Long ago. In a different world hundreds of thousands of years ago. Far away into the past before Dark was ever born.
The sky above Kōseikan Citadel did not move.
It rotated.
Eight layered heavens, each one belonging to a different verse-stream, turned at opposing angles. Light refracted sideways. Shadows lagged behind their owners by a fraction of a second. This was a world that governed worlds.
A world that believed itself untouchable.
At the highest platform stood a throne carved from condensed verdict-light, old enough that even time treated it carefully.
Vaize sat upon it.
No aura leaked from him. No pressure bled outward. His presence did not announce itself.
It enforced itself.
The Supreme Arbiter of Kōseikan.
The one who unified the verses under law.
The man who created the Eight Divisions.
Below him, eight figures stood in formation.
Each wore a mantle etched with their Division Sigil.
Each commanded an aspect of existence.
At the front stood Halvere, Captain of Judgment.
His coat bore a vertical glyph split clean down the middle. His role was absolute arbitration. Once he spoke a verdict, it could not be appealed.
Halvere: All divisions present.
To his right stood Raith, Captain of Execution.
His blade was unsealed even at rest. Execution did not debate. It erased.
Raith: Still hate these meetings.
To Halvere's left stood Nahl, Captain of Observation.
Her eyes glowed faintly even when unfocused. She did not see the present.
She saw outcomes.
Nahl: Your impatience is statistically consistent.
Behind them stood Serex, Captain of Continuity.
Every law. Every timeline splice. Every historical correction passed through him.
Serex: Records are stable.
To Serex's side stood Iora, Captain of Preservation.
She governed verses deemed necessary for balance. Worlds survived or died by her restraint.
Iora: Balance remains intact.
Near the outer ring stood Keth, Captain of Suppression.
He did not erase threats. He controlled them.
Keth: All resistance cells accounted for.
Across from him stood Morn, Captain of Erasure.
Silent. Final. When Morn acted, nothing remained to question it.
Morn said nothing.
At the rear stood Sereon Vaize.
Captain of Influence.
Second strongest.
Officially.
His mantle bore no weapon insignia. No blade mark. No authority stamp.
Only a circular sigil broken by a single line.
Sereon stood relaxed, hands behind his back.
His eyes were calm.
Too calm.
Sereon: (thinking) Everything is already moving.
Above them, Vaize leaned forward slightly.
Vaize: Proceed.
The air shifted.
A circular glyph formed between the captains, projecting layered verse-feeds.
A rebellion.
Minor.
Contained.
Halvere: Suppression Division. Assessment.
Keth stepped forward.
Keth: Resistance scaling exceeds expectation. Coordination suggests external influence.
Raith grinned.
Raith: Then execute.
Iora's gaze sharpened.
Iora: That verse is preservation-marked.
Serex nodded.
Serex: Continuity agrees. Execution introduces instability.
Raith: Always excuses.
Nahl closed her eyes.
Observation threads extended invisibly.
She opened them again.
Nahl: The resistance disbands within three cycles.
Keth frowned.
Keth: That contradicts—
Sereon: It doesn't.
All eyes turned.
Sereon spoke softly.
Sereon: You're looking at different endpoints.
Serex narrowed his eyes.
Serex: Explain.
Sereon tilted his head.
Sereon: Suppression sees intent. Observation sees outcome. Continuity sees record.
Sereon: None of you are wrong.
A pause.
Halvere exhaled.
Halvere: Suppression only.
Verdict sealed.
The glyph shifted.
Another case.
A destabilizing verse on the edge of collapse.
Iora: Preservation intervention recommended.
Raith: Waste of resources.
Nahl: Collapse probability is negligible.
Serex frowned.
Serex: Records indicate prior destabilization.
Silence.
Sereon did not move.
Sereon: (thinking) Good. They're desynced.
Vaize watched from above.
Unmoving.
Vaize: Decide.
Halvere clenched his jaw.
Halvere: Preservation.
Raith clicked his tongue.
The glyph locked.
One by one, decisions passed.
Each correct.
Each inconsistent.
Minutes stretched into hours.
By the sixth ruling, the captains were correcting each other.
By the tenth, they were disputing memory.
Nahl blinked once.
Nahl: Did we already rule on this case.
Serex stiffened.
Serex: No.
Iora hesitated.
Iora: I remember it being sealed.
Raith laughed.
Raith: You're all losing it.
Sereon remained still.
Sereon: (thinking) Perfect.
Vaize's eyes drifted briefly to Sereon.
Not accusation.
Recognition.
The session ended.
The captains dispersed, unease clinging to them like residue.
Sereon did not follow.
He turned instead.
The corridor behind him did not exist until he stepped forward.
The world folded.
The Citadel vanished.
A different space emerged.
A circular platform suspended in layered darkness. Symbols carved into the floor twisted when observed too long.
Five figures stood waiting.
Their forms were wrapped in illusion so precise it bordered on reality itself.
Sereon's mantle dissolved into shadow. His attire shifted. Darker. Sharper. Unregistered.
One figure spoke.
Figure One: They didn't notice.
Sereon: Of course not.
Figure Two: Observation came close.
Sereon: She always does.
Figure Three: Vaize allowed it.
Sereon smiled faintly.
Sereon: He taught me how.
Figure Four stepped forward.
Figure Four: The Eight Divisions will fracture.
Sereon: No.
Sereon: They will defend the system harder than ever.
Figure Five tilted their head.
Figure Five: And after.
Sereon looked upward, eyes reflecting something far beyond the Citadel.
Sereon: After, the world will beg for a god who understands control.
Sereon: (thinking) And when Shou finally looks down.
The space dimmed.
Sereon: I'll be ready.
Sereon smirks slightly.
Sereon: (thinking) Phase one complete.
The lower districts of Kōseikan never saw the Citadel.
They felt it.
Stone streets curved unnaturally, designed to redirect foot traffic away from administrative towers. Buildings leaned inward just enough to block sightlines to the upper spires. Even the air was heavier here, infused with stabilization fields that dulled instinct.
A fish vendor dragged his stall into place, grumbling under his breath.
Vendor: Damn rotations changed again.
A woman beside him adjusted her cloak.
Woman: They said the heavens realigned last night.
Vendor snorted.
Vendor: They say that every time the Citadel wants to move taxes.
A child pointed upward.
Child: Mama. Why is the sky turning sideways.
The woman looked.
She hesitated.
Woman: It always does that.
She sounded unsure.
At the eastern watch gate, two division soldiers stood at ease.
Their armor bore the mark of Suppression.
Guard One: You hear about Division Judgment arguing with Continuity.
Guard Two: Again.
Guard One: Thought they settled that years ago.
Guard Two shrugged.
Guard Two: Memory gets weird up here.
They laughed it off.
Neither noticed the way their shadows lagged half a second longer than usual.
Within the Archive Spire, a scribe paused mid inscription.
Scribe: ...that's strange.
Ink bled across the page, forming a symbol he did not remember writing.
He stared at it.
The symbol made sense.
He could not explain why.
Scribe: Must've missed a directive.
He continued writing.
High above, within the Citadel corridors, Sereon walked unhurried.
Each step echoed once.
Exactly once.
His presence aligned space without force. Walls straightened when he passed. Sigils dimmed instinctively. Systems adjusted themselves a fraction early, as if anticipating him.
Sereon: (thinking) The world corrects itself when it trusts the voice guiding it.
A council chamber, separate from the main platform.
Three junior adjudicators argued quietly.
Adjudicator One: I swear this case was sealed last cycle.
Adjudicator Two: No. It was delayed. I remember Vaize objecting.
Adjudicator Three: Vaize never objects.
They fell silent.
That was true.
Sereon stood just outside the chamber.
He did not listen.
He did not need to.
Sereon: (thinking) Confusion isn't a flaw. It's a buffer.
He turned away.
Far below the Citadel, beyond sanctioned districts, an old man swept the steps of a shrine no longer officially recognized.
The shrine bore no god's name.
Just an abstract carving of an eye.
A young traveler stopped.
Traveler: Old man. Who's this shrine for.
The old man smiled.
Old Man: Someone who hasn't arrived yet.
Traveler frowned.
Traveler: Then why keep it clean.
The old man resumed sweeping.
Old Man: So the world remembers where to look.
Back within controlled space, a private hall unfolded.
No illusions now.
No concealment.
Just six figures seated around a low table.
Wine poured itself.
No tension.
No fear.
These were not subordinates.
These were companions.
Figure One leaned back, boots on the table.
Figure One: You're enjoying this too much.
Sereon sat across from them, relaxed.
Sereon: I enjoy precision.
Figure Two smirked.
Figure Two: You enjoy watching them trip over conclusions.
Sereon: Only when they believe they reached them alone.
Figure Three swirled their cup.
Figure Three: Vaize noticed today.
Sereon's eyes flicked up.
Sereon: He always does.
Figure Three: He didn't stop it.
Sereon smiled faintly.
Sereon: That's because he taught me the rule before any of you.
Figure Four: Which one.
Sereon: Authority only fails when it explains itself.
Silence.
Not disagreement.
Recognition.
Figure Five exhaled.
Figure Five: Do you ever feel bad.
Sereon tilted his head.
Sereon: About what.
Figure Five: About lying.
Sereon considered it.
Sereon: No.
Sereon: Because I don't lie.
Sereon: I choose which truths survive.
Figure One laughed.
Figure One: Gods, you sound like you're already sitting above the Citadel.
Sereon: (thinking) Not yet.
Sereon: I sound like someone who understands scale.
Outside, a bell rang.
A minor one.
Unimportant.
Except bells hadn't rung in Kōseikan for centuries.
Citizens paused.
Guards hesitated.
Somewhere, a child smiled without knowing why.
Sereon stood.
Sereon: That's our cue.
Figure Two rose.
Figure Two: Another correction.
Figure Three: Another memory seeded.
Figure Four: Another step closer.
They walked together.
Not hidden.
Not feared.
Just unremarkable.
Which was the point.
As Sereon passed through the threshold, his reflection lingered in the polished floor half a second longer than it should have.
Sereon: (thinking) A boy will be born thousands of years from now in a World far away from this one.
Sereon: (thinking) The boy will have a mindset. A simple yet impossible goal.
Sereon: (thinking) To create a world where everyone gets to live in peace and harmony.
Sereon: (thinking) Their name will be...
Sereon closes his eyes for a moment.
Then opens it.
Sereon: (thinking) Dark.
Sereon: (thinking) From then on I will have a plan for Dark, I will put him into hundreds of thousands of battles, awakenings and realizations all up until he achieves his dreams.
Sereon: (thinking) Then....
Sereon sat down in the ground.
Sereon: (thinking) I will replace it.
Sereon: (thinking) I will replace this child's dream with something far greater than anyone can imagine.
Sereon: (thinking) I will kill Shou myself, take his place and FIX EVERYTHING!!!!!
Sereon then raises both up and extends them as if welcoming someone to a hug.
Sereon: THEY WILL ALL THANK ME LATER!!!!
To be continued.
End Of Chapter 1.