve formal pillars. The man standing there had red eyes.
"Chief Executor Ezekiel Vermilion."
It was less a summons than a calling forth. Ezekiel did not reply. He only tilted his head ever so slightly. The collar of his robe was fastened especially tight at the nape.
The chairman continued.
"Let's start by reviewing the Noshim transport incident."
The air around the table sank a layer.
"During a council-direct transport, traitors ambushed and stole the Noshim. Jurisdiction over that sector belonged to the Vermilion family, and on-site response was the chief executor's responsibility."
Ezekiel's jaw clenched once.
"Subsequently, in the same sector: engagement with knight-class Irregular, mass anomalous activity from contaminants, and emergence of a pre-classified entity—all confirmed in sequence."
The chairman paused.
"None of which appeared in the chief executor's report."
Silence descended. Not even murmurs.
Ezekiel's red eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
"I simply didn't report unfinished business."
"Unfinished."
The chairman weighed the word as he repeated it.
"The battlefield was obliterated by high-altitude warheads. Most involved have gone missing or died. The Noshim's whereabouts remain unknown. Is this what the chief executor calls 'in progress'?"
As Ezekiel opened his mouth, the chairman's gaze shifted away. No further pressure.
On the opposite side, in a seat even lower than the formal pillars, silver hair gleamed. Short and light. The Roen family crest was pinned small on the left shoulder of her coat with metal accents. Family proxy. Not originally of rank to stand here.
Rin Kasiel Roen.
In the brief gap as the chairman eased his pursuit, Rin's gaze flicked from the chairman to Ezekiel, then back.
The chairman spoke, shifting the mood.
"Before the main topic. Congratulations to Rin Kasiel Roen of the Roen family on her promotion to youngest 2nd Rank. A talent to shoulder the next generation of mages."
These words of congratulations came right after grilling Ezekiel.
Rin bowed her head.
"I am unworthy."
Short.
"Already?"
A mutter leaked from somewhere.
Rin did not react. For the first time, Ezekiel's gaze turned toward her. It did not linger. Nor was it light.
The chairman shifted his eyes.
"We will hear from the external contract forces."
One channel on the table's outskirts lit up. A deliberately low-resolution form. A corporate logo faintly visible over a suit.
"Compiling reports from our hired solvers and mercenaries, it's hard to call it an ancient spirit beast's emergence. More likely an Irregular variant or an undisclosed experimental entity from another faction."
The round table listened quietly.
"That said, we detected activity from non-contracted solvers in that sector besides our own. Checked it out—Mudang Corporation seems quite disorganized."
The speaker's lip twitched ever so slightly.
"Rumor has it the heir's fiancée was killed near that sector. Unconfirmed link to this incident, but noteworthy movement worth referencing."
A few light pillars flickered faintly in density. No one reacted directly. Eyes shifted in their private spaces.
The chairman nodded.
"Noted."
The megacorp channel dimmed a shade.
Silence flowed. Rin raised her head.
"May I ask one thing?"
The chairman permitted with a glance.
Rin's voice was low. Only the pace quickened. The rhythm of one who picked only necessities.
"That sector overlaps the last confirmed location of the Noshim our family was tracking on council commission."
"Knight-class engagement, contaminant anomalies, and unidentified entity—all at the same time."
"Cannot rule out linkage between the Noshim and that entity."
Three lines. She stopped there. Just laid three facts side by side. No conclusion. Yet the arrangement pointed one way.
The table stirred.
"Linked to the Noshim?"
"Time and place overlapping..."
"Isn't that a leap?"
Rin said no more. She watched in silence as the table spun itself.
The chairman spoke to wrap it.
"We form an investigation team."
His eyes went to Ezekiel. This time, the gaze itself spoke.
"Lost in the chief executor's jurisdiction. Proper for the chief executor to recover it personally."
Lost.Recover.
Something rippled once deep in Ezekiel's red eyes. Nothing leaked outward.
"Understood."
Low and short. No refusal possible. Refusing investigation after omitting reports would give the chairman greater leverage. Above all, without direct control, Leje's traces could surface on-site.
Then one light pillar moved. A formal seat at the table. Opposite Ezekiel.
The voice was soft. As soft as its edge was sharp.
"Chairman. May I make a proposal?"
"Speak."
"Noshim tracking was originally a council commission jointly handled by Roen and Vermilion families. Natural for Roen personnel to join the team procedurally, no?"
"Especially since this occurred in a jointly held allied family sector—having both sides' eyes together would align with council-wide trust."
Allied families. That one phrase was the blade. "Allied" carried "are you really?" Roen and Vermilion—a wedge driven between.
Ezekiel's gaze turned to the speaker. The face beyond the pillar wasn't sharp, but everyone knew the family from the expression.
The chairman paused briefly, then nodded.
"Reasonable proposal. Rin Kasiel Roen of Roen family—join the team and serve as council liaison."
Liaison. That was the title. Ezekiel's jaw clenched and released. Second time.
Rin bowed in acknowledgment. Her expression unchanged.
Allied families' watchdog. An unasked-for tagalong seat. Whether Rin wanted it—no one at the table knew. Not even Ezekiel.
The light pillars began extinguishing one by one. The meeting ended.
When the table vanished, leaving only darkness, Rin's form was the last to fade.
The light went out. As the afterimage of the round table cleared from her vision, a cramped personal comms room revealed itself. The Roen family crest was embossed on the metal wall.
Rin turned her head. Against one wall, next to a simple healing pod, stood a figure leaning. A pale face on a body that strained just to stand. Yet forcing it upright. Because she'd been told to stand.
Rin spoke without looking that way.
"You heard?"
Not a question. A given.
Karin didn't answer right away. Rin didn't wait.
"Noshim. Resonance."
She tossed the two words and reached for the comms device. As if Karin's presence or absence meant nothing. Her hand on the machine outpaced her glance at Karin.
Karin's jaw worked. A face swallowing something.
"It's weaker."
Rin's hand stopped.
"Suddenly. Feels different. Hasn't vanished, but something's in between. Before it just felt distant, now it's blurred like interference."
She spat it out at once. Rhythm picking only certainties.
Rin looked at Karin for the first time. Top to bottom. Eyes scanning the body she'd dragged back from rebar impalement and near-death.
"Believe it or not."
Karin broke eye contact first. Rin looked a moment longer. Then withdrew her gaze.
"Problematic."
A mutter. The inference she'd floated in the meeting edging toward fact.
Rin leaned toward the wall. Nothing visible beyond the comms room wall. A sealed space sandwiched between structures in the Roen main house, deep in the city.
"Know what a Noshim is?"
Karin didn't answer.
"Even as direct line, you only heard the shell."
She spoke without turning. As if not worth turning for.
"You think that could fix you? Half-baked solver rolling in the outskirts, got lucky with a Noshim dropping in your lap."
"Luck. Snagged thanks to your constitution. And that luck ended half-dead on a stretcher."
Rin turned her head slightly. Karin's fingertips trembled.
Rin saw it and twisted her lip. Not a trace of kindness.
"But one thing left. Resonance. The only thing working in your mana-dead body."
She walked over. Toward Karin. Heel clicks striking the comms room floor.
"Want to cure your illness? Only possible while you're useful. You know that?"
Stopped before Karin. Looked down. Both knew this was the body pulled from rebar death.
"Miss it, and it's over."
Low. No comfort.
"Your illness. Your reason to stand here."
Karin's teeth ground. Fists clenched. Eyes shook once, then settled. Not lacking retort. Knew retort would end with this woman grabbing her nape and slamming her down. Face that knew.
No answer.
Rin peeled from the wall. Already turning away. No need to look. Tool checked, answer received: functional.
"Prepare."
She threw it over her shoulder. Karin didn't answer. Detached shoulder trembled faintly. That was all.
Darkness hung thick. Inside a metal passage, not far from collapsed structures.
I stood before two corpses.