The cold in the chamber lingered, unmoving and heavy. It seeped into the benches and the roots beneath their feet, filling the space like a second presence. Elder Trenlin sat rigid in his seat, no longer speaking but clearly stewing. Luna had not taken her eyes off him once.
Then the elder who had interrupted earlier stepped forward again with a calm that silenced the room.
"I am Elder Barker," he said. His voice was deep but measured, like old wood creaking under steady wind. "And once again I offer an apology on behalf of my fellow elder. Trenlin let his mouth outpace his wisdom."
Trenlin’s jaw tightened. He said nothing.
"Beside him are Elder Faelar, Elder Lorent, Elder Rhistel, Elder Sareth, and Elder Owyn. All have served for decades, some longer than a tree has borne fruit. They speak for tradition, for purity, and for preservation."
His eyes shifted to the left.
"And here we have Elder Mira, Elder Alenya, Elder Syen, Elder Valys, Elder Nyra, and myself. We believe Heartwood must grow beyond its roots. That alliances with Outsiders, carefully made, are not weakness but evolution. A path forward."
There was a subtle tension in the room as he spoke those last words. A few of the conservative elders shifted in their seats,eyes narrowing.
Penny leaned close to Leo and whispered, "So we’re in the middle of a political drama. Wonderful."
Leo didn’t answer. He was still seething, his hands clenched at his sides, jaw tight. He hated the way they’d been treated, but more than that, he hated that he hadn’t seen it coming. This wasn’t just a formality. It was a test.
And they had almost failed it.
"We did not summon you to insult you," Elder Barker went on, now addressing the full group.
"But you must understand that Heartwood has suffered many betrayals in the past. Trust is not freely given here. It must be earned."
"And how exactly do we earn it?" Crystal finally spoke, her voice cool and razor-sharp.
Elder Barker met her gaze without flinching. "With truth. With action. And perhaps... with restraint. Something you have all displayed in greater measure than I expected."
That earned a snort from Rachel, quiet but audible.
Aria who had been silent narrowed her eyes, inspecting the body language of the elders. They were closed off, impatient and not willing to listen. Yet Elder Barker carried on.
"There is only one question that matters now," he said. "Not who you are. Not where you come from. But what you faced."
He looked directly at Leo, and the air seemed to press inward.
"What did you fight?"
Leo didn’t know why or how, but an answer began to bubble up from the depths of his being.
"Demons," he said, his voice low and steady. "From the Procession."
Silence fell across the chamber like a dropped stone.
Elder Valys leaned forward first, her brows drawn tight. "You are mistaken."
Elder Rhistel scoffed quietly under his breath. "The Procession is a myth. An old tale meant to frighten children and explain nightmares. They do not exist."
"They do," Leo said. His voice didn’t rise, but the conviction behind it landed like a blow. "We saw them. We fought them."
"You fought something," Elder Faelar allowed, his tone sharp. "But not them. Not the Procession."
Elder Trenlin sneered. "How convenient. Outsiders claim to have destroyed enemies so dangerous even our ancestors feared them. And yet here you stand, alive and arrogant."
Luna’s eyes narrowed. "Are you accusing us of lying again?"
"The Procession," Elder Owyn said slowly, as if speaking the name alone warranted caution, "is not something that can simply appear. They are not beasts or cults. They are not summoned or created. They reside in the gaps between what is real. Those gaps serve as both their home and their prison."
Elder Alenya spoke next. Her voice was quiet but resolute. "Only under extraordinary circumstances could they cross the veil. The fabric of reality would need to be thinned, torn, pulled open by a massive influx of souls. Even then, it would not be a true escape. Just a fracture."
"That’s what this was," Lily murmured. "A fracture."
"Impossible," Elder Lorent said. "There has been no war. No plague. No mass death."
Lily took a step forward as she realized something.
"But does it have to be death? What if say for example, millions of souls entered this realm in a short period of time. Would that have a similar effect?"
"It is not the ending of life that weakens the veil," Alenya said slowly. "It is the pressure on the fabric of reality. Souls passing through the boundary between realms are what strain the barrier. Whether those souls are leaving or arriving..."
Elder Rhistel scoffed again. "The theory is meaningless. What kind of event could cause such an influx?"
That was when Leo felt it hit him. A creeping cold that started in his chest and worked its way into his limbs. His lips parted before he could think tostop himself.
Everyone turned toward him.
Leo forced the words out.
"There recently was a massive influx of players who joined the game. If by chance millions of players were to sign in at around the same time..."
He didn’t need to finish.
Silence reclaimed the room, heavier than before.
"You believe your presence here is what weakened the veil?" Elder Mira asked, her voice low.
"No," Leo said. "Not just us. Not this group. All of us. Every single ’outsider’ is."
Elder Faelar stood, his robes sweeping the floor behind him. "This is absurd. There is no precedent for such a thing. Even if you speak the truth, what does that make you? Victims or catalysts?"
Leo didn’t flinch. "Both."
Trenlin stood up as well, bristling with offense. "Then you are the ones who brought ruin to our doorstep. You broke the seal. You welcomed the Procession into our world."
Everyone glared at Tremlin with disgust before ignoring hin to face Elder Barker.
"We did what we could. Whether you believe it or not is not our problem."