Chapter 177: The Weight of the Invitation

Chapter 177: The Weight of the Invitation
Pontionne nodded slowly.
“That is my belief.”
Lucy leaned forward slightly.
“So the question becomes…”
Her gaze moved around the council.
“…why do the Minotaurs suddenly want peace?”
Malcolm answered bluntly.
“Maybe because they want something.”
Silence returned to the chamber.
Finally Kenneth looked toward Pontionne.
“What does the council propose?”
Before Pontionne could answer, a calm voice spoke from the younger seats.
“I think we should hear them.”
Everyone turned toward Lilian.
She sat upright, completely composed.
Matthew beside her nodded slightly.
Ryan studied the twins carefully.
“And why do you believe that?”
Lilian’s voice remained steady.
“Because whatever they are planning… it will not stop simply because we refuse to meet them.”
Matthew added quietly,
“And if they saw how the sky reacted the way it did here…”
His gaze drifted briefly toward the council elders.
“…then the Minotaurs may already believe something has changed.”
Pontionne watched the twins thoughtfully.
There was a calm certainty in their voices that unsettled him.
As if they sensed currents moving through the world that others could not yet perceive.
He finally turned back to the council.
“The invitation requests that a delegation travel through the portal to meet the Minotaur leadership within their realm.”
Malcolm muttered quietly.
“Exactly where they would want us.”
Deven nodded in agreement.
King Barot tapped the arm of his chair thoughtfully.
“If it is a trap, refusing may provoke them into open conflict.”
Ryan exhaled slowly.
“And accepting may walk us directly into it.”
Pontionne looked around the chamber.
The council that had guided the Lion Kingdoms for generations now faced a decision none of them had expected to make.
And all the while, the twins remained calm.
Almost as if they already understood that the world had begun shifting long before the letter arrived.
Pontionne folded the parchment slowly.
“We will deliberate further before reaching a decision.”
The chamber fell silent again.
But one thought lingered in every mind present.
The Minotaurs had sent their invitation immediately after the sky itself had responded to the power of the twins.
And that timing could not possibly be coincidence.
The council chamber remained quiet long after Pontionne finished speaking.
The sealed parchment now lay upon the stone table at the center of the chamber, its dark wax emblem catching the morning light like a silent challenge.
Few objects had ever drawn so much attention in a single room.
Around the chamber, rulers and elders considered what it represented.
Not simply diplomacy.
Possibility.
Risk.
And perhaps something far more dangerous.
Pontionne allowed the silence to linger.
He had presided over many council gatherings throughout the centuries, and he had learned that the first moments after a revelation often revealed the truest instincts of those present.
King Lemot Foster was the first to speak.
The former Northern Leo rested his forearms upon the stone armrests of his chair, his sharp gaze moving toward the parchment.
“It is not the invitation itself that troubles me,” he said.
Ryan glanced toward his father.
“What troubles you then?”
Lemot’s voice remained calm.
“The timing.”
Several council members nodded quietly.
King Barot leaned slightly forward.
“The celestial manifestation.”
“Yes,” Lemot replied.
“The First Lion has not appeared to our people in generations.”
His gaze moved briefly toward Matthew and Lilian.
“And now it appears immediately before the Minotaurs request a summit.”
Kenneth Paige XI stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“That coincidence would be difficult to ignore.”
Thomas Kane-Barot spoke next.
“The Minotaurs would have witnessed the sky just as we did.”
Queen Nelly nodded slightly.
“And if they did, they would immediately begin asking the same question we are.”
Lucy glanced toward her children.
“What has changed?”
The chamber grew quiet again.
Priest Mayi finally stepped forward, his long robes brushing softly against the stone floor.
“The First Lion does not manifest without purpose,” he said gently.
His voice carried the calm weight of someone who had studied divine history for most of his life.
“If the sky responded to the twins’ combined power, then the spiritual balance of the lion race has shifted.”
Prophet Lot inclined his head slightly.
“The realms may feel that shift as well.”
Malcolm folded his arms.
“That would explain why the Minotaurs acted so quickly.”
Deven nodded.
“They may believe the Lion Kingdoms have gained an advantage.”
Ryan exhaled slowly.
“Or they may fear what they do not understand.”
Pontionne finally spoke again.
“The Minotaurs are many things,” he said.
“But they are not impulsive.”
His eyes moved slowly around the chamber.
“If they requested this summit, it was not done lightly.”
Kenneth Paige XII leaned forward slightly.
“Elder Pontionne, do you believe the invitation is genuine?”
Pontionne did not answer immediately.
Instead, he turned his gaze toward the council elders.
“King Barot,” he said.
“You have faced the Minotaurs more directly than most rulers present.”
The retired Eastern king considered the question carefully before answering.
“In my experience,” Barot said slowly, “Minotaurs do not ask for peace unless they believe it serves them.”
A faint murmur passed through the chamber.
Ryan gave a small humorless smile.
“That narrows the possibilities considerably.”
Lucy leaned back slightly in her seat.
“Then perhaps the more important question is not whether the invitation is genuine…”
Her gaze moved toward the parchment.
“…but what they expect to gain from it.”
Kenneth Junior, who had remained silent throughout most of the discussion, finally spoke.
“Father?”
Kenneth turned toward him.
“Yes?”
The young heir sat straighter in his seat.
“If the council accepts the summit… who would attend?”
The question immediately drew the attention of the entire chamber.
It was an obvious question.
But until that moment, no one had spoken it aloud.
Deven answered first.
“If the summit takes place within the Minotaur Realm, the delegation must be carefully chosen.”
Malcolm nodded.
“Too many rulers traveling together would leave the kingdoms vulnerable.”
Ryan crossed his arms thoughtfully.
“And too few could be interpreted as an insult.”
Thomas Kane-Barot added calmly,
“And the Minotaurs are not known for their patience with perceived disrespect.”
Pontionne studied the younger rulers.
Then his gaze moved briefly toward Matthew and Lilian.
The twins remained quiet.
Observing.
Listening.
There was something unusual about their stillness.
Not indifference.
Awareness.
As if they sensed currents moving beneath the conversation.
Pontionne turned back to the council.
“The decision of whether to attend must be made first,” he said.
“Only then can we determine who should represent the Lion Kingdoms.”
King Lemot Foster nodded slowly.
“That is wise.”
Priest Mayi clasped his hands before him.
“There is also another matter to consider.”
The chamber turned toward him.
“If the Minotaurs witnessed the celestial event…”
He paused briefly.
“…then they may already suspect that the twins are connected to it.”
The room fell silent again.
Kenneth’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“You believe they might already know about Matthew and Lilian.”
Mayi inclined his head.
“It is possible.”
Malcolm’s jaw tightened.
“In that case, sending them anywhere near the Minotaur Realm would be extremely unwise.”
Ryan nodded in agreement.
Lucy did not speak.
But her eyes remained fixed on the parchment.
Matthew finally spoke, his tone respectful.
“Elder Pontionne.”
The entire chamber turned toward him.