"Sit."
The command was barely a whisper, yet it carried the weight of a god's decree.
They sat. Instantly.
There was no hesitation, no questioning of authority. Seven beings capable of leveling kingdoms dropped into their chairs with the obedience of well-trained hounds.
Ash leaned back into the obsidian throne, his face a mask of bored indifference, though his mind was racing at a mile a minute.
He gestured vaguely to the table, his eyes sliding over the terrifying assembly.
"Raphael," Ash said, not looking at her. "Mind introducing these people to me properly?"
Raphael smiled. It was a genuine smile, devoid of her usual mockery, yet it was infinitely more terrifying. She gestured to the table with a hand that had slaughtered thousands.
"As you command, my King. You know Echidna already, the Witch of Sloth."
Echidna, whose head had only recently been reattached to her neck, nodded rapidly. Her eyes were wide, wet, and fixed on Ash with a look of desperate adoration.
