A low, cold voice sounded from behind the heavy curtain, its tone so heavy it seemed to press down the silence that followed. "Why did this happen?"
Eyril forced his gaze to remain on the shapeless shadow cast upon the curtain, a stain darker than the absence of light, "Our apologies, we failed to fulfill our mission," he said in a flat.
"Oh, I know the how," the voice cut in, icy and precise. "The why is a ledger of your incompetence. My question is, why did you not stamp out the spark before it became a flame?"
Eyril's voice was hoarse. "Their retaliation was outside of our expectations. We had no knowledge that would suggest that they could find us this fast."
The shadow offered no reaction, no sound but the quiet, oppressive weight of its attention. Eyril felt each of his own words wither in that silence.
"We were out of resources to prepare an immediate ritual for his revival. We had gotten all the necessary resources the day they invaded"
"We were careless"
A long, terrible silence stretched out before the voice returned, now deceptively soft. "Call it a… lesson. One I trust is now etched into your very bones. I trust I do not need to elaborate on the cost of a second lesson?"
"No, master," Eyril answered, the meaning chillingly clear.
"Then I have a mission for you. It's necessary to be fulfilled no matter what. Third Seat, take with you Ninth Seat and go to Lorenthel. Reclaim that artefact. With it, our plan will be finished years sooner."
"Understood," Eyril accepted.
"Then gather enough forces with you and proceed with the mission," the man behind the curtain exclaimed in a flat tone.
***
Back in the training center of the Lockheart Palace, Luna and Nyx stood in the center of the room, training together between the four red pillars for the last day of the month, just a day before the test.
Nyx swung his wooden sword horizontally, coming at her with lightning under his feet. But Luna dodged as lightning under her feet appeared as well, moving with lightning-fast speed. She jumped back at him, bending at his waist height as she swung horizontally. Nyx looked at her, sweat traced a line down his cheek
"You've greatly improved, but still not enough to take me down."
NNyx jumped back from the attack. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he slashed down at Luna's neck. The wooden sword didn't make contact with her skin, but a pulse of concussive force, visible as a shimmer in the air, did. Luna jolted violently, her limbs went limp and she lost consciousness, falling to the ground with a thud.
Nyx rushed to Luna and crouched near her. Picking her up, he held her in his arms, saying, "I went too far this time. But still, she has improved enough to impress our father."
Nyx caressed Luna's hair with a smile, he exhaled and, "I am sure that I won't fail this bet with our father. Please, Luna, make sure that I won't need to work triple hours more than I do now."
As Nyx finished his words, he walked out of the training center through the corridors, Luna's pink hair waving side to side.