Before Lorien floated an endless staircase of starlight.
Above it sat the Celestial Tribunal.
Seven thrones suspended in cosmic darkness.
Upon them:
Ithariel, God of Fate
Maevros, God of War
Lyssara, Goddess of Truth
Vorun, God of Order
Nytheris, Goddess of Silence
Solmire, God of Light
Velkarion, God of Dominion
Their combined presence could crush galaxies.
Lorien yawned.
Oh good, he said. Upper management.
Ithariel's voice echoed first.
You were meant to die.
Lorien clasped his hands behind his back.
I did.
You were meant to remain dead.
He shrugged.
I have poor attendance.
Maevros leaned forward, armor forged from dying stars.
You have disrupted a stabilized timeline.
Lorien looked thoughtful.
Timeline He tapped his mask lightly. Oh, you mean the script.
Lyssara's golden eyes narrowed.
You mock divine authority.
Lorien pointed at her.
Yes. That.
The air trembled.
Vorun rose from his throne, radiating rigid geometric light.
You are an anomaly.
Lorien snapped his fingers.
A rubber stamp appeared in his hand.
He slammed it into empty space.
ANOMALY CONFIRMED
The stamp echoed across existence.
Nytheris, Goddess of Silence, attempted to mute him.
Sound around Lorien vanished.
He blinked.
Then leaned forward and whispered
Even in silence, the whisper carried.
You can't silence the punchline.
The silence shattered like glass.
Solmire flared with blinding light.
We will erase you.
Lorien tilted his head.
Erase me
He chuckled.
Careful. I might find that funny.
Velkarion stood.
Dominion itself bent around him.
Who are you
The question rippled across dimensions.
Lorien placed a hand over his chest.
The mask's cracks glowed faintly.
I he said gently,
am what happens when truth gets tired of being polite.
The Tribunal unleashed their combined authority.
Fate threads.
War energy.
Truth chains.
Order grids.
Silence void.
Solar annihilation.
Dominion command.
All of it collided with him.
For one terrifying second
Nothing.
Then
Lorien laughed.
Reality hiccupped.
Fate threads tangled themselves.
War energy applauded.
Truth chains admitted uncertainty.
Order grids folded into spirals.
Silence began humming.
Light blinked.
Dominion hesitated.
The gods froze.
Ithariel whispered:
This is impossible…
Lorien's voice deepened layered with something ancient.
No, he corrected softly.
It's inevitable.
Behind him, the white void from before reappeared.
Expanding.
Hungry.
The Archetype of The Fool had ascended.
And the gods were beginning to understand something terrifying:
They were characters too.