My Soul card is a Reaper

As they reached the edge of the ballroom, Affea slowed to a stop near Selene, barely giving her a warning.

"Tag in for me, would you? Just for a bit… I need the washroom," Affea said, giving a wink to Orion and turning away. Before Selene could protest, Affea gave her a little nudge, subtle but firm, pushing her right into Orion's path. "Thank you."

Selene halted just an inch away from him, catching herself before she collided with his chest.

Their eyes locked for a second too long.

Both froze, Selene stiff as a board, Orion caught off guard. There were eyes on them, curious, amused, expectant. The music played on as if nothing odd had happened.

Feeling the weight of the silence, Orion cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh… would you like to dance?"

Selene's shoulders rose and fell with a nonchalant shrug. "Sure."

He extended a hand. She took it lightly, and they stepped into rhythm, hesitant at first, then slowly falling in sync with the gentle tempo. It was basic, graceful circles, and small sways. But the tension in the air was anything but simple, atleast for Orion.

Orion's gaze drifted toward her, quietly studying her features. Her elegance and her calm composure.

And to his surprise, her gaze was on him, too.

There was no disdain in her eyes now, nor the biting edge of earlier conversations. Just… curiosity.

Then suddenly, she tensed.

Her eyes broke contact. Her body stiffened mid-step, all of a sudden.

Before he could ask anything, she slipped her hand from his and took a step back. "Excuse me," she mumbled, turning away.

And then she was gone. Just like that.

Orion stood frozen on the floor, still holding the empty air where her hand had been. The music felt too loud now, the gazes even sharper.

His fists clenched slowly at his sides.

"Seriously?" he muttered under his breath, feeling the sting creep up his chest. "What is wrong with that girl? She's toying around with me, isn't she?"

He stormed off the floor, jaw tight with frustration. "That's it," he mumbled. "She'll be the last person I'll ever fall for. Even if she were the last girl on this planet, hell, even this galaxy, it wouldn't matter… Eh?"

"Umm… Orion?" A familiar, absolutely familiar that he recognizes, voice was heard behind him. He turned around to find Selene once again. However, apart from that, she had a plate full of chicken legs in her hand this time, and she was chewing a leg piece at the moment. "What are you… You just…" He looked back in the direction Selene had disappeared and looked back at her.

"I feel bored with all this dancing. Want to accompany me?" She smiled, raising the plate. "You like Chicken?"

"Uhh… Yes?" Orion blinked. He doesn't exactly know how to respond. He couldn't help but take it. Luna walked to the corner by the window, a smirk played on her lips as she looked to the front. He followed her, scratching his head. "This girl truly has personality problems, after all."

Outside the ballroom, Selene leaned against the stone railing of the corridor, far from the murmuring crowd and glittering lights. The cool air brushed against her skin, and she drew in a deep, steadying breath.

Her heart was still racing. She clutched her chest, eyes wide with disbelief.

"What was that?"

She stared at the ground, muttering softly to herself, "Why did my heart just… skip?"

She rubbed her temples and shook her head. "Is it because he looks like Lord Azrael? Or…"

Her voice trailed off.

*

The next day dawned under a sky veiled in dense grey clouds, the air thick with foreboding energy.

Far from the warmth and elegance of the banquet halls, the setting now was the Null Point, a place in the Forbidden Realm of the Arcana World.

Here, no laws of the elements bound one's strength. No mortal city's protective wards dulled their might. It was one of the few places where the leaders of the hidden clans could truly go all out… and also one of the places with high mortality rates.

Qridus and Devorah were nowhere to be seen, not because they left the forbidden region. But it is because they were requested to stay at Io's fortress with Argus as he doesn't want to expose Devorah's existence to the hidden clans.

Azzy stood alone at the heart of the void field, a lone silhouette against the jagged, otherworldly terrain. His calm, unreadable eyes stared ahead as one by one, powerful figures emerged from the portals, the heads of hidden clans with their entourage.

Their faces were tight with caution, eyes scanning every corner for signs of betrayal.

Some of them came with elite warriors standing just behind them.

Some wore rings, brooches, or bands that were basically escape treasures, keyed to their soul signature. One thought, and they would vanish in an instant, capable of breaking through the domains and world laws too. There would be no hostages, no traps that could hold them.

Despite the unspoken tension, the two clans, Moon and Minamoto, stood more at ease.

Their trust in Azrael was unwavering. Where others saw a potential threat, they saw him as their ally, as a protector. Their calm presence offered a strange balance to the otherwise taut atmosphere.

Azzy raised a hand and spoke, "Before we begin… let me show you why I called you here for giving your spirit cores."

He brought his hand down slowly. A ripple of energy pulsed outward like a heartbeat through the land. "Soul skill: Rise of the Undead."

A swirling vortex of black mist spiraled upward, and from within, towering undead beasts began to rise, one after another.

The assembled clan heads tensed in their eyes.

Weapons slid subtly from sheathes.

Barriers formed silently around the younger warriors. The air buzzed with tension, the kind that precedes either a declaration… or a massacre.

One of the elders muttered, "He dares summon those in our presence?"

Another narrowed her eyes. "Is this a show of force… or a warning?"

And yet, Azzy's face remained unchanged, calm, focused, without arrogance or malice.

Shuichi took a small step forward, arms folded. "If he wanted to attack us, he wouldn't need an ambush. He could have done it long ago. Those who had seen his mindscape would understand what Lord Garcia is trying to do. The spirit cores he promised have something with those undead beasts."

Azzy turned toward the Moon Clan delegation. His eyes briefly met Estella's.

He raised his hand, and with a simple gesture, eight rank-9 special skeletal beasts collapsed to the ground, leaving behind 8 floating spirit cores.

Each orb pulsed with a unique frequency, shimmering with a deep azure glow. Because they were all from platinum grade beasts, the density of the core seems quite high.

"As promised," he said, voice low and steady, "eight spirit cores for the Moon Clan. As rank-9 spirit cores, they will not dissipate for 3 days. How much you gain is up to you."

Estella stepped forward, regal in her bearing, flanked by her elder daughter and her heiress, Selene, and a stoic female elder of the clan, her personal guard and high-ranking elder rolled into one.

Without another word, Azzy stepped behind them, standing silent like an unshakable wall. The energy in the area fluctuated as the three Moon Clan members sat down in formation. Runes formed in the air as Estella activated a containment seal, stabilizing the process.

She took four cores, absorbing them altogether at once.