The world had grown quiet again Too quiet.
The people whispered about the Enforcers end their voices trembling with awe Towers gleamed brighter rivers of light surged faster and the newborn forests stretched beyond sight Yet under all the celebration a shadow of fear lingered Everyone knew this wasn't over.
Serath stood at the edge of the kingdom fists clenched
Serath: They'll come back And when they do… it won't be shadows or enforcers It'll be them.
The wolf growled, its golden fur bristling The Child sat as always on the throne's steps his toy dangling
Child: They saw what happened And now they're tearing pieces of themselves off… throwing them at us They're afraid of him so they'll test him again One last time before they descend.
The Sky Cracks Again
Above the throne the heavens split open Not like before Not with darkness or silence This time it was light overwhelming pure endless The air turned heavy The people screamed as they clutched their marks the power burning into their flesh.
From the crack rained fragments not beings but shards of law chunks of cosmology itself screaming as they fell Each fragment carried rules: fire that could burn time chains that bound concepts rivers that washed away memory.
The wolf snarled stepping back Serath shielded his eyes
Serath: What is this?
The Child's voice was cold
Child: Their leftovers Pieces of their higher law They're throwing them here… to break us or to see if he can consume them.
The Throne's Hunger
The fragments struck the ground shaking the newborn world Towers cracked rivers boiled forests trembled. The people wailed as alien laws tried to overwrite their marks bending their bodies into shapes not meant for them.
But Ryo only rose from his throne stretching his hand into the storm.
Ryo: Pathetic Even their scraps bend before me.
The marks on every citizen flared The throne's law surged outward swallowing the fragments Chains of concept shattered Fires of time collapsed Rivers of memory dissolved Every foreign law that struck his kingdom was devoured rewritten into his own.
The throne pulsed brighter larger The kingdom itself expanded rivers flowing farther skies rising higher The marks on the people burned deeper binding them beyond touch.
The fragments had not weakened the Crown Cosmology They had fed it.
The Warning in the Light
For a moment the crack above stopped But then a shape flickered in the blinding light Not clear not whole Just a silhouette A giant faceless watcher larger than universes leaning down through the wound in reality.
Its voice shook the land
Watcher: Ryo You defy us You consume what is not youre If you rise higher… you will become our equal That we cannot allow.
The people collapsed under the weight of the words Even Serath fell to one knee The wolf whimpered low.
But Ryo stood tall his throne burning brighter than the watcher's light
Ryo: Equal? You misunderstand I don't climb to be your equal I climb to sit above you.
The crack sealed violently the watcher's light ripped away Silence fell again leaving only the echo of Ryo's voice across the kingdom.
The Child Speaks Again
The Child tilted his head smiling faintly at his toy
Child: Now it's certain They will come themselves No shadows. No laws. No enforcers The higher ones… in flesh.
Ryo sat back on his throne unshaken His smirk widened sharp and calm
Ryo: Good I'll erase them too.