As I was mulling over the revelations, the bloody liquid in the stone tub at the edge of the cavern began to bubble. Then a figure of a woman composed of blood rose from it, gaining definition as she stepped out of the tub.

Morgan conjured another robe from her shadow space and tossed it to her. Catching it, she donned it, fastening the front before she gained colour and texture, turning into the figure of a Demigod. Layla, the Blood weaver.

A member of the Yubatus family, she possessed the golden hair and the leathery bat wings that were the characteristics of her clan. Pure white bandages were tied around her eyes, blindfolding her. Her pointed ears twitched towards them as soon as she had appeared, locking onto their location through sound.

As she approached the table, I noticed that two lines of dark red runic tattoos ran down her face from beneath the bandages covering her eyes like tear tracks, reaching all the way to her chin. Her marriage mark.

Taking a seat on Isabella’s left, she nodded to all of us politely and spoke in a soft voice that was barely above a whisper, “Greetings.”

“Layla, how have you been?” asked Morgan with a smile as she leaned across Isabella to squeeze her hand.

“Good.” Layla whispered with barely a hint of a smile.

Just from seeing her now, she seemed a soft-spoken, uncommunicative woman who was a bit shy around people. An impression which was diametrically opposite to public perception of her.

She was known as the Vampire Queen and the tales of her were legend. If anyone was bored enough to rank the Demigods of Regiis, she would most definitely feature first in terms of the sheer danger she represented.

Even before she had promoted to Demigod, when she was at the peak of Tier 5 nearly a hundred years ago, she had risen to prominence by Turning an entire horde of the Barbarians who were attacking Regiis during an Exodus into her mindless thralls and sending them back towards their brethren. Her powers engendered fear and unease within friend and foe alike and while the Barbarians reviled her as the Sanguine Dreadgod till this day, even within Regiis she and her family were treated with fearful respect at best and shunned at worst.

As such, she had long since withdrawn from the public arena and the Yubatus family were quite reclusive in nature, keeping to their estates in the Shadow Sector.

In possession of a compound affinity of Water and Shadow, she could wield the blood of her opponents as well as enslave them with it as the medium.

As Isabella brought her up to speed, the various elemental wells at the edges of the room began to shine and the remaining Demigods began to appear one after another.

From the column of swirling green wind and sparking lightning emerged a broad-shouldered, slim-waisted man with wolf tail and ears. His hair had turned a pure white with age. Laugh lines crinkled the corners of his narrowed eyes which, as they landed on the people present, widened slightly, revealing bright green irises that shone with joviality. Striding forward with a bright smile, he air-kissed the hands of the women before hugging the Sunlight Soldier (who stood up from his seat to return the embrace) and sitting down in the empty seat next to him.

Turning to me, he reached across the table to shake my hand. “Keep it up, young man. Marrying a Princess so young. Impressive. Most impressive.” Suddenly, his grip on my hand tightened and his eyes glinted behind his narrowed lids. “That makes you my great-grandson in law, doesn’t it?”

The surroundings faded and suddenly the two of us were the only ones in the world. Fenrir Lupin, the Wind Wolf, still had my hand in his iron grip while all around us a massive storm raged on, the winds howling in a dreadful vortex while lightning flashed, and thunder pealed. Cold sweat beaded my forehead.

“You’ll treat her well, won’t you?” he asked with a smile.

I nodded with a stiff smile, “Yes, sir.”

But before he could interrogate and threaten me further, the storm around us suddenly shattered. Letting go of my hand, he rubbed the back of his head and glared at Salamandra. “What was that for?!”

“Don’t bully the boy.” The said the draconic Demigod gruffly. “Using your Soul Realm to scare him was a bit much. He’ll take care of the lass whether you threaten him or not.”

Fenrir rolled his eyes. “Just some good-natured ribbing is all. No need to get so uptight about it.” He muttered.

To me, he said, “Anyway, I had a nice surprise sent to your apartment. I’m sure you’ll like it. Consider a gift on the first meeting and an apology for a moment ago.” He smiled warmly. “We’ll be family soon… Doubly related in fact, both in terms of this Circle and through marriage. Don’t be shy to ask me for help anytime.”

He had been the Emperor of Regiis back in his youth and his charisma had won him support the Empire over. An astute economist, he proposed several economic reforms in his term, many of which are still followed today and have enriched Regiis massively.

Other than his first daughter (Venus and Artemis’ grandmother) who became the next generation’s Empress, the rest of his children established the Lupin family in the Capital who are the owners of one of the largest Chambers of Commerce in the Empire today.

The mirror without a reflection suddenly flashed with light in a pattern which I recognized as military code followed shortly by the stone and crystal pillars.

“Well, it looks like they won't be able to come,” said Morgan. “Five is the majority anyway. And with your soul intensity as weak as it is, it is enough for the oath. We can always renew it later when you promote.”

I could feel five very different but tyrannical souls pressing up against mine.

“Relax and let loose your mind,” she instructed. “Now, repeat after me. I swear to never take any action that will harm the Regiis Empire.”

After I repeated the statement, I felt five lines of soul strength wrapping around me like shackles, binding me to my words.

Again, she said, “I swear to preserve the secrets of promotion to Demigod and the cultivation knowledge related to that realm. I may only reveal it after reaching a consensus with the Council.”

After the words left my mouth, another set of shackles settled on my mind.

“And… that’s it,” said Morgan with a smile. “You are now a full member of the Circle of Demigods.”