The sky door stretched open above Arin like a long white road
Not bright
Not shining
Just empty light
A path made from pure rule energy
The Absolute Judge stood at the base of the path
Huge
Silent
Made of millions of moving rule lines that never stopped shifting
Judge : walk
Arin looked back
The fate goddess looked scared
The watchers looked broken
The land behind him was still cracked from the power he released without trying
Arin breathed slow
Then he stepped onto the path
It felt strange
Like standing on solid water
Like the ground was soft but unbreakable
Fate Goddess : Arin please be careful
Arin nodded but did not speak
If he looked back he knew he might turn around
But he could not
Not now
He walked forward
The path rose higher and higher
Past the clouds
Past the sky
Past everything he knew
Below him the world grew small
Like a painting
Like something he no longer belonged to
Arin : am I changing
Arin : or am I just waking up
No one answered
The judge walked behind him
Its steps made no sound
Its shape flickered with thousands of laws Arin could not read
Arin : why am I going here
Judge : you must see
Arin : see what
Judge : the truth of the structure
Arin kept walking
The light around him bent and twisted
The air felt thin but calm
Like being underwater without needing to breathe
Soon the sky door closed behind them
There was no world
No sky
No stars
Only the path
And a giant circle of dark light ahead
The Core
A huge sphere hanging in nothing
Inside it thousands of rules moved
Spinning
Turning
Twisting
Interlocking
Breaking
Reforming
A living engine
Judge : this is the heart
Judge : the rule core
Judge : all existence follows this
Arin felt the pressure
Heavy
Deep
Like a mountain trying to sit on his chest
Arin : and I am coming here because I break rules
Judge : you do not break
Judge : your body refuses recursion
Judge : the core cannot act on you
Arin stepped closer
The rules inside the core reacted
They shook
They flickered
They bent toward him like they were afraid
Judge : the core senses danger
Arin frowned
Arin : I do not want to be danger
Judge : that does not matter
Judge : you are a flaw
The words hit harder than any attack
A flaw
A mistake
A thing the world should not have
Arin stepped back
But the judge pushed him forward with invisible force
Judge : you must enter
Judge : the core must understand you
Arin : and if it cannot
The judge did not answer
Which meant the answer was bad
Arin slowly raised his hand
The surface of the core rippled like glass touched by rain
Arin stepped inside
The world changed
Everything changed
There was no up
No down
No left
No right
No sky
No ground
Just light
Moving in all directions
Symbols flew past him
Words
Laws
Rules
Limitations
Speed rules
Strength rules
Time rules
Dimension rules
Life rules
Death rules
They all flew toward him like hungry birds
A voice spoke inside the core
Not the judge
Not a god
Not a watcher
Something deeper
Core Voice : identify anomaly
Arin tried to speak but the words did not form
His voice felt too small in this place
Core Voice : identify anomaly
Arin : my name is Arin
The rules reacted violently
The whole core shook
Core Voice : name not registered
Core Voice : entity classification
Core Voice : begin bind protocol
A blast of rule force slammed into him
Not hot
Not cold
Just pure force
The kind that bends fate
[ bind rule attempt ]
Arin felt the pressure try to crush him
Try to define him
Try to put a limit on what he was
Then it failed
[ bind rule deleted ]
[ classification deleted ]
The core screamed
Not loud
But sharp
A sound that felt like broken glass inside the mind
Core Voice : recursion immunity detected
Core Voice : anomaly cannot be limited
Core Voice : impossible state
Arin floated still
Light spun around him
Rules touched him
Each time they broke
Rule limit speed
Deleted
Rule limit strength
Deleted
Rule set form
Deleted
Rule set destiny
Deleted
Rule set purpose
Deleted
The core world shook more
Large rules cracked and split
The central rule engine started to spark
The judge appeared inside the core
Its body flickering
Its lines shaking
Judge : anomaly
Judge : stop
Arin : I am not doing anything
Judge : your presence breaks rules
Judge : the core cannot touch you
Judge : every rule that tries becomes invalid
Arin looked around
Pieces of law floated past him like broken parts of a machine
Arin : then why bring me here
Judge : to test
Judge : to know if you must be erased
Arin : can you erase me
The judge did not answer
Its body flickered again
Some of its rule lines snapped and dissolved
Arin : so you cannot
Judge : not now
Judge : not after you removed the recursion link
Judge : the world cannot rewrite you
Suddenly the core voice grew deeper
Colder
Angrier
Core Voice : anomaly rejects structure
Core Voice : anomaly threatens stability
Core Voice : anomaly must be unmade
A huge rule formed
Bigger than mountains
Bigger than worlds
Pure rule
Pure law
A rule made to erase anything
Core Voice : ultimate erase protocol
The rule rushed toward Arin
Fast
Heavy
Unstoppable
Arin lifted his hand
The rule touched him
And died
Not slowly
Instantly
Like it never existed
The core screamed again
A louder sound
A breaking sound
Core Voice : impossible
Core Voice : rule engine collapse
Cracks spread across the entire core
Lines of white light shot in all directions
Judge : no
Judge : the core cannot collapse
Judge : without rules the multiverse wars begin
Judge : everything breaks
Judge : everything dies
Arin looked at his hands
He did not feel powerful
He did not feel strong
He felt scared
Arin : I did not mean to break anything
Arin : I just wanted to understand
Judge : anomaly Arin
Judge : you are a being outside the rule system
Judge : the core cannot define you
Judge : the core cannot survive you
The cracks grew bigger
Light poured out
Everything shook
Core Voice : anomaly end protocol
Core Voice : eject anomaly
Core Voice : remove anomaly from core
A massive force pushed Arin upward
He floated
Higher
Higher
Out of the core
The judge followed
Barely holding its form as the rule engine collapsed behind them
The core sphere cracked
Split
Broke open like an egg
A giant surge of light rushed out like an explosion of laws losing control
Arin shielded his eyes
The judge covered him with broken rule lines
Behind them the core died
The heart of all rules
Broken
Lights flashed around them
Colors twisted
Dimensions bent
It felt like falling through every world at once
The judge held Arin tightly
Not with anger
But fear
Judge : anomaly
Judge : listen
Judge : the core is gone
Judge : the structure will fall
Judge : the rules will break
Judge : the multiverse will end
Arin : can we stop it
Judge : only you
Judge : the anomaly
Judge : the one no rule can bind
Judge : only you can create new laws
Arin froze
Arin : me
Arin : make laws
Arin : but I do not even understand the old ones
Judge : you do not need to
Judge : you are outside rule
Judge : you can make rules that do not break when touching you
Arin felt the light rush past
Worlds shaking
Time bending
Fate threads snapping
Everything dying
Arin : what must I do
The judge pointed to the glowing path ahead
A place above the core
Above rules
Above fate
Judge : you must reach the nexus
Judge : the top of all things
Judge : and decide what existence should be
Arin swallowed
His chest tight
His heart shaking
Arin : and if I fail
Judge : reality ends
Arin closed his eyes
Arin : then I will not fail
The light swallowed them both
And the path to the Nexus opened