Chapter 109: New Team
The council chamber felt way too small with everyone crammed inside.
Grace squeezed between Seraph and Venus at the round table. Their thighs pressed against hers from both sides. Not that she minded too much. Her Love attribute made her hyperaware of every point of contact these days. Mara sat across from them, scribbling notes in her neat handwriting. Celestia stood by the window, rainbow wings tense as she stared at that red-tinted horizon.
"Twenty-three villages," Mara said without looking up from her notes. "That’s how many have reported... incidents."
"What kind of incidents?" Grace asked, though she had a sinking feeling she already knew.
"Spontaneous combustion. Entire buildings going up in flames with no warning." Mara flipped through several pages. "Seven confirmed deaths. Dozens missing. And the survivors..."
She trailed off.
"What about the survivors?" Grace pressed. Celestia finally turned from the window.
"They tell... strange stories. They speak of a woman made of fire who walks through the villages. She points at people and declares them ’unworthy.’ Those she points at..." Celestia paused. "They burn from the inside out."
Grace’s stomach dropped.
"That’s... really direct."
"The Flame was never subtle," Venus said. Her usual playful tone was gone. "Even when Eternia carried that rage, it burned hot and obvious. No seduction. No bargaining. Just pure destruction."