The Infinite Library remained peaceful.
Kael Veyris sat comfortably in a chair.
One hand held a cup of tea.
The other held a book containing an entire cosmology.
To Kael.
It was light reading.
Nearby.
Ignisia was arguing with Wukong.
Again.
"You cheat."
"I don't cheat."
"You absolutely cheat."
"Only when losing."
"THAT IS STILL CHEATING."
Wukong laughed.
Ashvattha laughed.
Even Genesisra smiled.
Then.
The atmosphere changed.
Several powerful presences appeared beyond the Library.
Ancient beings.
Conquerors of countless realities.
Destroyers of entire frameworks.
The leaders stepped forward.
One of them pointed at Kael.
"We cannot defeat him."
Kael continued reading.
The being continued.
"So we shall target those around him."
The wives stopped smiling.
The daughters looked toward the newcomers.
Wukong stood up.
Slowly.
The invaders looked toward him.
"What?"
Asked one.
Wukong cracked his neck.
A grin spread across his face.
"Oh."
The grin became wider.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
The invaders suddenly felt nervous.
Wukong spun his staff.
"You know."
"I was getting bored."
The invaders charged.
Three seconds later.
The Library became quiet again.
The invaders were scattered across several shelves.
Completely defeated.
Confused.
Embarrassed.
Wukong sat on top of one of them.
"Send more people."
He laughed.
"This is fun."
"Very fun."
Ashvattha nearly dropped leaves from laughing.
The surviving invaders stared.
"What are you?"
Wukong grinned.
"A very bored monkey."
Then.
Two new beings emerged.
Unlike the others.
They ignored Wukong.
They ignored Kael.
Instead.
They looked directly at Ignisia.
A mistake.
The Dragon Goddess slowly stood.
Golden-red flames appeared around her.
The two beings smiled.
"We have transcended narratives."
Ignisia raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"We stand beyond stories."
"Really?"
"We stand beyond frameworks."
"Really?"
The two beings suddenly felt uncomfortable.
Ignisia smiled.
That made it worse.
The Dragon Goddess raised a hand.
Nothing exploded.
Nothing shattered.
No massive attack occurred.
Instead.
The narrative surrounding the two beings became visible.
Threads.
Pages.
Storylines.
Ignisia looked at them.
Then casually rewrote a sentence.
The invaders never reached Ignisia.
Reality adjusted.
The narrative changed.
The two beings blinked.
"What?"
Ignisia turned another page.
The invaders lost before the battle began.
The story immediately accepted the edit.
The two beings began fading.
"No."
Ignisia shrugged.
"You said you transcended narratives."
The beings panicked.
Their stories unraveled.
Their origins within the narrative shifted.
Their entire role in the plot changed.
Then.
They vanished.
Not because they were destroyed.
Because the story no longer required them.
Silence filled the Infinite Library.
Wukong laughed so hard he nearly fell off a shelf.
"You didn't even fight."
Ignisia crossed her arms.
"I know."
Genesisra smiled.
"That was efficient."
Nearby.
Kael finally looked up from his book.
"Is everything handled?"
The wives stared.
Wukong stared.
Ashvattha stared.
The daughters stared.
Kael blinked.
"What?"
Ignisia pointed at the defeated invaders.
"You didn't even notice."
Kael looked.
"Oh."
Then he returned to reading.
"Good job."
The entire Library groaned.
And somewhere among the infinite shelves.
Among the endless narratives.
Among the countless frameworks and realities.
The Architect of Existence continued reading.
While his family handled yet another group of people who had underestimated them.