SSS Talent: From Trash to Tyrant

Chapter 465: Chapter 465: A New Seat Among the Eight [VII]

The elven woman turned her head toward him. ”Yes. That was the next topic to be addressed.”

Grumhald moved before anyone else could take the moment. One thick hand came down onto the edge of the obsidian table with a dull sound, not loud enough to shake the room, but heavy enough to draw every eye his way. ”Good,” he said. ”Then I’ll say what needs to be said, and I’ll say it once.”

The dwarf leaned forward slightly, broad shoulders looking almost too large for the seat beneath him. ”We all know what kind of power sits in this room. We know what we can handle and what we can crush.” His eyes moved around the table one by one. ”But what happened there was too big to wave away like some ugly accident. One intelligent Void Creature. Just one. And it opened that many Rifts and released that many of them into the field.”

No one interrupted him.

”I understand that people like Elenara or Valttair could deal with the situation once they were there. Fine. But that isn’t the point.” He tapped a thick finger once against the table. ”The point is that a single creature made it possible. One. That alone turns this into a problem on a world scale.” His voice grew heavier. ”And unless I’ve been misinformed, that thing escaped alive. Which means this isn’t over. We need measures against it now, not later.”

Silence followed him.

Then Malakar spoke again, low and even. ”I understand your concern, Grumhald. In my case, I can confirm something else. A year ago, in the mines tied to the agreement between House Zar’khael and House Morgain, Void Creatures also appeared.” He let that settle. ”This is no isolated incident. I agree with what Grumhald said.”

Nyssara’s gaze slid toward him, cool and clear. ”Oh?” she said softly. ”The ever-composed Malakar supporting someone else’s argument so directly. That is rare.”

Malakar did not so much as blink. ”Have you discovered anything useful in those ruins that appeared in your territory?” He looked at her without softening his tone. ”Anything related to the Primordials. Anything that may connect to the Void Creatures.”

At the head of the chamber, the elven woman lifted one hand slightly, drawing order back over the room before the subject could spread in too many directions. ”Everyone present is already aware of the historical context,” she said. ”What matters now is that all houses here understand the danger these creatures represent.”

And from the way the chamber had fallen silent, they did.

”The Elders anticipated that this matter would need more than concern and observation,” she said. ”Before this Council began, several possible responses were already prepared.”

That was enough to pull the room’s attention back toward her fully.

”There are multiple routes we can take,” she continued. ”But the one we believe holds the greatest long-term value is this: the creation of a new neutral power. A force specialized in responding to Rift incidents, containing threats like the Void Creatures, and protecting neutral cities when such dangers appear.”

Roderic’s fingers slowed around the stem of his glass. ”A new force? So what exactly are you proposing? That each of the Eight contributes warriors and forms some shared military branch?”

The elven woman shook her head at once. ”Negative. That is not what we want, and you would not accept it even if it were.” Her gaze moved around the table. ”What the Elders propose is not an extension of the Eight Great Families. We propose the foundation of a new power, one that would stand at their level in terms of practical authority, but remain limited in purpose.”

That line changed the room. Even Grumhald stopped tapping his finger. Lysaria’s faint smile thinned. Nyssara’s eyes sharpened. Darian straightened almost imperceptibly. The idea had landed exactly as heavily as it should.

”It would not interfere in the internal affairs of the Eight,” the elven woman continued before anyone could interrupt. ”It would not challenge your rule. Its purpose would be external and neutral. Rift containment. Threat response. Protection of neutral territories and cities outside the direct power of your houses or other families. As all of you know, that is still the greater part of the world.”

Grumhald was the first to answer. ”Hm.” He leaned back in his seat, beard shifting slightly. ”Honestly? That’s a good proposal. I don’t dislike it. As long as it stays out of the affairs of the Eight and remains neutral, I see no issue.”

Roderic answered almost immediately. ”I do.”

That came cleanly, without decoration. Grumhald looked toward him with open irritation, but the tension in the room had already changed shape. This was no longer a discussion about the war or even the Void Creatures alone.

This was about whether the world would be allowed to grow something beyond the old structure.

And from the way the eyes around the table had shifted, it was already obvious that this would not end in agreement.

Grumhald turned toward Roderic with open contempt. ”You are a little bitch, Roderic.”

The words hit the chamber like a slap. Roderic’s hand stopped around the stem of his glass, and for the first time since entering the room, the easy polish in his expression cracked. His golden eyes sharpened at once. ”What did you just say?”

Grumhald did not flinch. If anything, his beard trembled slightly with irritation as he leaned forward over the obsidian table. ”You heard me. You only think about your own house. You always do. The world is rotting beyond the reach of the Eight, and your first instinct is still to ask how it inconveniences Vaelion.” His thick fingers tapped once against the black stone. ”Your families, all eight of us together, don’t even make up a speck of the world’s people. This is a necessary step.”

Roderic’s jaw tightened, but before the exchange could grow uglier, the elven woman spoke. ”Order.”

That single word cut through the room cleanly. Neither Grumhald nor Roderic looked pleased, but both held themselves in place.

”If this Council remains divided, we will resolve the matter as it has always been resolved.”

Nyssara inclined her head slightly. ”A vote, then. Majority decides. As always.”

The elven woman gave a small nod. ”We will proceed one house at a time.”

The chamber changed after that. It was no longer a debate. It had become judgment.

”House Morgain.”

Valttair did not waste a single word. ”In favor.”

”House Vaelion.”

Roderic’s gaze remained cold. ”Against.”

”House Myrrhvale.”

”Against,” Nyssara answered with the same smooth composure she brought to everything.

”House Zar’khael.”

Malakar’s crimson eyes did not move from the center of the table. ”In favor.”

”House Nocthar.”

Lysaria’s faint smile returned, thinner than before. ”Against.”

”House Dvergar.”

Grumhald snorted softly. ”In favor.”

”House Sylvanel.”

”In favor,” Elenara answered with quiet certainty.

The elven woman looked down briefly, then raised her eyes again. ”That leaves us with four in favor and three against.”

Every gaze turned toward the final seat. Toward Darian.

The youngest among them sat still beneath that pressure, but the weight of the moment was unmistakable. If he voted against, the proposal ended there. If he voted in favor, the world would move into something it had never had before.

”House Thal’zar will decide whether this proposal dies here or proceeds.”

Darian did not answer at once. His eyes moved first toward Valttair, then toward Elenara. After that his gaze lowered slightly, not in weakness, but in thought. For a brief second, another face crossed his mind.

Lucien. His brother. Dead because of everything that had begun with this madness. Dead because the world had been too slow, too proud, and too divided to stop what should have been stopped sooner.

When Darian looked up again, the hesitation was gone. ”House Thal’zar votes in favor.”

No one spoke over him.

”Five in favor. Three against.”

That was it. For the first time in its modern history, there would be a great power not born from one of the ruling families. Not above the Eight. Not beneath them either.

But beside them.