The first lie appeared quietly.
Not spoken aloud.
Not written in law.
It lived in intention.
---
In the southern continent, a council gathered behind closed doors. No divine symbols. No heavenly oversight. Just humans—smiling, careful, ambitious.
"The Demon King no longer interferes," one said softly. "The tower watches, but it does not rule."
Another nodded. "Then power is… available."
They did not call it rebellion.
They called it opportunity.
---
Inside the tower, a single observer rune flickered.
Elowen paused mid-step.
"…Something feels off."
The assistant checked the readings. "No instability. No fractures. No external pressure."
The Demon King's gaze sharpened.
"Then it's internal."
---
The lie spread.
A noble diverted aid meant for border towns.
A governor erased records of vanished villages.
A mage experiment bypassed safety limits.
Small things.
Justified things.
Because no god was watching.
---
Elowen's hands clenched.
"They're testing the silence," she whispered. "Seeing how much they can get away with."
"Yes," the Demon King replied. "That was inevitable."
The assistant frowned. "Do we intervene?"
The Demon King did not answer immediately.
He watched the world—not as a ruler.
As a witness.
"No," he said finally. "Not yet."
---
In the southern continent, the council finalized their decision.
They activated a device built from remnants of divine mechanisms—old, unstable, forbidden.
"We'll control causality locally," the leader said. "Just enough."
The device powered on.
Reality twitched.
Not enough to collapse.
Enough to lie.
---
Inside the tower, alarms sounded—soft, precise.
The assistant turned sharply. "Localized causality distortion detected."
Elowen's breath hitched. "They're rewriting outcomes… quietly."
The Demon King stood.
"So," he said, voice calm, "this is how freedom tests itself."
He looked at the tower.
"At the world that chose not to kneel."
"Prepare intervention protocols," he ordered.
The assistant froze. "My King… selective or absolute?"
The Demon King's eyes darkened.
"Educational."
---
Far beyond reality, the observer noticed the shift.
Not alarmed.
Interested.
Because the world had finally done
what free worlds always do.
It lied to itself.