The Council of the Divine: the sanctum where demigods and god-adjacent beings gather to decide the fate of the world.

  The last time this council convened, it ended in catastrophe. An Almighty had gone rogue—Emperor Deodas Clamore Devanti Skati, the Protector of Humanity and Ruler of Terra. In a fit of divine fury, he had blasted one of Magicana’s moons out of the sky, nearly annihilating the Sea Elf tribe that called it home.

  It took the combined might of three other Almighties to restrain Deodas and prevent a world-ending duel between him and Loid Rodria Bolswan, the Elven Almighty and King of Magicana. Fortunately, through the grace of Deus Eterna, the Sea Elves survived. They were eventually relocated to an artificial moon, a tithe offered by Terra as restitution for their Emperor’s rampage.

  When Valantis Voyager Blackwater entered the council hall, he didn't use the doors; he plummeted through the roof. The ceiling shattered upon his impact, only to slowly knit itself back together through ancient enchantments.

  Three Almighties were now present in the hall. Seven seats remained, and it would take three more to officially initiate the proceedings.

  Suddenly, the ceiling didn't break—it unrolled. A dragon the size of a continent descended from the heavens. Its scales were a deep obsidian, shimmering with hues of purple and silver, and its eyes were twin voids of absolute blackness.

  In an instant, every dragon present in humanoid form reverted to their true state. The hall, vast as it was, became a landscape of shifting scales and wings—less a room of living creatures and more a collection of moving continents. They all bowed their massive heads to the largest among them: the Black Dragon.

  Loid and Valantis flew up toward the great beast’s face. To the dragon, Valantis was a mere ant; Loid was nothing more than a speck of dust.

  "Took you long enough, Dario," Loid shouted.

  The dragon began to glow, its massive form condensing into a sizable humanoid shape. "Yeah, well, Sara was throwing a tantrum," Dario replied as he touched the floor.

  A second dragon, smaller only than Dario, descended and transformed into a woman with a silk-smooth voice. "Well," she remarked, standing beside her husband, "someone refused to get me a private moon for my vacation."

  "It’s her 32,459th birthday," Dario grumbled to Loid. "She thinks I’m going to leave her the moment she turns 50,000."

  Valantis stared up at the open sky in wonder. "It opens?" he asked no one in particular.

  Dario looked at him. "You didn't know?"

  "That brick-head broke through the ceiling like a meteorite last time," Loid joked. "That was right after he killed the Sea God's Tenth General using nothing but his bare hands—at the bottom of the ocean, no less."

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  Valantis grunted, looking at the towering dragon-kin. "Can anyone cast a miniature spell on me? I need spectacles just to look at your flock."

  With a flick of a wrist from a newcomer, Valantis shrank to a "normal" size—at least for a giant. He stood ten feet tall and four feet wide. An elderly man approached the group, dressed in simple green linen. His eyes burned a fiery red, and on his hand sat a ring emitting an aura so potent only an Almighty could endure it.

  "Thank me later, Valantis," the man said, strolling past.

  "Dario Frachen Gredome. It’s good to see you, Dragon Emperor," he said, shaking Dario’s hand. Even in human form, Dario towered over most, but the old man met his gaze as an equal.

  "Saint Soulheart," Dario acknowledged with a nod. "So, what does your 'Old Man' say these days?"

  "Same old thing," Soulheart sighed. "That he royally messed up when he created you dragons."

  The four Almighties shared a laugh. As the other dragons returned to their human forms, Loid and Valantis began animatedly discussing the most "entertaining" way to assassinate the Sea God.

  Two more to go, thought Fedrick, watching from the periphery.

  Suddenly, the rhythmic thud of metal on stone echoed through the hall. A squadron of automatons marched through the main entrance—thousands of golems forged from Celestial Gold and animated by a divine-rank spell known to only a few. These were no ordinary constructs; they were a relic core skill capable of transforming their weaponry in the blink of an eye. ‘DIVNE RANK SKILL: LEGION OF THE GOLDEN MOTHER.’

  "Legion," Valantis spat the word like venom.

  "He actually came?" Loid noted, his eyes narrowing. "Last time he showed his face, we were still preparing for the Between Lands."

  Twenty thousand golems, each standing 500 feet tall, fanned out to scan every corner of the hall. Once the "clear" was signaled, they took up positions in perfect formation against the walls.

  The master of the machines walked in. He wasn't imposing—perhaps six feet tall—wearing minimal armor but draped in flowing gold and silk. His eyes held the shimmer of starlight, matching his radiant hair. His gaze swept the room and locked onto Loid. In a flash of movement, he was suddenly inches from Loid’s face, eyeing him like a rare delicacy.

  "Not a fucking chance, you weirdo," Loid snapped.

  "Just as fiery as ever!" the man exclaimed, clapping his hands in delight.

  "Damian!" a female voice barked from the entrance.

  "Oops." The man scrambled behind Valantis, using the giant as a shield.

  A woman with the same radiant hair marched in, accompanied by a man with long, flowing black hair—her polar opposite.

  "Celestial Prince, your sister calls," Valantis said, effortlessly lifting Damian by the collar and dropping him in her path. The woman moved with blurring speed, twisting Damian’s ear. "Idiot," she hissed.

  The black-haired man stepped forward to greet the others.

  "You’re looking well, Prince of Darkness," Soulheart said.

  "As are you, Victor," the man replied.

  Loid gestured toward Damian. "I still can’t believe that queer was an Almighty before I was even born."

  "Hard to swallow, but he is the oldest Almighty in this room," the Prince of Darkness reminded him.

  Dario joined the banter. "Heard your father wasn't thrilled about you attending the Council."

  "Yeah," the Prince admitted. "He’s still bitter that I married the Princess of the Celestials. He actually wanted me to marry one of your daughters, Dario."

  Dario laughed heartily. "I would have taken an immortal vampire as a son-in-law any day, you know that."

  "Yeah, right," Loid scoffed. "Like you actually care about your sons-in-law."

  "That’s the truth," Sara added with a smirk.