Al-Aqar didn't know what to do in this situation. He knew that the possibility of Eclipsion awakening again was real, but… he hadn't expected himself to be involved. And furthermore, he didn't know what to do with the girl, except for one thing: he needed to protect her.
He passed through the portal and entered a spaceship. Its gray walls glistened, as lifeless as they were, and Al-Aqar could see his own worried reflection in them. Xenia was still in his arms, limp from exhaustion.
"You'll wait outside while the Council speaks," Odette said coldly. "Price and Marno will stay with you."
"Why? Because you think I might just steal the child?"
Odette gave him an unamused look as she ventured into the depths of the spaceship. The two men stayed behind, glaring at Al-Aqar menacingly, like guardian dogs ready to tear him apart if he tried anything.
The Council room was a dome of white walls topped with a glass ceiling which unveiled the deep blue and purple colors of the Cosmos. Constellations shone bright over the heads of the Champions who took their seats. Gathering them hadn't been difficult—after all, they'd just been in the middle of a meeting when they were interrupted with grave news. Eclipsion had manifested once again.
Kaliopi took a good look at the long oval table. Though she wasn't a Champion herself, not even a charkezi, really, she still presided over the Council. That had been tradition for millennia now. An ordinary human was to lead the charkezi choir—stars, after all, needed an anchor.
The table held seven seats for seven Champions. However, today, only four were filled.
Kaliopi cleared her throat. Dark pink dreadlocks fell over her black skin, and she did the one thing she always did when she was nervous—she took the bandana she wore around her wrist and used it to tie her hair into a ponytail.
"The girl who awakened the Constellation is being retrieved right now," she said, slow and measured, trying not to allow her breath to shiver. "And we must decide what to do with her."
"President Kaliopi," the high-strung voice of Lady Selena began, "I urge you—no, all of us—to take this threat very seriously."
Lady Selena fixed her posture, prim and proper, her hair tied in a tight bun, her red hair resembling a sun at its peak. As fitting of the Champion of Solaris, Warrior of Light.
"A threat?" Came a raspy laugh. Kaliopi focused her sight on a broad woman who sat at the end of the table, completely relaxed. As if she didn't care at all.
Her black armor shone purple and teal, reminding Kaliopi of a beetle's shell. And just like a beetle, the Champion of Umbra hid in the shadows. She couldn't see Khafia's eyes because of the helmet she wore, but Kaliopi was sure there was a glint of amusement in them.
"Yes, a threat. How else would you call it?" Lady Selena scoffed.
"A sixteen-year-old child is now a threat to you? Truly, how do you cross the street without fearing a group of teenagers might jump you?"
"She isn't just any teenager, Khafia, let's clear that up first."
Kaliopi sighed as she felt a headache coming on.
"Oracle Kolya…" she looked at a young boy, no older than the age of fourteen, whose closed eyes gave away that he was meditating, "do you perhaps see anything?"
The only response she got was silence.
"Are we seriously going to put our faith in children?" Lady Selena snarked as she took a look at the boy.
"May I remind you, Lady Selena, that Kolya is a Champion of Astryx—a Champion just like yourself?" Kaliopi's voice was stern. She was running out of patience for that stuck-up woman.
Ageha chuckled. Everyone's head turned to her. The Champion of Aegis, as light as the wind and air she represented, giggled again. She was a young woman, and her eyes were closed just like Kolya's, except for a different reason. She was blind.
"It's quite entertaining, watching us argue over this after we've spent so much time fretting and worrying about a new Champion of Eclipsion emerging," she said in a sing-song voice. "You said she is sixteen?"
"Yes."
"Well then, should she not be allowed the freedom to explore, to learn?"
Lady Selena clicked her tongue in annoyance. Kaliopi always found that sound terribly grating, and her headache was just intensifying. Master Solange, Champion of Gaelion and earth, wasn't attending today, for she had different duties. The only sane one, and she's unavailable, Kaliopi thought with bitterness.
"You'd let a flame turn into a forest fire?" Lady Selena said.
"I'd let the flame warm the land and sing," Ageha replied. Her dark hair contrasted her pale white skin like snow. "Stars are simply flames themselves, after all."
"Oh, stop it with the metaphors! Everyone here knows the Champions of Eclipsion are an unstable lot! That includes the girl!" Lady Selena snapped.
"The only unstable one seems to be you," Khafia retorted. "You haven't even met her!"
"You may call me all the names you desire, but it's clear that we are in no way equipped to deal with this new Champion. The Champions of Pyrrhos and Thalassa have not emerged yet. If Eclipsion becomes a threat—as it has in the past—we won't be able to subdue them…" Lady Selena gave a sharp look to her fellow Champions.
"And what is your solution? Execute the girl? Cage her?"
"Study her! Keep her under watch!"
Just then, Kolya's eyes opened. Everyone went silent and focused their gazes on him.
"What did you see?" Kaliopi asked, breathless. She hoped the Champion of divination and sight would be able to illuminate them, to give her the solid ground she so desperately sought in this moment.
"Nothing," the boy said, his voice weak and sickly. He was awfully thin, like a birch tree, shaking in a non-existent wind and wrapped in blankets. "Absolutely nothing."
This answer pleased nobody. Especially Kaliopi, who felt like she could faint from the stress and pressure alone.
"That can't be…" she said as her face paled. "Please, look again—"
"There is nothing." Kolya shook his head. "The variables are too random, too scattered. There are many options, and none of them seem to be the most likely outcome."
"Makes sense," Khafia interjected, "Eclipsion is, after all, the Constellation of Paradox."
Just then, the door opened. Odette walked in with grace in her step, head held high. Kaliopi was thankful for her; even though she found Odette to be a terribly boring conversationalist, she was a pretty good soldier. Swan of Swords, they called her.
"Al-Aqar and the girl are here," she simply declared. "What should I tell them?"
Kaliopi thought for a second, but Ageha was quicker.
"Tell Al-Aqar to come in," she said with a soft smile. "I desire to speak to him."
"We haven't finished our discussion, and we don't need any spectators." Lady Selena crossed her arms.
"Well, how can we finish it without the only witness of Eclipsion's descent that we have?"
"They want you inside," Odette coldly informed him. Al-Aqar raised his head. He looked at the girl in his arms—she seemed so frail, powerless, and young. She was just a child. She didn't deserve to carry the burden that was imposed on her. How could such small hands wield such great power—the power of the most unstable Constellation there was?
"We'll take care of her," Marno's raspy voice said. "Al-Aqar, we've never had trouble with each other before. I am a father myself. You can trust me."
"Alright." Al-Aqar nodded and stood up before handing Xenia to Marno. The large man sat down with the girl in his arms, taking the position of a guard. Odette gave them both a cold look.
Stuck up, as are all wielders of Solaris fragments, Al-Aqar cynically thought before heading to the Council room.
He'd been there before. Although his powers were nothing compared to the young oracle's, the Champion of Astryx, the boy was still young and didn't possess the needed wisdom. Of course, Al-Aqar wouldn't dare think of himself as wiser than Master Solange. However, he had a feeling she wasn't there. Astryxian intuition, if you will.
He entered, ready for a fight. He was met with the intense stares of the Champions… and a very nervous one coming from Kaliopi. He'd always had sympathy for her. She was a tamer in a circle of lions, and she hadn't even been given a whip.
"Al-Aqar," Ageha smiled. She couldn't see him, but the wind spoke to her, telling her he stepped in.
"It's always a pleasure to see you, Miss Kazemachi."
"You've always been a sweet talker… and a polite one."
"Cut to the chase," Lady Selena hissed. "We are here to discuss what to do with the girl."
Al-Aqar gave her a cold look. He'd never been a fan of Lady Selena, or any wielders of Solaris in general. The Constellation of light and justice rarely seemed to extend its warmth to the less fortunate.
"As you've said yourself, she is indeed a girl. A child," Al-Aqar said confidently.
"What did you see?" Khafia asked. "When Eclipsion fell from the skies."
Al-Aqar went silent for a second. How could he tell them about the imbalance? The one monstrous wing of a demon and one snow-white angelic wing that the girl grew? Or how she wielded elements, destroying all the monsters with a flick of a wrist?
"I saw a child not being able to control the power that had just been given to her," he said in the end. "And I assume that neither of you could control yours, either, when you received your fragment."
Lady Selena narrowed her eyes.
"Al-Aqar, you are a wise man," said Khafia. "What do you propose? The girl can't be left unattended. The power she wields is too great and dangerous."
"And unstable—don't forget unstable," Lady Selena just had to interject.
Al-Aqar steadied himself.
"It is. And that's why she must learn to control it."
"How?" Ageha sang.
"Simply, the same as everyone else. Send her to a magic school. Send her to Astranea."
Silence fell over the meeting room as the Champions looked at Al-Aqar, bewildered.