Here is a rewritten version of your scene, preserving the emotional intensity and story beats while improving sentence structure, flow, and grammar for a more natural, human-written feel. The tone is dramatic and immersive, in line with the powerful themes you're working with:
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Just then, the AI system's voice echoed through the chamber.
"Emergency meeting requested by the Council of Elders.
Permission required to access the virtual space meeting."
Eliza stared at the screen, her expression hardening. A meeting from the elders—sudden, unexpected. Her mind leapt to the likely culprits: her greedy aunt and her scheming husband. They had always been thorns in the family's side.
"Permission granted."
Like a portal into a digital world, cryptic symbols began cascading down the screen—ancient code that shimmered, bled into the floor, and split the air itself. Eliza took a step forward, letting the light engulf her.
When she opened her eyes again, she was standing in a different chamber. Yet, somehow, Harper was still visible in the distance—blurred, like a ghost through a veil.
She didn't wait for invitation.
"Elders. How can I be of help?" Her voice was calm, poised.
She now sat on a high throne, blacksteel forged and cold, embedded into a raised dais that marked the apex of family authority. Three diamond-shaped rings adorned its sides like crown jewels. Yet it wasn't the throne that commanded attention—it was her demeanor.
The Chamber of the Virelle Council resembled a tomb more than a meeting hall. The arched ceiling loomed like a cathedral, etched with glowing sigils that pulsed faintly in rhythm with the city far below. Along the stone walls, family banners hung heavy—each bearing the crest of a silver serpent devouring a crown.
Eliza sat still, chin lifted, eyes fixed forward. She looked every bit the sovereign matriarch. But beneath that composed exterior, her thoughts churned. Tension ran through her like a wire pulled taut.
Before her sat six elders in a crescent arc—legends in the family name.
Elder Zhang Wei sat like a storm waiting to strike. Beside him, Nakamura Yui's gaze was sharp, calculating. Daesung appeared almost bored, but even his silence pressed on the air like a weight. The remaining three—Mori Takeshi, Saito Ren, and Han Mei—completed the semicircle.
Each one powerful enough to alter the course of wars. Together, their presence was thunder in waiting.
And all their eyes were fixed on Eliza.
"We believed a superior Virelle would rise to uplift our legacy," Mori said sharply, voice slicing the air. "It seems we were mistaken. Something priceless has been lost. Thanks to your aunt."
Eliza didn't flinch. She had expected the attack, but its sting still landed.
"You called her a parasite," Yui added, her tone icy. "And yet you couldn't bring yourself to end her."
Eliza's jaw tensed. "So you expected me to kill my own family? That's your solution? That's not just ruthless—it's twisted."
"She looted our legacy!" Daesung roared, voice booming through the hall. "The Emperor Void Jade—a relic of terrifying power. Even I had only heard whispers of it."
Mori's voice dropped lower, but it hit harder. "And it was stolen while you were in charge. If you weren't so obsessed with chasing the mystery behind your mother's death..."
The air grew colder.
"The way you're speaking," Eliza snapped, "you make it sound like I helped them steal the damn thing."
Yui stood, fists trembling, aura blazing with heat. "Then who should we suspect? That jade wasn't just treasure—it was the foundation of our strength!"
Eliza clenched the arms of her throne.
"You're elders. Use your brains. Do you really think a pair of brats could steal the Emperor Void Jade on their own?"
Zhang leaned forward. "Fallen Sky Sect."
The words struck like lightning.
Of course. Virelle had been a thorn in the world order built by Fallen Sky and its allies. Her opposition had made her their enemy. Her death was their triumph—and now, they were tearing apart her legacy.
Eliza's fingers dug into the cold steel of her throne.
"This is my fault," she said bitterly. "I'm not strong enough to rule. And Lady Seraphine... Cassian... you bastards."
"Your strength is the problem," Yui said, voice solemn. "Most of us aren't Virelle by blood. We cannot intervene. The family bleeds because you're not strong enough to hold it together."
Mori's voice was quieter now, but no less cutting. "The people want someone to blame. And your face is on every banner."
That was when it truly hit her.
This wasn't about the jade. Or betrayal.
This was about humiliation.
Lady Seraphine hadn't just stolen from her—she had mocked her. She'd made Eliza look powerless in front of the very elders who'd never believed she deserved the throne in the first place.
Eliza's throat tightened.
"Eliza," Yui said softly, "power isn't kept with words. It's earned with strength. This is your burden now. If you are to be the next Virelle, prove it. Or we will find someone who can."
The fire in Eliza's chest roared back to life.
"You want a scapegoat?" she said, rising. Her voice echoed off stone. "Fine. Blame me. Strip me of my title. But don't pretend you weren't the ones who fed Seraphine's ambition. You all enabled her."
The words hit home. Seraphine had once been one of them. Her betrayal reflected on them all.
"She betrayed every one of us. And I'll find her. If she hides in the Shadow Realms, I'll tear the gates apart. If she burns our gold, I'll claw it from her corpse. And when I bring her back—
I'll show you exactly what kind of queen I can be."
A calm voice spoke for the first time.
"Little miss... forgive us old bones for interfering," said Elder Han Mei, leaning back in her seat. Her tone was almost gentle.
"We ancient battle spirits have our strength not to do your bidding, but to protect what your mother left behind. I could find Seraphine in minutes and punish her—but that's not my place. It's yours."
The words struck harder than any accusation.
Eliza had to act. She had to become stronger—not just to silence doubt, but to fulfill her mother's legacy.
Han Mei turned toward the council.
"I propose we assign this task to Eliza herself. She has three years to bring Seraphine to justice. If she fails, one of us will take her place as Matriarch of the Virelle—until such a time she is ready."
Eliza's breath caught. The room went still.
Even though she was, by strength, the rightful matriarch, she couldn't refuse. And Han Mei… Han Mei was no ordinary elder.
She was a Seven-Ring SSS-Rank—a warlord in her own right. The second-most powerful figure in the Virelle family, and once her mother's most loyal shadow. She carried weight none of the others could challenge.
The elders nodded without hesitation.
"Matriarch, do you accept?"
Matriarch.
She almost laughed. More like a figurehead bound in chains.
Eliza clenched her fists until her bones ached.
"I accept the council's decision."
Han Mei closed her eyes for a moment, her voice a quiet whisper no one heard but herself.
"Forgive me, Virelle. But I had no other choice."
Though Han Mei had left her cornered, Eliza trusted her intentions. She wasn't like Seraphine. She didn't hunger for the throne. If she had, she could've taken it long ago.
The elders exchanged uncertain glances—but none dared challenge Han Mei.
Han Mei raised her head, eyes glowing faintly. A pulse of blue light surged from her forehead, flashing toward Eliza like a beam.
It struck Eliza between the eyes.
A sharp jolt ran through her body. Her breath hitched as something began to stir beneath her skin. This time, it wasn't just a vision in a mirror.
The demonic eye was real.
Eliza gasped, her hands trembling as she felt it—pressing, bulging, pushing outward from her forehead. Her skin stretched painfully as the eye forced itself open, revealing its eerie presence for all to see.
Around her, the elders froze. Shock painted their faces, a wave of silent disbelief spreading through the chamber.
But not Han Mei.
She remained calm, her voice steady as she spoke.
"Great Elder, don't judge us."
That was the last thing Eliza heard.
In the blink of an eye, the world shattered like glass. Her body was hurled from the virtual space, tossed into darkness as the echoes of that sentence followed her into the void.
Eliza didn't cry. But something inside her cracked.
Saito Ren leaned toward Han Mei.
"First Elder… do you not think this punishment is too harsh?"
Han Mei didn't flinch. "So long as we give her enough fuel to burn… we'll have no regrets."
The elders nodded. One by one, the chamber dimmed. The meeting dissolved into fading light.