Hours had passed and the woman placed my body on the gurney and waved her hand over my forehead; a myrriad magic circles appear and she watched each circle slowly rotate.
The woman nodded her head and clapped her hands once, she then fanned her hands and the magic circles dissipated. The woman walked away from the gurney and returned with three books, she began to flip through the pages, looking for a spell. After the second book, she found the incantation she was looking for, "This is the one," she screeched.
The woman opened her hand above my forehead and it began to glow ominously. The mana in the air started to collect and form a dense cloud above me. The woman held her hand steady as the wind began to blow violently throughout the dungeon.
After a few moments, the woman dropped her hands and the wind settled, the dense cloud of mana also faded away as the woman completed her spell. She closed her book, satisfied with the outcome of her actions, when suddenly, the door opens and silhouettes of several people appear in the door way.
"You're late," the woman snapped.
One of the silhouettes walks into the room and it is revealed to be Father, expressing pure rage, "Hypnos, what the hell are you doing?"
The other figures follow Father inside the dungeon, he was accompanied by several other individuals, each person held themselves with a sense of poise and power.
"Oh! I just thought it'd be fun to take a peak at what was in this boy's head," Lady Hypnos stated with enthusiasm. "Are you aware what he's capable of! He has the potential to-"
Father rolled his eyes, "Hypnos, that's not what I'm talking about... I'm calling an emergency Walpurgis Nacht Meeting," he scoffed.
Lady Hypnos dismissed the request and waved her hand, "I don't really think that's necess-"
"NOW," Father raised his hand the room began to shift in size; the floors and walls start to stretch and the ceiling warp into what appeared to be the night sky. A large table in the shape of a hexagon and six chairs emerged in the center of the room; each person took a seat at the table. Father gestured Lady Hypnos to take her seat before sitting himself.
From my father's left side, Shinar Jasper approached the table and cleared his throat to clear the tension, "With that out of the way, I'd like to get this Emergency Demon Lord's Banquet underway..."
Everyone nodded their heads, while Lady Hypnos scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"From the Sorcerous Kingdom of Sidhe, Demon Lord of Love, Eros, Demon Pixie. From Jigoku's Akuma Dynasty, Demon Lord of Sleep, Hypnos, Demon. From the Elven Continent of Dartaania, Demon Lord of Death, Thanatos, Elf Demon. From the Beastmen Country of Bestahlagro and The Coastal Federation of Avalon, Demon Lord of Life, Eos, Royal Beastmen. From the Southern Dragon Empire, Demon Lord of Space, Aether, Dragonmen. And lastly, from the Western Dragon Empire, Demon Lord of Time, Chronos, Dragonmen. This concludes our introductions, Lord Chronos, please proceed with the topics for tonight's Walpurgis Nacht," Shinar stated as he stepped away from the table as Father stood before the other demon lords.
"Thank you Shinar Jasper, it's been brought to my attention that we've overlooked something," Father started, the room was still, every was on Father as he continued to speak.
Father looked at me lying on top of the gurney., he looked above the center of the table and lifted his hand. As he opened his fist, a transparent orb appeared showing the Demon Lords the events of the Advancement Tournament, "I was approached by one of Eos' subordinates, and was told some rather troubling news..."
"Troubling," Thanatos questioned as he raised his brow.
Father nodded his head and motioned Professor's Greenwitch and Bouldier to plead their case, "All the textbooks we have at the Institute and Academy all say roughly around the same thing, that there will be a hero that has lived two lives that is destined to quell Lady Dragoness' rage. However,"
"We found a tomb in Gaia's clearing that held something rather intriguing," Professor Bouldier finished.
Eos nodded her head in agreement, Father nodded his head forward to allow the two to finish, "To my knowledge, each Demon Lord is chosen by fate... That goes for each Demon Lord currently present in this room..."
Hypnos scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Eos, please, have your attendants get to the point," honked Eros.
Eos raised her hand and Dorinda stepped out of the room. A few moments passed and she returned holding a steel tray. The tray hold seven old and dusty books; The Demon Lords eyes widen in shock.
"That assumption is correct, Dmitri," Lady Eos chimed. "Similar events happen to us when we were chosen for our roles".
Thanatos slammed his hand on the table, "Blasphemy! I refuse to believe our roles as Demon Lords are at jeopardy!"
Father raised a hand and gave the Death Lord a menacing glare, "There's more to this than just these books... Dorinda, Dmitri, please continue..."
Lady Eos' subordinates exchanged a look of determination before taking a deep exhale, "The area we found these books also had ancient text on the walls."
"Text that contradicts everything we know to be true," continued Professor Greenwitch.
"Well... What did it say," mocked Lady Hypnos.
Lady Eos' face twists in irritation as she lifts her hand toward the floating orb, "It says "The curse that was placed on our titles will last two generations," and the blessing is also supposed to last for two generations... Where the confusion and mix up comes from is the introduction of a second prophecy..."
The Demon Lords and there attendants all began to whisper amongst each other at the shocking news, "What do you mean second prophecy," inquired Eros.
Uncle Aether raised his hand, "It's true, I'm afraid we over looked the possibility of there being multiple prophecies that can be interwoven with each other... It definitely makes things a lot more complicated now."
Father gave his brother a nod, "It's all true... I've verified everything using Dismantle*," Father stated. "I'll be the first to admit that we were foolish to believe that we were the final generation of Demon Lords..."
(*Dismantle - A legendary level Earth-Based Signature. This ability allows the user to breakdown the composition of anything the user comes in contact with. The user has complete control over what they wish to dismantle. The ability also grants the user the ability to view past events relating to the creation of said item.)
"I see that last encounter definitely made you sing another tune," teased Uncle Aether.
Thanatos raised an eyebrow, "What last encounter?! The only last encounter there should've been our last major fight..."
The room grew eerily silent; Uncle Aether raised his hand, easing some of the tension with the release of his aura, "A few years ago, Chronos and I had a visit from one of our dear mother's Doppels..."
Lady Hypnos snapped her attention to Father, "Is this true?!"
Father exhaled sharply, "It is…-"
"After the attack, I had a few of my Shadows do some investigating in locating her," continued Uncle Aether.
"And," pondered Thanatos.
Aether shook his head, to which Thanatos scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Wait, I'm still confused," Eros bursted out. "How is it that we had the prophecies mixed up? And what prophecies were mixed?"
Father and Uncle Aether groaned and rolled their eyes.
"The curse on our titles and the chosen hero prophecies were jumbled together," Lady Eos answered. "The language in the 'Curse' was mixed in with the language of the 'Hero' prophecy."
Eros stared at Lady Eos with a blank and absent minded expression.
"To clear up any confusion, The Hero prophecy states that there will be a hero that will live two lives," Father explained. "Whereas the Cursed prophecy states that the curse will be broken by the Demon Lords that have lived two lives..."
"I'm still confused," Eros laughed off; the other Demon Lords groaned in annoyance.
"That small detail caused a major ripple," Uncle Aether further explained. "Creating a completely false prophecy that we've been indoctrinating..."
"So what are you saying," questioned Eros.
"We're saying that there are even greater forces at play here," answered Father, "and our children, just so happen to be players in whatever game is going on..."
Father motioned everyone's attention to the seven books that were found by Dmitri and Dorinda. He picked up one of the books and opened it, breezing through the pages and closed his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief before passing the book around, "This is my son's book..."
The other Demon Lords each examined the book carefully and were taken aback by what they saw. The pages of the book are filled in with an archaic text no one in the room is able to read.
"If I may, as Overseer," Shinar Jasper chimed, "I can confidently confirm that similar events did happen when the six of your were chosen for your roles."
"So what does this mean? Do we just keel over and die," barked Thanatos.
Shinar Jasper clears his throat, "Traditionally, when something like this happens, the current set of Demon Lords monitor the 'candidates'"
"Candidates?" Lady Hypnos asked.
"Yes, each candidate's book will begin to fill with text," explained Shinar Jasper, "and the only one's able to read that text is that chosen candidate, their respective Demon Lord predecessor, and any future subordinate they will acquire."
Eros slumped deep into his chair, "This is soooo much information!"
"But it's useful, now pay attention," snapped Lady Eos. "Shinar Jasper, please, continue".
Shinar Jasper nodded his head and continued, "Thank you, after you, the Demon Lord, acknowledge your successor, the evolution process will begin. It is important that they hear your acknowledgment, they don't necessarily need to understand what's going on, just the act of listening to the incantation is enough to trigger the evolution".
"Wait, how are we to know which child is our successor," asked Lady Hypnos.
"Time will tell, my dear sister," Uncle Aether chimed. "The only one to reveal themselves was Myrlin".
The room grew eerily silent before Father abruptly stood up, "Speaking of Time, care to explain what you were doing to my son, rather my successor?!"
Lady Hypnos broke into a cold sweat, "Well, with all this newfound information, I feel a bit silly now".
"Out with it," he shouted.
"Fine, fine," Lady Hypnos caved in, "I just temporarily suppressed any and everything that has to do with time from his memory... That includes those who also may have seen the ability or has knowledge of his power..."
Father shook his head in complete frustration, "Giving my son an unfair disadvantage to evolve is cruel, Hypnos..."
"To be fair, it is only temporary, so it'll wear off in two decades or so," she retorted. "And besides, I did it not knowing the boy was strong enough to become an heir..."
"All the more reason your should've consoled with us before doing it," snapped Thanatos.
Lady Hypnos shrugged her shoulders.
"It's in the past now," Father continued, "at this moment, however, he'll have to rely on his sand magic and sword skills."
"Do you think that will be enough," pondered Eros.
Father, Uncle Aether, Lady Eos and all their attendants try to hold back their laughter, "I don't think Myrlin has anything to worry about," chimed Lady Eos.
"The child has a near immeasurable amount of mana," Professor Greenwitch giggled. "At his age, his presence alone can win a battle!"
"You all speak highly of this child," Thanatos stated with a scowl.
"Well, he is the son of our leader after all," Uncle Aether concluded.
As I lay on the gurney, unconscious, Father glanced at me and gave me gentle smile before resuming the meeting.
Elsewhere in the Caliburn Dorms
Minerva and Renata sat in their room reading their textbooks; Minerva looks up at the room's ceiling and sighs deeply, "I can't put my finger on it, but I feel like I'm forgetting something".
"What's that?" Renata pondered; Minerva shook her head, "It's nothing, here,"she responded. Minerva reached on the side of her bed and grabbed her backpack.
She opened the bag and waved her hand over its mouth; a pitch black hole appeared and Minerva reached her hand inside; she then pulled out a sandwich and tossed it to Renata, "Lilac makes the best Elkboar Ham sandwiches!"
"Elkboar Ham!?"Renata shouted in excitement. The two girls took a bite out of their food and resumed their studies.
To be Continued...