The Throne's of those who Rule

The air had changed.

After Farfarella's laughter slithered through the very roots of the World Tree, silence fell like a blade. Not the peaceful kind, but the tense, rippling stillness before a cosmic truth is spoken aloud.

The six Arbitrators stood together at the base of the Tree—and each felt it.

[Altana: (That laugh... was too human. Too playful... And from below? No. I don't like this. Not one bit.)]

Radix stepped forward, eyes flickering with rings of data. "Anomalous entity designated: Shadow Sixth. Temporarily classified under 'Far-born'."

Libik hovered upside down. "So, uh... are we just gonna ignore the laugh-that-sounded-like-someone-who-swallows stars for breakfast?"

Aetheria's silver eyes narrowed. "We are not ignoring it. But first, we must understand ourselves... and each other."

Aetheria stood at the base of the World Tree, her hand gently brushing its bark.

["Something is moving. Something unsettling..."]

Above them, the sky shimmered faintly—reality itself still stitching its threads.

"Now that we're all here," she said, stepping forward, "we must understand what we are... what we were made for."

Libik leaned over, raising a brow. "What, no games first? Or maybe tea?"

Biblia, still holding the scroll he always seemed to be flipping for dramatic flair, nodded. "I'm game for tea. Or perhaps a chaotic debate on morality."

Dues ignored both of them, his yellow eyes fixed on Aetheria. "You called us Arbitrators. Explain?"

Aetheria folded her arms, gaze steady. "I did not name us. The title arrived with... understanding. Each of us represents a root element of creation. This World Tree... reflects us."

Radix adjusted the ribbon floating above her head. "Designation: Arbitrator confirmed. Function unknown."

Altana crossed her legs midair, six wings folding slightly. "All I know is, that Gate won't open, and someone put clothes on YOU. Not that I'm complaining."

Libik laughed. "We really woke up with no context, huh? Sooo… who's got what power exactly?

They sat in a rough circle at the base of the World Tree, surrounded by early echoes of life forming in far-off stars. The trunk glowed faintly, sensing their presence.

Aetheria spoke first, her voice soft but resolute.

"We were not born. We were made. Our purpose... isn't clear, but it has begun."

She looked around.

"I oversee the World Tree. Growth. Balance. Interconnection. All things that live or will live, pass through this center. I feel it. In my body."

Radix turned to her. "You are the fulcrum of this equation."

Libik leaned her chin on her palm. "Translation: You're the 'mom' of this group."

Aetheria blushed slightly. "I... suppose."

[Radix: (I detect harmonic fields originating from Aetheria's aura. Her power bleeds into the core systems of life... it literally regulates organic time signatures.)]

Radix stood next. The pink ribbon on her head bobbed slightly as she moved.

"Time is my domain. Its progression. Its erosion. Its echo. I... maintain rhythm. Without me, creation would either freeze... or unravel in simultaneous ages."

She raised her hand. A sphere hovered above it. Within: stars dying, reforming, aging, resetting. A billion years in her palm.

Libik gave a slow whistle. "Oooooh. You can pause a love confession mid-sentence and drag it out for centuries. Jealous."

Radix blinked. "Unrelated."

Libik floated up, legs crossing mid-air.

"Space here! I am everything between you all. Like, literally. All the gaps? That's me. I can bend the world into a cube, or fold this tree like origami."

She giggled. "I also make sure you guys don't crash into each other. You're welcome."

Biblia clapped slowly. "Bravo. Dimension Girl is here to keep our cosmic pants from getting tangled."

Libik tossed a wink. "And you?"

Biblia stood. His coat shimmered white at the collar, black at the hem, golden spirals glowing faintly along the cuffs.

"I am the Arbitrator of Knowledge. Every word, spoken or unspoken, written or lost, exists within me."

He smirked. "Each Arbitrator has a throne. Mine floats above the oldest book in creation... a book that even I am not allowed to read yet."

[Libik: (Show-off. Smells like paper and secrets.)]

Aetheria nodded politely. "A place of memory and order. I suspect we will rely on you often."

Biblia chuckled. "Feel free. Entry's free. Exit? Not always.

Dues remained quiet. Then he rose "Law. Balance. I sense all scales tipping too far, basically what I'm saying I am Judgment. The executor of principle and reason."

Libik: " Now I am scared."

Altana twirled lazily in mid-air. "I suppose that makes it my turn, huh?"

She spread her six white wings and landed on one of the floating roots with a smirk.

"I am Altana. Arbitrator of the Gate. Guardian of the Dante Seal. You may call me the prettiest wall between here and the end."

She winked.

"Also, my throne has a minibar."

Libik: "I KNEW IT!"

Altana laughed.

"Hey, someone has to enjoy eternity."

Dues crossed his arms. "Are we ignoring the fact there is something beyond the Dante Gate?"

Radix looked up. "Entity Beyond Detected. Signature: undefined."

Biblia: "Heh. That... is for another chapter, no?"

Libik's eyes glowed as she pierced her sight above to Altana's castle.

Libik giggled. "Flawless bar you got there, Gate Girl."

[Altana: (I like her. She's chaotic. Maybe a little unhinged... like me.)]

Aetheria nodded. "Now that we're aware, we must show our domains to each other. Our castles. It's essential to know where each of us governs."

She turned to everyone, " Let's go to Biblia, than following to Dues, Libik, Radix and Altana…"

First Stop: Eternal Library — Biblia's Domain.

The group stepped through Libik's fold—space bent, and suddenly they were surrounded by white. Endless white. Shelves of pristine books stacked impossibly high.

Biblia spread his arms. "Welcome to the Eternal Library. No dust. No spiders. Infinite lore."

Altana glanced at a flying index. "Why does everything glow like a funeral parlor?"

Libik spun one of the floating books like a frisbee. "You've got your entire wardrobe in here too, don't you?"

Biblia sniffed. "Only three sections. Wardrobe, forbidden history, and naughty scrolls."

Aetheria quietly stepped toward the main path—leading toward a vast throne carved into the very script of existence.

Radix paused at a wall. "No end detected. System looping. This archive surpasses quantum architecture."

Biblia leaned in. "Did she just compliment my library? I think I'm blushing."

Altana chuckled. "You're impossible."

Second Stop: The Heaven's Library — Dues's Domain.

The fold snapped again—this time, they emerged in what looked like a small, solemn city. Black spires. Quiet wind. Law sigils etched into the sky.

Libik whistled. "Okay, brooding much?"

Altana flicked her wings. "There's more silence than a nun's library."

Dues walked ahead without comment. Into the tallest structure—the core of heaven library, a place where his throne would be.

Inside, it expanded. Infinite halls. More space than logic allowed.

"Dimensional anchor," Radix noted. "Compressed distortion."

In the heart of the central chamber… was a throne. Floating above it, a dark purple rhombus-shaped crystal.

Aetheria stopped walking.

["What... is this pressure?"]

Dues slowly approached the crystal. His eyes narrowed.

Libik scratched her head. "Is it just me or is that thing... humming?"

Biblia whistled. "Whatever it is, it's not normal. It's cooler than me. I hate it."

Altana floated back slightly. "It's alive."

Radix: "No known signature. Composition: paradoxical."

Dues stared at it—then raised his hand.

"Artifact. Come."

Nothing happened.

Libik bursts into laughter and wiped a small drop of tear from her right eye. "Denied. Rejected. Left on read."

Dues furrowed his brow.

He raised his hand again—this time his hand glowed a yellowish-red hue, with full Arbitrator authority who can wield artifacts.

"By the command of Law, yield!"

BOOM—!!

A shockwave blasted through the chamber.

Aetheria and Radix were thrown backward, Aetheria hit the wall but catches Radix just in time before she got hit to the wall. Libik cartwheeled through the air.

Altana's wings snapped open just to slow her descent.

Biblia slammed into the pillar and bounced off like a ragdoll.

The rhombus started emitting the aura they never sensed before.

Whum-whum-whum.

From within—it flickered.

A spark.

A single sliver of radiant aura.

A jagged blade-shaped gleam.

At the jagged blade's crossguard a gem in obsidian colour began to glow faintly, "ANALYZE INITIATED... ANALYZE COMPLETE… ERROR. TARGET DOES NOT POSES THE NECESSARY FACTOR… NOW ENGAGING FORCE TO SUPRESS UNAUTHORIZED WIELDER… COMMENCING SHIFT TO MANA BERSERK MODE FOR THE MULTI TARGET…"

An immense phantom pressure flooded the room.

Everyone froze.

Libik's nose bled.

Altana's legs trembled.

Radix's vision fractured like cracked glass.

Dues stepped back, stunned. "What… is this?"

Aetheria could only whisper. "It's... beyond Arbitrator."

The sword inside pulsed once more.

Then—

Silence.

The aura vanished.

The rhombus dimmed.

Biblia coughed blood and stood. "Okay. Note to self. Never touch floating crystals in emo castles."

Libik raised her hand. "Seconded."

Radix exhaled. "Artifact rejected all signatures. Purpose: unknown."

Dues was still staring.

Altana patted his shoulder. "Tried to flex. Got wrecked. We will all have those days."

[Altana: (Whatever that was... it wasn't meant for any of us, so just let it be there untouched by any of us again.)]

As the shock of the floating crystal faded in Dues' chamber—and after some wild and questionable attempts by Biblia to name it "THE CORE OF ABSOLUTE LAW"—the Arbitrators agreed.

Aetheria nodded softly. "Let's continue. We still haven't seen the others."

Next Stop: The Adamantium Castle — Libik's Domain.

Space folded again—and suddenly, they were in an infinite spiral of floating stairways, glass temples, and rotating islands.

Libik posed proudly. "Ta-daaa~! Welcome to my dimension spiral!"

Altana narrowed her eyes. "This place has no ground."

Radix blinked. "Trajectory: inconsistent. Gravity: offended."

Biblia floated sideways. "Love it. 10/10. Great feng shui for vertigo."

Aetheria walked the air as though it were steps. "It's... alive."

Libik nodded. "Space isn't empty. It's playful. And this place? She likes visitors."

One of the temples flared open to reveal a series of mirrors—each showing different worlds.

Libik twirled. "I peek at everyone. It's called surveillance. For science."

Altana crossed her arms. "You mean spying."

Libik winked. "Tomato, tomahto."

Next Stop: The Luminous Castle — Radix's Domain.

Aetheria, still slightly flustered, floated beside Radix.

Libik, as usual, twirled in the air with a grin. "Alright, Time Girl. Show us where you make the clocks scream."

Radix blinked slowly. "They do not scream. They tick in alignment."

Biblia chuckled. "Well then, show me your tick box, princess."

Radix turned her head with a perfectly deadpan face. "Statement unclear. You lack structure."

Altana leaned to Aetheria and whispered, smiling, "I love her. She's like a sentient hourglass with sarcasm installed."

Aetheria let a rare smile tug at her lips. "Let's go."

They floated westward—through a dimension where every second echoed as sound, as light, as memory. The group passed through a glimmering curtain of translucent silver threads, each one vibrating with faint musical tones as if time was humming.

As they passed through the curtain-- CRYSTAL.

A vast palace of shimmering blue emerged, like ice and glass folded into impossible geometry. Time felt soft here—not in speed, but in weight.

The Chronocrypt was a city-sized mechanism carved from sapphire, starlight, and pure temporal flow.

"Welcome," Radix said. "This is the luminous castle also called as Chronocrypt. It perceives all possible instances of 'now.'"

Biblia leaned over a railing and stared into a frozen waterfall—its droplets locked mid-fall. "She's got taste. It's like staring into the throat of time and asking it to sing."

Dues remained silent but alert. "Everything here is… aligned."

The ground beneath them formed paths automatically with every step. Time knew where they intended to walk and sculpted the terrain accordingly.

Aetheria slowed, gazing upward at a dome above the throne chamber.

There—etched in glowing lines of blue, were the routes of time.

Past. Present. Future.

Radix raised her arm, and the throne emerged from a spiral of rotating rings.

She stepped up—without hesitation. Time wrapped around her like glass wind. At her touch, three crystal branches formed, each pointing in a different direction.

"Past." She pointed left. A golden hallway opened, filled with ancient worlds and echoes.

"Present." She pointed down. Their feet shimmered.

"Future." She pointed right. A twisting skybridge that never reached a visible end.

Libik tilted her head. "If I walk down the future path, will I see myself married to a really hot god king?"

Radix responded flatly. "Error. Probability undefined. Outcome uncertain."

"Say YES. next time," Libik muttered with a pout.

Altana floated beside Radix, eyes gleaming. "So you see everything?"

Radix looked at her. "I see every possible thing."

Biblia raised a finger. "Even me winning against Aetheria in a duel?"

Radix turned her head toward him and blinked. "…No."

Biblia: "Rude."

As the group wandered, they passed hundreds of crystal shelves—each holding glowing bubbles of recorded moments. Memories of stars collapsing, planets forming, civilizations dancing into being.

But the beauty was quiet. Almost lonely.

Aetheria stepped to Radix, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"It's beautiful… but do you watch it all alone?"

Radix didn't answer immediately. Then: "Now… I do not."

The statement earned a genuine silence.

And so, they moved on.

Last Stop: The Ascension Spire— Altana's Domain.

From time's echoing halls in west side, they warped to the North-Eastern edge of the World Tree, where an enormous shadow reached upward like a blade.

The Ascension Spire.

A single, impossibly tall tower, so vast it disappeared into the clouds of magic spiraling through space.

Altana hovered lazily. "This is my house. Near the Gate that never opens. Company always welcome."

Libik whispered. "Creepy."

Aetheria smiled faintly. "Peaceful."

Radix gazed upward. "Structure exceeds measurable height."

Libik: "Than I want one."

The entrance shimmered—like molten glass—and pulled open.

"Welcome, darlings~" Altana's voice echoed as they floated into the lobby—a shifting hall of mirrors that refracted not reflections, but possibilities.

Each mirror shimmered with magical formulas, spells, or even distorted fragments of entire worlds' techniques.

"The mirrors," Altana said with a dramatic spin, "are linked to magical thought across creation. Each floor receives spells. I decide what's dangerous, what's clever, and what's just plain dumb."

She waved at a mirror that read:

"World 0234-Xuanhuan Realm: Self-exploding squirrel technique."

REJECTED.

Libik burst out laughing. "Who made that?!"

Biblia read it twice. "I want it."

Altana grinned. "Denied. No squirrels for you."

Aetheria looked around the elevator platform, which wasn't a mechanical lift—but a swirling pool of dimensional light.

"Step on, please," Altana said, stepping first. "This is our 'mirror lift.' Each layer reflects a level of understanding."

The moment they all stepped on, the platform shimmered—

WHOOOOM—

—and they were pulled upward through layers of sky, spiraling past floor after floor, each one glowing with magic.

One floor was filled with forbidden grimoires floating in cages.

Another was a school of magic populated only by illusions of students practicing.

Another was… a room made entirely of chocolate.

Altana: "…Okay, that one's my snack floor."

Libik: "Best girl confirmed."

Finally, they reached the top.

A circular chamber, walls formed from ancient angelic runes.

In the center, a spiral throne—where Altana sat, cross-legged, one wing lazily stretched behind her.

"This is where I rule."

Books, scrolls, and glowing glyphs floated in orbit like planets.

"My job," she said, "is to balance the arcane. When someone makes a new spell across creation, I get a ping. If it's stable, it lives. If not…"

She gestured. A spell scroll nearby disintegrated into flower petals.

"…poof."

Dues looked around. "This much magic… and yet the gate outside won't open?"

Altana tilted her head. "Not even this tower can crack it."

She whispered quietly: "Someone made sure of that."

Radix observed the floating glyphs. "Sources—connected to multiple realms. Feedback stabilization is active."

Altana waved a hand, and the ceiling above parted to show stars spinning in spirals.

Aetheria turned slowly.

"This is where the heartbeat of magic exists…"

Altana floated upside-down and smiled. "Yup. If I die, the cute spell with a bunny that makes you float? Gone."

Libik: "Save the bunny spell."

Biblia was already writing in a floating notebook.

"This place is amazing," he admitted. "You've made chaos look sexy."

Altana fluttered her lashes. "You're not wrong."

She looked at Aetheria seriously.

"We don't know our purpose yet. But this… is what I do until then."

Aetheria nodded.

"We will all uphold our roles—until the one who made this... returns."

Dues stepped beside her. "And when they does, I want answers."

Libik flopped backward in midair. "I want cookies."

Radix blinked. "Statement ambiguous. Clarify if edible or metaphorical."

Biblia whispered, "Both."

They all laughed.

It was the first sound of true harmony among them.

The world above was dark.

The Vast Darkness outside the Dante Gate remained sealed.

But within the floating lights of creation—six Arbitrators stood, finally seeing each other not as strangers… but as stewards.

No one knew when he would awaken.

But until then...

Creation was theirs to hold.

Back at the World Tree, the Arbitrators stood in a loose circle.

Aetheria stepped forward. "Each of us must govern. Not just our powers. But the laws and systems that make them part of this reality."

Radix: "Temporal alignment in place. I shall ensure worlds age correctly."

Libik: "I'll keep the worlds spaced and layered. Portals are my jam."

Biblia raised a hand. "Life blossoms everywhere. I'll write its tales."

Dues: "I'll judge imbalance. Punish chaos."

Altana: "I'll guard the gate. And eavesdrop when bored."

Aetheria nodded. "And I shall nurture the World Tree. Creation will blossom beneath its roots."

They all began to part ways—each flying or stepping into their respective dominions.

Libik waved as she floated backward. "Later, nerds~!"

Radix blinked. "Goodbye. Nerd designation: ambiguous."

Biblia flared his coat. "Off to fill some libraries and flirt with planetary systems."

Dues glanced once more at the crystal in his throne room.

["One day... I will command it. One day."]

Altana folded her wings and smirked. "Try not to blow yourselves up, siblings." The Arbitrators disappeared into glowing lines—each heading toward their realm.

The Eternal Library lit up.

Shelves stretched beyond physics. Lights hovered. Scrolls unraveled.

Biblia walked barefoot along a never-ending hallway. Each step summoned ink.

He smirked. "Let's start writing."

The Heaven' Library trembled.

Dues entered. His throne hovered in the massive central dome.

The crystal holding the sword pulsed... once.

His eyes narrowed.

"Not yet. But soon."

Libik's castle spun. A gyroscopic cathedral, always folding.

She danced through invisible rooms, flicking stardust at walls.

"Yup~ space is bendy today!"

Radix entered her circular sanctuary.

Every second ticked precisely.

She sat cross-legged, palms outward.

"Stabilization... achieved."

Altana floated before the Dante Gate.

The seal burned softly.

She placed a hand on it.

"Whatever's behind you... I hope you're sleeping too."

She turned. Her castle folded back into non-reality.

And at the heart of it all...

Aetheria… stood before the World Tree.

She looked up.

Towards the stars.

["Whoever you are… thank you for dressing me."]

Her eyes closed, after a moment later she opened her eyes and got up.

Then turned… and began her eternal duty.

The leaves glowed with life. The Arbitrators... were home.

And so the system began.

Their roles defined.

Their bonds— siblings of creation.

Their path: unknown.

But they would walk it together.

(To be continued.)