Moonlight sliced through stained glass, painting fractured colors across the circular chamber. Six figures occupied ornate chairs surrounding a polished obsidian table, each seat positioned precisely equidistant from the others. The seventh chair—empty since the incident—cast a shadow longer than mere absence could explain.
No names were spoken here. No official titles acknowledged. Only the designations that bound them to their shared purpose.
"Shall we address the void first?" The figure draped in crimson robes gestured toward the empty seat. "Our circle remains broken."
The question hung in air thick with incense and power. Suspended crystal lanterns cast their light downward, deliberately leaving the chamber's vaulted ceiling in darkness. What watched from above remained mercifully unseen.
