The morning sun spilled golden light over the palace gardens, but tranquility was nowhere to be found. The aftermath of the Empire's arrival left the royal grounds in a state of uproar—firefighters from Pyrrhium tried unsuccessfully to put out harmless "flame bubbles" still drifting lazily, while Lord Umbra scowled as he brushed fur from polka-dotted shadows clinging stubbornly to his cloak.
Amidst the chaos, Prince Caelum was anything but still. His wide eyes sparkled with mischief and curiosity as he toddled through the hallways, trailing faint holographic code snippets behind him like a digital comet. The palace staff tiptoed, half in awe, half in terror.
"Update… walls: brighter," he declared, clapping his hands. Instantly, murals bloomed across the stone walls—giant, moving scenes depicting heroic deeds of each of the Eight nations. The faces of the visiting leaders flickered in eternal motion, some glaring, some laughing, none able to stay still enough to glare properly.
King Alden sighed and rubbed his temples. "Mother warned me not to have a gifted child in the palace. I should have listened."
Meanwhile, Queen Mira busied herself calming the court mage, who insisted that the sudden "system rewrites" in the palace were "dangerously close" to breaking the laws of magic itself.
But for Caelum, this was just another day in his playground.
The Eight Nation Leaders had agreed to a council meeting — a formal event with harsh agendas about how to "handle" this wild new power in Liria. It sounded terribly boring to Caelum.
As the leaders assembled in the vast imperial audience chamber, tensions crackled like lightning.
Lady Pyrra leaned forward, flames flickering along her fingers. "We cannot allow this boy to grow unchecked! His power disrupts the natural order. The Empire's authority depends on our abilities."
"Order?" scoffed Lord Umbra. "Our order has been… shall we say, patched with many glitches! This child is a variable the Empire never accounted for."
Emperor Magnus, sitting majestically but with a bemused smile, raised a hand. "This 'variable' may be our future… or our undoing. But for now, let us observe, rather than strike."
Just then, a sudden shriek echoed from the palace kitchen. Everyone rushed to find the royal cook in terror—the utensils were dancing, flipping and tossing ingredients in midair under Caelum's silent "code manipulation."
Caelum waved cheerfully, his presence radiating childish innocence, yet beneath the surface, his Admin Authority stirred constantly, downloading countless "power files" and compiling a "system log" of everyone around him.
"System Note: Power Levels—unstable. Requires frequent debugging. Recommend protocol: supervision."
When Queen Mira saw the mischievous smile on her son's face, she gently took his hand. "Caelum, your power is incredible, but please remember: with great power comes... great responsibility."
Caelum blinked thoughtfully. "Responsibility.exe? Running..."
The chamber erupted into laughter, breaking the tense atmosphere.
Despite the levity, beneath the surface, a storm brewed. The Imperial Court knew they faced a new kind of power, one beyond elemental mastery or centuries-old martial prowess—a power coded deep into the fabric of the world itself. How to teach a toddler who could rewrite reality with a whim? How to control or contain what was effectively a living system operator?
As the day deepened, so did the intrigue. Shadows whispered in corners, allies spoke in hushed tones, and even the oldest mystics wondered if the Empire's age-old power structure was about to be rebooted forever.
And somewhere, in the heart of the palace, Caelum continued his innocent chaos, unaware of the legendary path he was destined to carve.