Kenji had acted quickly.
News of the growing disharmony of the Ki, the unsettling "invisible sickness" that drained life from the earth, had spread among the ranks of the Spiritual Assassins who had arrived in the West.
Many others, summoned by Kenji's messages and the gravity of the situation, had arrived, establishing a discreet encampment at the edge of the woods near Aris.
Despite their reserved nature, the threat they were perceiving was too great to ignore.
The council gathered in a hidden clearing, illuminated only by the moon and a faint lantern.
The faces of the masters were sculpted by discipline and experience: there was Jiro, the master of the Earth School, imposing and silent as a mountain; Hana, the master of the Air School, whose movements were imperceptible as a breath of wind; and Isao, the elder of the Fire School, whose calm concealed immense potential energy.
With them were other adepts from the different schools, all with their Ki perception honed to exceptional levels.
"Everyone, take your place," the ceremonial master said.
As soon as everyone sat down, he joined his hands in front of his belly.
"Ohmmmmmm…" he began to chant, a low vibration of the voice coming from the lower diaphragm.
"Ohmmmm," they all began together, with a harmonic vibration to attune their Ki.
Then, they all rotated their arms, forming a circle in front of them. Suddenly, a golden bubble expanded, enveloping them in an impenetrable silence, then vanishing from sight as the protective barrier activated.
With the Ki protection bubble active, no one outside it could hear anything of the sounds produced within.
Kenji stepped forward, his usual calm veiled by an uncharacteristic urgency.
"Masters, brothers, and sisters," he began, his voice low but clear in the still air.
"We have faced a threat that transcends our understanding. The Silent Ones who pursue us are not simple disharmonies, but emissaries of a force called the Ash."
He paused.
"And this Ash is draining the Ki from the earth."
He described his meeting with Kael, the Keeper of Dreams, and his proposal. He spoke of the Dream Realm, how the Ash corrupted and drained it, and the Keepers' mission to defend it with dream magic.
The mention of "magic" and a "world of dreams" elicited murmurs of skepticism among some of the Assassins. Their paths were based on Ki, on tangible spiritual energy, not on arcane immaterial forces.
Jiro, the master of the Earth, interrupted the murmuring.
"Ronin Kenji, your words are... unexpected. Our path is the Ki, the truth of flesh and spirit."
His voice was deep, like the distant rumble of a mountain.
"These 'dreams' and this 'oneiric magic' are not part of our teachings. We have prospered for centuries by keeping our secret, protecting the balance with our own means."
He turned to the others.
"Why should we now reveal ourselves to outsiders and tie our fate to a conflict we do not fully understand?"
Another voice rose, that of a master from the Water School named Akio, his expression cautious.
"What if this 'Ash' manages to understand our path through this alliance? What if it learns to corrupt the Ki as well, now that it perceives our existence? We have always acted in the shadows."
He turned from Kenji to the other participants.
"Such an open alliance could expose us to dangers far worse than those we face now. We cannot risk compromising our people for an ally whose power we do not comprehend."
"Yet," Kenji retorted, his voice becoming more incisive, "the disharmony we feel now, the stasis in the Ki that threatens to suffocate us, comes from this Ash."
Kenji stepped forward; his voice became more incisive.
"Kael and his Keepers fight it on a plane that we cannot directly perceive. But what they do influences our world. And what we do, strikes it in ways they do not fully understand."
He turned toward the group, his eyes settling on each of them.
"Remember the night the Silent Ones were annihilated here in Aris? It was not just our entire force that swept them away, but a single, small resonance from this Keeper, as he faced the Ash in his own world."
Kenji spoke of Kael's "proof," the minimal but undeniable positive variation in the Ki flow and the improvement in his sleep, which coincided with Kael's success in the Dream Realm.
"It is a different path, yes," Kenji admitted. "But their threat is our threat. We must unite our ways."
Hana, the master of the Air, moved imperceptibly, her swift eyes scanning the assembly.
"The 'heaviness' in the air is undeniable," she said, her voice almost a whisper. "My people feel the Ki slow, the world stifled. Whatever the cause, it is draining our source of life."
Isao, the elder of the Fire School, spoke last, his voice resonating with authority.
"We have always sought balance, in every form. If this Ash threatens the world's balance on two planes, then we must act on two planes. If their 'flames' and our 'Ki blade' can strike the same threat, then it is an opportunity we cannot ignore."
He looked at Kenji, a hint of approval in his gaze. "We accept this alliance, Ronin. Our ways unite."
There was a general murmur of approval.
Akio, however, raised a hand. "One condition," he said, his gaze still cautious.
"If we ally, we want one of their Keepers—not the boy, but one of his masters—to undergo an examination by us. We want them to try to perceive the Ki as we perceive it, and for us to try to understand their 'oneiric resonance'."
He turned toward the other members of the assembly.
"Not out of curiosity, but to fully understand the nature of the enemy and to ensure that this union does not open a path of corruption to our life force as well," he looked at Kenji.
"We cannot risk exposing the Ki of the earth to an even worse threat."
There was another murmur of approval. Then he continued: "Our very existence, our essence, must remain safe from this oneiric corruption."
Silence returned to the clearing.
Akio's proposal was bold, but understandable.
It was a request for deep trust, a trial of their mutual, unknown essences.
Kenji nodded slowly, accepting the seriousness of the condition. "It is a fair condition," he said.
The promise of a fragile alliance hung by a thread.
"I will report back to the Keeper Kael."