The multiple versions of the Supreme Time Protector raised up their gloved hands in unison and sighed as the two Time Cops walked around in their blue cloaks, swiveling around their covered heads to inspect everyone while filling out their scrollwork.

"And so how long have you been a Supreme Time Protector?" asked a Time Cop.

The Supreme Time Protector had to think about that one. "About five centuries, give or take."

"Mkay, mkay, great, greeeat, greeeeeeat." A quill glided across a scroll over and over again in striking movements. "Do you know how big the rift in time you created was that you used to make all these... Duplicates of yourself?"

The Supreme Time Protector's body language looked uncomfortable to say the least. "Um. Well, I know it was a decently sized one, you know, I had to be able to get all of my past selves to come through it, and-"

"Yea, okay. Great. Mkay, so, here's the thing." The Time Cop stopped scrawling on their scroll and cleared their throat. "So, you violated several strict time laws by creating a rift that big. Rifts in time are by regulation supposed to be a maximum of five timeons in diameter, whereas yours... Fuck's sake, yours was at least eight timeons in diameter. Do you understand how dangerous this is, having time rifts open at such a size? If everyone with the ability to manipulate time did such things, we probably wouldn't have any timelines at all. Along with that, you were doing it in a [checkpoint]. That is also a huge no-no. Time [checkpoints] are quite special little bumps along spacetime that, as you undoubtedly know, hold the power within them to have long lasting consequences on both sides of the timeline, as well as numerous other timelines due to their very nature. Now, that's not to say that rifts in time are forbidden in [checkpoints], but, as you as a Supreme Time Protector are undoubtedly aware, due to the special considerations given to [checkpoints] the limit in diameter of rifts in time is effectively lowered to four timeons. That means that, these two rules considered, you've made a rift twice the legal size. Now, don't stop there, because there's yet more to come. See, this specific [checkpoint] in this current timeline is defined as a work zone, so in effect you should only be opening a time rift three timeons in diameter. Finally, there is the fact that there is a time academy in a nearby dimension to this [checkpoint], which as you were finding this time you undoubtedly saw the signs for, and thusly this is a school zone. In school zones, of course, you can only have rifts in time up to two timeons in diameter. With all that said, why in the gods many glorious and exalted names do you have a time rift open that is eight timeons in diameter?"

The Supreme Time Protector stood there for a second, befuddled. Another version of the Supreme Time Protector raised a finger to interject, but they were immediately dismissed by the Time Cop.

"I'll get to you later, let them answer me."

Eventually, after much groaning and stumbling over mumbles of words, the Supreme Time Protector composed themself and spoke. "Look, so, this was all very necessary. You, um, you see, I'm here to onboard a new [Time Manipulator]. She's right over there."

Kahli cowered a little as she felt herself under the immediate scrutiny of the Time Cops.

"And I needed some advice on how to best assign her a [class] because it'd been so long since I'd done it. So, I summoned up my old self in order to ask them. However, my old self didn't remember either, so then they summoned up an even more past version of myself, and... Well, things just kind of snowballed from there."

The Time Cops wrote all this down and nodded in unison. One walked over to Kahli. Their face was completely covered in a shrouded cowl not unlike the Supreme Time Protectors', although it was blue instead of a blinding white. "So, miss, what all do you know about Time Law?"

Kahli's eyes darted around nervously. "I, uh, um, I, uh-"

[End scenario]

Kahli was alone in the void again. She didn't know how to proceed. Apparently, her only two options were to either get potentially arrested by Time Cops, or allow the Supreme Time Protector to unwittingly stab themselves to death. It was a very grim situation.

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She wished that, at the very least, she could have a moment to talk to Froufrou about the options. Froufrou always seemed to have some good thoughts about picking timelines, and bouncing ideas off her was so helpful as a result. It was nothing like getting lectured by that vile jellyfish that had been planning to consume her to gain all her power and take over the universe. No, nothing like that at all.

Kahli had a thought. Why didn't she take over the universe? Since, apparently, that was in the cards after all?

Then, she had another thought while she was there in the void by herself. Why should she? Why would she want all that responsibility and stress when she could just, well, not do it?

It was hard enough for Kahli to go through a day without something attacking her or trying to kill her. How much worse would it be if she set out to conquer the world itself?

Or, would it be better? Was the problem that Kahli had that she was always on the defensive? Always reacting?

Well, then, Kahli started to wonder if she was using [Tale Teller] on herself there for a moment. After all, she had surely taken a lot of action herself, what with all the stealing the scroll from the hidden archives in Old Snow Mountain. Had she not done that, Kahli realized, all this mess would've been for nothing. Then again, to her own point, she then immediately tried to rectify her mistake - although with that of course what she'd actually done is find Froufrou and get [paired] to her.

And that wasn't a mistake.

Was it?

Kahli was here in the void, alone. She felt she could ask herself these questions now. Was it so good that she had a system now? Was the system making her happy? Was her new living wood hand making her happy?

Perhaps, Kahli thought for a fleeting moment, she ought to consider trying to use her next [checkpoint] to twist a timeline that would wipe out her system and her [paired] status with Froufrou. Just to see what all would change. It was, at the very least, an interesting thought experiment.

But it made her uncomfortable, too. Even though scarcely seven days or so had passed since that fateful moment that Omar had activated the prophetic scroll that spelled out doom for the world at large, Kahli indeed felt that she'd never be the same afterwards, that there was no going back. And, despite all the hell she'd been through, she wasn't sure she wanted to go back, either. Even as comfortable as it was to live in a world where doom wasn't always lurking around the corner like a sinistger specter, Kahli was starting to feel more like herself, whatever that meant, with every passing moment. Sure, terrible things were happening, but in a lot of ways Kahli felt that she was built for it. Like she was made to do what she was doing - traveling through time, teaming up with the Harbinger of Doom, riding on top of dragons, vanquishing every enemy that dared to mess with her...

There were a lot worse things than the life Kahli had finally started living. She was, in fact, really starting to love it. Even the fear, Kahli found, was somewhat intoxicating. She never knew what would happen next. Surely, not everyone with a system always felt this way, as they were generally capable of integrating into larger society as a whole while acting like, generally speaking, normal people. However, for whatever reason, Kahli's system and its powers were starting to make her feel more free than she ever had - and she was beginning to really love it, warts and all.

With that, she felt a little sick to her stomach that she'd even thought about twisting herself away from it. After all, if she did ever successfully pull it off, Kahli would never be able to twist time again - she'd have no means to. And still... it was almost tempting to think over. What a tantalizing thought - twisting a perfect timeline, a timeline where nothing bad happened to Kahli at all and she didn't have to do anything she didn't want to, ever...

How good at meditation would that require her to be? Had anyone done it? Someone had to have done that before, right?

Maybe she'd get a chance to ask Unit 5a23 one day, if he ever showed back up again. He'd unfortunatelly totally disappeared, though, so who knew - maybe it was a lost cause.

Regardless, Kahli found it fascinating to think about. Maybe the Supreme Time Protector would show her some way to use her [skill] to visualize such a timeline without being on the hook for selecting it. Just for curiosity’s sake.

Either way, Kahli knew she had to decide. Cops, or death of the Supreme Time Protector? Her gut said death of the Supreme Time Protector at first, partially because Kahli hated law enforcement and partially because she thought that a real Supreme Time Protector ought to be able to get out of such a deathly scenario pretty easily, what with the whole time control and everything.

And yet, the desire to get that [class] of [Time Manipulator] was tugging at Kahli's heart. She just had to have it. How would that happen without the Supreme Time Protector?

With solemn face, Kahli selected the twisted timeline and prepared to face the Time Cops. It was time to see how she'd handle that question of theirs, considering she had no idea what Time Law was or what all it pertained to.