Arbitrator's

The World Tree slept, but the first leaf had already fallen.

Silence echoed.

Not the silence of absence, but the silence of potential—like the final breath before a symphony begins. Within the glowing, bioluminescent chamber carved into the base of the World Tree, a figure shifted.

Her silver eyes fluttered.

Aetheria slowly stirred within the natural alcove, the cradle of her origin—a hollow curve in the bark, shaped perfectly to hold her curled form.

She did not woke with panic.

She woke like dawn.

Her body, radiant yet calm, rose slowly. She was clothed in a strange black-and-white uniform—not one she could recall choosing. Her fingers grazed the soft fabric near her collarbone. It was form-fitting, high-collared, decorated with pale silver seams that wrapped across her skirt, shoulders, and wrists.

"I... was not born with this..."

No... this wasn't done by her. This was care. Precise. Gentle.

But who?

She blinked. Her voice was soft but firm, a tone that echoed inside the vast Tree.

And then—

A whisper. Not a voice, but something that echoed only once.

"You will understand in time."

Aetheria's fingers lifted to her forehead. Someone had... touched her.

She should feel violated, startled. But instead... there was warmth.

A frown crept across her face. Logical. Composed. But confusion seeped like dew from her eyes.

She stood. Her long silver-drilled twin-tails floated behind her with each step. The World Tree hummed beneath her bare feet—until her mind whispered one word:

"Arbitrators."

Far to the West, within the Luminous Castle buried in the celestial orb of time, the clocks ticked their first second.

Radix opened her eyes.

She did not breathe—instead, the castle did, through her. Every pulse in the atmosphere resonated with her.

White robe draped loosely over her blank body, tied by a floating scarf of light. She observed it.

"This lacks... symmetry."

Her thoughts were geometric. Perfectly aligned.

"I require covering," she muttered. With a flick of her sleeve, strands of light braided into fabric, forming her robe's shape—a black and white mix, accented with linear gold.

A small pink ribbon hovered above her head.

She blinked.

The crystalline walls shifted around her as she stepped forward. Bare feet echoed gently on the glowing floor. She saw the stars outside—but they weren't positioned. Time hadn't moved them yet.

A thought stirred.

Why am I awake if there is no time yet?

She paused. Blinked once. Then turned sharply.

"...There's something at the center. A beacon. A presence."

She walked. Not with steps, but with sequences. Her feet hovered as light bent around her.

In the far East, a gentle giggle filled the void.

Libik floated in the Adamantium Castle, the birthplace of space. It looked like a glass cathedral bending endlessly into distance. Dimensions unfolded around her like dominoes.

"Wheeeeew! What a nap!"

Libik stretched atop a floating mirror-like platform, long dark hair pooling at her waist.

"Ooooh... this is fun!"

Her body had just formed. She looked down, completely unbothered by the lack of attire.

"Hm. Can't visit others like this. Might scare the new kids. Let's see... jacket? Blazer? Ooo—cape!"

She twirled.

Her clothes stitched themselves into place—black blazer with silver trim, a short tie, short white skirt with layers, thigh-high socks with warming guards, and metallic gauntlets.

She caught a glimmer at the edge of her dimensional field.

A golden thread, moving fast.

"Time girl's up too, huh?"

She jumped forward—space warped—and went in the direction of the world tree.

With a mischievous smirk, Libik reached into the void. Her fingers danced through folds of space, pulling out the essence of fabric.

"Now we're talking, darling~!"

The two met above a void-river threading toward the World Tree.

"Libik."

"Oh~ you remember my name too? Aren't we synced already!"

She floated closer, twirling. Radix did not react.

"There's someone else at the Tree. I think she's the one who woke first."

"Confirmed."

They drifted together toward the glowing heart of creation.

Aetheria stood, one hand on the Tree.

Then—

Whoosh—!

Libik arrived near the tree, Aetheria turned slowly as Libik waved enthusiastically.

"Heya! I'm Libik! You from this side too?"

"Welcome," Aetheria spoke. "I... believe we are of similar origin."

"I don't believe, I know," Libik winked.

She turned slowly as Radix materialized beside her, walking with steps perfectly measured. Libik followed with a fluid skip, barefoot, as radiant ribbons fluttered behind her.

The three locked eyes.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then Libik raised an eyebrow towards Aetheria.

"You're clothed," she said casually, leaning toward Aetheria. "Did you wake up first?"

Radix bowed with a hand to her chest.

"Subject identified: Root Guardian. You are... the origin?"

Aetheria gave a single nod. "I do not know how this came to be. Somehow or Someone... dressed me."

She gently touched her shoulder. "There was... a voice."

Radix's eyes glowed faintly. "Presence detected. Memory voided. Source: unknown."

Libik giggled. "Mysterious... kinda romantic too, no?"

Aetheria looked at Libik. "I don't think It was romantic... It is more like creepy."

Libik leaned in. "Creepy!! You mean like, 'the one who set us in motion'?"

Before Aetheria could reply, a gust of wind rolled through the tree—life itself.

When their hands lightly brushed to catch themselves from blowing away—

VRRRRRRMMM—

The World Tree shook.

Aetheria stepped back, eyes wide.

"What did we just do?"

Radix raised her hand. "Life pattern emergence. Planetary systems. Biological signatures."

Stars blinked to life across the skies.

BOOM! A series of sun's started igniting.

From its branches, stars ignited.

On distant orbs, rivers formed. Volcanoes breathed. Air filled the lungs of beasts. Planets began to age.

Swishhhh—! Rivers flowed in empty planets.

The sky turned blue. Clouds moved. Water flowed across lifeless rock.

Bloop. The first fish swam.

Chirp... chirp! Birds cried in trees that were just born.

The World Tree vibrated with life.

Creation had officially begun.

In the heights above them, the Dante Gate rumbled.

Aetheria flinched. "what was that sound? did you hear it too?"

Radix and Libik shaked their heads in denial. "We didn't hear anything, perhaps only you could hear it...."

Aetheria looked up to the branches of the tree. "Maybe this gigantic tree is the reason, I could here it..."

She looked up to both of them, "what do you say, wanna go out and check the disturbance with me?"

Radix looked neutral. "Source: Unknown, Estimated: Arbitrator."

She looked at Aetheria, "Sure, I'll go."

Libik floating in air roamed around the tree. "heyyy~ don't forget about me. I'll also come with yaa~"

Aetheria, Radix and Libik went to explore the branches of the world tree as well as the rumbling sound from above until they reached the top of the tree.

There—floating at the top of all creation—was a castle made of circular rings.

Altana.

She stood barefoot, veil wrapped around her body like silk fog. Her wings—white. Six of them. Beautiful, angelic. Ten rings hovered around her, her dark skin glowing softly under starlight.

She had been whispering incantations "nos von floa"—trying to break the sealed Dante Gate.

"DARK AUSTEN!!" A neon bluish triangular spell at each corner has formed a small circle infront of her the magic spell is the same size as her, from the center a series of web connected to the center of the magic spell, from them a black and blue flame like raw magic has shot towards the gates.

BOOM.

Crack. Sizzle.

Nothing.

"It's locked. Tch."

She sighed dramatically.

"I don't like being caged~"

She pressed her body against the door. Nothing happened.

Then smiled with a sigh.

"Well... you'll open one day, won't you, handsome?" she giggled softly.

Then she turned.

"Oh? Visitors already? How cute."

She floated toward them.

"You look surprised. I'm Altana. Gatekeeper of this stubborn thing here...And... possibly the prettiest one of us."

Libik rolled her eyes. "Confident much?"

Altana smiled. "Just enough."

Altana casually sat on air.

"It won't open. I've been trying all day."

Radix: "Time distortion ineffective."

Libik: "Space warp useless."

Aetheria: "...It's not meant to be opened that's what I am thinking, I mean we don't know what there is on the other side so it's better to be safe than sorry... right?"

Suddenly.

FLASH.

The center glowed again.

They all turned.

"...The World Tree." Aetheria's voice grew worried.

"We need to go back." She said, as already in motion towards the center.

When Aetheria, Libik, Radix and Altana reached the center again… they found them.

Two figures stood near the center trunk.

One figure leaned against a pillar, flipping a scroll that glowed and re-wrote itself every second.

Libik waved cheerfully. "Heya~ You must be… um… the new guys?"

A Tall, pale hair tied in a lazy ponytail. A long coat draped over his bare chest looked at the approaching Arbitrator's.

Biblia.

"Helloooo ladies~"

Libik's eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you wearing?"

"I woke up like this," he said, smirking. "It's not my fault I look good in everything."

Aetheria stepped forward. "You're an Arbitrator. You feel it, don't you?"

Biblia shrugged. "I feel many things. Mostly curious. Also... did you know how many worlds are already breeding nudist sects?"

Radix: "He is defective." She said plainly at him like a arrow peirced to his heart.

"OH~ she speaks! But saying like that hurts my feelings" he grinned clearly not bothered by her words.

Then a slow metallic clank echoed.

Another one arrived.

A man with a claw-like right arm. Cape swaying. pale face. But cold yellow eyes. Serious.

Dues.

He nodded once. "We're all gathering."

Biblia grinned. "Duesy! You're dressed too. Guess we're fashionably divine, huh?"

Dues: "I dressed myself."

Aetheria stepped between them. "Did any of you... feel someone? Before waking?"

They all turned silent.

Libik: "Now that you say it… yeah. Someone was here."

Dues's brow twitched slightly. "We woke up not long ago. The sigil embedded in the trunk… we emerged from it. It was designed."

Biblia chuckled. "And our first sight? A world shimmering with beauty and chaos. And then you three. And that tree."

Radix: "Voice imprint detected. Memory scrambled."

Biblia: "Oh~ now this is spicy."

Biblia tilted his head as he sniffed the air.

"Wait a minute!! and excuse me girls"

He floated near then and sniffed loudly.

"You girls smell like newborn cosmos."

Libik: "Excuse you?"

"KKYYAAAAAAAA—!!"

*SLAP*

Aetheria blushed as she slapped Bibilia sending him spinning and flying to a distance. She clinged herself at her shoulders trying to hide her body.

Bibilia slowly got up and gave a quick thumbs up to her after brushing his nosebleed. "Worth it...ugh that was a nice slap though..."

Aetheria: "PERVERT!! What I meant is that, was there anyone who woke up before me and why are we here in some place we can't even understand..."

Dues didn't even look at them. then he stepped forward first, his black-clawed hand loose at his side, his sharp eyes calm but wary.

"We're here because it's time to be here. No one asked us. We just... are and I guess I'm not the only ones who felt… pulled back to the center."

Altana: "Creepy. I like him."

Biblia grinned lazily, pushing his glasses up with one finger as he walked back to them to lighten the mood. "My, my. Quite the welcome I got there."

Aetheria stepped closer, her gaze locked on the invisible pressure twisting behind Biblia's back. "You carry something strange… dangerous."

He nodded with a smirk. "A little something etched into me at birth. A book, filled with everything. Don't worry—just don't read it."

Radix studied him. "Mental protection activated. Reading prohibited without mind clearance."

Libik hummed thoughtfully. "And you?" she turned to Dues.

"I… judge," Dues said plainly. "That's all I know for now."

The girls exchanged glances.

Aetheria spoke slowly. "Your arrival coincided with… something else. Something that placed clothes on us before we awoke."

Altana raised a brow. "A fashion-forward phantom, huh?"

Biblia's eyes flicked to Aetheria's perfectly arranged ribbon. "Whoever it was… had taste."

Aetheria turned back toward the bark. Her voice dropped. "I don't know who did it. But I feel… safe. Watched. Protected. Not like prey. More like…"

She didn't finished the sentence.

Her fingers brushed the bark. "Something touched me… not long ago. A presence. Kind… warm… I remember being placed here. Someone has watched me."

Radix stood beside her, calmly scanning the area. "Residual divine energy. Not from any of us. Marked by unknown origin… unfathomable density. It exceeds Arbitrator-level readings."

Altana clicked her tongue. "Heh… so whoever dressed you has a godlike fashion sense and knows how to sneak past six Arbitrators. Fun."

But the six Arbitrators stood now together at the base of the World Tree, as soft wind brushed against their skin, and the leaves above rustled like secrets yet to be known.

Suddenly—

GIGGLE.

Everyone froze.

Deep below, where shadows coiled beneath dying roots and far beneath them, deep under the bark of the World Tree… and in the middle of the Abyss...

A shimmer. A silhouette. A childlike laugh echoing in the rot.

"Dreams are funny. I was never dreamed, but here I am."

A face appeared. White, smooth. Stitched smile.

"I think I'm Farfarella."

Farfarella opened his stitched lips.

"Heeheehee~... Ahahaha~... AHAHAHAHA~"

(To be continued.)