The conclave was gathered. A rare occurrence which hadn’t happened in generations. The cathedral was molded from a seamless, creamy marble. The subtle whorls of pink were complemented by artistic inlays of gold and platinum. Motes of light drifted aimlessly throughout the cavernous space but tended to congregate around the towering columns carved to depict the city’s history.

The keepers milled about the ostentatious chamber. Each one resplendent in impractical robes layered with intricate patterns displaying their station and accomplishments to those who could interpret them. Some ambled in a circuit, appreciating the monuments to the city, others gathered in clusters to share whispered conversations. A hushed air of excitement permeated the room. Each of the keepers seemed to be trying to outdo the others in an act of nonchalance. They all knew the truth of their companions anticipation but no one was willing to drop their calm facade. None of them knew why they were gathered but the gravity of the situation was clear.

A soft tinkling broke the air prompting the keepers to look up from their conversations. A ripple passed through the motes of light and each one chimed softly as it was disturbed. When the ripple passed keepers, they were suddenly blown away in streams of colorful light as if they had been made from vapor all along. The swirling colors intertwined in a prismatic river which wound around the pillars. Trails of light peeled off from the river, coalescing back into human shapes. Once all the keepers had reformed in line with the columns, they knelt as one, prostrating themselves before their god.

The black disk in the center of the ceiling, the only dark spot in the entire chamber ballooned outwards. When it had swollen to the point where it resembled the bottom half of a sphere it came loose from the ceiling with a crack. A perfect sphere of matte black iron drifted downwards revealing a hole in the ceiling’s center and an abyss beyond. The orb took up nearly all of the space between the columns and came to a rest, hovering just a couple of meters off the marble floor.

“The human population has exceeded the point of equilibrium.” A monotone voice pulsed out from the orb. Speaking quickly and without emotion.

One of the keepers unraveled again reforming beneath the orb a moment later.

“The Minister of Balance shall be punished with one year of pain followed by banishment”

The quivering heap of robes under the orb burst into flames. A wretched howling filled the chamber as the robes burned away revealing a thrashing man. The flames put the dim light generated by the floating specks to shame and they seemed to fade in the face of this dancing column of orange which consumed the man.

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“Mute”

The man continued his convulsions in silence, the flames streaming off of him to caress the base of the orb.

“A pruning is required. Which of my keepers is willing to serve?”

A pile of green robes, its back emblazoned with the city emblem stitched in golden and purple thread, three long loops of silver chain draped down it’s front and a copper plate hanging from each shoulder rose to the challenge.

“I will complete this task”

Though the keepers did everything they could to show proper deference, wasting the controllers time was a capital offense. It was best to keep any statements brief.

“Take the name Richard, perform your duty and the rewards will be great.”

Richard eyed the burning form crying soundlessly underneath his god. Skin blackened, cracked and flaked away, fat seeped from the cracks running into a smoking puddle. Ash surrounded the burning figure, a cloud of it swirling in the air, pulled inwards by the air rushing to feed the flame and swept upwards by the conflagration only to spread outwards again under the iron god. Richard could see new skin and muscle growing, rapidly recovering the damage only to be burned away in turn.

“Your will be done”

He resumed his supplication before he could make a misstep. The torch which used to be a keeper drifted upwards. A flailing heel caught the floor, crumbling but imparting enough force to send him spinning through the air. The man passed through the orb as if it wasn’t there, somehow remaining in view until the flaming horror spun helplessly above the god, forming a perverse caricature of a crown.

The god ponderously rose back into its original position following the tortured soul and sealing it in the void outside of the cathedral. A dirty smear on the floor and a haze of ash were all that remained of the man who minutes ago held one of the highest offices in the order of keepers.

Richard puffed into vapor, logging out of the cathedral. Back in his private space, without any of the distractions of a simulated body, he got to work. He was taking an awful risk, but it was a calculated one. If the punishment for causing this crisis was so terrible. The compensation for resolving it should result in a reward of equal magnitude.

Now, how could he effectively reduce the population, keep it from growing, and preserve the faith of the masses? Glowing tablets materialized before him, and he began drafting his plan, symbols printing themselves on the tablets at the speed of thought.

‘This is going to be fun’ appeared on one before it was rubbed away, Richard chiding himself for the momentary lapse in concentration.