Before the scream - 1 billion universes remaining

Diplomacy was short-lived.

Arden had simply inserted his katana into the wall of the sphere. The blade didn't seem to encounter any difficulty slicing through the wall, and Arden began to carve an opening the size of a man. Though he faced no obstacles cutting the material, they were not actually inside a sphere. They were inside a sphere with only the center empty due to the nearby gate. The thickness Arden had to carve through was colossal since the sphere extended to the width of a small planet. But at the pace they were advancing, it was only a matter of time, and the gatekeepers seemed to have understood that.

After digging through a hundred kilometers in a few minutes, the material around them began to destabilize. It quickly transformed into a dark liquid before floating toward what seemed to be its owner. She was an Eternal with vermilion hair whose ends were constantly ablaze. Jason could see she had a rare talent for understanding the laws of fire. Unfortunately for her, there was already a Monarch of Fire. She would need to develop mastery over other laws if she wanted a chance to become a Monarch herself.

Once the entirety of the sphere had transformed into liquid, she stored it in an amulet. The laws of space and will gradually resumed around them. The material that had surrounded the trio had the peculiarity of repelling the laws of space to prevent teleportation and absorbing the laws of will to become impenetrable. This made it extremely dense and solid, but there were always ways to circumvent it. A good way was to have a blade sharp enough like Arden's or imbued with the law of illusions. Giving something a will also made it susceptible to being deceived.

The Eternal glared at the three strangers before her, her eyes sparkling with anger. This was supposed to be the calmest corner of the Alliance, and here were three mortals who had emerged from the gate and started digging a tunnel through the Alliance's most precious material. It could have ended there, but they had cut through the material without altering its properties, saving her from using her own resources to pay for the damages—resources she doubted the gatekeepers could afford even a gram of.

"Why?" That was the only question echoing in her mind. She didn't care about their identities or the abnormal sharpness of Arden's blade. She might have understood if a Monarch refused the search. These beings had their dignity to preserve and could destroy the Alliance with a simple gesture. But she couldn't comprehend the audacity of these simple mortals.

"To save time," was Arden's answer. His voice was so cold that the Eternal began to sweat. Something was wrong. She didn't know if Monarchs could mask their auras to appear as mere mortals, but she couldn't take any more risks. The presence of the stranger with a katana exerted such pressure that she had difficulty remaining calm.

She let them pass. The instinct of a warrior was just as crucial as their strength. She had honed hers enough to follow it in such moments. They didn't teleport but instead headed towards a place the Eternal knew well. She had chosen to be stationed here for peace, and what better place than a Lake of Eternity to find it? She tried to look at what was happening. Nothing blocked her senses, but she couldn't see anything.

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'It must be a meeting of different Monarchs,' she thought, withdrawing her senses.

However, she had forgotten a fundamental rule.

One must not look God in the eye.

When she came to, the void around her had become cold and threatening. The nearest star had exploded into a massive supernova, destroying everything in its path, and her heart had stopped. Her heart had stopped. Her thoughts became erratic. She was dying. Why was she dying? She didn't know. But she knew she was going to die, and the surrounding void awaited to erase her existence.

Then, her heart resumed beating.

A whisper echoed in the void: "There won't be a next time."

She couldn't see her interlocutor nor understand their language, but she grasped the message: she wouldn't look towards the Lake of Eternity again.

She sat cross-legged in the void, trying to calm her racing heart.

Meanwhile, it took Jason and his companions about ten minutes to reach the lake. It extended over several billion square kilometers, making it one of the smallest celestial objects. It was flat, floating above the void. Despite its small size and almost nonexistent depth, its source was inexhaustible. Jason knew that all life forms in a universe could not empty it.

Some travelers stopped in their journey to find a peaceful corner, leaving their ship far away to avoid disturbing the tranquility. However, the lake before their eyes was surrounded by a massive enclosure, likely built to monopolize its content and sell it across the universe.

Yet no one stopped them, and they accessed the lake without encountering any security. Upon reaching the shore of the Lake of Eternity, Jason took a moment to admire it. He had visited many such lakes, but each one had a unique ambiance. This one exuded serenity, an unbounded calm, which was a significant draw for weary travelers.

The three men approached the location given by Franck. They saw two figures, busy contemplating the stars while drinking Eternity. The first figure wore a loose white garment that extended up to the head. Their face was hidden behind a veil of darkness. The second figure was humanoid but did not resemble a human. Instead of a head, there was a cage made of interwoven metal bars forming a rectangular structure. Inside it, Jason saw only endless darkness. There was no face, only obscurity. The creature's clothes, however, were resplendent—an imperial robe adorned with so many precious stones, rare materials, and technology that it was undoubtedly the most opulent garment Jason had ever seen.

Once the five individuals were gathered, the figure in white stood up. They turned to the newcomers before removing the hood of their garment, revealing their face. One detail stood out to Jason and his companions: it wasn't the man who appeared in their dream.

"Any questions?" he asked.

"Who are you?" Orion asked, to which the man responded in a deep voice: "Does it really matter? Time erases everything. You can call me the Director."

"Why did you choose us?" Jason inquired.

The man's answer came instantly: "Broken souls. Irreparable. Irretrievable. We are already dead. Perhaps we should remain what we are: the dead in the bodies of the living. But my brother thought there was still hope for us, that time could heal all wounds and even the deepest scars."

The last question came from Arden, his face as impassive as if the previous two questions didn't interest him.

"What is your will, Mr. Director?"

Jason couldn't see the Director's gaze but could feel it. He had never felt such an intense gaze. The Director spoke with perfect calmness, as if stating a banality:

"Purge. We will purge this world. We will build hotels to recruit the best killers this world has to offer. We will build a community to purge this world because I want to eradicate all the pests that inhabit it."