The Dawn of the New World

Lady Purto didn't dawdle and promptly followed the instructions given to her. She stepped up to the stone column and extended her right hand forward.

A pulse of cold chaotic energy ran up her arm and upon finding the 'mark' it was amplified a hundred times over before shooting back out into the column and being distributed into the earth.

She felt the connection being made but before she could say anything the ground behind her cracked open and a corpse crawled out. Her eyes widened but she did not make a move since none of the others were surprised by this development.

This corpse was sporting a luxury gown that had some familiarity with her. With narrowed eyes, she looked the corpse up and down before letting out a shocked gasp.

"S-Sister?! Is that you?!" she exclaimed while turning around but Baba Jezda stopped her.

"Stay focused! Your sister was killed in the battle 400 years ago, this is just an empty shell."

Just as she finished speaking dozens of more arms were thrust out of the ground from every direction and a total of 36 corpses crawled out. These corpses belonged to the previous attendants who served under the Nine, now forever sealed on the island.

The corpses got into positions of their own accord, forming three concentric circles around the main platform. Then they sat down and began beating their chests rhythmically while chants sounded out of their decaying mouths.

Mendax nodded and gestured for her to keep going, "Please continue Lady Purto."

She took in a deep breath to try and calm her nerves upon sensing the gaze of over three dozen of her predecessors all focused on her back.

Their chants were low and barely audible but when combined it created a powerful effect that allowed her to enter a meditative state with relative ease. Soon her body relaxed but her voice became louder, clearer, and much more authoritative.

"I, a mere servant, am here in place of my master," she began, "Only by his mercy do I dare proclaim this seat, as the host of all that decays and disintegrates. For the Seat of Pestilence!"

The column shook and fell apart piece by piece to reveal a seat fashioned out of its core perfect for her form. Lady Purto walked to the front and sat down before looking towards the others.

Lord Cerritos was next. He quickly made his way through the chanting corpses and placed a hand on one of the columns.

"For my master, I proclaim this the Seat of Madness!"

But unlike Lady Purto, he didn't wait around and instead clenched his hand shattering the column into pieces. Then he casually sat down on what little remained of the foundation.

Lord Aekor came forward right after.

"For my master, I proclaim this the Throne of The Deep!"

The column shone with a resplendent purple light before melting away like ice to reveal a golden throne. He sat down and turned his gaze towards the last person.

Baba Jezda harrumphed and hobbled over with her cane to the furthest column from them all. She tapped the column with the side of the cane, "For the Mother of Void, I proclaim this the Seat of Eternal Darkness!"

The column turned to ash and fell apart at the seams. But there was no chair, seat, or throne for her to sit on, just an empty patch of black dirt where she stood without complaint.

Mendax came forward and stood on the main platform in the middle. He looked at the faces staring at him, "Only four of the Nine could be present in person but the other five have given me their permission to activate their respective seats for such a special occasion...whatever it might be," he threw a curious look towards Baba Jezda but she didn't even acknowledge him.

"Tsk, fine. Then as the overseer of the Sanctum I call on the rest!"

As he went down the list he mentioned a prominent title of each of the Nine to invoke their respective hosts.

"The Seat of the Blind God"

"The Seat of the Slumbering One"

"The Seat of the King in Yellow"

"The Seat of the Forgotten Horror"

"The Seat of the Silent Father!"

The columns shifted and shattered one by one to create their respective accommodations and they weren't empty either. There were shadowy silhouettes sitting on each and every single one.

Their dreadful auras could be felt through the shadows even though they were nothing more than a reflection of their real forms. The atmosphere immediately turned somber but it still wasn't enough to dampen the overseer's spirits.

"Welcome all, creatures and monsters alike!" Mendax welcomed them with open arms, "You have been summoned for this Gathering of the Cursed for a very special reason. But first, we will go through the most recent candidates that have arrived here in these few hours."