Arbiter

The Arbiter stood with the Erlking. Watching the battle unfold inside the Erlking’s creation’s tower. He was beyond impressed with the determination it had taken to lead his group of followers into that swirling mass of enemies. He was even, grudgingly impressed, with Benz. The woman had hidden depths it seemed.

“I’m afraid they won’t be able to close the rift.” He said at last, watching as the new invaders entered the fray.

“I fear you are correct Arbiter,” the Erlking said with obvious anxiety. “Isn’t there anything you can do?” he asked, the look on his face told the Arbiter he didn’t expect aid. He was asking out of blind hope more than anything else.

“I am afraid not, Erlking. You know the rules that I am bound too, the enemy from beyond this universe are to be fought by the souls of this universe. Can you not interfere?” he asked, also knowing the answer. He had watched the Erlking bleeding himself dry, trying to hold back the tide.

“You know very well that if I had the resources to intervene, I would have.” He didn’t quite snap back.

“I think this is the end of Mr. Vryce.” He said instead of responding to the rudeness. “It is a shame. I was quite interested in the way he…” his words trailed off as the human soul began to pull in the enemies’ essence.

How was he doing that, he wasn’t strong enough to manipulate power on that scale. Wait, was that?

“Erlking, how did Mr. Vryce come into possession of a world seed?” he asked calmly. He couldn’t believe that even the Erlking would have allowed one of the souls to keep something so rare and precious had he been aware of it.

“I didn’t know it existed,” the Erlking said. He was just as shocked by this turn of events as the Arbiter was.

They were shocked even farther when he managed to actually close the rift. The thing that sent the world spinning away from them both however, was when he discovered the pattern in the stone guardians head.

“I don’t understand, Arbiter. The corruption is the manifestation of the chaos from outside the multiverse itself. The Creator has said this to be true. What is going on?”

The Arbiter, couldn’t answer. He didn’t know either, he scanned the rift in the fabric of reality himself. It was indeed a pathway into the chaos outside the Creator made multiverse. There was no reason for a pattern to exist in a manifestation of chaos. Patterns were objects of order, of creation. What made the multiverse separate from the chaos clouds that waged eternal war on the Creator’s perfect creation.

“I can’t say.” Was what he ended up replying.

When Benz absorbed the pattern, and joined the chaotic essence to her core as well, his mouth dropped open. Two of the human souls with the ability to merge order and chaos. Many of their fellows had engaged the invaders before this, none had been able to do that. To date, all who came into contact with the chaotic essence had been destroyed, permanently. He rewound time and watched the scene unfold again, now he saw it.

“Vryce subtly shifted the stone guardian’s pattern before giving it to Benz.” He said aloud, needing to hear it spoken. “And Benjamin used the world seed as a filter to change the chaos into a creative force, before adding it to his own core.”

Repeat this scene a million times and the odds of another doing as much were infinitesimal. It was a fluke, a coincidence.

“The patterns themselves didn’t exist prior to being discovered by Vryce,” he continued his out loud discovery. “He was channeling the power of chaos and order simultaneously and expecting to find a pattern, created it from that expectation.”

“Do you really believe that?” the Erlking asked after an endless pause.

The Arbiter had to admit, he was reaching. Grasping at straws as the human saying went, but it was plausible. What wasn’t plausible to him however, was the Creator being wrong or lying to him.

“It’s as likely as any other explanation, and nothing seen here leaves this room.” He answered, watching as the Erlking’s creations started to move in on Benjamin.

He was weak now, too weak to escape. His wolf might be able to carry him, but she wasn’t built to traverse the vertical shafts of the tower. Benz was already unconscious, her two hulking protectors, both new and old, vanishing and joining her in her void space. The Erlking watched with bleak despair in his eyes, as his own creations closed in to kill his only real hope of survival.

Calling his portal door, the Arbiter stepped through it into the Hive tower. He wasn’t supposed to interfere with the creatures of chaos, but they were gone now, and this human was too valuable to allow to be killed so simply.

* * *

Benjamin Vryce

Benjamin struggled to his feet. Ice limped her way to his side, slowly returning to her normal form. Benjamin was shrinking as well, it seemed that this transformation wasn’t permanent. That was good, he didn’t think he could bare living like a beast forever.

Not that he would have to worry about forever, he thought as he looked at the rapidly descending Hive. He had saved them from certain destruction, and his reward was to be death at their hands. When the portal door opened and the Arbiter stepped out, he wasn’t sure if he was happy to see the entity or not. The Hive backed off true, but he had lost five of his six soul bound companions, including his newly found love.

“Arbiter,” he greeted the most powerful entity in the universe with a scant inclination of his head.

“World Lord, Vryce.” The Arbiter replied, with a slightly bigger dip to his own head.

Benjamin was rapidly losing his grasp on reality. The pain and healing coupled with his transformation and return to his only slightly monstrous state. He was however, nearly certain that he had been addressed as a World lord Vryce, not Mr. Vryce or Soul Benjamin.

“World Lord?” he asked, warily. His voice was almost lost to him, and he remained on his feet thanks only to Ice’s shoulder. He couldn’t muster any more words than that.

“Yes, World Lord. You found a world seed, and fed it on your own power and understanding of the world. It is now a complete world onto itself, making you, its bound master, a World Lord.”

“Grace, I… how do I…” he couldn’t find the words he needed, he wanted her back. She needed to come back.

“Enter your void space please.” The Arbiter said, gesturing Benjamin to settle onto the ground.

He didn’t understand but did as he was told, letting reality wash away from himself. Opening his mental eyes in his void space, relieved much of his fatigue. He pulled Ice in as well, and activated her form so she could interact with him in here. When he raised his head, he found the expected screen floating in midair. The Arbiter spoke to him from the screen.

“We don’t have much time, Benjamin.” He said, using his first name for the first time. “Normally I wouldn’t do this, because normally it would be impossible. But you have proven yourself more resourceful, and luckier than anyone else I have yet to meet in this universe.”

He pointed at the aged copper acorn, now visible in his void space for the first time.

“Pick it up and open the screen to view your goblin.” He commanded.

Benjamin didn’t understand, he had never opened a screen before. He didn’t know that he could, or well anything for that matter. He didn’t think about it anymore though, he simply did as he was told. Causing a second screen to appear next to the Arbiter’s in his void space.

The screen held a newly constructed village. Small houses built from lumber harvested from the surrounding trees, set up around a central fire place. Honor lay outside the largest one, tail wagging happily as a form exited the building. It was Grace. Except, something was wrong with his goblin girl.

“What is this?” he asked pointing at the screen. Grace’s belly was round with child, and she moved slowly.

Not only that, but there was a silver spider on her shoulder. It looked extremely familiar to Benjamin. Before he could ask any further questions however, another wolf trotted into the frame. It was the mottled tan and brown wolf he had torn from his soul to make room for the red queen’s pattern. What was going on here?

“The world seed was feeding from you from the moment you first fed it your essence back in the Erlking’s forest.” The Arbiter began. “When you were forced to cut the patterns away, it pulled them in.” he finished with a shrug.

“And what about Grace? Why is she pregnant, let alone how far along she is?” he said again more insistently.

“Time in newly created worlds moves differently, Benjamin. They need to adjust and settle into reality, during this period they are sealed from even their creators. In the minutes that have passed since you pulled her into this world, months have passed inside. It will be accessible to you before too long, but by then it will be too late for your goblin.”

His words were further reinforced when the silver and white wolf moved into the frame, her belly also fat with cubs. Benjamin could only stare, he hadn’t even realized that one had been female. It hadn’t been important to him, compared with everything else that had been going on.

“There is a chance to pull your goblin from inside the world Benjamin, but it will come at an extremely high price.” The Arbiter continued to explain, watching as Benjamin took in the scene.

“What is it? I don’t care. I’ll pay it, whatever it is!” he said quickly, holding a hand up to the incorporeal screen. He sent her here because he instinctually felt she would be safe, he hadn’t realized he was locking her in a time capsule.

“Listen before you agree, Benjamin.” The Arbiter cautioned him, “She is pregnant with your child. When it was conceived, one of the souls I had safe guarded…entered the child. It is rare, and you wouldn’t understand it anyway so I will move on.” He said as Benjamin began to cry.

It had been one night, one long, awkward, messy, perfect night. He never would have dreamed that they were compatible in that way, let alone that she could have conceived considering the… difference in their physiologies. He watched as the heavily pregnant goblin girl greeted Stomper with a hug and a quick kiss on the lips.

“What’s the price?” he asked at last, voice going flat. They had been trapped in there for months, with no contact from him or anyone else. A small handful of goblins and a couple other beasts forced into this world by chance.

“Only a soul has the ability to break free of a newly created world, Benjamin. She has a soul inside her at the moment, but it is weak. We could pull her out, her alone, but it would kill the child in the process.” The words, spoken dispassionately, washed over Benjamin.

He could have her back, if he wanted to kill his own child, if he wanted to tear her away from the last of her people. From the life she had found for herself in his miniature world, in the forest she loves, formed inside of an acorn. He watched her on the screen; for hours, for days, the time moved much quicker in his world then it did in his void space.

He stood there, Ice pressed into his side, the Arbiter watching silently, as the goblin girl he had fallen in love with gave birth to a half goblin boy. He knew it was too late to bring her back now, he kept watching. She raised the child with Stomper, Silver always close to hand. The spider became the boy’s constant companion. Benjamin kept watching.

He watched as Grace and Stomper, Honor and his fellow wolves, grew old. As the child grew into a giant among his fellows, not the only child born to the village. Three of the five souls it turned out had been female. Benjamin kept watching. His son became the chief of the village, claiming the largest of the wolves as his mount. Benjamin kept watching.

He never looked away when Grace closed her eyes for the last time, though the tears that streamed from his eyes threatened to take her from his sight. Ice let out a low howl when her son, Honor, joined Grace on the path to beyond. For a hundred years or more, Benjamin watched. Only minutes had passed for him in his void space, but he felt old beyond his years when his son followed his mother into the grave. Silver had never aged. The little spider bonded with his first grandchild after his sons passing, watching out for Benjamin, even here.

Benjamin turned off the screen after that, the Arbiter disappearing along with it; and dissolved into heart rending sobs. He cried, and Ice howled mournfully into the void of their shared soul. It was just the two of them now. Alone in the void that had once held so many. Just the two of them now, and the aged copper acorn. The copper acorn that contained an entire world, filled with their descendants. People who would be strangers to them, even when they could enter the world at last.