The sealed void did not resist.
It observed.
Containment fields wrapped around the absence like layers of glass, each reinforced by the tower's authority. Space screamed softly, strained by something pressing against rules it did not recognize.
Elowen stood frozen.
"…It's looking for a way in," she whispered.
The assistant's voice was steady, but his grip tightened on his weapon.
"My King, whatever that is—it does not originate from this reality."
"I know," the Demon King replied.
The void pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then it spoke.
Not in sound.
In recognition.
The containment fields fractured instantly.
Not shattered—bypassed.
A shape began to emerge.
Not whole.
Not complete.
Just enough.
The tower reeled as something stepped halfway into the world, its outline constantly shifting, refusing to settle into form. Parts of it looked unfinished. Other parts looked wrong—angles bending inward, light avoiding it entirely.
Elowen gasped.
"That's not a being," she said. "That's a function."
The assistant's breath caught. "…A correction entity."
The Demon King stepped forward.
"So the observer sent a tool."
The thing paused.
Its presence pressed down on the world like a verdict waiting to be issued.
UNEXPECTED PERSISTENCE DETECTED
INITIATING FORCED RESOLUTION
The sky above the tower cracked again.
Not like before.
Cleaner.
Sharper.
This was not a trial.
This was an edit.
Elowen cried out as golden light surged uncontrollably.
"It's trying to remove outcomes," she shouted. "Not people—results!"
The Demon King raised his hand.
The world resisted.
For the first time, it did so willingly.
The correction entity shifted, reacting.
RESISTANCE CONFIRMED
ESCALATING PARAMETERS
The Demon King smiled.
"Wrong move."
He stepped into the fracture.
Reality screamed.
The entity recoiled—not from power—
From defiance.
The Demon King looked directly at it.
"This world chose," he said.
"You don't get to rewrite that."
He clenched his fist.
The tower answered.
Authority surged—not imposed—
Accepted.
The entity fractured, its partial form collapsing back into the void. The containment snapped shut violently, sealing the crack completely.
Silence slammed down.
The sky healed.
The world remained.
---
Elowen collapsed to one knee, breathing hard.
"…That wasn't sent to judge us," she said. "It was sent to end the argument."
The assistant looked at the sealed void, shaken.
"My King… that means the observer has moved past observation."
"Yes," the Demon King replied calmly.
He turned away.
"Which means," he continued, "it's time we stop reacting."
The tower pulsed slowly.
Deep.
Ready.
Far beyond reality, something adjusted its focus.
Because the world had just refused correction.
And that
was never supposed to happen.