No invitations were sent.
Not summons or commands.
And yet one by one, they arrived.
But through the bridge Zack had quietly developed:
a hybrid quantum-arcane projection field, where each participant appeared as themselves not illusion, not spirit just presence.
A circular chamber materialized around them, shaped by Zack's design.
No throne, hierarchy.
Just a round table of smooth obsidian, etched with mathematical sequences and ancient runic structure equally readable by machine and mage.
Five seats formed.
Five figures appeared.
Not simultaneously.
But in a rhythm that felt inevitable.
Amaira appeared first.
Barefoot. Calm. Her posture relaxed but her eyes sharp studying the room like a living microscope.
She sat without comment.
Elias Murrow appeared next.
He adjusted his coat, eyes darting not scared, but wary.
His mind was likely already mapping exit strategies and tracking the memory threads of everyone present.
He sat opposite her, fingers steepled.
The Oracle appeared third.
But this time she wore no priestess stylingjust a leather jacket and tied-back hair, as if she'd walked out of a modern city café rather than ancient ruins.
She sat with a shallow smirk.
"Interesting company."
Jian Shen arrived fourth.
No entrance effect simply there, standing before the empty chair as if evaluating whether it deserved him.
After three seconds, he sat.
Quiet.
Present.
Observing.
And finally…
Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel appeared together not projected holographically, but through a controlled alchemical resonance.
Two chairs remained.
They took them without hesitation.
Silence followed.
Not awkward analytical.
Five brilliant minds studied one another.
Five different philosophies calculated risk, opportunity, and purpose.
Then the Oracle broke the silence:
> "So. We're doing this."
Amaira nodded.
Elias muttered, "Apparently."
Jian Shen finally spoke not to them, but to Zack.
> "Why now?"
Zack appeared last.
standing.
Just walking into the circle like one more participant.
He took the final seat.
> "Because now," he began, "you all share something none of you possessed before."
Nicholas raised a brow.
"And what is that?"
Zack activated the central projection.
A living model appeared constantly shifting:
magical structures
biological processes
mathematical logic
memory architecture
runic grammar
Not separate.
Integrated.
Unified.
> "A common language."
Elias leaned forward.
"…You're building a framework that merges science, magic, soul theory, and computation."
Zack nodded.
> "Individually, each of you protects your field.
Together, you can redefine knowledge."
Jian Shen tapped the table.
"And what would you have us create?"
Zack didn't hesitate.
> "A system through which magic and technology evolve together replicable, teachable, scalable."
Amaira spoke softly:
"And what do you call it?"
Zack paused.
Then answered:
> "The Unified Discipline."
No one reacted dramatically.
Instead, their faces changed in subtler ways:
Flamel: interest
Oracle: amusement
Amaira: curiosity
Murrow: calculation
Jian Shen: approval small, but unmistakable
Finally, Perenelle spoke voice firm:
"And what role do you expect us to play?"
Zack looked at each of the not as tools, not as pieces, but as pillars.
> "Each of you teaches where I cannot."
He outlined:
Amaira Living Systems & Soul Resonance
Elias Murrow Identity, Memory, Consciousness
Jian Shen Structure, Logic, Runes, Syntax
The Oracle Prediction Models, Probability Interpretation
The Flamel Pair Stabilization, Ethics, and Applied Alchemy
When he finished
no one spoke.
Until the Oracle exhaled and whispered:
> "You're not asking for power."
Zack answered:
> "Power already exists.
I'm asking for direction."
Another silence
but this one felt different.
Not tense.
Forming.
Nicholas finally extended his hand not to shake.
To seal agreement.
> "Then let us begin."
One by one
others joined the gesture.
Elias.
Amaira.
Perenelle.
Jian Shen.
The Oracle last.
Zack completed the circle.
And the table symbol pulsed
not with magic or machinery…
…but with both.
LOG ENTRY
> STATUS: COUNCIL ESTABLISHED
NAME: THE UNIFIED DISCIPLINE INITIATIVE
OBJECTIVE: DEFINE THE FUTURE