Keeping the monster hordes at bay first and then the monster tides had progressively drained the resources of the Wild Empire and of the Union of the Awakened human cities, drawing their attention away from the lost cities. Despite their joint efforts, the situation had kept escalating. The monster tides could now only be contained and lost cities were almost to the brink of escaping from their ancient prisons. It had been only a matter of time before the lack of manpower combined with bad luck in the timing of the attacks of the monster tides had led a few living legacies to break free. A few immortal entities of the caliber of the Black Star were now moving freely through Jiera, spreading their blight and growing stronger for it. It was the reason the Awakened Council of Jiera had assembled for the first time since the plague and the four Guardians of Jiera had answered the call together. Fenagar was the appointed Guardian for that cycle, but he knew that his strength wasn't enough. Having Scarlett the Sekhmet among their ranks was the only silver lining in the glum of their situation. She was a young Guardian who had nearly completed her training with four of her six mentors, but her power was already above that of a bright white cored Awakened. "This is all the humans' fault!" Aren Dolm the J?rmungrandr, the representative of the Beast Council, said. "It's you idiots who built the lost cities and it was your duty to keep an eye on them. First the plague and now this. "You cause nothing but trouble with your incompetence. Maybe you should take the final step in the disaster that is your existence and go extinct for good!" The light-blonde hair of his human form jolted as he punched the table. Fury twisted his usually gentle features, bringing to the surface his bestial nature and covering his skin with blue scales. "We have nothing to do with this!" Gyrwin Isaar, the human representative countered with equal fury. "The lost cities were built before any of us was even born and the entire Council is responsible for keeping Forbidden Magic in check. "Hence if you consider them our failure, then they are your failure as well." Too many sleepless nights and plenty of mana abuse had worn her down, giving her a frail and old appearance yet the strength in her voice held still. "You Beasts have it much easier since the plague didn't affect you and whenever one of your females gets pregnant, she can give birth to a litter whereas a woman can have two children at a time, three tops. "By now you and the plant folk should have already repopulated Jiera and taken the lead as the dominant races. The monster hordes appeared because you slacked off. As I see it, you are no better than the humans you have replaced. "All you can do is whine and blame others for your incompetence!" She slammed her fists on the table, her body trembling from the effort to produce a boom on par with Aren's. The shockwave made the bun into which her hair was arranged pop, sending her dirty white hair streaked blue, yellow, and orange all over her face. For a moment, rage made enough blood flow to her face and eased the age lines that fatigue made deep. "Your claim is preposterous!" Luslar the Redcap said, her voice low and composed, her tone oozing scorn. "Plant folk and Fae don't reproduce quickly if at all. We have no feelings of attachment unlike you humans and finding a partner worth the hassle of having an offspring is no easy feat. "Also, I agree with Aren. This is your fault and you are once again trying to dump your responsibilities on us. The human Council was an integral part of all the kingdoms, democracies, and the other warring forms of government that your non-Awakened counterpart had established. "It was your duty to keep the human leaders and their foolish ambitions in check. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶 "If you had done your job properly, the plague would have never spread in the first place and we wouldn't be here now!" Her full lips curled up in a snarl and her ruby-red eyes lit up with mana and indignance. "I second Luslar's words." Aren nodded. "Allow me to remind you, dear Gyrwin, that Emperor Beasts don't reproduce quickly either. On top of that, we have not stayed idle for a single day as the human-borne calamity was unleashed. "We have rescued all the survivors we found, explored the lands around our cities and cultivated the fields to feed them, and kept the monsters in check for as long as we could. "If we didn't have to babysit the non-Awakened humans and could focus solely on our kin, we'd have no use for your help." The J?rmungrandr's words stung hard at the human representative's pride but she hid her shame to perfection. 'He's right.' Gyrwin inwardly admitted. 'There are not enough of us to take care of all the survivors from the plague. If it wasn't for the beasts' help, our cities would have collapsed and the human race would be one step closer to extinction instead of recovery. 'Why did this have to happen now? We just needed a couple of generations to increase our numbers, teach Awakening to those worthy, and then the human race would have started to rise back to its former glory on Jiera.' "Ladies and gentlemen, as much as I like a good scuffle, this is not the time or place to point fingers." Breganoth the King of Liches of Jiera and undead representative said. "We need to invest our energy to find a solution or Jiera will be no more. "My colleague in the Zima Council has warned me that they are already preparing to deal with the monster tides with extinction-level spells." The ancient Lich was in his full human form, resembling a man in his mid-twenties at the peak of his power and youth. Breganoth's handsome face was clean-shaved and his chestnut eyes were focused on the meeting instead of lost in the mental recollection of his experiments like usual. Even his luxurious clothes were clean, shining with the silver and blue of the fallen Mage Theocracy of Rempa, instead of the dusty tatters he usually wore. "What?" The other four representatives reacted in unison. Up to that point, they had ignored the Lich since he rarely had something to add aside from urging them to get the meeting over with. Also, after the plague, most of the Awakened undead had left Jiera so their seat was held out of tradition rather than relevance. "This is insane! Their Guardians will never allow such a thing." Arlen cut the air with his hand. "The proposal came from them." Breganoth stared into Aren's eyes, the red light of undeath backed by a will so powerful that the J?rmungrandr couldn't stand them for long. "They think that if Jiera is doomed, it might as well disappear along with its trouble. "Killing everyone here is a much better option than letting the monster tides and the lost cities reach Zima."