Chapter 39: The Eternal ParliamentScene 1: Whispers of the Origin
Kael stood still.
The name Eternal Parliament echoed through his soul like an ancient curse awakened. It wasn't just a term—it was a memory. One that didn't belong to him, and yet pulsed in his veins like ancestral knowledge.
"Who are they?" Kael asked quietly.
Nyssel's smile lost its usual arrogance. "You've met the Thrones. The so-called Authorities of Time, Space, Death, and Fire. But even they bow to something older. More structured. More... political."
Mira frowned. "Politics? In a cosmic hierarchy?"
Nyssel chuckled. "Oh dear. The cosmos is built on politics. Balance isn't natural—it's managed."
Scene 2: What Lies Beyond Authority
As the team gathered in the Circle of Returning—a sanctuary of floating stones and suspended memories—Zeraphin summoned a holographic memory from the Void Archives.
A thousand faceless beings sat at a round table made of starlight and bone.
Elenai stared. "Are those... Authority-level entities?"
"No," Nyssel whispered. "Those are the Creators of the Authority system. The beings who wrote the rules the Thrones follow. The ones who designed concepts like Time. They formed the Eternal Parliament to manage reality like a government."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "And what do they govern?"
Nyssel sighed. "Existence. Cause. Effect. Meaning. Identity. They debate what should be allowed to exist, and what should be forgotten."
Scene 3: Summons to Judgment
Suddenly, the sky split open—not in thunder, but in law.
A decree, written in golden fire, appeared before Kael:
"To the One Who Has Touched Proto-Authority: You are hereby summoned to appear before the Eternal Parliament to justify your existence."
The others stared in horror.
Zeraphin whispered, "That's not an invitation. That's a trial."
Kael looked up. "And if I don't go?"
A second line appeared beneath the first.
"Failure to attend will result in your immediate unmaking across all timelines."
"...Great," Kael muttered. "Cosmic court date. Just what I needed."
Scene 4: Preparing for the Parliament
With one day to prepare, the group rested in the Astral Basin, a field of liquid galaxies where thoughts shaped the terrain.
Zeraphin created a dojo of crystal and silence. "We train. The Parliament is not just political—it's philosophical warfare. You'll need to argue your right to exist while surviving challenges designed to break your very concept."
Mira focused on Kael's emotional memory. "We can anchor your identity so no one can rewrite it during the trial."
Elenai, however, went still. "Kael… what if they bring up your past?"
Kael didn't answer.
He didn't need to. They all knew what was coming.
Scene 5: Entering the Parliament
When the time came, the sky folded inward.
A gateway of paradox opened—upward and downward at the same time. The group stepped through... and found themselves inside an Infinite Courtroom.
It defied logic: gravity rotated in spirals, dimensions overlapped, and logic bent like paper. At the center sat a circular table of Judges—none visible, but all watching.
A voice thundered—not from above, but from within their minds.
"Kael of the Proto-Authority. Stand before the Eternal Parliament. Justify your growth."
Kael stepped forward.
The silence wasn't quiet. It was judgmental.
A hooded figure floated up—its voice genderless, emotionless.
"You have altered timelines. Burned rules. Rewritten identity. Why?"
Kael answered without flinching.
"Because your rules are broken."
Gasps echoed across dimensions.
Scene 6: Trial of Truth
Each Judge asked questions—philosophical, cruel, logical.
Judge of Time: "If you could go back and stop yourself from being born, would you?"
Kael: "No. I'd go back and teach myself why I had to be born."
Judge of Law: "What is the value of your existence?"
Kael: "The fact that it still continues, despite everything."
Judge of Memory: "Name every soul you've ever hurt."
Kael lowered his gaze and named them—one by one. The courtroom wept starlight.
But the final challenge came from the Prime Judge, a being so ancient its voice was layered in forgotten languages.
"You wish to ascend. Why should one being shape reality?"
Kael's voice rang like thunder, calm and eternal:
"Because I do not shape it alone. I shape it with the weight of every life I've touched. Every friend, every enemy, every mistake."
"I am not a god. I am a consequence."
Silence followed.
Then… thunderous applause.
From entities. From echoes of time. Even from the Judges themselves.
Scene 7: The Verdict
The Prime Judge stood.
"Kael of Proto-Authority. You have passed the trial."
The courtroom dissolved into golden light, wrapping around Kael's core.
"You are now granted Conditional Recognition. You may continue your path. But know this—should you ascend further, you will be watched. For beyond Proto-Authority… lies the power to unwrite creation."
Kael nodded. "I'll carry it. Carefully."
The world faded.
Scene 8: Aftermath and a New Path
Back in the material world, the team exhaled.
Zeraphin clapped. "Well, you just made cosmic history."
Mira grinned. "You were poetic. I almost cried."
Nyssel bowed. "And you survived the Parliament. Barely."
Kael chuckled. "Let's not do that again."
But in the sky above them, a ripple formed. An ancient being, faceless and massive, watched silently.
Not the Parliament.
Something older.
The Void Monarch had noticed him.
To Be Continued in Chapter 40: The Monarch Beyond Meaning