Chapter 1603: More Hope

Erebus knew this confrontation would come sooner or later after Erend left. The other members of the council would not remain silent once they learned what he had done and he had no intention of wasting time waiting for them to summon him.

He left the darkest corner of the city and made his way toward its largest and tallest building first. It served as the council’s headquarters and residence.

Erebus arrived at the meeting room before the others. The spacious chamber stood in near silence.

He walked to his usual position and stood with his hands folded behind his back, waiting patiently.

His expression remained as cold and composed as ever, showing no sign of concern about what he was about to face.

The meeting room doors suddenly flew open with a loud bang.

Aldric entered first, having pushed both doors open with considerable force. His sharp eyes immediately settled on Erebus.

The other council members followed close behind him. Maeron, Theron, Garran, Seraphine, and Valerian had all arrived. They were also apparently unwilling to waste even a moment once they heard the news.

When they learned that Erebus was already waiting in the meeting room, they hurried over to confront him themselves.

"What exactly is the meaning of this?" Aldric demanded. His voice rang through the chamber as he fixed Erebus with a hard stare. "Have you any idea what you’ve done?"

Erebus remained motionless, his hands still folded behind his back. He regarded the assembled council with his usual cold gaze, seemingly unmoved by their anger or the weight of the decision he had made.

He did not answer immediately. Instead, he allowed them to speak, knowing that interrupting them now would only prolong the argument. He didn’t want to waste his energy calming them.

"You brought a stranger into our city!" Garran exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at Erebus. "Someone who came from another world, didn’t he?"

Erebus offered no response.

"Why would you allow an outsider to enter our homeland without consulting the council?" Maeron demanded, his brows drawn together in disbelief. "After everything we’ve discussed, you should understand how dangerous such a decision could be."

"And what makes you think you can trust him?" Theron added. "We know nothing about his intentions. For all we know, he could be planning to take advantage of our situation."

"Our people are already suffering enough. We cannot afford to make reckless decisions," Seraphine said, shaking her head, her expression filled with frustration.

The accusations continued to pile up, each council member voicing a different concern while reaching the same conclusion: they wanted to know why Erebus had acted without their approval, what he had discussed with the stranger, and whether his actions threatened the invasion plan.

Their voices overlapped as their frustration grew, filling the chamber with an argument that seemed to have no end.

Throughout it all, Valerian remained unusually quiet. He had supported Erebus more consistently than the others and often defended his decisions when the rest of the council disagreed with him. But even he looked confused by what had happened.

He watched Erebus with a troubled expression, waiting for an explanation as well.

Erebus continued to listen without interrupting. He let the council members exhaust themselves, watching as their anger gradually gave way to fatigue.

Eventually, their voices faded one by one until the chamber fell silent again. Their chests rose and fell as they caught their breath. They looked at Erebus.

Only then did Erebus decide to speak, "He is a Dragonborn as well."

The words were simple, but their effect on the room was immediate.

Aldric’s expression froze, the others exchanged startled glances, or widened her eyes in disbelief.

Valerian’s earlier confusion was replaced by sudden attention.

"Another Dragonborn?" Aldric asked, his voice noticeably quieter than before. "Are you certain?"

"Yes," Erebus answered without hesitation.

The council members stared at him, struggling to process what they had just heard.

Dragonborn were very rare, and generations could pass without another appearing. Erebus himself was the only Dragonborn they had known for a very long time.

His existence had given their people a powerful defender, but even his strength had not been enough to stop the curse from destroying their homeland.

Now Erebus was telling them that another Dragonborn had appeared from a different world.

"How is that possible?" Maeron muttered. "We haven’t encountered another Dragonborn in generations."

"He is real, and I have seen his strength for myself," Erebus said.

His calm answer silenced the murmurs that followed.

Erebus then explained what he had discussed with Erend, including the offer to investigate the curse and search for a way to remove it.

He told them that Erebus had agreed to postpone the invasion while he gathered the necessary people to examine their homeland and determine whether the curse could be broken.

"I’ve decided to give our people another chance at hope," Erebus said. His voice remained steady, but there was a weight behind his words that made the others listen more carefully. "He promised to find a way to lift the curse. I have no guarantee that he will succeed, but he has considerable strength and seems capable. I made sure of that myself before agreeing to his proposal."

Aldric frowned as he considered the explanation. "And you believe he can actually accomplish what we’ve failed to do for so long?"

"I believe he deserves the opportunity to try," Erebus replied. "We have spent years, and finally preparing to abandon this world because we saw no other way to save our people. If there is even a chance that he can remove the curse, and make us cancel our invasion plan, then refusing his help without giving him the opportunity would be foolish."

The council fell silent again, though this time their expressions were different.

They exchanged glances as they considered Erebus’s words. They had accepted the grim reality that their homeland might soon become uninhabitable, and the thought of leaving everything behind, and doing some killings, had weighed heavily on them for a long time.

But if Erebus considered this stranger powerful and capable, then there was reason to take his words seriously.

Erebus was not someone who placed his trust in others easily, and he had witnessed the Dragonborn’s abilities firsthand. Perhaps this other Dragonborn truly possessed the strength and knowledge necessary to accomplish what they could not.

Valerian was the first to show a trace of relief. His eyes fixed on Erebus as a glimmer of hope returned to his face. "There’s a chance we won’t have to invade another world after all," he said quietly.

"Perhaps," Erebus replied. "But we should not celebrate before we have results."

"Of course," Valerian said, nodding. "But at least we have another option."

The other council members gradually began to share his sentiment. Their expressions remained cautious, their doubts had not disappeared completely, but the possibility of salvation had given them hope again.

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