As the four beings sat at the table, their conversation weighed heavy with unspoken truths, the void around them thrummed with anticipation. Phoenix, her golden eyes glowing with the wisdom of untold eons, studied Stryde-4's every movement, while Bagga, The Boundless Tyrant, fidgeted, eager to return to the battlefield. Vanessa sat poised, her dark eyes calculating, as if already forming a plan in her mind. But amidst them all, an unseen presence lingered—an ancient force older than even their combined powers.
The meeting, a rare convergence of power, would have been considered historic by any who knew of such figures, but something else watched, concealed in the deepest recesses of the void. Its presence felt like a whisper at the back of the mind, a shadow that shouldn't exist yet did, formless and unseen.
"Is that it then?" Bagga grumbled, his fingers drumming impatiently on the table. "We just watch this little ant crawl toward his destruction?"
Stryde-4 leaned forward, his visor reflecting the dim light. "We don't have a choice. If we intervene too soon, we risk disrupting the balance."
"And if we wait too long?" Vanessa countered, her voice smooth as silk but edged with venom. "You know what that system is capable of. If he harnesses its full power—"
"He won't," Phoenix interrupted, her voice soft but commanding. She glanced toward Stryde-4, her gaze penetrating. "Not without guidance."
For a moment, the air crackled with tension. The four beings stared at each other, the weight of their decisions echoing through the void.
Stryde-4 stood, his posture rigid. "There's more at play here than just Luca. The Abyssal Chaos System is awakening something much darker—something that even we might not be prepared for."
Vanessa arched a brow. "Darker than the chaos already brewing?"
"Yes." Stryde-4's voice was flat. "I've sensed it. There's an old presence lurking, something older than us, older than the systems themselves. It's watching."
Phoenix frowned, her eyes narrowing. "An ancient presence? You're saying we're being...hunted?"
Stryde-4 didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned his head toward the shadows beyond the table. "I don't know what it is, but it's there. It's been there since Luca activated his system. It's stirring, and it's coming for him—and for us."
Vanessa's smile faltered, her eyes following Stryde-4's gaze into the darkness. Bagga shifted uneasily, his anger momentarily giving way to something akin to uncertainty.
Phoenix remained silent, her golden eyes narrowing as she reached out with her consciousness, probing the void around them. For a brief second, she felt it—a faint echo, a ripple of something ancient, something malevolent. But as quickly as it appeared, it vanished, leaving only the cold, empty darkness in its wake.
"You're right," Phoenix said, her voice barely above a whisper. "Something's watching."
Vanessa's expression hardened, her playful demeanor disappearing entirely. "Then we should act. If this presence is a threat, we need to—"
"We need to wait," Stryde-4 said firmly. "Whatever this thing is, it's not something we can fight head-on. Not yet."
Bagga growled, his fists clenching. "I don't like this. Sitting around, doing nothing—"
"We're not doing nothing," Phoenix cut him off, her voice sharp. "We're preparing. Luca may be the key to this, whether he realizes it or not."
The silence that followed was heavy, filled with the weight of their decision.
Then, from the deepest corner of the void, a sound—barely audible, but enough to make even these titans of power pause.
A voice, quiet yet clear, whispered through the darkness.
"Fools."
The word echoed through the void, sending a chill down their spines. It was a voice none of them recognized, ancient and dripping with malice, a presence so vast that even the combined might of Vanessa, Bagga, Stryde-4, and Phoenix felt insignificant in comparison.
"Did you really think you could stop me?"
Phoenix rose from her seat, her eyes blazing with golden fire. "Who are you?"
The voice laughed, a low, mocking sound that seemed to reverberate through their very souls. "You will know soon enough, Eternal Flame."
Vanessa's hands crackled with elemental energy, her eyes darting toward the shadows. "Show yourself!"
The voice didn't answer. Instead, the darkness around them deepened, swallowing the void in an inky blackness that even Phoenix's light couldn't penetrate. The figures at the table felt their powers dim, as though something was draining the very essence of their existence.
And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the presence vanished. The shadows receded, and the void returned to its cold, empty state.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Finally, Stryde-4 broke the silence, his voice cold and measured. "It's begun."
Bagga snarled, his anger reigniting. "Whatever that was, I'll tear it apart with my bare hands."
Vanessa, however, remained silent, her mind racing. The voice had been unfamiliar, but there was something disturbingly familiar about the power behind it. She exchanged a glance with Phoenix, who met her gaze with equal concern.
"We need to move quickly," Phoenix said, her voice steady but urgent. "This presence—whatever it is—will not wait for us to prepare. Luca is in more danger than we realized."
Stryde-4 nodded. "Then we keep watching, but we stay ready. If this thing makes a move, we'll need to be there."
Vanessa finally spoke, her voice low and thoughtful. "And if Luca isn't ready when that happens?"
Stryde-4's visor gleamed in the dim light. "Then we make sure he is."
The four figures exchanged one last glance before dispersing into the void, each retreating to their own realms, their minds already calculating their next moves.
But even as they left, the presence lingered—watching, waiting, and growing ever stronger.