"Ancients of the Silverunics, and my esteemed Royal Bloods."
"It is with honour that we're all gathered here today to undergo what will be known as the 1,118th Coming of Age Ceremony of our current Silverunic Royalties," King Auremis said, rising to his feet.
"To us Silverunics, we are guided by — and made who we are — by our traditions."
"And in our traditions, one of the most revered rulings is the Coming of Age Ceremony."
"A ceremony performed by our younglings to see if they're worthy of being Guardians of our race."
"It's been present since the time of my great-grandfather, High Sovereign Etilass, and my grandfather, High Sovereign Goliath. And now, that the torch has been passed directly to me, I see it as a must to continue the legacy."
"But worth noting is, back then, the Coming of Age Ceremony was done in a quite the spectacular way."
"A group of five younglings would be made to follow a group of three Guardians into the battlefield back when Medysla was still at a great war that threatened to sever it into fragments."
"It was a task difficult in and of itself, but if any of the younglings managed to make it back alive, then they were proclaimed Guardians, and only then were they taught in the true Ancient ways of us Silverunics."
"Trained hard to become the future Guardians, and made ready to protect against any threats that might come later."
"But now that we Silverunics have won the war, with the calamities having weaved past us..."
"Then how? How are the younglings now prepared to be Guardians?"
"Do we just look at the one most talented and plaster the name 'Guardian' on them?" he asked the crowd, who all had their eyebrows furrowed.
"That might be easier said than done. But when dangers truly come, then we will have nothing but a bunch of untrained kids standing at the front of the gate, protecting against nightmarish creatures from hell."
"Our end will be just in sight."
"After all, as we all know: the darkness never completely leaves. It just retreats. Only to come back when it seems like the light will continue to shine forever."
"That's why it is necessary — that the names, the identity of Guardians, must be preserved through the Coming of Age Ceremony, irrespective of the current situation of us Silverunics," he said, earning the unison nod of the Silverunics.
But then an ancient elder raised his hand up amongst the crowd.
"Yes, Lore Keeper Eluviar," King Auremis said as the elder rose up.
Ryuk couldn't turn back and look at him, since they were turning thier backs against the crowd and sending his senses roaming around would be disrespectful.
So in the end, he could do nothing but listen silently.
"I believe all of us here know the importance of the Guardians."
"True to your words, we cannot just allow for the younglings to become a Guardian just because there is no longer war to be fought."
"Not only would that make us develop a litter of puppies when a pride of lions arrives… it will also be a disrespect to all the souls in the past that have undergone the Coming of Age ceremony and lost their lives to it — along with those who returned but were eternally scarred by it."
"It will be the greatest unfairity to ever be recorded in the history of us Silverunics," he said — something that drew the nod of most, if not everyone.
"But the question I believe we all wish to know now is: what other way have you found, My Lord, to remedy the battlefield?"
"What could test the younglings enough that will be as great as the text of the Ancient Guardians of the past?"
"What did you think they can go through and in which doing so will keep the dignity of the Guardians that they will be labelled with on their successful arrival?" he asked before taking his seat, as King Auremis smiled and, without mincing any more words, he replied:
"I have just one answer," he said, and Ryuk couldn't help but notice a stifling silence settled onto everyone in the room — so much so, if a pin dropped to the ground, it would probably be heard for miles.
"All of the Royalty kids will be sent into the Gate of Soulles Ruin!"
The scream that followed was earth-shattering, as Ryuk watched horrified outbursts bloom out of the elders — along with the Ancient ones.
The air howled madly as space shattered into nothing, but just before Ryuk and the others could be swallowed by the destruction, a deep wave of powerful silvery aura emanated from the Queen herself, covering all of the Royalty Children in a cocoon of energy.
And as the wave smashed head-on onto the barrier — it cracked a bit, but never really broke through it, keeping all of them safe within.
Immediately that happened, every single person in the room instantly rose to their feet as Ryuk felt all the heads in the room bow down to the direction of the Queen.
"Forgive us our disrespect, Queen Eilerith."The words resounded all at once.
But then the Queen retracted her barrier before raising her hand up.
"Let the meeting continue," she said as everyone raised their heads back before turning to the King, and then the loud ruckus began.
"Send the kids to the Gates of Soulles Ruin!?"
"That is an ancient punishment from the past!"
"They all will die within!"
The ruse was unending, but what was unsettling to Ryuk was — he was as clueless as a donkey as to what the Gate of Soulles Ruin was.
But all he needed to do was turn by side and look at the remaining Royalty kids — who all had their faces pale even though they all remained silent.
King Auremis remained silent after his proclamation, allowing the murmur to continue, unobstructed until.
The roar followed by an incredibly powerful wave of aura — one so powerful that the walls of the hall they were in seemed to tilt, as if unable to stand in the presence of it descended onto everyone.
This time, Ryuk could no longer hold his curiosity back as his head snapped a complete 180 degrees behind him to stare at who was responsible.
And the man who was responsible was an old Ancient one, long grey hair with a single eye patch covering his face.
Both of his hands slammed with force onto the table as his covered eye released a billowing crimson light that reeked of murder and madness burning out of the silvery eye patch.
"None shall speak unless the King orders it — and death to all who defy the law!"