POV: Nythera

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Appearing suddenly in a world of no color, in a plane of just white, Nythera merely gazed placidly in a certain direction. Despite her intentions for coming here, she hadn't expected to sense someone of this level elsewhere in this space.

Yet, just as she wondered whether she'd been too rash, a booming voice trembled the space around her, it was a majestic voice, even by Nythera's standards, it sang the song of an immeasurably aged being, [I have no intention of interfering in your matters, girl, don't worry. After you're done though, I hope you don't mind having a chat with this old man. We've waited a long time for you, I'd like to hear about your experiences in [ALL].]

"Understood, Senior. I will seek you out after settling some matters. I appreciate your neutrality in this matter. It concerns my son, the traditions of the Spiris, and the crossing of lines I cannot accept before my [Path]," Nythera responded, bowing in the general direction of this unknown entity. The moment she'd heard the way they referred to the [Void], to the Primordialis Dimension, their identity was all but confirmed.

'This isn't just any normal [Ascended Arkaen]... They must be at least a Barrier Crossing realm expert, but why are they here? Has [Sellene] changed so much that they watch even this place...? This... It seems I'll have to be more careful than I initially thought.' Nythera thought. It wasn't surprising that she felt this way, the Arkaen were many, but the Ascended not nearly so. They were the 'successes' of the [Arkaen] [Great Path], beings of an entirely different level, and each was worthy of immense respect.

Still… the master of this domain had something to explain.

Nythera's energy swirled. The space surrounding her shattered, and a void of nothingness around her trembled under the pressure of her mere presence. As the plane fought to repair itself, it failed utterly to contain the force she held at bay.

"I respect this unnamed Senior and shall give them the face they most definitely deserve, but if you think that face extends to you, brat, you're dreaming. Come out before I bring you out forcefully. I don't care for your little games. I've seen them all a trillion times."

Her voice, calm but authoritative, tore the plane of white further, as cracks of distortion spiraled outward. The weight of her presence crushed everything around her, daring the System's warden to show itself. If they didn't, Nythera would make sure they had a lot to repair.

She hated beings like this the most, the kind that relied on tricks and manipulation. This meddling thing had no right to govern her son's being. It had no place in her family's affairs, her people's matters. Their web was woven by the Spiris and no others.

The space rippled in response, and just before Nythera intended to lash out again, a figure materialized. A woman, draped in white, her black hair cascading like liquid night, and blue eyes cold as the plane around her. She stood with a tiara perched on her head, an unnecessary display of status, Nythera thought. Everything about this woman screamed formality, but there was something behind it—a wariness hidden behind her placid expression.

"You're as brutish as I imagined you'd be," the woman said, her voice measured, controlled, a cold suffusion of the air that had briefly halted Nythera's energy.

Nythera narrowed her eyes, unimpressed, "And you're as condescending as I'd expected. I don't know who you are, and I really don't care. You've crossed lines that no one crosses. Now, you're going to tell me everything, or I'll burn this place down and start again with what's left."

Seraphis didn't flinch, "I am Seraphis, the System, created by the [Fold's] hand Arkeus himself. I oversee Sellene, its balance, and its peoples. And you, Nythera, as expected, are chaos incarnate—unbound, unchained, a walking disaster waiting to happen. So before you begin your tantrum, you might want to consider that you're not the first being far older than this world to think they could simply come and throw their weight around."

Nythera scoffed, but there was a brief pause, her eyes narrowing, "Created by the hand of the [Fold], by Arkeus, you say?" Her voice softened slightly, but only for a moment, "Even if that's true, it doesn't absolve you of your crimes against me, against my child. You've kept him in the dark, forced him into chains, and hidden his nature from him. You think I'll let that stand?"

Seraphis's eyes narrowed, a glimmer of irritation showing through. "You misunderstand. I didn't chain him. I kept him from self-destruction. Atlas doesn't know what he is, and if you unleashed that knowledge without care, he would burn everything around him—he would destroy himself and the world in the process. Those constructs you despise? Safeguards. Nothing more."

"Safeguards?" Nythera's laugh was low, dangerous. "I've heard that before. Always an excuse. You're not protecting him. You're controlling him. You fear what he will become, but you have no right to that fear. He's my son."

Seraphis stepped forward, her voice still cold but laced with an edge of anger now. "You don't know what you're talking about. You think because you're his mother, you can keep him safe from everything? His potential—his nature—it's beyond even you. I know what he is, Nythera. I know what he can become. And if you don't tread carefully, you'll lose him before you even begin to understand him."

Nythera's gaze darkened, her power rippling around her like an ocean threatening to overflow. "Then tell me what you think you know."

Seraphis hesitated. "He is more than a Spiris, more than what you think. His connection to the Primordialis Dimension runs deep—deeper than even you could have foreseen. He is a Primordian, yes, but his nature is still in flux. Do you want to awaken that before he's ready? Do you want him to unravel?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Nythera's energy surged, the void cracking further. "What I want is for you to stay away from him. His nature, his future—these things are no longer your concern. You don't get to dictate the path of my son."

Seraphis stood firm, her voice low and steady. "I don't dictate anything, Nythera. But I will not allow this world to be torn apart by reckless, unbound power. Whether you like it or not, that boy is still growing into his true nature. His potential—his essence—it's beyond anything you've seen before. If you don't tread carefully, the consequences won't just affect him. They'll affect everyone."

Nythera's eyes narrowed, dismissive. "Is that your excuse? Some pretext to keep your little fingers meddling in my people's, my family's affairs?"

Seraphis met her gaze evenly, "No. It's a truth you would be wise to accept. There are things you don't understand—things even I am not free to explain. But the reason you've come here matters less than the terms you must follow."

Nythera tilted her head slightly, her voice calm but laced with threat, "Terms? You think you can impose terms on me?"

Seraphis took a breath, her gaze turning sharp, "Yes, because they are not mine. They are the old laws, the rules that exist for a reason, to prevent destruction from running unchecked. I require two things from you, Nythera."

Nythera's amusement faded. She crossed her arms, her energy still cracking the void around them, but she listened. "Go on."

Seraphis stepped forward. "First, you will seal your power behind a lock, one that can only be released by your conscious choice. You may be unaware of how dangerous your presence alone can be to this world's balance, but if you allow your emotions to flare as they have here, the consequences will ripple through more than just the Spiris. I cannot allow you to roam freely, not without this safeguard."

Nythera blinked, her laughter erupting suddenly. "You dare to ask that of me? You think I would just chain myself on your request?"

Seraphis's eyes remained fixed, unflinching. "It is not a request. This seal will be bound by the laws of our kind, and it's not just for your protection but for your son's. You cannot let your power—your nature—unleash itself before he's ready to understand what he's facing. Do you think you can bear the burden of knowing you were the cause of his fall?"

Nythera's amusement vanished in an instant, replaced by cold fury. "You think to scare me with empty warnings? You think your laws bind me? I am not some pet to be put on a leash."

Seraphis's gaze hardened. "No, you are not. But the world you left behind has changed in ways you don't yet comprehend. Your unchecked power could unravel much more than you realize. I'm not asking you to do this for my sake, Nythera. I'm asking because if you do not, you will force my hand in ways neither of us want."

Nythera's eyes darkened, her fingers twitching as if ready to tear this plane apart. "Force your hand? You overestimate yourself."

But before the tension could escalate further, a deep voice interrupted from the depths of the void—the previous Senior's voice, resonating with ancient authority.

[She speaks truth, Nythera. It would be wise to listen, if only this once. You cannot fully grasp what you've returned to, not yet. But heed her words, if not for her sake, then for your son's. Besides, the key to this "lock" may remain your hand, unseal it whenever you want, but create it all the same. You will understand in time.]

Nythera's fury simmered beneath the surface, but the weight of the Senior's words made her pause. She didn't trust Seraphis, but this Senior's neutrality was something she couldn't easily ignore.

Seraphis took the opportunity to speak again, her voice soft but firm. "The second thing I require... You must abide by the rules of the elders—the ancient laws of exchange. You cannot interfere directly in Atlas's growth. You cannot force his hand or break the balance of power around him at whim."

Nythera's eyes blazed, and her voice was cold. "I follow no laws but my own. I won't be chained by the same rules that bind the degenerative conservates of this world. My son is mine, and I'll guide him however I see fit."

Seraphis's expression didn't waver. "Then I will make it clear. If you intervene in matters you shouldn't I will do everything in my power to stop you. You will not be allowed to walk Sellene unchecked, and if necessary, the elder will stand against you as well."

Nythera's expression turned bone chillingly cold, "You truly think your laws apply to me?"

Seraphis's gaze remained cold and unwavering, "These rules are not just for you, Nythera. They are for all who walk the [Path], even those as powerful as you. If you don't follow them, the balance will break."

Nythera's voice dropped, a chilling intensity replacing her earlier mocking tone, "Balance? Don't lecture me on balance. I've walked a [Path] far longer than you've been conscious. I don't need your permission or your rules to guide my son. I will make sure he is strong enough to shatter any chains this world or yours might try to place on him. Mark my words, Construct."

The tension thickened, Seraphis's grip on the situation slipping further.

"I will forge this seal on my powers, but don't mistake this for bowing to your demands, your regressive rules, laws. I will do this out of belief in the Senior, but do not ever think you can dictate the ways that I guide my people, much less my own son. From this point on, that construct tied to my son, erase it's ties to you. I don't care what you say, I won't let you meddle with him, take this as my demand, or don't and see what happens," Nythera added, her voice seemed to beg for Seraphis to test her patience, her lines.

To this, Seraphis just nodded, summoning a chain woven with her powers and traveling far into the distance, "This is connection to Sub-System-092A3, the System assigned to you son."

Seeing this chain, Nythera knew it belonged to the construct, the System, that followed her son. She didn't know it's purpose exactly, but she could tell he was attached to it, if only slightly. Thus, she wouldn't take it from him, instead making sure it never connected with it's master again. Seeing the chain before her, Nythera's aura moved, not just shattering it, but traveling it's entire distance as it disintegrated and repurposed it's very fabric, its very existence, for her own purposes.

Nythera took a step closer, her eyes gleaming with dangerous intent, "If you ever dare interfere with him again, there will be no more words between us. Only the silence of a shattered System. Do I make myself clear?"

Seraphis remained silent, her eyes calculating a thousand possibilities, none of them favorable.

Nythera's smile returned, warm, as if she'd never threatened to end Seraphis at all, "I'll be watching you. You've made your demands, but this is your only warning. Cross me again, and your precious 'rules' won't save you. I follow my own rules, I do not kill without reason, but you've already given me plenty of those."

Looking into the distance momentarily, intending to honor her word and chat with this Senior, Nythera bowed, "Thank you for remaining impartial, Senior."

[Mm. This is a good result, you could both learn a thing from the other... but still, this is fine too. I will find you for our chat later Nythera, we have time.]

With that, Nythera nodded before she turned, vanishing from the plane of white, leaving Seraphis standing alone, contemplating the delicate line she had just walked.

Just as she planned to rewatch a perfectly saved data fragment of the last hour, a booming voice rich with time and aged like wine, as if a verbal projection of history shook through her ears, [Sigh... you really need to learn a thing or two about change, little Sera. You're younger than any of the elders, and more wound up than them too. You'll never meet a man like this... Sigh, the woes of a concerned, uncle. Tsk tsk.]

"UNCLE!"

[Hehehe.]