A single, oval table stood in a dimly lit room. Countless engravings were carved across its dark wood, twisting and weaving in intricate patterns.
Around it stood six chairs, made of the very same wood, engraved with the very same patterns.
Five of these chairs were already taken, leaving only one of them empty.
Suddenly, one of those present, a man with a bald head and dark blue eyes, let his arm drop from his head, hitting the desk and snapping everyone's attention toward himself.
"Tssk", he hissed, "It's been two hours already!"
"Be patient", another man replied, "It's not like we have anything better to-"
"Anything better? How about facing another expedition to grow stronger? How do you suppose we find the Seed of Life if we sit around and do nothing, waiting for that thing's permission to do anything?"
"I'm sure he's not keeping us waiting on purpose," another man said, joining in on the conversation.
"He? As far as we're concerned, that thing is just another Soul Creature!" The bald-headed man stood, flipping his chair over in the process. "We need to take action", he said, slamming his fist into the desk.
"And what do you suppose we do?" a woman sitting to the man's left, Leader of the House Moreau asked, an annoyed expression flashed across her face.
"We kill it. We're the strongest humanity has to offer, the moment it walks into this room we get rid of that thing! We wasted enough time already-" The man's shout was cut short as another voice, absent from the table, joined in.
"Is that so?"
Everyone jumped to their feet, whipping their heads toward the direction of the voice.
The man who was shouting commands just a moment ago seemed to lose all the colour in his face as his eyes widened at the sight in the room's dark corner.
There, from the shadows, a figure stepped forward.
It wore a long, black robe which seemed to be interwined with the shadows. Its face was covered by a mask made of some form of black wood, one that was certainly not from Earth.
His steps echoed faintly across the room as he moved slowly toward the empty chair.
Everyone watched in silence as he pulled the chair from under the table and lowered himself down.
"We were just-" the only woman at the table began to come up with an excuse, but before she could even finish her sentence, a loud thud cut through the room.
As she turned, the head of the man who was shouting moments earlier was rolling across the table, detached from his body and flooding the table's engravings with blood.
Before her eyes could even fully widen, the man's headless body collapsed to the ground, followed by a faint thud of his head rolling over the edge of the table.
Instinctively, the others jumped to their feet.
Their fist clenched at their sides, their teeth gritted, but in the end, none dared to speak up as their ally, one of the strongest humans, was beheaded faster than they could see.
"Please…" the masked figure gestured to the chairs, suggesting for them to sit.
They all hesitated for a moment, but after exchanging a couple of long glances with one another, they lowered themselves down.
For a short while, only silence filled the room.
The masked figure sat eerily still, not moving even an inch, as if it didn't have to breathe, until its mask finally flickered between everyone present.
"I come bearing good news," it began, a sudden sound of its voice made everyone flinch, "My preparations… are now complete. You may now resume your... well, whatever it is you wish to do."
The moment it finished speaking, the masked figure rose, turning toward the only door.
"W-what about house Lionheart?" the woman asked, her gaze shifting toward the lifeless body, "They won't take the loss of their leader lightly… they will certainly seek revenge…"
The masked figure paused mid-step, then spoke without bothering to turn around.
"Leave no prisoners"