Chapter 100: The Name That Should Not Echo
—Deliberations Behind Closed Doors—
The chamber was quieter than usual.
Not still.
Just… deliberate.
Every voice that rose, did so with caution, as if loudness itself might draw something into the room.
The Grand Council had convened.
So had the Spirit Tribunal, with one of its three Elder Soulbornes presiding in full presence: Daizo Ennin, seated at the head of the curve-shaped inner table, silent as stone.
Marcus Ikemba sat to Daizo's right. His face unreadable. His soul energy restrained but firm, like a sword sheathed in marble.
Across from him, Sylvia Ivanova of Russia sat with her fingers laced. Her voice, clipped and cold:
"You're all certain?"
"Yes," came Devika Trinetra's response, quieter than usual. "Kamharida confirmed it herself. The Phantom lives."
The name wasn't spoken.
Even among them.
Especially among them.
Daizo finally stirred. One eye opened—just slightly.
"This is not a matter for panic," he said calmly.
"But it is one for precision."
The air was heavy.
Not with fear.
But with memory.
Because they had all been taught the same history, some of them by N'ythrll herself.
T'halem had not simply gone rogue.
He had nearly fractured the nature of Soul Energy itself.
His fall had led to the Abyss Theory, the rise of Corrupted Soul Forms, the first generation of Dark Soulbornes.
He was not a villain.
He was a precedent.
Bryce Cain of the North American coalition leaned forward.
"And he hasn't attacked?"
Marcus shook his head once.
"No. He's remained isolated. But the Veil made their move first. They awakened him."
A soft grunt from Raizen Tsukigami.
"Then they have more ambition than we gave them credit for."
Silence.
Then Sylvia again:
"What about the Progenitor?"
Daizo answered that.
"She remains in the Ethereal Plane."
Pause.
Then:
"Kamharida is here."
That changed the tone in the room.
Subtle shifts in posture. No gasps. No declarations.
Just acknowledgment.
Because now that N'ythrll had sent her Shadow, it meant one thing:
She still refused to rule directly.
But she would protect what she built.
And they all understood something else—unspoken but clear:
If Kamharida fails... they would need to summon N'ythrll themselves.
And none of them wanted that.
Not even Daizo.
Sylvia finally stood.
"Then I propose we escalate observation of all Abyssal activity across Soul Island, and strengthen the western borders."
"Agreed," said Devika.
"I want full veiled contact with all known Dark Soulborne splinters," said Marcus, "and deeper intelligence on Ramses. He's the link to this."
No one objected.
Daizo closed his eye again.
"Then the Tribunal will monitor Kamharida's path. She is no ordinary envoy. She will not be treated as such."
A final stillness settled over the chamber.
One of the lesser heads—young, newer to the circle—finally broke decorum to ask the question they all danced around:
"If he turns hostile… can we stop him?"
No one answered.
Not right away.
Not even Marcus.
Not even Daizo.
Because the truth was this:
No one knew.
T'halem had been sealed at the height of his fall—
Not defeated.
Contained.
And now he was free.
Daizo finally gave the only answer that mattered:
"He is no longer bound by fate. He is an echo beyond pattern. We do not need to stop him… yet."
A beat passed.
"We need to understand why he hasn't moved."
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