The Empire was peaceful.
Which usually meant someone was about to do something ridiculous.
Today, that someone was Kaelignis Veyris.
Kael sat beneath Ashvattha's branches.
Enjoying tea.
Enjoying peace.
Enjoying not having to save existence for five minutes.
Then.
"DAD!"
Kael immediately knew trouble had arrived.
Kaelignis landed in front of him.
Excited.
Energetic.
Smiling.
The kind of smile that meant she had an idea.
And her ideas were usually dangerous.
Kael sighed.
"What is it?"
"I challenge you."
"Oh no."
Nearby.
Ignisia immediately started laughing.
Verdelia covered her mouth.
Genesisra looked up from her book.
Even Wukong woke up.
Kaelignis pointed dramatically.
"A race."
Kael blinked.
"A race?"
"Yes."
"A running race?"
"Yes."
Kael looked toward Ignisia.
"Can I say no?"
"No."
Kael sighed.
"Fine."
The daughters immediately gathered.
The wives appeared.
Word spread across the Empire.
Within minutes.
Thousands were watching.
Kaelignis stretched confidently.
She possessed incredible speed.
Far beyond ordinary beings.
Fast enough to cross countless distances in moments.
And she knew it.
"You ready?"
She asked.
Kael nodded.
"Sure."
Ignisia acted as referee.
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
"GO!"
Kaelignis exploded forward.
The ground shattered beneath her.
The horizon disappeared behind her.
She crossed mountains.
World Tree forests.
Floating continents.
Entire regions of the Empire.
In moments.
The spectators cheered.
"She's fast!"
"Very fast!"
Kaelignis smiled.
Certain she was winning.
Then she looked behind her.
Kael was gone.
Her smile vanished.
"Wait."
Meanwhile.
Kael was already sitting at the finish line.
Drinking tea.
Ashvattha laughed so hard his leaves started falling.
Kaelignis arrived several seconds later.
Stopped.
Looked at Kael.
Looked at the tea.
Looked back at Kael.
"...how?"
Kael shrugged.
"I got slightly irritated."
The entire Empire burst into laughter.
Ignisia nearly fell over.
"SLIGHTLY IRRITATED?"
Kaelignis crossed her arms.
"That is completely unfair."
Kael nodded.
"Probably."
Then.
Reality cracked.
Everyone stopped laughing.
A tear appeared in the sky.
A strange being emerged.
Its body seemed composed of living words.
Living script.
Living narrative.
The being smiled.
"I have finally found you."
Kael sighed.
"Can I have one peaceful afternoon?"
Apparently not.
The being raised a hand.
Countless pages appeared.
Infinite stories.
Infinite narratives.
Infinite rewritten destinies.
"I am the Master of Narrative Manipulation."
The being declared.
"I can rewrite any story."
The sky filled with glowing text.
Words began rewriting themselves.
Kael becomes weaker.
The text immediately burst into flames.
The being blinked.
"What?"
It tried again.
Kael loses his powers.
The sentence shattered.
It tried again.
Kael is erased.
The entire page exploded.
The being stared in confusion.
"What is happening?"
Kael finally stood.
Slowly.
Calmly.
"Script Immunity."
The being froze.
Kael continued.
"I cannot be written."
"I cannot be rewritten."
"I cannot be edited."
"I cannot be erased."
The being's eyes widened.
Kael pointed toward the floating script.
"Your narrative is trying to alter me."
The script suddenly began rejecting itself.
Every attempted change.
Every rewrite.
Every edit.
Every alteration.
Collapsed instantly.
The narrative itself refused to accept the changes.
The being panicked.
"No."
"That isn't possible."
Kael shrugged.
"Maybe."
The being desperately created more text.
More edits.
More rewrites.
Infinite pages appeared.
Infinite narratives.
Infinite story revisions.
Every single one failed.
Not because Kael blocked them.
Not because he resisted them.
His existence simply rejected them automatically.
The edits vanished.
The rewrites vanished.
The narrative manipulation unraveled.
The being stared in horror.
"You aren't even fighting back."
Kael nodded.
"Correct."
The being suddenly realized something.
Its own narrative was collapsing.
Its own script was rejecting itself.
Its own story was falling apart.
"Wait."
Too late.
The narrative consumed itself.
The pages folded inward.
The script dissolved.
And the being disappeared from its own story.
Silence.
Kael sat back down.
Picked up his tea.
And continued drinking.
Kaelignis stared.
"Dad."
"Yes?"
"You beat me in a race."
"Yes."
"You defeated a narrative manipulator."
"Yes."
"You never stopped drinking tea."
"Correct."
Kaelignis sighed.
"I am never beating you."
Kael smiled.
"That's the spirit."
The daughters laughed.
The wives laughed.
Even Ashvattha laughed.
And beneath the World Trees.
The Empire returned to peace.
At least until Kaelignis challenged her father to something else.