After the Scream - 1 billion universes remaining

In the cosmic void, a Singularity waited patiently for the human before it to awaken. He appeared both fragile and peaceful. A slight smile refused to leave his lips as if he were in the most beautiful of dreams. But the Monarch of Dreams remained passive. Even in deep sleep, the human before him seemed an impregnable fortress. None of the surrounding laws had any hold over him. He had only had time to put him to sleep before losing all control over his dream and being violently expelled from his mind.

He remained suspended in the void for over an hour before Jason finally opened his eyes. The Monarch of Dreams announced:

"If you have no further requests, I will take my leave. I have some matters to attend to."

Jason remained silent, watching the Monarch slowly depart and finally disappear from his field of vision. He had indeed obtained answers, but he would need to return for more. The truth was that he left with more questions than when he had come, knowing full well that only two people could answer them: the Director and the man he had just met. The problem for Jason was that one of the two would be momentarily unavailable.

The man had explained that he would have to learn one of the fundamental truths of this world on his own if he wanted to ask him new questions. This would surely take an eternity because Jason didn't even know what he was supposed to be searching for. But he was not in a hurry. After all, only the dead have all the time in the world to find their reason for living.

This search would have to wait, however, as he was currently quite curious about the Director's plan to unite the Monarchs to his cause. An immaculate white portal opened before him as soon as he wished it. He passed through it to find himself a few light-years away from the Lake of Eternity, where the Director, the rest of the Unleashed, and the first arriving Monarchs were gathered.

Only about twenty Monarchs were already present. Among them, Jason could recognize five elects. While it wasn't surprising that there were so few, Jason was confused about another point. Indeed, neither Gaël nor Zhang Shi had arrived yet.

Some Monarchs had decided to keep their original forms. A Singularity floated above the Lake of Eternity. It had still decided to reduce its size to be able to enter the galaxy without destroying everything in its path. It now measured the size of a small star and cast an immense shadow over the shores of the lake, giving the scene a menacing atmosphere.

Most Singularities could take a human form, but few did. Unlike the Monarchs of certain races like phoenixes or dragons, the greatest source of power for Singularities was their gargantuan bodies and not their mastery of laws. They preferred to reduce their bodies to retain their power, while the phoenixes and dragons took human form to blend in with the predominantly human Monarchs.

As Jason approached the shore, all the Monarchs turned in unison towards him. Almost none of them knew him, yet they all knew he was not a mortal. It wasn't his aura that betrayed him, but his attitude. He seemed aware of their gathering. Yet, his face, which should have been filled with fear and anticipation at the thought of meeting Monarchs, showed little emotion. There was a bit of curiosity in his eyes, but so little that it was hard to call it an emotion.

Jason, for his part, could recognize some Monarchs by their aura and physical characteristics, but most were unknown to him. He had never met an elected Monarch before today, but he now understood why they were feared by most Monarchs.

The most visually impressive among them was a Phoenix who had taken human form. From his vermillion hair to his bare feet, his entire being was surrounded by incandescent flames. These must have been of such a temperature that they could even melt the void around. His whole being exuded arrogance. None of the non-elected Monarchs present must have frightened him, and he clearly considered himself superior to them. Despite his explosive nature, he remained surprisingly calm. He simply cast haughty looks at the newcomers without speaking to them.

The cause of this restraint came from an elected Monarch. Jason had never met him. He was a human with short black hair who stood with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Jason couldn't say why, but he instinctively knew his name. 'Asmond'. His presence surpassed that of all the other Monarchs combined. Jason could sense that he was hiding much of his power and that he was probably a Monarch of Gaël's caliber.

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He suddenly felt a Monarch approaching.

'Zhang Shi has arrived.'

He appeared as an old man: hunched back, white hair, and a face lined with wrinkles. He wore a simple white coat, his hair tied in a bun, and his slight smile gave him an aura of benevolence. He seemed to have teleported to the gathering place, but it was just an illusion. But Asmond had suddenly opened his eyes. He couldn't even estimate the power of the Monarch before him. Zhang Shi had not teleported but had simply walked to the lake's shores. However, he had been so fast that even Asmond could only sense his presence once he was in front of him. He was the embodiment for all Monarchs of what they could never achieve. He was Zhang Shi, the Monarch of martial arts.

The next to arrive was Gaël, who had teleported a few steps away from Zhang Shi. Perched on his shoulder, Aurore curiously observed the surrounding Monarchs. Gaël had come prepared for a possible fight. In his left hand, he held an immense purple sword whose tip rested on the translucent sand at his feet. In his right hand, he held a simple gray cube that appeared dull compared to his blazing sword. He had traded his tattered red-hooded coat for a brand-new suit, definitely custom-made given his size.

He had appeared in a defensive stance, ready to protect Aurore from any ambush upon arrival. But his shoulders relaxed when he saw Zhang Shi. He was walking towards him at a leisurely pace, the fine sand crunching under his feet. Seeing him approach, Aurore exclaimed:

"Isn't that little Zhang Shi? Why does he appear so old when he is so young?

- Am I not the embodiment of wisdom, knowledge, and calm? What better than this body and face to convey all my hidden qualities? What do you think, Miss Aurore?

- You just look older than Dad."

Zhang Shi, who until then had appeared relaxed with a slight smile on his lips, seemed so shaken by Aurore's last statement that he asked:

"But I cannot appear older than my esteemed godfather. What should I do, Miss Aurore?

- You should appear younger than me so I can call you little brother."

Zhang Shi thus took on the appearance of a young child. Aurore took the opportunity to jump from Gaël's shoulder and land on his back. She then let out a small cry before pulling up her legs to urge her new mount to move forward.

The shores of the lake now mixed the solemn arrival of the Monarchs, the mystery surrounding the figure draped in white sipping Eternity while admiring the stars, and the childlike laughter of Aurore and Zhang Shi. The latter ran between the different Monarchs, even approaching the elects whom Aurore had never seen before. They kept as far away as possible from Jason and the other mysterious figures sitting on the fine sand. Gaël had allowed Zhang Shi to frolic freely with his daughter on his back because he knew he could protect Aurore from all the Monarchs present and knew his own limits. The figure draped in white particularly gave Zhang Shi cold sweats.

After an hour, almost all the Monarchs had arrived. The Director stood to face the crowd of Monarchs before him. Among the absentees, Jason only knew Franck and Zoltar. Franck was probably too busy bequeathing his legacy, while Zoltar must have been fleeing the presence of young Orion like the worst disease.

All the non-elected Monarchs had gathered around Zhang Shi while the elects had grouped around Asmond. The latter represented only a tenth of the total population of Monarchs, but they were all individually more powerful than the majority of the non-elected.

One Monarch stood apart from the two groups. All the Monarchs knew him, but none had ever heard him speak. Yet he had spoken to the Unleashed and the Director in a hoarse voice:

"I don't know if you are blessed or cursed. Mother Night has no hold over you, but you will never know rest within her embrace."

These words awaited no response, and the Director did not provide one. He simply began to speak in a grave voice:

"I will keep this brief. 'Promise' is now operational. There are only two rules you all must follow to be part of this society. Every word must be kept, and no attacks must occur on the hotel's grounds. Of course, you are free not to follow these rules, but you must accept the consequences. Hotels will be built on every inhabited planet in every universe by the Monarch of Mechanics here present. Each of you is free to invite whomever you wish inside 'Promise,' but I would advise you to choose wisely. Any questions about the hotel's internal functioning must wait until the hotels are constructed across the universes. You are dismissed until the hotel messenger contacts you again."

He paid no attention to the presence of the Monarchs and simply sat back down on the fine sand without answering any of their questions. It took only a few seconds for all the Monarchs to leave the lake, leaving the Director and the Unleashed alone on the shore once more.

The Director announced only one rule to them before returning to star-gazing.

"You are not allowed to destroy a universe."