The Editor's cut didn't bleed.
It defined.
I could feel myself being reduced
not in power, but in permission.
The story was trying to decide how much of me was allowed to remain.
That was when something inside me finally snapped into place.So that's the mistake you made.
You assumed I needed approval.
I stood up anyway.
The wound didn't close.
It simply stopped mattering.
It wasn't an awakening.
It was a claim.
Narrative Sovereignty
Kael no longer interacts with stories as a subject.
Any narrative affecting him must acknowledge him as an equal authority or fail.
The Editor froze.
For the first time, it wasn't rewriting me.
It was being forced to negotiate.
UNAUTHORIZED STATUS it reported.
I smiled faintly.
Correct The pressure returned harder, heavier.
So I added something simple.
A single condition.
Unending Clause
As long as Kael chooses to act, no conclusion involving him can be finalized.
The story strained.
Endings tried to form and collapsed instantly.
Aethern gasped as roots of light stabilized reality again.
Nyx could breathe.
Selene saw futures return but none of them ended with me disappearing.
The Editor stepped back.
Not retreating.
Reassessing.
YOU HAVE ACQUIRED ILLEGAL CONTINUATION it said.
I met its gaze.
Then update your rules The Editor withdrew its pressure.
Not defeated.
But no longer certain.
The Regulator remained silent awaiting orders that didn't come.
And I finally understood the truth:
I wasn't escaping the story anymore.
I was cowriting it.