Kaelen had been a god for exactly one week.
So far, he had:
Accidentally created a second moon (it had a smiley face).
Given Lyria's horse the ability to speak fluent sarcasm.
Created an infinite pizza that kept regenerating every time someone took a bite (which led to a three-day eating contest in the capital).
Hosted a divine tournament, where he challenged mortals to a dance battle for ultimate wisdom.
Summoned a mystical library, but forgot to add an exit, so now scholars were trapped inside reading forever.
Overall, things were going great.
Or at least, they were—until reality broke again.
The "Oops, I Made Another Universe" Incident
Kaelen was lounging in his floating golden palace, enjoying a cup of tea that refilled itself infinitely, when Thorne burst in, looking mildly terrified.
"Kaelen," Thorne said, "why is there another universe outside the window?"
Kaelen frowned. "Huh?"
Thorne pointed.
Kaelen turned—and sure enough, there was a swirling, newly-formed universe just chilling in the sky like it had always been there. Stars, planets, even tiny celestial beings dancing in cosmic harmony.
"…Oh."
Thorne crossed his arms. "Oh?"
Kaelen shrugged. "I might've… accidentally created it while sneezing."
Thorne's eye twitched. "You sneezed out a whole universe?"
Kaelen sipped his tea. "To be fair, it was a really powerful sneeze."
The "Definitely Not My Fault" Villain
Before Thorne could launch into a lengthy lecture on why one should not accidentally create universes, Lyria kicked open the palace doors, her sword glowing.
"Okay, two things," she said. "One, I just fought a ten-story-tall flaming owl in the garden, which was fun, but also why?"
Kaelen blinked. "Uh. That… might've been from the dream I had last night."
Lyria sighed. "Of course it was."
"…What's the second thing?" Kaelen asked.
Lyria pointed dramatically out the window. "Some dark, hooded villain dude just appeared in your brand-new universe, and he's calling himself 'The Emperor of Shadows.'"
Kaelen blinked. "Wait, already? I just made that place."
Lyria nodded. "Yeah. He showed up five minutes ago and already has an army."
Kaelen groaned. "Ugh. Villains work fast these days."
Thorne shook his head. "This is why gods aren't supposed to play with reality."
Kaelen sighed and snapped his fingers, instantly teleporting the three of them to the new universe.
Meeting the New Villain (Who Was Just a Little Too Dramatic)
They arrived in the middle of a massive battlefield. Thousands of shadowy warriors stood before a dark throne, where the Emperor of Shadows sat, exuding maximum villain energy.
He had:
A spiky black cape.
A glowing evil staff.
A throne made of ominous floating skulls.
And the deepest, most unnecessarily dramatic voice Kaelen had ever heard.
"AT LAST!" the Emperor of Shadows bellowed. "THE GOD-KING HIMSELF ARRIVES TO FACE HIS DOOM!"
Kaelen sighed. "Okay, first of all—who even are you?"
The villain threw his arms wide. "I AM NO MERE MORTAL. I AM THE SHADOW OF EXISTENCE. THE END OF LIGHT. THE—"
Kaelen held up a hand. "Yeah, yeah, cool speech. But like… where did you come from?"
The Emperor hesitated. "Uh… I think you accidentally created me when you made this universe."
Kaelen groaned. "Oh come on!"
Lyria grinned. "Ha! You literally made your own worst enemy. That's hilarious."
Thorne sighed. "This is going to be so much worse than last time."
Kaelen rubbed his temples. "Alright, fine. Let's settle this like civilized beings. How about a tea party?"
The entire battlefield went dead silent.
The Emperor of Shadows tilted his head. "Wait. What?"
Kaelen snapped his fingers, and instantly, the battlefield turned into a massive picnic setup, complete with a long table, fancy chairs, and a ridiculous amount of snacks.
Lyria burst out laughing.
Thorne muttered, "I can't believe this is my life."
The Emperor of Shadows hesitated. "…Are we actually doing this?"
Kaelen sat down and poured himself a cup of tea. "Yep. Welcome to the first-ever God-King's Council of Totally Not War."
And thus, the fate of the universe would be decided over tea and biscuits.
TO BE CONTINUED…