The mammoth metallic doors parted with a deep, resonating groan, grinding against its hinges.
At least, until Serpentine got bored and kicked it open with a powerful blow, a powerful rattle reverberating through the bones of people and furniture alike.
"Who the hell–" One of the voices complained from behind the door, cut off by a fast and powerful noise booming, followed by an echo resembling the sound of a rope being stretched.
"Just... calm down." Elçi sighed, his head hung low, shoulders drooped. "Excuse my Lord, he is... quite eccentric, and not used to our etiquette."
As his words fell, silence shrouded the room, dimly lit by a yellow lantern hung above.
"Your... lord?" One of the voices responded, hesitant, as Serpentine walked in, his arms folded behind his head.
He noted the speaker flexed a snout resembling that of an alligator, arms stout, horns curly.
'An Alligator Kobold.' He realised, and continued to look around.
"Yes... Now quiet down, there's much to explain." Elçi heaved a heavy sigh.
Serpentine's gaze landed on a cobra-like kobold, its light purple scales darkened at the edges. Burning yellow pupils glared at him as its hood flared wide, a forked tongue flickering in irritation.
"Regardlessss, that entransssce wassss uncalled for," it hissed.
What caught Serpentine's gaze were the dark tendrils latched on his wrist, gripping it tight, fingers curled into a fist.
Serpentine judged that this kobold reacted first, and violently, upon his fabulous entrance, before Elçi restrained him, tying the beast by its wrist.
'Likely the Head of Security.' The demon mused, judging from the violent yet rapid reaction, before turning his gaze around, tuning out the council's murmurs.
"My Lord's memories were shattered in combat during the trial, so he needs time to relearn etiquette." Elçi defended the demon, and while Serpentine was thankful, his focus was currently distracted.
At the far edge of the table lay a kobold emanating a terrifying presence, his eyes closed, and arms crossed. Shimmer scales of hold marred his very flesh, the reptilian snout boasting paid of tendrils on each side, as if a serpentine moustache.
"That... is unfortunate." Another voice echoed, but the demon's gaze remained fixated on the draconic being.
'A Dragon Scaled Kobold. Likely the highest ranked here.' Serpentine noted, sensing the sheer power coursing through his blood, before gazing away.
Opposite to him sat what Serpentine could only describe as a living fossil. Seemingly carved from bone, the fossilized kobold gripped his sceptre tightly, eyes void and vacant.
"What is his species? I don't believe we have seen his kin before." The demon recognised the Alligator Kobold's voice from earlier, but he merely continued analysing the councilmen.
'A Skeletal Kobold.' The demon shivered as he observed the scales of dried bones, grey and monotone, subtle cracks in places but without a hint of decay.
"That... We will get to that." Elçi voiced, his footsteps echoing in the closed room.
Serpentine ripped his eyes away, gazing at the kobold sitting next to the draconian beast, which was a creature with dark, oceanic blue scales, its flesh seemingly soft like a sponge. A bony crest rested atop its head.
'A Deepsea Scaled Kobold.' The demon gazed away, unnerved as he met the creature's gaze, a strong psychic power emanating.
"And what about those two? The human and the hooded one at the door, are they here for a punishment? Perhaps a promotion?" Yet another figure made a guess, but the demon simply continued to analyse the councilmen.
The seat opposite the leviathan was empty, but as Serpentine noticed Elçi make his way, he quickly realised the seat was the shadow kobold's.
"Those two are here at the request of The Lord." Elçi stated without much elaboration, letting out a sigh as he sat down.
Next to the oceanic beast sat the serpentine kobold from earlier, and opposite him was the alligator kobold he'd noticed before.
"He is a Progenitor." A deeper voice boomed, yet strangely laced with a higher pitch. And the demon immediately located the source of the voice.
At the closer edge of the long, wooden table, Serpentine noted a unique looking kobold, short and stocky, its muscular frame covered in a thick, scaly hide that was moss green in colour, with dense, body plates embedded in its scales.
Its eyes, the demon noticed in the reflection on the polished table, were small and piercing, but framed by protective plates and bony ridges. Its body crest of a horn protruded from the back of his head, snout broad and flat with a slight beak-like structure.
What finalized its identity to Serpentine was the heavy, club-like tail with a bony mass at the end, designed for delivering devastating blows.
'Ancient Scaled Kobold, with the heritage of an Ankylosaurus. Holy Devon, that's busted!'
Serpentine's excitement aside, a sudden hush befell the council, lingering until the demon shattered it with his chuckle.
"What? Never seen such a handsome Progenitor before." He teased.
Elçi buried his face in his palms, while the Alligator Kobold tried to suppress his twitching lips.
"I don't like him." The hooded kobold hissed.
"I love him already." The alligator grinned.
"Oh for Khagan's sake," Another groaned, "There's now two of them!"
"Enough." A deep, almost profound voice boomed, silencing the councilmen, Serpentine's heart skipping a beat as he looked to the source.
The draconian creature had opened its eyes.
'Chills.'
Sheer, unadulterated pride oozed through its gaze, becoming a tangible force as it pressed down on everyone present.
"Elçi," The draconic kobold commanded, its eyes narrowing, "You may speak your piece."
"I thank you, my lord." Elçi cupped his sleeves together, bowing deeply, before he spoke.
"This man I have brought with me is named Serpentine, and he is a Progenitor."
Despite the revelation, no one spoke a word.
'Well, I suppose the dinosaur spoilt the surprise.'
"He has fought two of our finest soldiers at once, and came out on top, even proving himself to have harnessed the power of the void."
This time, they reacted.
Their fingers twitched, their lips twisting slightly, but they did not speak a word. The draconian creature remained impassive.
Serpentine frowned, burying his hands in his pocket.
"But what is truly groundbreaking is his biology. Due to factors related to chaos and cosmic energy, his form has mutated and evolved." Elçi continued, a frown gracing the council's faces.
"His physiology... is that of a demon."
Now, that got a reaction.
"What!?" The Alligator Kobold's roar shattered the veil of silence, his claws digging into the table as he half-rose from his seat.
A deadly hiss echoed through the chamber, the sound of rattling chains accentuating it as the cobra slowly stepped away from its seat.
The skeletal kobold mechanically turned its head to face the demon, its expression still impassive.
The Deepsea Scaled Kobold and the Ancient Scaled Kobold looked mildly interested, but nowhere near as alarmed.
The draconian beast remained impassive, at least for a few seconds, before he spoke once again.
"Silence."
Immediately, all sounds – even that of breathing – quietened down, and the creature issued its next command.
"Return to your seats."
They hesitated, but obediently returned to their seats, the serpentine kobold wrestling not to hiss in frustration, its face and throat twitching incessantly.
"If you have anything you say," the draconian kobold declared, "You may raise your hand and await your chance."
As if on queue, three hands shot up forwards the sky.
'Just what is his authority here?' Serpentine's face grew strange.
And so, he too raised his hand, bouncing in his feet like a child as he did, attracting the council's attention, all of them giving him weird looks.
"You may speak." The draconian kobold commanded.
"Are you the Khagan?" The demon blurted out, his eyes shimmering underneath the lantern.
But his words did not elicit an immediate response, a deafening silence drowning the chamber.
Moments matter, Serpentine scratched his temple, "I guess that's a no, then? Or is it some sort of 'Thou shalln't lord's name in vain' type of cliche?"
Did he know what he was doing could be considered absolutely stupid? Yes.
Did he also not care because he was bored beyond measure? Also yes.
Suddenly, a deep laugh rumbled throughout the chamber, rolling off the draconian beast in waves. The sound wasn't physically loud, yet it still seemed to rattle his soul and mind.
"No, there is no such rule, and His name is not The Khagan." The draconian chuckled, denying his claim. "Why, did you experience that in your Trial?"
Serpentine shrugged. "Pretty much. There was a whole set of ten commandments regarding our God."
Not really a lie. Just nowhere close to the whole truth.
"I see." The kobold nodded, his eyes closed as he spent a moment in thought.
"Tell me, Progenitor," he addressed the demon, a clear form of respect, "Why is it that you haven't gone mad, despite being a demon?"
"As you are aware,, Chaos Force can drive sane men mad. Similarly, Cosmic Energy can drive mad men sane." Serpentine elucidated, bowing elegantly to turn the respect he was shown.
Serpentine wasn't arrogant. He was simply spiteful. If you respected him, he'd respect you all the same.
"Using cosmic energy, I have ascended, outgrowing my animal brain and evolving beyond my demonic nature, which is why I have managed to maintain my sanity." The demon explained, weaving half-truths to form a beautiful lie by omission.
"Interesting..." The draconian muttered. "Does this mean you have access to cosmic energy?"
Serpentine did not reply, merely burning his cosmic energy to pulse a clean, blue flame above his palm, the eyes of Adam and Surend widening.
'He... he was holding back?' They exclaimed to themselves, their ears starting to burn hot.
"Beautiful." The kobold's voice snapped them out of their reverie. "Do you still retain the privileges of your demonic physiology?"
"I have indeed retained my demonic ability," Serpentine said with a unhurried nod. "Apart from my void power, I wield the ability to create and control curses."
Across the room, Adam's lips paled, and Surend's knuckles turned white as they gripped the table.
'Were we even worth mentioning to him?' they both thought, doubts churning in their minds.
"Hey, you two." Serpentine's voice, accentuated by a snap of his fingers, shook them awake, calling them out as the council's focus latched onto them.
'!?'
"If you're feeling insecure because I didn't go all out, don't. I'm the Progenitor for a reason." Serpentine spread his arms as he explained.
"And besides," he grinned, "You'll be a lot stronger by the time we are done, won't you?"
At those words, the pair seemed to calm down, blood returning to flush their pale flesh, their ears slowly losing their heat.
Eyeing them for a moment, the draconian kobold returned his gaze to Serpentine. "How many powers do you possess?"
"At the moment, three." He confessed, lying through his teeth. "Limited creation and control of curses, limited acceleration and deceleration of time within a small range, and limited concept negation."
He wished to keep Dimensional Travel a secret for now.
"Fascinating..." The kobold's draconian eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. "You will make a fine asset in our war against the Ogres."
"...yeah, about that, no one has told me what Ogres are yet." Serpentine scratched his throat, still itchy from the laceration earlier.
"Ah." The dragon's eyes widened. "Well, you have a lot to be filled in on, then."
"That I do." Serpentine smiled, before adding, "Though, I would appreciate it if you all introduced yourselves with your name and role."
He whined, "It's getting annoying addressing you all by your species ~"
The draconian stared at him for a moment, before laughing out loud.
"Indeed, indeed." He wiped his plated eye as he laughed, "We apologise for now introducing ourselves sooner."
He stood up, bowing slightly, "I am Erdemir, the military commander of the Turkish Forces. I lead all military operations, strategy, training, and troop deployment, as well as coordinate provincial and regional military leaders."
Following his introduction, the Skeletal Kobold stood up next, his voice raspy, bones rattling as he spoke. "I am... Kamiran, the spiritual... leader. I... deal with... the spirits... and the elements."
The Alligator Kobold was next. "I am Aslan, the Guardian of The Hier. I protect and educate The Khagan's Heir, and act as a recent in the event of the Khagan's incapacitation."
The cobra-like kobold stood up next, hissing, "I am... Bora, the Chieffff of Ssssecurity. I enssssure the ssssafety of The Khagan, The High Counssscil, and critical factional assssets. I enforsssce lawssss and manage counterintelligensssce."
Elçi followed, bowing deeply as he cupped his sleeves. "I am Elçi, the Diplomatic Officer. I represent the faction in all diplomatic engagements with external powers, negotiates treaties, trade agreements, and military alliances. I also assess the political landscape and reports on opposing factions' activities."
The leviathan rose up next, not physically speaking, but her voice directly echoing in their minds, "I am Harun, the Economic Overseer. I ensure steady resource production and manage trade with other factions, as well as allocate funds for military campaigns, infrastructure, and research. I also monitor taxation and ensure fair distribution of wealth across provinces."
And lastly, the threatening yet amiable Ankylosaurus rose up next, "And I am Akinci, the Khagan's Advisor. I draft policies for governance, diplomacy, and internal management. I also handle intelligence and espionage to gather information on enemies and allies."
Absorbing the information, memorising the names and roles of The High Council, Serpentine smirked, as he performed a playful bow of his own.
"I am Serpentine, The Progenitor, and I am an interdimensional rogue fleeing from God Almighty. The pleasure is all yours."