After the scream - 1 billion universes remaining

Jason first teleported to what he knew to be the home of the Monarch and his wife. He had last met them several billion years ago. While this was a very short time span for a Monarch's life, everything could still change in just a few years.

A house still stood on the surface of the planet. It showed no apparent damage but bore traces of abandonment. Climbing plants had already started to cover the walls. A forest had grown all around, hiding the dwelling from view. It had become like everything else on the surface: a forgotten relic of the past.

But Jason knew the man he was looking for wasn't dead. A Monarch's power knew only one limit: the implosion of a universe. It continued to increase linearly throughout a Monarch's life without any slowdown. Some of the oldest Monarchs could annihilate half the population of a universe with a single attack. The Monarch of Will was not one of them because he was even older.

He should have no trouble wiping out the empire, with or without its leaders. The difference in power was such that he should have no problem killing the Monarchs on this planet even if they banded together against him.

Jason also didn't think he had passed on his title. The title of Monarch of Will conferred such mental resilience that he would probably never meet the same end as most Monarchs: he would never become depressed or tired of his existence. It was both a blessing and a curse.

An airborne island stretched across the sky right above his head. Jason could sense the presence of a Monarch, so he decided to head there to get information. On this island was a vast lake. It was likely meant to be a reproduction of a Lake of Eternity with its sandy shores and translucent water. It was filled to the brim with Eternity, but it was not inexhaustible and, more importantly, lacked the characteristic tranquility of the original.

A house stood beside the lake. Its only surprising feature was the material used for its construction. Everything from the walls to the ceiling to the windows was made of sand.

'Not so surprising for the Monarch of Sand,' thought Jason.

Indeed, inside the house, the pervasive aura of the Monarch of Sand was present, a man Jason had met in the past. But it seemed he had chosen his successor because a woman exuding his aura emerged from the house.

She was of resplendent beauty.

Her eyes were the most striking feature of her face. Of a deep golden hue, they looked like two oases in the vast desert, promising deep wisdom and quiet strength. They were framed by long black eyelashes that added even more depth to her gaze.

Her nose, perfectly proportioned, seemed to have been sculpted by a master craftsman. Her high and full cheeks added a touch of softness to her face, balancing the strength of her features.

Her mouth was a true work of art. Her full and slightly rosy lips had the softness of velvet and were curved in a serene smile that invited trust and tranquility. They opened to reveal impeccable white teeth that added a sparkle of whiteness to her radiant face.

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Her long wavy black hair fell over her shoulders, undulating slightly in the wind. She radiated an aura of self-confidence and tranquility that further accentuated her beauty.

She wore a sand robe, made of millions of grains of sand woven together to form a fabric as soft as the finest cloth. This robe seemed to change with the wind and light as if it were alive.

She walked towards him, having probably sensed his presence since his arrival near the planet. She asked with a welcoming smile:

"What brings you here, young mortal? Haven't you learned that some places are dangerous for inexperienced travelers?"

There was a barely concealed threat in her words. Intruding uninvited into a Monarch's domain was often unwise. The consequences varied but could go as far as death or worse, depending on the Monarch. The mortal's salvation depended solely on the reason for his visit if he were a messenger or the Monarch's mercy.

Fortunately for him, Jason was not a mortal.

"You must be Haggar's successor. He and I had a discussion a long time ago when I was still the Monarch of the Lance. Perhaps he mentioned me," Jason replied calmly.

- "Ah, you must be the bodyguard. Have you renounced your title?" she asked.

- "No idea."

She furrowed her brows slightly at his response.

He didn't know what he was, nor what he was capable of. None of them had asked the Director what they had become. He did, however, remember a phrase from his mentor a few days before he passed on his Monarch title when Jason asked if it was possible to transcend one's Monarch condition:

'The day a creature can transcend its Monarch condition, it will be freed from the chains binding it to the universes. It will no longer need to worry about their laws or their inhabitants. It will be completely free, unleashed.'

"What are you then?" she asked, curious to hear his response.

- "Unleashed," he murmured softly.

The conversation ended on that note. The Monarch before him didn't know what an Unleashed was, or even if it existed. Some Monarchs lost their minds at the end of their lives, but the woman knew Jason was still a "young" Monarch.

Before she could learn more, Jason asked the question that was the sole reason for his visit:

"Could you tell me the location of the Monarch of Will?"

For a moment, Jason saw anger and greed in the Monarch's eyes before she quickly replaced it with a warm expression.

"No problem, that will allow me to honor a debt my father had towards you," she replied, a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Jason said nothing. He could have offered his condolences, but he didn't see the point. He wasn't really close to the deceased Monarch and didn't see the need to bring up bad memories.

Once she gave him the coordinates, he excused himself and left into the void of the universe.

The distance to travel was colossal as the coordinates she had given him were at the other end of the universe, but it only took one teleportation for him to arrive. He could teleport anywhere within a universe as long as he knew where he wanted to go.

In front of him was only void and what seemed to be an ancient building of a religion unknown to Jason.

But the building was not erected on a planet but on a small asteroid. It appeared like a beacon, the lights passing through the few windows slightly illuminating the surrounding void.

Jason could sense that the man he was looking for was inside, and with him was another Monarch. There were no defense systems, no alarms to warn the inhabitants of an intrusion.

Jason advanced until he was standing in front of the entrance door. There was no doorbell, so Jason knocked on the door. After about twenty seconds, the door opened, and a man stood before him.

The man easily exceeded two meters in height, and his physique, though slim, hinted at formidable strength gained through countless battles. His clothes and tattered red hood barely concealed the countless scars crisscrossing his body, each a testament to his numerous brushes with death.

Under his hood, his face appeared to belong to a man in his fifties, but his eyes projected an aura of ancientness that even Jason could not match.

"It's been a long time, Gael," Jason said.