The sky turned dark
Not like rain
Not like night
But like something huge covered the light and the world did not want to see it
Arin looked up
The fate goddess stepped back
The two watchers stared with shaking eyes
Even the river behind them turned still like frozen glass
A soft rumble filled the air
Slow
Deep
Like the sky was breathing
Then a shape moved inside the dark cloud
A face
No
More like the idea of a face
Huge
Bigger than mountains
Eyes like slow turning moons
A presence that made both watchers kneel without being touched
Watcher Arvel : that is not a watcher
Watcher Varn : that is a sky lord
The fate goddess dropped to one knee
Even she could not stand under that pressure
Fate Goddess : Lord Kaeron
The giant being inside the clouds opened one eye
It was calm
It was silent
But its presence made the world shake like wind hitting a thin tree
Sky Lord Kaeron : human come to me
The voice echoed everywhere
Not loud
Not angry
Just heavy
Like the entire world was talking at once
Arin felt his legs shake
Not from fear
But from something else
A pressure
A test
A rule
Sky Lord Kaeron : I want to see what you are
Arin stepped forward
The grass moved away from him
The ground bent like soft clay
But he kept walking
Arin : what do you want to see
The sky lord moved again
His huge shape slowly lowered
The clouds bent like soft cloth around him
He looked at Arin with a gaze that could destroy whole worlds
Kaeron lowered a giant hand made of sky light and pressure
He reached toward Arin like someone touching fire
Sky Lord Kaeron : rule test apply sky weight
The air around Arin pressed down
Hard
Stronger than mountains
Stronger than storms
The ground cracked under his feet
But Arin did not kneel
He only blinked
The pressure faded
[ rule broken rule erased ]
Sky Lord Kaeron : interesting
Watcher Varn stared in disbelief
Watcher Varn : he erased a sky lord rule without touching it
Sky Lord Kaeron : again
The giant hand moved
This time it tried to take Arin into the air
A lift rule
A control rule
[ rule test apply sky lift ]
[ rule failure ]
The rule died
The air popped like a bubble
The sky lord stopped moving for a moment
Kaeron stared deeper
His huge glowing eye focused on Arin
Trying to read his essence
Sky Lord Kaeron : rule test apply sky sight
The moment his vision touched Arin the sky lord pulled back
Not because Arin hurt him
But because the rule collapsed
The clouds trembled
The sky lord blinked slowly
Sky Lord Kaeron : I see nothing
Sky Lord Kaeron : the structure cannot see you
Sky Lord Kaeron : the sky cannot read you
Arin stepped back a little
He felt the world around him shaking again
It was becoming normal
Too normal to watch rules break like thin ice
Arin : can you just leave me alone
The huge being stared at him
Then something strange happened
The sky lord
A being above watchers and gods
Nodded
Like he understood weakness
Like he understood fear
Sky Lord Kaeron : I cannot force you
Sky Lord Kaeron : any rule I try will break
Sky Lord Kaeron : the structure will not like this
Watcher Arvel stepped forward slowly
Watcher Arvel : Lord Kaeron what will happen to the world
Kaeron looked at the two watchers as if they were small birds
Sky Lord Kaeron : if the boy continues to break rules the structure will send something stronger
Fate Goddess : stronger than a sky lord
Fate Goddess : what is stronger than that
Kaeron looked down at her
His eyes dimmed a little
Sky Lord Kaeron : the arbiters
The fate goddess gasped
Watcher Arvel froze
Watcher Varn stopped glowing
Fate Goddess : no not them they only appear when reality is in danger
Kaeron nodded slowly
Sky Lord Kaeron : this boy is danger
Sky Lord Kaeron : not by choice
Sky Lord Kaeron : but by nature
Arin felt something cold in his stomach
He did not want to be a danger
He did not want to break anything
But everything broke near him anyway
Arin : what will the arbiters do to me
Kaeron closed his huge eyes
Sky Lord Kaeron : arbiters do not talk
Sky Lord Kaeron : they erase
Arin clenched his fist
He did not want to be erased
He did not want to run
He wanted answers
Arin : where do they come from
Kaeron looked up
Far above the clouds
Through layers normal eyes could not see
Sky Lord Kaeron : they live in the empty place
Sky Lord Kaeron : the place with no rules
Sky Lord Kaeron : they are the arms of the structure
Sky Lord Kaeron : and they never stop
Arin : but if they try to erase me the rule will break right
Kaeron tilted his head
The clouds shifted with him
He thought for a long time
Then he answered
Sky Lord Kaeron : yes
Sky Lord Kaeron : but an arbiter does not erase you with one rule
Sky Lord Kaeron : they erase you with all rules
That made even the watchers shiver
Watcher Varn : all rules at once
Watcher Varn : that would tear this world apart
Kaeron nodded slowly
Sky Lord Kaeron : the structure will risk it if needed
The fate goddess began to panic
She pulled on Arins arm
Fate Goddess : Arin you must hide
Fate Goddess : you must go somewhere outside the system
Fate Goddess : or the structure will send arbiters and they will not stop until you are gone
Arin shook his head
Arin : I dont want to hide
Arin : I want to understand why this happens
Arin : why me
Kaeron lowered his huge face
It came close
Very close
His voice dropped softer
Sky Lord Kaeron : human
Sky Lord Kaeron : what do you remember of your birth
Arin blinked
Arin : nothing special
Sky Lord Kaeron : what do your parents say
Arin hesitated
He never asked
His parents always avoided that topic
They only told him he was found in a soft light behind the village shrine
No footprints
No cry
Just light
Arin : I think I was found not born
Kaeron closed his eyes
The clouds trembled
Sky Lord Kaeron : then the anomaly began long ago
Sky Lord Kaeron : before this world
Sky Lord Kaeron : before this life
Arin stepped back
Arin : what does that mean
Kaeron opened his eyes again
Sky Lord Kaeron : it means you are not a child of this world
Sky Lord Kaeron : you are something the structure cannot contain
Sky Lord Kaeron : and the structure hates what it cannot contain
The fate goddess held her chest
Fate Goddess : he is a foreign soul
Fate Goddess : no fate no rule no origin
Watcher Arvel was silent
His empty eyes finally showing something like fear
Watcher Arvel : this level of anomaly should not exist
Watcher Arvel : the structure will send three arbiters
Watcher Arvel : maybe more
Kaeron nodded
Sky Lord Kaeron : they are already moving
Sky Lord Kaeron : I can feel them waking
Arin looked up
His heart thumped hard
But not from fear
From something else
A small spark growing brighter in him
A spark that whispered
No rule can touch you
No law can hold you
No fate can bind you
Arin : if they come
Arin : then I will face them
Everyone stared at him
Even Kaeron moved back a little
Sky Lord Kaeron : boy
Sky Lord Kaeron : arbiters are not like watchers
Sky Lord Kaeron : they are not like me
Sky Lord Kaeron : they do not talk
Sky Lord Kaeron : they do not give warning
Sky Lord Kaeron : they will try to erase the world you stand on
Arin looked up with steady eyes
Arin : then I will protect this world
The fate goddess felt something warm in her chest
Hope
Strange
But there
Fate Goddess : Arin
Fate Goddess : you will destroy more rules
Fate Goddess : maybe too many
Arin : then I will destroy the right ones
The sky suddenly shook
Not from Kaeron
Not from watchers
But from something else
A presence far away
Moving closer
Slow
Cold
Inevitable
Watcher Varn dropped to one knee
Watcher Varn : they are waking
Watcher Varn : the arbiters
Kaeron slowly faded back into the clouds
Sky Lord Kaeron : I cannot fight them
Sky Lord Kaeron : no sky lord can
Sky Lord Kaeron : but you
Sky Lord Kaeron : maybe you can
Arin looked up at the shaking sky
The spark in him felt brighter
He did not know what the arbiters looked like
He did not know how strong they were
He only knew one thing
They would come
And he would not run