Elias, his body wracked by karmic strain, furiously tracked Mei Lin through the chaotic ley lines beneath Jadeheart, Juro's old core burning hot in his hand. He knew she was heading for the Grand Council, convinced she could expose Arthan with the ancient scrolls. He also knew it was a fatal mistake.
Mei Lin, radiating a fierce, righteous conviction, burst into the Grand Council chambers. The Council members, already reeling from the Stoneborn invasion and the collapsing ley lines, looked at her with a mixture of confusion and fear. Sage Arthan stood at the head of the chamber, an imposing, calm figure, observing her with a faint, chilling smile.
"Esteemed Councilors!" Mei Lin declared, her voice ringing with desperate urgency. "Sage Arthan has deceived you! He seeks not to purify the Ledger, but to destroy it, to reset reality to his own horrific vision!"
She unrolled the pre-Ledger scrolls, the ancient texts describing the karmic primordials and the true First Law. She spoke of Arthan's original sin, his failed experiments that created the karmic voids, and how the Guild's bomb was merely a rediscovery of that same, terrifying power. She presented the scrolls, tangible proof of Arthan's deception.
A murmur ran through the Council. Doubt flickered in some of their eyes. The scrolls radiated an undeniable ancient power, a resonance that defied forgery.
But Arthan was prepared. His gaze swept over the Council, and then rested, coldly, on Mei Lin. Before any Council member could examine the scrolls further, before a single question could be asked, the Council leader, a venerable, seemingly wise elder, stood. His face was pale, his eyes glazed, but his voice boomed with chilling authority.
"This is heresy!" the Council leader declared, his voice devoid of emotion. "These scrolls are forgeries! A desperate attempt to sow discord, to undermine the authority of the true Ledger and its ancient guardians! This is an act of treason!"
Elias, witnessing the scene through a precarious remote link, felt a cold dread. He saw it: the subtle shift in the Council leader's karmic signature, the faint, almost imperceptible thread of control emanating from Arthan. The Council's leader was a puppet—his karma controlled by Arthan. The Sage had not merely influenced them; he had enslaved them, bending their will to his own.
"Arrest her!" the Council leader commanded, his voice ringing out. "Arrest this purveyor of lies! Impound the heretical scrolls! Let her face judgment for her blasphemy!"
Celestial Sentinels materialized, moving swiftly to apprehend Mei Lin. She struggled, but resistance was futile. They seized her, ignoring her pleas, confiscating the ancient scrolls and the primordial karmic shard she carried.
Elias watched in horror, helpless and miles away. Mei Lin had walked into a trap, betrayed by the very system she sought to save. Arthan had anticipated her, controlled the Council, and now held the primordial shard, the ultimate weapon. The final pieces of Arthan's terrifying endgame were falling into place.