The vastness of the throne room was in a bright light with its walls decorated with ancient runes. Volmeryn sat on his majestic throne and watched the members of his council calmly.
Clack. Clack. His fingers tapped the armrest of his seat. The kingdom of Cælora, which he had carefully built, lived under a fragile peace with every shadow that carried the seeds of future conflict.
Volmeryn's subordinates—Lyara, Carlos, Trok, Darius—were gathered around him waiting for his speech.
Volmeryn: «It's time to forge our future. I am going to go to the kingdom of the Archangels.»
BOOM ! A silence fell over the room. Lyara, always the first to react, had her gaze fixed on Volmeryn:
«The Archangels, Lord Volmeryn? It is a colossal task. Why now and why them?»
Volmeryn: «The Archangels are the last great threat to our kingdom. Their divine influence and their army of angels can either destroy or strengthen our empire. It is time to expand our borders, and for that, I must subdue their power.»
Carlos (doubting): «But Lord Volmeryn, you talk about confronting Michael, the leader of the heavenly hosts, as well as Gabriel, Raphael and Metatron... not to mention a million other angels. You are powerful, but this task seems almost suicidal. Do you really have a plan?»
Volmeryn: «It's all a question of preparation.»
Tchak! He rose as he slowly descended the steps of the throne.
Volmeryn: «Michael, for example. He is an incomparable warrior, the armed wing of their faith. But that same faith is his Achilles heel.»
Fshhht! Runic symbols appeared around his fingers.
«Gabriel, on the other hand, is the messenger of hope and light, but he doesn't understand the nuances of manipulation. His confidence in his role as a messenger pushes him to speak before acting, to seek to convince. I will only have to divert his words so that they turn against him.»
A murmur was heard in the council, a mixture of fear and admiration.
«Raphael is a master of healing and protection. However, his powers require immense energy. The more it protects, the more it burns. I intend to wear him down by forcing him to save his allies again and again. Once his energy is dissipated, he will be vulnerable.»
He resumed his march to the throne with his voice growing darker.
«Finally, Metatron... The architect of the cosmos, the keeper of secrets. It is undoubtedly the most dangerous, but also the most isolated. His mind is a fortress, but his loneliness has made him distant from reality.»
Voom! A spectral glow ran through the room as Volmeryn closed his hand, dispelling the floating runes.
He sat down on his throne with a smile on his lips.
«The Archangels are powerful, but they are not perfect. They are only instruments fashioned by a higher order, incapable of thinking outside the limits imposed by their divine existence. And I..., I'm not limited by anything.»
Lyara (still skeptical): «And their army? Even if you overcome their individual flaws, the legions of angels that accompany them are countless.»
Volmeryn (smiling): «That's exactly why I studied their celestial dimension. Their army is bound to pillars of divine energy scattered throughout their realm.»
Bzzzzt! A holographic map of the Archangel realm appeared in front of him, showing several points of light.
Carlos (still hesitant): «What if you fail to convince them or confront them individually?»
Volmeryn leaned against his throne, Toc. Toc. Toc. He continued to tap the armrest.
«Then I will unleash chaos that they will not be able to contain.»
An cold silence settled. Every member of the council was aware of their king's relentless intelligence.
Lyara: «So it's all about your ability to exploit their loopholes. We will make sure that Cælora is ready when you return, whatever the result.»
Volmeryn: «I will only return in triumph, with or without their cooperation.»
Sshhh! In the vast library of the palace, Volmeryn went there to leaf through an ancient grimoire.
He murmured to himself:
«Michael, the Divine Scourge... Gabriel, the Herald of Light... Raphael, the Guardian of Life... and Metatron, the Voice of God.»
Ploc. He closed the dusty book and approached a huge celestial map engraved in black marble.
Lyara, who had followed him discreetly, broke the silence.
«You seem to know them so well, and yet you underestimate them.»
Volmeryn: «Underestimating the Archangels? No, Lyara. I know their strengths... and their flaws.»
Cling! His finger touched the glittering constellation that represented Michael.
«Michael, the leader of their armies. His power is raw, incalculable. Its sacred flames can wipe out entire kingdoms with a single flap of its wings. But he's not a strategist.»
Lyara: «Blind or not, his flames cannot be stopped. Do you really intend to face this alone?»
Volmeryn ignored his remark and drew a line to another constellation, that of Gabriel.
«Gabriel, the messenger. He doesn't fight in the same way. His weapons are his voice and his illusions. Vwooosh! . He can break the strongest minds with a single word, shake the firmest wills with a single note of his horn. Tonnn! . But it depends too much on its ability to manipulate others. If we resist it, it falters.»
Lyara: "Tch." «And how do you plan to resist a voice capable of reducing the determination of a titan to ashes?»
Volmeryn: «Simple. By being more obstinate than he is manipulative.»
He stopped in front of Raphael's constellation:
"Zzzzt." «The Guardian of Life, Raphael, is the most insidious of them all. Where Michael destroys and Gabriel manipulates, Raphael heals. Fwshhh. But his light is not a blessing. It is a poison in disguise. He purifies everything he touches, but this purification also erases what threatens him. He is the one who regenerates their armies, the one who restores their power after each battle. To defeat him, you have to strike quickly and without hesitation, before he can repair the damage.»
Lyara took a step back, uncomfortable with the idea, "Tsk." «And Metatron? You don't talk about it?»
Clang! Volmeryn was now looking at the last constellation:
«Metatron... is different. He is neither a warrior, nor a healer, nor a manipulator. He is the divine will incarnate. The Voice of God. When Metatron speaks, reality obeys. Krrrk. Time stands still. Tchac. The laws of the universe bend to his words. But his weakness is his dependence on divine perfection. He cannot conceive of the unexpected, of imperfection. He is incapable of understanding those who dare to challenge the established order.»
Lyara: "Hmph." «And that's what you intend to use against him? Your 'unpredictability'? Lord Volmeryn, you are playing with forces that are beyond you. Boom. These beings are not mortals. They are fragments of the infinite.»
Volmeryn walked towards her: "Knock. Knock." «They're not infinitely perfect, Lyara. Their power, although immense, is not absolute. These are constructions. Instruments. Sshhht. And like any instrument, they can be broken.»