When all the council members were done introducing themselves, Stella stood up and looked at them one by one.
After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.
“Again, let me thank you for patiently waiting for this day. These past few days have been eventful for all of us. I know all of you have questions, and that you worry for the future of the Conclave.”
She paused for a few seconds to let her words sink in.
“And I also know some of you are not satisfied with my decision to withold any punishment against Kyran for what he did.”
The atmosphere suddenly turned bleak inside the conference hall. Some members shifted in their seats, while others avoided looking in Kyran’s direction.
Kyran remained silent and only observed the expression of each member of the council. He also listened intently to what Stella had to say. Partly to understand the overall situation of the Conclave after what he had done, and partly so he would know who among the council members he had to ‘deal with’ later.
“For the benefit of those who were not present at the meeting a few days ago, I said that I have reasons for my decision. The first reason, as you are well aware, is because this is part of the Founder’s will. Because of the Founder’s deep relation with the Regis ancestor, The List he left, indicated that we have to give our full support without any reservation when the Regis Clan is in need.”
Kyran’s brow creased at this.
‘The Founder? There’s that ‘List’ again. Just what is in that list?’ He wondered.
Even after reading many books in Stella’s study and the records she had shared, he had not read any information about the two. If he had known about it before, then he would not have done a roundabout way to get the Conclave’s attention.
None of the members reacted to Stella’s words. After all, they were already aware of this.
“Second, you all know about my magic. And you also know about the deal the Tower Family had with the Royal Family,” Stella continued.
Immediately, the expressions on each member’s face sunk.
‘Deal with the Royal Family?’ Kyran was surprised after hearing this, although it did not show on his face.
He slightly turned his head to look at Stella’s profile. Just like him, her expression remained indifferent.
Sensing Kyran’s gaze on her, Stella turned to look at him and smiled.
“Yes, Kyran. The Royal Family knows about me being the new Time Keeper, but I am allowed to live as long as I stayed in this place and not expand the Tower’s territory.”
This piece of information took Kyran by surprise. He had always thought that just like how his family tried to hide him from the Royal Army, Stella was kept in this place by the Tower Family. But, he did not think that the Royal Family knew about her and even allowed her to live.
Was it because his magic posed more danger than hers?
That should not be the case. Kyran believed that depending on how Stella used her magic; she could pose more of a threat than him.
“It is not just the Tower Family. It is the same with the Regis Clan. Although the Regis cannot birth a new Dragon Lord, in order to appease the Royal Family, they agreed to serve them. Well this was until the Regis Clan had closed their doors and went into seclusion. Their agreement changed to serving the Royal Family to staying within their estate and not expand their military strength.”
Kyran clenched his fists. He did not know how much the Royal Family tried to control everyone within the empire.
From what he had gathered from the books and records he had read, the Royal Family’s authority within the empire had already declined over the years. Even in the Royal Army and the numerous Magic Schools in the empire, the Three Noble Families had more influence.
The ones still under the Royal Family’s influence were the Combat Hall and the Melfiore Military School and its branches all over the empire.
Suppose we looked at the forces of both sides. The Royal Family only had combat specialists and maybe some combat mages under them, compared to the Three Noble Families, who had more mages and combat mages.
“However,” Stella’s expression turned solemn as she looked at the members of the council again.
“Although Kyran is a Regis, he is not protected by the agreement they had with the Royal Family.”
Kyran’s eyes narrowed. He took a deep breath and leaned back on his chair. He did not need to hear what Stella meant because he knew well why.
‘Because my magic isn’t draconic.’
“Because his ‘forbidden magic’ is different from the Regis. And it is unprecedented. After all, it was the Ashton Family who can birth a new Void Master and all of them had been executed.”
The atmosphere had gotten bleaker as the members remained silent.
They only knew about that part of the history from the books. But every time they were reminded of it, it still left a nasty feeling to them.
Stella took a deep breath and continued, “This leads to my second reason. And this piece of information… is only between me and my aunt.”
Upon hearing this, Malia shifted in her seat.
Was Stella going to tell them about the Founder’s last wish? Wouldn’t that be dangerous? Although every council member would not betray the Conclave, there were ways to get this information from them. And the Royal Family’s innate magic could easily do this.
“Part of the The List, was to create a profile for the new Void Master. You know this, Malek,” Stella said and glanced at Malek.
Malek nodded his head, “Yes.”
“I know you might have wondered, why the Founder would include such in The List, knowing that the Ashton’s were long gone.” She turned her attention back at the council members.
“The answer is simple. The Founder knew that there will be a new Void Master in the future.”
“He knew?”
It was Hugh who reacted first.
Murmurs among the council ensued.
Did the Founder come across a prophecy? But if he did, why would he hide this from the world? He knew the previous Void Master was not exactly a righteous person. They might refer to him as the Void Master inside the Conclave, especially in front of Stella, but he was still the Dark Sage to the outside world. If he knew that a new Void Master would still appear even after killing off his descendants, then letting the world know should help them prepare for that day.
“Yes. My late aunt told me. It was not a prophecy, but it was… a promise.”
“Promise?”
Once again, the council exchanged glances and started talking among themselves.
Kyran as well could not help but ponder.
Stella was not hinting that he was the reincarnation of the previous Void Master, was she?
Besides, they already discussed the possibility that some of the Ashtons may have survived, and thus, here he was now.
Unfortunately, he appeared among the Regis. Another family that had relations with Ancient Magic. Thus, making his situation more complicated.
“I don’t know the full details. But because of this promise, the Founder left an important mission for the new Time Keeper,” Stella continued after the council calmed down.
‘Mission?’ Kyran wondered and looked at Stella.
Stella also looked at him with a faint smile and said, “The mission to fulfill the Founder’s last wish. And his wish was for us to make sure, the new Void Master doesn’t die this time.”
This information shocked everyone.
The way Stella phrased the Founder’s last wish, was as if he did not want the previous Void Master to die.
Didn’t the Hero Families kill the Void Master because he threatened the whole land? He even controlled the Legion of Demons, who previously invaded and caused bloodshed in every part of the land.
They could understand if the Founder’s last wish were to make sure the new Void Master would not go down the same path as the previous Void Master. But not let him die ‘this time’?
What did he mean?
Kyran also had the same questions.
The more he knew about his predecessor, the more he felt there was more to what happened in the Chaos Reign era than what was said in history books.
He clenched his fists as he realized that the information on all those books might have been controlled by the Royal Family as well.
‘So is the the Dark Sage really evil, or is this a conspiracy of the Royal Family?’ Kyran wondered, suddenly feeling a little nauseous.
He belatedly realized that his heart was pounding heavily in his chest. Even his magic started to circulate in his body, making him feel hot all over. It was as if his magic had consciousness, and the thought of the Royal Family made it restless, even mad.
Kyran rested his elbow on the armrest of his chair and held his head with one hand.
Malia, who was seated diagonally from him, immediately noticed how his complexion had turned pale.
Before she could call on Stella’s attention about it, Kyran suddenly looked at her.
As if sensing what she was thinking, Kyran slightly shook his head and gave her a meaningful look.
Before Malia could speak, she lost her chance because Stella had started to speak again.
“I know you’re all wondering what the Founder meant. And honestly, I am not sure either. But I know we’ll find out eventually.”