Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 121: Book 2: Chapter 35: Council

Read chapter 121 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Book 2: Chapter 35: Council Book 2: Chapter 35: Council Rain peppered the domed ceiling of the royal palace like tear drops that no one claimed. Wraiths of curling mist swam between trimmed hedgerows and stone fountains in the gardens, blurring the lines between stone and sky. Head were bowed and voice low as the servants moved like ghosts through the halls. Some whispered small prayers as they went about their duty to light the lanterns. And some others whispered rumors, about the vote, the future, about what would happen if the wrong side won, and which side was the wrong one. In the east wing, noble scions clustered in tight circles. Their silks gleamed under warded lamplight, but no laughter spilled from them this morning. Their lips and hands did not move, only eyes that flitted constantly toward windows and mirrored walls. In the merchant quarter of the palace, contract meetings were being canceled or postponed outright. “Until further notice,” they all said. “Pending today’s result.” Representatives of the guilds kept to private lounges, their enchanted seals gripped tighter than usual, some even trembling in their casings from ambient aether tension. Out near the martial grounds, sect initiates drilled harder than ever. Their instructors barked orders with no patience for error. Feet stomped in rhythmic unison on soaked stone. Swords clashed against training poles. The air itself was taut with nervous tension. They trained not just for show today. Enchanted parchments drifted down the hallways more heavily than before, dense with secret messages and encoded purpose. They floated behind council members, flickering with unreadable patterns, the aether around them twisted by unseen logic. A few even hovered near the Striders’ suite of the palace, pulsing with a soft internal light, just waiting. Above it all, Terraxum’s great banners hung unmoving in the damp morning wind. Showing the many colors of the leading politcal powers of the kingdom’s courts; Crimson. Gold. Ivory. Purple, and more. Throughout the entire estate, no horns blew and no announcements were made. The silence didn’t break. But it stretched. It hung over the city like a the executioner’s ax, coming judgment. And everyone knew that today, the vote would decide everything. The doors to the High Throne Room opened for them with no fanfare. Alex walked at the head of the group, flanked by Kate and Eric, the others behind him in silent formation. Palace guards marched beside them. Each wore emerald green armor that gleamed beneath the hall’s golden chandeliers. It was impossible to ignore the sound of their halberds strucking the stone in even, echoing precision as the went. Unlike the last time they were in the throne hall, a circular table dominated the center. Around it were twelve seats, each placed within a glowing ring of etched runes. From any point in the hall one could see the enchantments pulsing slowly, like a patient ticking of a great cosmic clock. At the center of the table rose a stone dias. Its entire surface covered in delicate glyphwork. Thin, radiant threads of energy floated above it, orbiting in slow loops. This dias was not just ornamentation, but the voting mechanism itself. Each strand of light represented a Councilor's potential vote: red for deny, gold for abstain, green for approve. For now, they were all gray. And watching it all…was the King. He sat on his high throne at the far end of the hall. His body heavily cloaked in Terraxum green and gold. Aether sigils shimmered across his regalia, the subtle marks of authority that set him a part of ruler of Terraxum. The Queen, veiled in gossamer white and green, sat beside him. And to the King’s left was Prince Kailan, at the moment armored but unarmed. Even now as Alex looked upon the man, his expression was neutral. His gaze met Alex’s for the briefest moment, and something unspoken passed between them. Around the outer edge of the room stood the great powers of the kingdom. Various n