The fire flickered once more, casting warped shadows on the walls of the darkened room, as the five figures sat in an uneasy silence. The conversation had grown tense, the air thick with a mix of uncertainty and disbelief. They had all spent years planning, carefully crafting their strategies to ensure that the rift would tear the world apart, allowing them to rise from the ashes and control the pieces of a shattered world. Yet, this unexpected variable — Kael Darnis — was proving to be a far more troublesome piece than any of them had anticipated.
But even now, the robed figure at the head of the table seemed unshaken, their voice calm and measured as ever. "The anomaly in Kael Darnis isn't something we need to overestimate," they said, the weight of their words carrying the subtle certainty of someone who believed they had everything under control. "It is nothing more than a simple miscalculation. His regression is temporary — a side effect of the rift's influence. His memories are clouded, and he's been forced into a cycle of repeated mistakes. Once he exhausts his limited potential, he'll be nothing more than a pawn again."
The others exchanged uncertain glances. The silver-haired woman furrowed her brow, her fingers tapping the table nervously. "But the way he fights... his abilities are unlike anything we've seen before. He's stronger, faster. He's tearing through creatures like he's possessed by something... else."
The robed figure waved a hand dismissively, as though brushing aside the concerns as nothing more than a fleeting inconvenience. "It's temporary," they repeated. "He is driven by an instinct, yes, but that will not last. The rift will continue to warp him, but it will also wear him down. The cycle of regression is his downfall. No amount of power can keep him from the inevitable collapse. Eventually, he'll regress so far that he'll be nothing but a shadow of his former self, stuck in a loop of futile efforts."
The scarred man, who had been silent for the majority of the discussion, finally spoke up, his voice low but firm. "But what if we're wrong? What if Kael figures it out? What if he breaks the cycle before we can control him?"
The robed figure's gaze hardened, their expression a mask of controlled confidence. "It's a risk, yes. But not one that will change the course of the greater plan. Kael Darnis is just one piece in a much larger game. If he becomes a threat, we'll simply recalibrate our approach. The rift is ours to control. The creatures are ours to command. And if necessary, we can eliminate him before he becomes any more of an issue."
The silver-haired woman looked skeptical but said nothing, her mind clearly racing. "And what about the rest of the world? The chaos is spreading, and we have no idea how many more Kaels there are out there. What if more like him start to resist us?"
The robed figure's lips twisted into something resembling a smile. "Let them resist," they said softly. "Let the world burn itself out. It will only weaken the resistance. They will fight each other until they are too fractured to matter. In the end, it will be easier to pick up the pieces. The rift is but the first phase. There is still much to be done, and we do not have the luxury of diverting our attention to a single player."
The tall man with the scar cleared his throat, his fingers tapping the table, trying to make sense of the situation. "So, Kael Darnis is a miscalculation, a hiccup in the greater plan. But we need to be sure that we're not underestimating him. Even if his power is temporary, we need to stay vigilant. He may be able to create chaos in ways we can't predict."
The robed figure leaned back in their chair, folding their hands in front of them. "We will deal with him when the time comes," they said firmly. "For now, we focus on the task at hand. The world is already on the brink of collapse. The rift's spread is accelerating, and the creatures are evolving faster than expected. There's no point in wasting resources on a single miscalculation when the world itself is crumbling. Our next step is clear."
They gestured to the map on the table, where several locations were marked in red — cities on the brink of being overrun by the creatures, pockets of resistance beginning to form, and places where the rift's influence was growing more unstable by the day.
"We must consolidate power," the robed figure continued, their tone suddenly sharp and commanding. "We take control of key locations, where the rift's influence is weakest, and from there, we build the foundation for the next phase. We won't waste time hunting shadows. We'll strike at the heart of resistance, at the places where we can shape the future. Kael Darnis, for now, is a distraction. The real threat is the fractured world and the remaining pockets of humanity. We need to finish them off before they can mount any real counterattack."
The tall man nodded slowly, still not fully convinced but willing to follow the plan. "And if Kael resurfaces? If his power becomes something we can't ignore?"
The robed figure's smile returned, cruel and calculating. "Then we deal with him. We have many tools at our disposal. But he is one person, and even with the rift's power, one person will never change the course of this war."
For a long moment, the room was still. The fire crackled in the corner, the flickering light casting long shadows on the faces of the five figures. Despite the tension that lingered in the air, the robed figure's confidence seemed to fill the room, their authority undeniable.
One by one, the others nodded, acknowledging the robed figure's command. The plan, as always, was to move forward. The world was already in chaos, and Kael Darnis — for all his potential — was merely a fleeting threat in a sea of greater dangers.
And yet, as they turned their attention back to the map, a small flicker of doubt passed through the room. They had underestimated Kael once before. They had assumed his regression would be his undoing. But even in that miscalculation, they couldn't shake the feeling that, just perhaps, they were overlooking something far more dangerous than they realized.
But for now, they pushed it aside. There was no time to dwell on uncertainties. The world was crumbling, and the rift's influence was only growing. They would deal with Kael Darnis — and everything else — in time. But for now, the plan would continue. The chaos would spread. And they would control it all.