"Why."

"Is that supposed to be a question?"

"Tell me why."

"Why what? Why am I so handsome?"

"Enough with the jokes. Tell me the reason behind all this."

"There's no reason, sweetheart. It's the way it is."

"Bullshit, you appear out of nowhere, kick all the gods' asses at their games, and that's the way it is for you?"

"The gods were all due for a little 'ass-kicking' anyway."

"You have made enemies out of all the most powerful beings! And yet you stand there as if nothing happened."

"From my point of view, you must realize that it might as well be that nothing ever happened."

"Yeah, that's how ridiculously powerful you are."

"You're making me blush. I'm not strong; I'm... just in control."

"If being in control is not the same as being strong, I don't know what is."

"Strength is the power to break through the natural order, to rise above. Those with true strength have broken through the rules and ascended. As for me, I follow the rules, using them to my advantage. I don't have the power to rise above.

Even the gods here are 'stronger' than me. I mean, they are literal gods, the epitome of all creation. I'm nothing."

"Well, if you're so weak, how did you beat the gods you claim are stronger than you?"

"I never claimed to be weak. As for how I beat them, it's simple."

"Maybe for you."

"Arcelus, you are the god of art and literature, correct?"

"Well, in general terms."

"And as the god of art and literature, you can control all art and literature, correct?"

"Well… no, not really. I have dominion over and am the embodiment of art, but I can't control every aspect of it."

"That's why I can beat gods. I'm not a god, more of a manager or a keeper. You can think of me as a librarian."

"How does being a manager allow you to beat gods?"

"I'm not a god, but I am like a god. As you said, gods don't have absolute dominion over their domains, but I do."

"Then what is your domain?"

"What is something that everything has in common?"

"What? Existence?"

"Not quite. Not everything is in existence."

"What then? Information?"

"Close, but not quite. But having absolute dominion over all information would be quite powerful. One last guess."

"Something everything has in common, huh… how about being annoyed by you."

"Look who's joking now. Alas, I concede, those I have beaten tend to find me annoying. Yet no, that is not correct either.

I am the embodiment of stories. I control, manipulate, and push them to the extent of what is possible. Using the power of stories, I bested all the Elden gods."

"How did you do that by using the power of stories? Stories aren't exactly known as great weapons."

"Yet the strongest and most important come from legend and stories, do they not? And lest you forget, I can rewrite existence by using my dominion over stories, for existence is also a story."

"What can't you do?"

"There is a restriction."

"Pray tell, O mighty God of Stories."

"Making fun of my old English now, are we?"

"Old what? I was making fun of the way you were speaking."

"You know I could kill you where you stand with a thought, right?"

"And yet you have not."

"Anyway, the restriction is that I'm unable to create or partake in stories. I cannot change my own story either. It has some inconveniences, but I can manipulate whatever is around me, so it's not too much of an issue."

"Pretty lame restriction if you ask me. You can still do whatever you want. So what are you planning on doing next, anyway?"

"There is this pretty interesting story I have meant to read."

-----

Meanwhile, the God of Stories had already set things in motion.