The sky turned white
Not bright
Not glowing
Just empty
Like someone erased the color from the world
Arin looked up
The fate goddess grabbed his arm
The two watchers moved back with fear in their eyes even though watchers were not supposed to feel fear
The air felt too quiet
Too soft
Too cold
Fate Goddess : they are coming
Watcher Arvel : the arbiters have opened their gate
Watcher Varn : we must leave we must run we cannot stay here
Arin did not move
He only stared at the sky as it split open like thin paper
A loud empty sound echoed everywhere
Not a boom
Not a crack
Just nothing
A nothing sound that hurt the ears
From the white sky a thin line of light dropped down
Straight
Slow
Heavy
It touched the ground
Then spread
The world color faded around it
Grass
Rocks
Trees
Even the air lost its life
Fate Goddess : the erase field
Watcher Arvel stepped forward shaking
Watcher Arvel : an arbiter has arrived
The light grew
And from it a shape stepped out
Tall
Thin
Humanoid
But not human
Its body was made of rule symbols floating like small glowing scratches
Its face had no eyes
Its chest had a circle with empty space inside
Arbiter One : target anomaly detected
Its voice had no tone
No emotion
Just flat
Like broken speech
Arin slowly stepped forward
Arin : hello
Arbiter One : speech not required
Three more lines of light fell from the sky
One
Two
Three
The whole field turned white
Fate Goddess : there are four
Fate Goddess : they sent four arbiters for one boy
Watcher Varn knelt
He could not stand under the pressure
Watcher Varn : we are dead
Watcher Varn : we cannot win against even one
Arin walked forward
He felt no pain
No fear
Only the strange feeling in his chest
The feeling that told him nothing could limit him
Arbiter One raised its hand
A large block of empty energy formed
A rule block
A pure rule
If it touched Arin it would erase his whole existence
Arbiter One : begin removal
The block moved toward Arin
Slow
Heavy
Unstoppable
Fate Goddess : Arin run
Fate Goddess : please
Arin did not run
He lifted his hand
The block touched his skin
And then
It vanished
Not slowly
Not in smoke
Just gone
[ erase block attempt ]
[ rule deleted ]
Arbiter One paused
Its head twitched
Symbols around its body flickered
Arbiter One : rule delete detected
Arbiter One : running second protocol
The second arbiter stepped forward
Its arms opened
Four rings of empty light spun around each other
A full body erase move
Something only arbiters used when a threat could destroy the multiverse
Watcher Arvel fell to the ground
Watcher Arvel : he cannot survive this nothing can
The rings touched Arin
They broke
All four
[ full body erase failure ]
[ rule deleted permanently ]
Arin blinked
Arin : sorry I broke your attack
The arbiters heads turned toward each other
A silent talk
Rules connecting
Rules breaking
Arbiter Three stepped forward
It used a different kind of attack
One that changed reality
It tried to rewrite Arins existence
Rewrite him into something that could follow rules
Arbiter Three : begin rewrite
A wave of soft light hit Arin
Warm
Calm
Quiet
It tried to rewrite his soul
[ rewrite rule active ]
[ rewrite rule failing ]
[ rewrite rule erased ]
The warm light turned into nothing
Arin stood still
Untouched
Arin : you keep trying the same thing
Arbiter Three : anomaly immune to recursion
Fate Goddess : he is too strong for rule attacks
Watcher Varn : arbiters have no other type they only use rules
Arbiter Four stepped forward
This one was bigger
Its body had more symbols
It was a leader
Arbiter Four : begin composite rule
All four arbiters moved
All four raised their hands
All four created rule symbols
Large ones
Deep ones
Rules that shaped the whole world
Sky
Land
Life
Light
Fate
Time
Everything
They pulled all rules into one giant sphere
If it hit Arin the whole continent would vanish
Fate Goddess : no no no the world cannot take that
Watcher Arvel crawled forward to Arin
Watcher Arvel : please step back please you must step away
Arin stepped forward instead
Arin : if I run this world gets destroyed
Arin : if I stand maybe it will live
Fate Goddess : Arin
Arin : I am tired of being scared
The arbiters dropped the huge rule sphere
It fell fast
It fell heavy
It fell to erase everything near it
Arin lifted one hand
Just one
The sphere hit
Silence
Complete silence
Then
Cracks spread over the sphere
White cracks
Thin cracks
Like a giant egg
Then it shattered
Into tiny pieces of light
Like dust blowing away
[ composite rule destroyed ]
[ all rules touching target deleted ]
All four arbiters froze
Their bodies flickered
Symbols around them broke and fell like snow
Arbiter One : danger
Arbiter One : anomaly destroys system
Arbiter Two : cannot erase
Arbiter Two : cannot bind
Arbiter Two : cannot rewrite
Arbiter Three : anomaly threat level infinite
Arbiter Four : calling higher authority
The arbiters raised their hands
The sky split again
A much larger crack appeared
A place beyond light
Beyond sound
Beyond rules
A shadow began to form
Watcher Varn screamed without sound
Watcher Varn : they are calling the judge
Watcher Varn : they are calling the absolute judge
Fate Goddess : no no no not the judge
Fate Goddess : that being stands above arbiters
Fate Goddess : that being controls the rule engine
Arin stepped back
For the first time he felt something like fear
Not fear of death
Not fear of pain
Fear of the unknown
A giant shape slid through the crack
Not human
Not god
Not watcher
Not arbiter
Something different
Something old
Something that felt like the law of the world given form
The Absolute Judge
A being no god had ever looked at directly
Watcher Arvel bowed his head to the ground
Watcher Arvel : do not move Arin do not look at it
Arin looked
He could not stop himself
The judges body was made of moving lines
Millions of them
Each line a rule
Each rule a law
The judge spoke
Its voice was everything
Soft
Loud
Deep
Bright
Dark
Judge : anomaly
Arin swallowed
Arin : yes
Judge : you break rules
Arin : they break themselves
Judge : you are recursion immune
Arin : I do not know what that means
Judge : you erase rules that touch you
Arin nodded
Judge : you erase rules forever
Arin stepped forward
Arin : I do not want to hurt the world
The judge lifted one hand
A rule larger than mountains formed
But this rule did not attack
This rule wanted to look
Wanted to understand
Judge : what are you
Arin did not know
He only felt the spark inside him
Arin : I am just me
The judge moved its hand closer
Judge : rule test
The rule touched Arin
And then the biggest thing yet happened
The rule did not break
Not fully
Not fast
It bent
It twisted
It shook
It tried to hold Arin
Then finally
It snapped
The earth cracked
The clouds split
The sky shook
Judge : the rule engine cannot classify you
Judge : the structure cannot contain you
The judge stepped back
For the first time
The judge hesitated
Judge : anomaly Arin
Judge : you are not a threat
Judge : you are a danger to the structure itself
Arin stared
His heart thumping
Arin : so what happens now
The judge lowered its hand
Judge : now
Judge : you will meet the core
Judge : the heart of the structure
Judge : the place where all rules begin
Everyone froze
Fate Goddess : the core
Watcher Arvel : the heart of all laws
Watcher Varn : he cannot go there
The judge opened a doorway
A glowing path leading upward
Far above the sky
Judge : come
Arin breathed slowly
Arin : fine
Arin : I will go
He took a step toward the path
The arbiters knelt
The watchers lowered their heads
Even the fate goddess stepped back
Because Arin
A simple boy
Was now walking toward the heart of all rules
The core
Where everything began