LEVEL EVERYTHING UP in my Eldritch Tribe

Back at the Borgias Family estate, perched in the tallest and most fortified building in Sector 8, chaos reigned.

The halls, normally silent with power and wealth, were now filled with the echo of hurried footsteps, frantic whispers, and the collective panic of a family on the brink of collapse.

The air was thick with fear as the realization of what had just transpired began to sink in.

The dimly lit chamber where the senior family members convened felt suffocating, with tension crackling like static between them.

Seated around an immense marble table, the heads of the Borgias Family, including Lyuzen and the elderly but formidable Lord Victor, sat in stunned silence, their faces ashen with disbelief.

Their minds churned with a single thought: The world now knew they had a spirit, and it was real.

Lyuzen, his hands trembling, broke the silence first.

"That damned brat!"

His voice quivered, betraying the deep-rooted anxiety that gripped him.

He ran a hand through his greying hair, his gaze unfocused as he stared at the screen that had shown Lyerin's maniacal display.

"We followed the scroll's instructions… The ritual was performed. And now, it's gone. The scroll, the very thing we thought would give us an edge, has disintegrated. Turned to dust, but I didn't expect that it would really awaken the spirit of our Family"

His voice rose, hysteria creeping into his tone.

One of the elders, a sharp-eyed woman named Selene, shook her head vehemently.

"How could this happen? How could we not know that awakening the spirit would expose us like this?" She slammed her fist onto the table. "We were so sure! So sure we would keep this hidden!"

Another elder, grim-faced and visibly shaken, muttered, "The other families… they'll come for us. They'll demand answers, Lyuzen. They'll want to know how we did it.

"How we unlocked the secret that they've been searching for, for generations. We've awoken a spirit—our spirit. But they won't believe it's something we can control!"

Lyuzen stood up abruptly, pacing the room with heavy, uneven steps.

"It's worse than that. We don't even fully understand how we did it ourselves! The scroll—it just vanished after the ritual. All we have left is this... this panther spirit that's already been extinguished! We don't even have the power to sustain it!"

He slammed his hands on the table, his face a mixture of anger and desperation.

"Then what will we tell the other families?"

Lord Victor spoke up, his voice a steady contrast to the rising panic around the table. His cold blue eyes scanned the faces of his fellow family members, his expression unreadable.

"When they come knocking on our door, demanding the secret to awakening their own spirits, what will we say?"

A younger member, pale and shaking, stammered, "We… we can't tell them the scroll is gone. They'll destroy us!"

"They'll do more than that," Selene hissed.

"They'll strip us of everything. Our power, our influence—everything we've worked for. And that madman, Lyerin—he's practically handed them the tools to dismantle us piece by piece! The fact that he revealed our spirit means we no longer hold any cards."

Victor's face darkened.

"We don't know who we can trust anymore. The other families, they'll pretend to come as allies, but we know better. They'll want what we have. They'll stop at nothing to take it."

Panic spread like wildfire through the room as each member of the Borgias Family began to murmur in agreement.

"We have to do something! We have to act before they come for us," one elder shouted.

"We need to figure out how to hide the fact that our spirit was awakened. We can't let anyone know that we've already lost control of it," another cried, his voice breaking with fear.

Lyuzen slammed his fist on the table, silencing the room once more. His voice, though shaking, carried a tone of authority.

"Enough! We can't afford to crumble. Not now."

He took a deep breath, regaining a measure of composure before continuing.

"We need a plan. If the other families find out the truth, we're finished. But maybe... maybe we can still salvage this."

One of the elders, an ancient man with silver hair and a crooked posture, muttered, "What are you suggesting, Lyuzen? How do we salvage a situation like this?"

Lyuzen stopped pacing and turned to face them all.

"We hide the symbol of the family. We bury it deep, where no one will find it. The moment the other families realize we've awoken a spirit, they'll come hunting for any sign of it.

"But if we hide it, we can at least buy ourselves time. We need to make sure no one, not even the most powerful families, can track it down."

The room fell silent for a moment as the others considered his suggestion.

Selene, always sharp and calculating, frowned deeply.

"Hide the symbol of the family? Do you really think that will stop them? They'll tear this city apart searching for it."

Lyuzen raised a hand. "It won't stop them. But it will delay them. Delay them long enough for us to regroup, to figure out our next move. We can't let them know how desperate we are."

At that moment, Lord Victor, one of the strongest and most influential members of the family, who had remained quiet throughout the chaos, finally spoke up.

His deep, gravelly voice cut through the panic like a knife.

"Hiding the symbol of the family is not enough," he said, his voice calm but resolute.

"You think this will blow over by stalling for time? No. This is the beginning of a full-scale war between the families. The moment the others get wind of this, they'll not only come for our secrets, they'll come for us."

The room fell into an even deeper silence as Victor's words sank in.

Lyuzen narrowed his eyes, glaring at Victor. "And what would you suggest, then?"

Victor stood slowly, his tall, imposing frame casting a long shadow across the table.

"We hide the statue of the Borgias Family spirit," he said quietly but firmly.

"Not just the symbol, but the very essence of the spirit itself. The statue represents the panther, and they'll come looking for it. Without that statue, the panther cannot be revived, not in any meaningful way."

The others looked at Victor with a mix of confusion and apprehension.

"And what about the family?" one of the elders asked cautiously.

Victor's eyes were cold and calculating.

"I will take the younger generation of our family, those who are the most talented, the most capable, and I will go into hiding with them. We need to ensure that some of us survive, no matter what happens."

A murmur of shock ran through the room. "You're suggesting we abandon the city? Abandon the rest of the family?"

"I'm suggesting," Victor said sharply, "that we ensure the survival of the future of this family. The city is too vulnerable. If we stay here, we will be overrun by the other families. We need to disappear, take the younger generation, and preserve what we can of the Borgias legacy."

Lyuzen hesitated, his face contorting as he weighed the decision.

Finally, with a slow, reluctant nod, he agreed.

"You're right, Victor. We have no other choice. If we want the Borgias to survive, we must protect the young. Hide the statue, scatter the family, and buy ourselves time."

Victor gave a solemn nod, turning his gaze toward the window that overlooked the sprawling city below.

"The other families will come. They will hunt us. But by the time they realize what we've done, it will be too late. We will be gone, and the Borgias will live on."

As Lyuzen and Victor exchanged grim nods of understanding, the weight of their decision settled heavily over the room.

The Borgias Family, once a pillar of power and control, now found themselves standing on the precipice of destruction, scrambling for survival in a world that had turned against them.

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