39: Vision

"I saw Sparta fall."

The instant the family heads heard Eris Demeter's words, disbelief instantly appeared on their faces.

"Impossible! How could Sparta fall?! We are the protectors and greatest warriors of the north! If Sparta falls, then the North is doomed!"

A middle aged man stood and shouted with his tone containing immense disbelief and denial.

The man was one of the largest individuals in the hall, standing at 6 feet 7 inches. The man was bare-chested, not wearing any clothes on his upper body, and one could see numerous scars of varying sizes all around his body.

The man had a long beard which had various small bones around it. The man was also bald, and surprisingly, there was a large scar on the man's bald head.

This man was Aeson Meltas, the head of the Meltas family, the number four noble family in Sparta.

Despite the fact that Aeson Meltas raised his voice at Eris Demeter, none of the nobles chose to calm him down or rebuke him since his reaction expressed the way they all felt.

"Can you please tell us what you saw in the vision Lady Eris? As you know, despite your reputation and prestige, we cannot take the words you just said lightly at all."

Nereus Artheus' voice reverberated in the hall, and one could sense the seriousness in his voice.

All the family heads including Abel Morningstar looked at Eris Demeter with solemn expressions as they waited for her words.

Eris Demeter released a soft sigh, and with her finger still twirling her golden hair like a toy, she spoke,

"In my vision, I saw ten stars of various sizes. But one, was bigger and brighter than the others."

"The remaining nine stars revolved around this large and bright star, and it was extremely beautiful. As I was engrossed by the stars, the atmosphere changed and my gaze went above the stars, only to see the largest, blackest, and darkest pot I have ever seen."

"This pot was ten times larger than the ten stars combined together, and inside this pot was a boiling liquid. The liquid was also extremely black and dark. In fact, it was so dark and black that the night would be like the sun in its presence."

"The pot was tilted above the ten stars, and after what seemed like an eternity, the pot spilled the liquid all over the stars. The stars struggled for a while, but eventually, they all fell towards to the earth."

"As they fell, ten incomparably large mountains with their peak as sharp and pointed as the deadliest spears appeared and pierced each of the ten stars."

"The stars died, but the large pot kept on pouring the liquid unto the stars, the mountains, and eventually the entire earth, drowning and corrupting the earth."

"This was what I saw."

An eerie silence engulfed the entire room the moment Eris Demeter stopped speaking. None could speak. None could refute her words, and none knew what to say.

Eris Demeter's vision sounded absurd and outright crazy when one thought about it.

She never mentioned seeing Sparta or any Spartan. She never mentioned seeing a battlefield filled with corpses, rivers of blood, weapons, and vultures. She never mentioned seeing Sparta in ruins.

She never mentioned any of that, and if an ignorant fool was here, he or she might dismiss her words as something born out of her imagination.

But the family heads knew. They all knew that her words carried immense meaning.

The ten stars?... They represented the nine noble families and the royal family of Sparta.

The largest and brightest star?... That meant the Morningstar family. It was basically in their name.

And the mountains?... One just had to look at the wall behind Abel Morningstar which depicted the crest of the Morningstar family- A blazing sun rising above a mountain peak.

They all knew what all of these meant. But what they didn't understand was…

"What does the pot signify Lady Eris? And what of the liquid in it? Is it an unknown weapon of Technotopia? Or is it something else?"

Hades Agriad's voice resounded in the grand hall, and all eyes glanced at him before shifting back to Eris Demete.

Lady Eris shook her head, and with a light frown, she replied,

"I wish I knew, but I have no idea."

Lady Eris shook her head.

"This is one of the clearest visions I've had in a very long time, and while most parts are easy to understand. The main part is unknown to all of us."

Hades Agriad frowned, and so did the remaining nobles.

"All I know is that I had this dream the same day Kael Artheus was brought back dead."

The room remained silent once again, and Hades Agriad and all the nobles glanced at Nereus Artheus when they heard Eris Demeter's words.

The moment Nereus Artheus realized that all the nobles were looking at him, his gaze darkened and he could not help but snarl since he knew perfectly what they're thoughts were.

"How dare you think I would be the cause of Spartan's fall."

In a fit of rage, Nereus Artheus released his aura and the expressions of some nobles darkened.

"You can't blame us for thinking your family might be the cause of our eventual demise, Nereus."

Hades Agriad spoke with an utterly calm expression despite Nereus' released aura.

"We all know that Lady Eris' visions have always come to pass one way or the other. And if she says what triggered her vision was the death of one of your people, then we can't help but think that your family might eventually be the cause of Sparta's demise."

"This bastard." Nereus Artheus cursed with a cold and deep voice as he glared at Hades. But Hades had a nonchalant expression.

"If I were to make a guess, then I'd say it's either you or somebody from your family plans on doing something stupid in the future to avenge Commander Kael Artheus. And this stupid act of your family would cause a chain of events that would lead to the destruction of Sparta. We-"

BOOM!

"Enough!"

Just as Nereus Artheus was about to launch an attack on Hades Agriad, Abel Morningstar's voice boomed and his pressure was unleashed with full force on Hades Agriad and Nereus Artheus, effectively stopping a battle that would have without a doubt destroyed the grand hall.

"Hades Agriad, I don't remember you asking me for permission to speak on an important matter regarding the fate of Sparta."

Abel Morningstar gazed at Hades Agriad who was trying his hardest not to kneel on the ground. He gnashed his teeth in anger as he clawed into the table with all his strength.

Abel Morningstar maintained an indifferent expression as he gazed at the struggling expression of Hades Agriad.

He then glanced at Nereus Artheus who was on one knee with his head bowed low. His expression and posture showed that he was enduring the pressure much better than Hades Agriad.

"As for you Nereus Artheus, how dare you release your aura before me in the grand hall? How dare you attempt to launch an attack before me in the grand hall?"

"Are you seeking a death sentence?"

Abel Morningstar's voice contained a coldness in it that showed that he was going to kill Nereus Artheus if his next words were not satisfactory to him.

"I deserve to be punished, Your Majesty."

Nereus Artheus bowed his head the more, and for a few seconds, the hall remained silent.

Approximately five seconds later, the tyrannical pressure on the Nereus Artheus and Hades Agriad vanished. However, Hades and Nereus remained in their position and did not move for different reasons.

"You'll be informed of your punishment later today."

The moment Nereus Artheus heard those words he bowed once more.

"Thank you for your mercy, your majesty."