The Monarch

Kayden was lying on green grass. It had been so long since he had lost consciousness that the sensation of reorganizing his memories felt completely foreign. He spent several long seconds just stabilizing his mind, then he extended his physical senses before his spiritual ones.He was on a vast plain atop a mountain. The grass stretched as far as his eyes could see. Moreover, a pleasantly warm sun bathed his body, giving him an immense sensation of pleasure, especially considering that the temperature was just a bit too low to be comfortable.The wind blew gently, making the grass sway in smooth waves, as if the world itself were breathing in peace. A few lazy clouds crossed the deep blue sky, casting fleeting shadows over the field. The air smelled fresh, almost pure, with a faint touch of damp earth and wildflowers. In the distance, the soft sound of flowing water hinted at a stream hidden between the hills. Everything there seemed untouched, as if that place existed outside of time.His spiritual sense began to unfold and...The laws around him brutally oppressed Kayden. His spiritual sense wasn't able to move a single centimeter outside of his body. For the first time in a very long time, Kayden felt like a mere mortal. His only abilities came from his physical body. He wasn't exactly like a basic-level mortal human.He could see across hundreds of thousands of kilometers if he wanted to. His hearing could literally travel through planets. But… in truth, none of that seemed to be real at this moment. Kayden wasn't even able to see a few dozen kilometers. He was at the weakest point of a mortal mage.Even though his spiritual sense was completely destroyed and his body was nothing more than a shell without any power, Kayden wasn't a fool—he was a genius, one of the greatest reality had ever been capable of producing.It only took him seconds to understand what was happening. Laws typically had steps of quality and strength. Those that organized the universe at a more common level were weak and could be altered with a bit of effort, while more fundamental laws dictated how these weaker ones behaved.The laws of the universe were organized in an almost infinite structure of hierarchies, where each layer supported the previous like the foundations of a cosmic temple. Basic laws like gravity or combustion were fragile and easily manipulated by common mages. Above them, structural laws governed concepts like time, space, and causality. Higher still, there were fundamental laws, so absolute that the collapse of the universe would not erase their existence.There was no mana in this world. Kayden couldn't feel mana around him, and he was already a mage strong enough to understand that it wasn't his inability—it was the complete lack of mana in this world. There simply was none, at least not in the region where Kayden stood. But he doubted there was any elsewhere in this world either, all because…This world was sustained by perfect fundamental laws. Every centimeter of it was made of fundamental laws. The very air was a fundamental law. The ground was a fundamental law. Matter itself was a fundamental law. Absolutely everything that existed was made of the highest-level fundamental laws—a level of law quality Kayden had never seen in his previous universe. In that universe…Only basic laws sustained small things like the movement of wind. These were minor things that meant absolutely nothing and yet had colossal entities behind their operation. The reality of this world was infinitely superior to the universe Kayden had previously come from.The laws here were perfect in structure—without cracks, without noise, without deviation. Unlike the ordinary laws Kayden was familiar with, these weren't incomplete or corrupted—they were whole, cohesive, fundamental. Nothing stopped them from being molded, but any attempt would require a level of precision and understanding equally perfect. They were like absolute geometric forms—not because they were immutable, but because they were complete in every detail. Kayden understood that to alter something like that would require more than strength—it would require total harmony with the very essence of reality.Kayden began to walk and simply feel the environment around him. He had lived so hurriedly that there were only a few moments in his life when he was able to do something like this—to just enjoy the sun and the surroundings without worrying about anything, with no enemies or invisible pressure crushing and suffocating his mind.The world around Kayden vibrated with a deep serenity, where every sound, every scent seemed to carry meaning. He perceived the subtle movement of particles in the air, the silent dance of shadows, and the invisible texture of the energy that permeated everything. The sunlight filtered in delicately, touching every leaf and grain of earth, while time seemed to flow with gentle slowness. Everything there was in perfect harmony—a silent symphony reverberating in his consciousness. Kayden felt the universe speaking an ancient, calm, immutable language that transcended any common perception."Wonderful," Kayden said, opening his arms and falling back onto the grass again as he laughed. Happiness was written all over his face. The challenges that had now opened up for him would be insane.

Kayden was feeling the existence around him calm, feeling his own life calm and everything in a priceless peace, he could just stay there quietly and live out the rest of his days, he had already achieved many things, but comfort was the death of the weak.Calm didn't suit him at all. Kayden stopped walking and focused. Even though there was no mana in this world… he no longer depended on mana for his actions. Kayden was the monarch, and everything should bow to his will. Laws were merely extensions of his will, and the world would bow to him—and if that wasn't possible…That would be a shame. Kayden would have to abandon everything he had ever achieved and… what a joke. The world would bow, or the world would have its existence denied.Kayden was the embodiment of his own law, he would not have his wishes denied within his own domain and reality was his own domain."Bow to the monarch."