Kings have thrones, and thrones belong in a throne room. The throne room of Runalond is indisputably the symbolic mark of the king's authority, and the most sacred territory among all of Runalond.
Parallelly, the Rune Arts Federation constructed a room with a similar nature, simplistically named "The Chamber," with seven seats in a converging, triangular shape from the lowest to the summit. From a distance, it almost seemed like it was one huge throne, combining the power of the seven seats to balance the scale with royalty's superiority.
Thrones emblematize reign. Even before Runalond, the tradition of the world always suggested such. As the first kingdom to unite the world, the many changes that had been applied to how the world operated were not generous enough to include the banishment of a throne. Only now, there were two: one belonging to royalty, one belonging to the people. They were equally important, equally impactful, and equally worthy.
The throne room in the royal palace is almost always devoid of light. It was Adrian Paradox's idea. He said that among the darkness, the expressions on people's faces did not have to be publicly displayed. Along with human nature–people rely on each other more when their sight is limited—the serious tension in the throne room could be partially alleviated. Let alone the fact that the current king, Eric Runaria, conceals himself behind a curtain above the throne and only shows his face in noteworthy events, the royal throne room always emitted an enigmatic aura.
In contrast, light filled every corner of The Chamber, illuminating all participants' faces brightly. The founder of the Rune Arts Federation, Elymar Relfog, implied that if even The Chamber had shadows, how could the citizens believe in Runalond's security?
Viviana Modernson, of course, sitting on the top seat, was already used to the light among The Chamber, to the point that she didn't even think it was so bright after all. Her face, behind the shadows under her hood, was secretly argued to be an unfortunate omen, that the only darkness among The Chamber was strictly on the First Seat's face.
But no one could blame her, or dare to blame her in the first place. Her face was ruined in an accidental misstep in her Human-Creation Rune Art experiment; it would be an even bigger shame for her and the Rune Arts Federation to bear.
Currently, the rest of the seats were absent from their owners apart from the third seat, "Elder," whose age truly did live up to his codename.
His appearance, however, was quite different from what others expected. Despite his age, there were no wrinkles or patches on his spirited face. The white hair that marked his age was opulent and smooth. Most of all, his body was upright like the central tower of the Imperial Academy. Time seemed to only have taken years away from him, but never life itself.
He listened silently as Sean Stonewall reported yesterday's accident, waiting for his superior to make a command before he needed to express his opinion.
"We must get ahead of the Undefinable before she uses this opportunity to falsely accuse…"
"Enough, enough…" Viviana dismissively waved her hand. "Get to the point. Who are the suspects?"
Sean's body trembled under V's response, not because of the annoyance in her tone, but the content of her question. He looked behind at a man and a woman standing lazily behind him, asking their permission if he could speak.
"Why are you looking at us?" the woman replied in amusement. "Answer the First Seat's question, go ahead."
"Do not rush the Department Presidents of the Rune Arts Federation," V interrupted in solemnity. "Even if you are one of the High Court Ministers, in this place, you may only talk if I allow you to, so before Mister Stonewall finishes, remain your mouth shut."
Sean's heart was lifted back up to its original location. Even though V seemed frustrated almost all of the time, at least she was protective of her subordinates, never allowing anyone to take advantage of them.
He answered, trying to sound emotionless as he usually did, "In my humble opinion, the culprit is none other… than the two High Court Ministers present at the time, Ministers of the Unseen Realm and Puppeteer's Carnival."
The woman behind opened her mouth again, but her words were forced back with a stare from the Elder.
"Why is that so?" V asked.
"I've searched around the entirety of the area. There are no signs of explosive materials, meaning that it must be caused by a Rune Art. The second department keeps a record of all known Rune Arts that could possibly result in an explosion, or any other type of danger. All of them, including potentials of newly created personalized Rune Arts, will certainly leave a trail that can be easily detected by the Minister of the Unseen Realm's eyes."
"No matter how absurd this outcome seems, it is the only truth that can be excavated from the debris of the RunaLine building—that the High Court Ministers are responsible. Whether they were partners in crime with the true culprit or they were culprits themselves."
V laid back in her seat and asked another question, this time to the two ministers behind, "Minister of the Forgotten Sin and Minister of the Promised Concord, do you have anything against Mister Stonewall's accusations?"
The man, Minister of the Promised Concord, answered steadily, "We High Court Ministers ourselves don't even have an idea how many of us there are. How are we supposed to know what our co-workers are up to? Perhaps only our boss knows."
Sean's eyes widened, though his back was still facing the Ministers. There is a "boss" among the High Court Ministers?
No one answered his question. They were distracted by a shadowy figure that emerged from the ground in front of the throne, one that appeared often but always resulted in silence among The Chamber on every occasion.
"Parasite 1, in charge of the Rune Art Federation, here to report." The dark projection stated slowly, "Mistress V, the Old Hyena pleads audience."
The old hyena, a weird name that wasn't supposed to catch attention, somehow brought a variety of shades to everyone's faces. For Sean, it was fear. For the High Court Ministers, it was confusion. For Elder, it was earnestness. And for V, no one could see.
"Everyone except for Elder, please withdraw yourselves," she announced. "Ministers, come back when you see the old man depart, and we shall continue with our case."
"Such a level of disrespect," Minister of the Forgotten Sin mocked. "Not surprising, coming from the arrogant First Seat of the Rune Arts Federation."
V didn't bother to argue, but instead stated the identity of the Old Hyena quietly, which silenced her in an instant.
"My apologies," she whispered as she left with her companion. "We will be waiting outside."
Sean Stonewall followed behind their backs, keeping such a distance to ensure an extent of unpromised safety. The Parasite also sank back into the ground underneath, having completed his mission.
The Old Hyena was someone of unknown identity among the Rune Arts Federation, one with no title but still maintains a peculiarly high authority. His appearance was always the same, a slouching, mischievous old man in a black, wrinkly cape. His hair, however, was tidy and golden, almost seeming like a wig on a disoriented face like his.
He walked in with his usual smile that made him seem like a typical villain in a book. His organs were slightly out of place, the two eyes that were supposed to be parallel decided to live at different levels, his nose was tilted, and not to mention his teeth, if those jagged things can even be called teeth.
Viviana spoke first, her voice sounding much softer. "It's nice to see you. Paul, how are you?"
"Still alive," the Old Hyena, Paul, replied hoarsely, smiling in a weirdly serene way. "I guess that means pretty good, eh?"
"I'm sure you will live up to your hundreds."
"If nothing goes wrong, I'm sure too. I mean, which other old gaffer has a body like mine?"
Elder cleared his throat in disagreement.
"You aside, you aside." Paul laughed. "Vivi, have I told you that this undead watched me grow up?"
Viviana nodded, probably smiling underneath the hood. "Many times. Also, I could have guessed."
"Anyway, anyway. Pull your hood back, I want to see you face to face, come on, come on." The grin on Paul's face grew larger, his face seeming less pale than when he entered The Chamber. "I'm afraid I won't be able to see your face again after I depart."
Viviana hesitated, her brain distracted by something else rather than carrying out Paul's command. After a short while of silence, she pulled her hood back, revealing half of her face with the other half still covered behind her hair. She seemed like there was a lot that had to be said to the old man before her, but there was only a simple expression of grief.
"Sorry, sorry." She murmured under her breath.
"Don't worry about it," Paul waved his hand. "Nothing you do matters to me as long as you are happy, you know?"
Viviana nodded, tears spinning in her sockets.
"Vivi, there is something that I must tell you, something that I must do. This kingdom has already put a nice and big full stop on my duty, but there is just something I can't…"
"Do you remember… The Old Prophecy?"
Elder raised his head. Even for someone his age, surprise was still an emotion that frequently visited him.
Paul continued without waiting for a response.
"There shall be a rebellion, amidst the reign of the 13th king, amidst the reign of the 13 seats in the Rune Art Federation. Runalond shall fall into the hands of an trickster, with lingering ghosts trailing behind, with deceitful fools accompanying beside, and with blinded traitors guiding in front. His lies will shatter Runalond, and like a mirror smashed into pieces will never be restored, the great kingdom shall live in fear for millennia to come."
"Eric Runaria is the 13th king of Runalond."
Viviana lowered her head. "It has been proven to be nothing but absurd stupidity. There are only seven seats among the Rune Arts Federation, never 13."
Elder interrupted, "But it is a prophecy of The Great Prophet Bruce. None of his prophecies failed to deliver what happened in the future, not even once."
"But it was also his first prophecy, when he was just a child!" Viviana argued.
"No matter," Paul shook his head. "What's important isn't The Old Prophecy, but what was known as The New Prophecy that came afterwards. It was the last prophecy from The Great Prophet's mouth, in fact, his very last words."
"The New Prophecy?" Viviana froze.
Paul and Elder announced together:
"There shall be a redemption, amidst the line of the 13th king, amidst the 13 seats in the Rune Art Federation. Runalond shall raise a savior from his grave, with the memories of a stray idealist, with the body of an invincible warrior, and with the dream of a different tomorrow. His resurrection will preserve Runalond, and like the rising sun at dawn will never be absent, the great kingdom shall persevere for millennia to come."
"I have no damn idea who the 'trickster' might be, but who this 'savior' is is pretty clear, eh?"