—— ? ——

  “List me as a reward?” Zerathis asked, his rings spinning erratically. “What are you–”

  A crystalline chime cut him off as a glowing blue pane snapped into existence between the three of them.

  —— SYSTEM NOTICE ——

  > STABILIZATION COMPLETE

  > Bonus rewards allocated. Distribution requires party consensus.

  > Rewards Available:

  >> Purified Metal - Two Units

  >>> Unit 1: Occupied ( Zerathis of the Forged )

  >>> Unit 2: Empty.

  > Choose Distribution Method:

  >> Even Distribution.

  >> Manual Assignment by Vote

  >> Weighted Contribution by System assessment.

  Warning: If consensus is not reached within 24 hours, rewards will be assigned by weighted contribution.

  ——————————

  “Everyone else can see this right?” Simon said, gesturing towards the prompt.

  Kaelalin nodded as they both turned to stare at the floating orb.

  The light inside the orb flickered erratically, the runic rings slowing to a near halt. For a long, tense moment, Zerathis gave no reply.

  Then a soft voice came from him.

  “Yes. I can.”

  “Okay good. Now you understand.” Simon scoffed, then pointed at the prompt accusingly. “What in the hell is this? No fucking way I’m about to ‘vote’ on owning someone.”

  He turned back to Kaelalin. “Thoughts?”

  The frost-kin groaned and rubbed her forehead. “Not really. I am also not happy with this.”

  “So what the hell do we do?” Simon asked.

  “Why are you asking me?!” Kaelalin snapped. “This is so far beyond my understanding. But it looks like we have to make a choice.”

  “It’s okay.” Zerathis cut in. “If this is the cost to free my people, I am willing to pay it.”

  “Hell to the NO.” Simon exclaimed in exasperation. “What did I just get done telling you, you defeatist lizard?” Simon squeezed his hands, his knuckles popping. “There is no way we are going forward with something like this.”

  “But isn’t this thing from the power that sent you here?” Zerathis asked, hovering closer to the glowing text.

  Simon sighed. “Yes, that's a prompt from the system.”

  “So, it has given you instructions then?” Zerathis said, the light from him dimming.

  “... You could say that.” Simon replied begrudgingly.

  “Then you both have a choice to make. I have accepted my fate, and if that means I must be a servant to one of you, so be it.”

  “Or.” Simon said. “Heres a better plan. Lets not fucking do that.”

  Silence followed his pronouncement as the three stared at each other.

  “Okay? So um… how do we do that?” Zerathis asked in confusion. The orb tilted and faced Kaelalin.

  She sighed. “I don’t know. Simon, care to explain how you are going to ‘not fucking do that’?”

  Simon shrugged.

  Kaelalin pinched her nose. “You can’t just say ‘lets do or not do x thing’ then not have a followup to it.”

  “Yes I can. It worked last time.”

  Kaelalin clenched her teeth. “It did. But how are you going to solve,” she gestured at the floating system prompt. “That?”

  “No clue. I’m sure we can come up with something.” Simon said with a nod. “We figured out how to kill that golden jerk. How is this any different?”

  Kaelain squinted as her eyes dug into Simon. “How is it different?! It's the System Simon! What are you going to do? Tell it no?”

  “You think that would work?” Simon said, causing her to sigh. “I’m going to take that as a no.”

  “Simon," Zerathis interjected, his rings spinning slowly, "I appreciate your... passion. But this entity has power beyond our comprehension. Perhaps acceptance is–"

  "Nope. Can it eight-ball" Simon cut him off, walking closer to the glowing prompt. "You know what? I'm getting really tired of everyone assuming the System is some untouchable god."

  Kaelalin's eyes widened. "Simon, what are you doing?"

  "Something stupid, probably." He stood directly in front of the notification, close enough that the blue light cast shadows across his face. "But here's the thing that's been bugging me about this whole setup."

  He pointed at the text. "Look at this. 'Distribution requires party consensus.' 'Choose Distribution Method.' It's asking us to participate."

  "Yes," Kaelalin said slowly, "that's how–”

  "No, listen." Simon's voice took on the same intensity it had when he'd argued with Zerathis about leaving. "Every other time the System has done something to me, it just... did it. Like when it teleported us here, or gave us skills. It never asked for permission.”

  Zerathis's light flickered with interest. "You believe the request for consensus indicates... limitation?"

  "Exactly!" Simon snapped his fingers. "It wants us to agree. It does always talk about that whole harmony thing. Which means..."

  He turned back to the prompt with a grin that Kaelalin was beginning to recognize as dangerous.

  "Hey System!" he called out to the notification. "I formally reject this entire reward structure. No vote, no distribution. I refuse to accept any option you have presented.”

  Simon turned to Kaelalin. “Do you agree, fellow party member?”

  Kaelalin stared at Simon for a long moment, her frost-blue eyes searching his face. The notification pulsed between them, casting shifting patterns of light across the tower chamber.

  "You're asking me to tell the System no," she said slowly.

  "Pretty much, yeah."

  "The same System that gave me my class, my skills, that connects entire realms..."

  "The very same."

  She looked at Zerathis, whose orb form had gone completely still, then back at the prompt floating in the air. Simon could practically see the gears turning in her mind.

  "You know what? Fuck it." She stepped up beside Simon, facing the notification. "I also formally reject this reward structure. No distribution. No vote."

  They stood in the flickering light and watched the prompt. Time passed as they stared, but nothing changed.

  "So..." Kaelalin said slowly. "That did nothing?"

  Simon frowned at the notification, which continued to pulse with the same blue light, unchanged. "I don't think so. I think it's just... waiting."

  "For what?" Zerathis asked.

  "For us to cave and pick one of its options," Simon replied, his voice taking on a familiar edge of stubborn irritation.

  He started pacing in front of the prompt, his mind working. Something was nagging at him - a memory from when he'd first arrived in this world. The System had given him some kind of designation, hadn't it? Something about being visible to powerful entities…

  Surely this won’t do anything bad… right?

  “Well, it was worth the attempt.” Kaelalin sighed. “Maybe there’s another way.”

  “You know, back on earth we had a saying.” Simon said. “Maybe brian told you about it. Do you Frost-kin have a phrase similar to ‘hold my beer’?”

  “How is holding a drink rel–”

  But Simon had turned back to the prompt and was already speaking.

  "I, Simon Starfall, invoke my right as someone who has been 'system designated' or whatever the fuck you call it to demand a System Arbitrator to review this reward structure."

  The prompt flickered once, then returned to its steady pulsing.

  Nothing else happened.

  Kaelalin blinked. "Did... did that work?"

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  "I don't think so," Simon said, frowning at the unchanged notification. "Maybe I said it wrong? Here, let me try again.”

  Simon cleared his throat, then raised his voice.

  "HEY, SYSTEM! Yeah, you cosmic asshole! I'm talking to you!"

  "What are you doing?" Zerathis asked nervously. Simon ignored him.

  “I, Simon Starfall, invoke my right as a system-named person to get a goddamned answer from you.” He reached forward and tapped the prompt. “Hellooooo? Is this thing on? Cosmic Asshole please come in.”

  The prompt flickered again, causing a wicked grin to spread across Simon’s face.

  Kaelalin covered her face with her hands. "We're going to die."

  "Probably," Simon said cheerfully, "but at least we'll die having told a cosmic entity exactly what we think of it." He turned back to the prompt, his voice rising. "Come on! It's me, Simon Starfall waiting for you to pick up. I know you can hear me! You responded to that bard god when he demanded an arbitrator, so what's the problem now?"

  The prompt's flickering intensified, the blue light stuttering more erratically.

  "Simon," Kaelalin said through her fingers, "what do you mean by that?"

  Simon ignored her and kept talking. “Hello? Anyone there?” he poked the prompt. “There is no way you can’t hear this. Didn’t you just stabilize this realm or something? What happened to your whole ‘growth is earned’ bullshit? I sure as hell earned my name, Simon Starfall didn’t I? Doesn’t that mean anything?”

  The prompt's strobing intensified, the blue light now pulsing so rapidly it was almost solid.

  "That's right!" Simon said, his voice getting louder and more aggressive. "I EARNED this designation! Realm First achievement, wasn't it? You made a big fucking deal about how special it was, how it was visible to cosmic entities and all that!"

  He jabbed his finger at the flickering notification. "So what's the problem? Am I not important enough for customer service? Do I need to piss off another god to get your attention?"

  Kaelalin slowly lowered her hands, staring at Simon in dawning horror. "Simon... what gods?"

  But Simon was on a roll now, his voice taking on that dangerous edge that meant he was about to do something spectacularly stupid. "You know what? Fine! If you won't respond to polite requests, let's try this - I, Simon Starfall, will officially reject my title in your unfair, unharmonious system, unless you fix this stupid shitty loot situation."

  The prompt went completely still, the blue light freezing mid-pulse.

  "Oh shit," Kaelalin whispered.

  Simon looked at the prompt, then scanned the room. Nothing had changed.

  "Well," he said after a moment, "that was anticlimactic. Maybe I–"

  The frozen prompt suddenly dissolved entirely, vanishing into sparkling motes of blue light. For a heartbeat, the chamber was silent except for the faint hum of the System Anchor.

  Then a new notification materialized, different from the first. This one pulsed with deep golden light, and the text seemed to shift and flow like liquid metal.

  —— SYSTEM NOTICE ——

  > ARBITRATION REQUESTED.

  > Requesting Entity: Simon “Starfall" has formally challenged reward classification protocols for Sub-realm AX-1442-JJR442

  > Arbitration Terms

  >> Collateral: System Designation "Starfall" and all that it entails.

  >> Process: Arbitration will review reward structure validity. Challenge concerns classification of non-integrated sentient entities as distributable materials

  > Do you wish to proceed? [YES] / [NO]

  > WARNING: This action is irreversible regardless of arbitration outcome.

  If the Arbitrator rules in favor of current protocols, the title “Starfall” and all things entwined with it will be permanently forfeited. If Arbitrator rules against current protocols, only the reward structure will be modified.

  ——————————

  Simon stared at the golden text, his mouth slightly open. "Holy shit. It's actually considering it."

  "Simon," Kaelalin said carefully, "what exactly does that mean? What are you losing if you say yes?"

  "Uh…." Simon grew quiet as he thought. What was he going to lose? He thought back to his title, then his heart sunk.

  His Unshakeable Resilience skill. The one that had saved his life countless times already. The skill that let him resist possession, stay conscious during critical injuries, and ignore debuffs when things got desperate. The skill that was literally keeping him sane and alive in this world.

  "Oh shit," he said quietly.

  "What?" Kaelalin asked.

  “Eh, it’s not that big of a deal.” Simon laughed, voice squeaky “It’d suck to lose the skill that's keeping me alive. But hey–what can you do?”

  Before anyone could say another word, his hand snapped out and slammed into the big Glowing Y.

  "SIMON!" Kaelalin shouted.

  “Too late!” Simon shouted back with a grin.

  A faint shimmering line split the air in the center of the chamber, like someone drawing a blade through silk. The tear widened with perfect symmetry. No crackles of energy, vibration, or noise came from the tear as it widened. It was as if the world itself simply moved out of the way.

  Kaelalin grabbed his arm. "What’s that?"

  "Customer service," Simon replied, watching the rift widen.

  From the tear stepped a figure. It looked just like the one that had appeared in Melodian’s realm all those days ago.

  Humanoid, but with an unmistakable 'other' quality. Skin like smooth porcelain laced with intricate bioluminescent patterns, glowing softly in pulsing shades of blue, crimson and gold. Veins of light traced elaborate fractal circuits across its body, converging at the center of its chest where they swirled into a radiant flower-like design.

  ——————————

  Dispute registered and acknowledged.

  ——————————

  The Arbitrator's perfect blue eyes swept across the chamber, taking in each of them with clinical precision. When its gaze settled on Zerathis, the orb's rings stopped spinning entirely.

  "Curious," the Arbitrator said, its voice carrying notes of analytical interest. "Your challenge appears to contest long-established protocols. Sentient items - soul weapons, tools, and items - are routinely distributed as rewards.”

  Simon froze. Wait, these things can actually talk?

  His confident grin wavered as the full weight of what the Arbitrator was saying hit him. The System didn't just have a few sentient items floating around - it apparently had entire categories of thinking, feeling beings that it regularly handed out like party favors.

  Oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck. Simon's was spiraling. I just bet my most important skill on what I thought was a slam dunk, and it turns out the System's been in the slavery business this whole time.

  The Arbitrator moved closer to Zerathis, its bioluminescent skin patterns shifting to deeper blues and golds. "What makes this case any different?”

  Simon's mouth opened, but no words came out. For once in his life, his usual stream of stubborn confidence had dried up. He'd walked into this thinking he was challenging an obvious oversight. Apparently, this situation was just how the System operated.

  Great job, Simon. Really thought this one through, didn't you? So long, Unshakeable Resilience.

  Kaelalin glanced at him, clearly expecting him to say something.

  Simon was too busy exploding mentally to respond. He'd just potentially thrown away his only life-saving skill to make a point. How was he supposed to know the System just did this shit all the time?

  This is fine. Everything is fine. I'm definitely not about to lose the only thing keeping me alive in a world full of magic death rabbits.

  “Do you have any counterarguments?" The arbiter pressed.

  “Um… What about… uh..” Simon stammered.

  "But how many of those come from non-integrated realms?" Kaelalin’s meek voice broke through his ramblings. Simon's head snapped toward her, hope flickering in his chest.

  Oh thank god, she's got something. All hail magical inventors!

  The Arbitrator's attention shifted to Kaelalin, its patterns brightening with interest. "Elaborate."

  "All of this happened before the System ever stabilized this realm," she continued, gaining confidence as she spoke. "He became what he is under pre-System conditions, using his people's own magic and technology."

  The luminescent being watched her, but said nothing, so she continued.

  "I mean... those soul weapons and items you mentioned," Kaelalin said, “Have any been given as rewards that were not previously part of the system?”

  The Arbitrator was quiet for a long moment, its patterns cycling through colors Simon had never seen before. When it spoke again, there was something that might have been surprise in its omnipresent voice.

  "This is... a novel question. The classification of pre-integration entities under post-integration protocols." A pause. "Precedent search indicates... zero cases of this nature. Therefore, the automatic classification of pre-integration sentient beings as distributable materials lacks precedent."

  The arbiter moved away from Zerathis and headed towards the rift. Before stepping through, it paused and looked back at Simon.

  "A warning, Simon Starfall," the Arbitrator said, its voice carrying an extra edge. “It is rare for mortals to be involved in system arbitrations. Despite the magnitude of your offer for this to occur, the system still covered the substantial upfront payment. Your status as a newly integrated being, and the offer were enough to entice it to agree.”

  Simon felt a chill run down his spine as those perfect blue eyes fixed on him, but he couldn’t help himself.

  “Is my skill really that valuable?”

  “The skill is irrelevant. You are your title, and your title is you. To stake such a thing is inadvisable.” The being strode to the rift.

  "Uh... noted," Simon managed, his mind whirling.

  ——————————

  Arbitration complete.

  Distribution determined to be incorrect.

  Purified Metal containing Zerathis of the Serraki removed from rewards.

  Harmony is offered, growth is earned, limits are unknown.

  ——————————

  "Additionally," the entity added over its shoulder. “Referring to the System as a 'cosmic asshole' while simultaneously requesting its services demonstrates poor judgment. Good luck, Simon Starfall."

  Its words faded as the rift sealed seamlessly behind it as if it had never existed.

  The golden prompt reverted to the distribution screen, devoid of the line concerning Zerathis.

  Simon turned around with a relieved grin, only to find Kaelalin staring at him with an expression that could melt steel.

  "You absolute dumbass," she said, her voice low and dangerous. “Just charge ahead, who cares about the consequences, huh?”

  Simon opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off.

  "If you EVER make me scramble to save your reckless hide like that again," she continued, stepping closer with each word, "I will personally feed you to the next Aurora Hopper we encounter. Do you understand me?"

  "But it worked!" Simon protested, gesturing at where the Arbitrator had been.

  Kaelalin's eyes flashed dangerously. "Sure Simon. It worked this time! But what about the future? You can't just keep charging ahead with no plan and hope it works out. If I hadn't thought about that integration thing on the spot, what would have happened?"

  Simon's grin faltered as the reality of her words hit him. "I’m… not really sure."

  "That's the problem! You don’t know anything! Or at least that’s what I thought. How did you even know what that thing was? " Kaelalin demanded, her voice rising. "Tell me, Simon - what exactly happened to you?”

  Simon shifted uncomfortably. “Uh… I … I mean. Look, a lot of things happened and uh…” Kaelalin stared into his soul, her gaze unwavering.

  “I.. I..”

  "Um... excuse me," Zerathis's hesitant voice interrupted. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but something just appeared in my vision. It says 'Foundations of the Universe' and mentions integration.”

  Simon and Kaelalin turned to look at the orb, who was pulsing erratically.

  “What does all this mean? I can see those strange boxes that were in the air.”

  Simon let out a sigh of relief, grateful for his interruption. “Guess my stupid plan worked. Welcome to the madness, Zerathis.”

  “Don’t think this gets you out of trouble. We're going to have a long, lonnnnng conversation later,” Kaelalin hissed in Simon’s ear, then turned back to Zerathis with a smile.

  “It’s like the dumbass said, welcome to the integrated universe.” A small tug pulled at the frost-kin’s lips. “Now, I have had far too much of this damned place. Shall we get the hell out of here?”

  With that, Kaelalin strode toward the stairs. Zerathis floated past Simon and followed her.

  Simon watched the two of them descend. For a half-second, he seriously considered staying behind. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. He could figure out how to scrape by in this molten hell, right? At least here, he wouldn’t have to deal with a pissed-off Kaelalin.

  His gaze drifted to the distant glow of molten metal, the same endless pools that served as a prison for this world’s sentient beings.

  Simon exhaled, shoulders sagging. “Damn it. Why couldn’t it have been a fantasy version of Arizona…”

  —— ? ——

  — AUTHOR NOTICE —

  ~TheBusyBard

  ——————————