After the Scream - 900 million universes remaining

Arden stood motionless in the void. There was nothing around him. No stars, no planets, just emptiness. This void was even more dark and oppressive because no stars appeared on the horizon, as if an entire section of this universe had vanished.

He held his katana in one hand and its scabbard in the other. The latter would welcome a new engraving today since Arden had not come here by chance. In the deepest darkness, there was an immense Singularity that the inhabitants of this universe called Astragor. It could rival in power with a newly appointed Monarch, despite not being one itself.

Arden was not here of his own accord. He had received direct orders from the Director to execute Astragor. The reason for this execution was not even for all the atrocities it had committed, for there existed an entire list of such individuals within Promise. Astragor's name appeared on this list, accompanied by its bounty in Promis, the only currency within Promise. The reward for its hunt was significant for an eternal, exceeding fifteen digits, but it was not high enough to push most Monarchs to action.

Astragor's main strength was the one shared by all Singularities: a colossal body that granted it immense vitality and unparalleled regeneration capabilities. It could thus survive attacks from a Monarch for several billion years, making its hunt exhausting and unprofitable considering the time spent on its pursuit.

But none of this mattered anymore. Astragor had seen its name removed from Promise's list to be added to Arden's. Its crime? It had indeed annihilated several hundred galaxies with all their inhabitants, but Arden would not be here if that had been its only crime. Arden was the one the hotel sent when someone had broken one of the two only rules of Promise and the problem could not be directly resolved by the nearest branch.

Astragor had perhaps killed several trillion humans and other creatures in its fury, but it would only be executed for the one life it had taken on hotel grounds.

Arden placed his scabbard on his back before continuing to move through the void. It only took a few steps before he saw the figure of the Singularity. It had not tried to hide in the surrounding void or reduce its size.

It seemed to have accepted its fate.

It awaited its hunter firmly, ready to fight the decisive battle ahead. There were only two possible outcomes for Astragor: life or death. Neither flight nor negotiation would change its destiny.

Of course, it knew the man advancing in the void. Everyone within Promise knew at least his name: the executioner. This was not his real name, of course, but naming things sometimes made them less terrifying. But none of that mattered anymore.

Something more terrifying than death was now a few light-years away from her. She might have realized it if she still had all her wits, but that was no longer the case.

Like most Singularities, Astragor was a nightmarish creature. Its perfectly round body consisted only of an immense mouth, a single colossal eye, and countless tentacles, so many that Arden didn't even try to count them.

He had no reference points around, but he estimated it must be the size of several hundred galaxies, thus extending over at least several tens of millions of light-years.

The behemoth turned its head towards him after sensing his presence. In its single eye, an orb of incandescent light, there was so much hatred and indignation that Arden had no reaction upon seeing it. He could no longer even count the number of Singularities like Astragor he had had to kill since the creation of Promise. He simply raised his katana in a gesture of challenge. The Singularity responded by letting out a shrill scream from its monstrous gaping mouth, shaking the surrounding void.

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This scream was supposed to be a disguised psychic attack, but Arden was immune to it, so he continued his march.

The creature instantly changed strategy. It opened its mouth horizontally before suddenly sucking in its surroundings. Normally, it used this to feed by sucking in stars and planets. However, it could also use it against its enemies, the gravitational force often too strong for its adversaries to resist.

Arden was thus pulled towards his target, approaching with a grace that seemed to belong only to him. His hair and coat fluttered slightly as if they were in a gentle breeze. The Singularity abruptly stopped its attack, its ardent gaze now fixed on its enemy. It may have lost its mind but not its instincts. Arden was using its attack to approach and deliver a fatal blow because he was not in any way a victim of this gravitational force.

Astragor now remained passive, waiting for its opponent to approach. It knew deep down in its fury that the fight would be tough and that it needed to conserve energy, waiting for its executioner to make a mistake.

Perhaps that was its only mistake.

Arden continued to walk unhurriedly until he reached a distance he deemed sufficient.

"Let's begin."

These were the only words he spoke before propelling himself towards the Singularity. He had pushed off the void to gain momentum, reaching the speed of light in a fraction of a second and continuing to accelerate on his path.

Astragor hadn't even moved. It awaited him firmly, its gargantuan limbs ready to receive him.

The impact occurred even before Arden made contact with the creature. It had used one of its tentacles to try to sweep him away.

The Unleashed used the flat of his blade to deflect the blow. Despite the colossal difference in size, it was the Singularity's tentacle that was deflected. Arden hadn't lost any speed and was now dangerously close to the creature's head. However, if there was one thing Astragor had in abundance, it was tentacles. They covered the entire battlefield, extending over several million light-years.

And when they moved, it was a tornado of blows that greeted Arden. Astragor quickly understood that every attack reaching Arden's katana would be deflected without causing the slightest damage. The instinctive response of using synchronized attacks didn't seem to work. Arden always seemed to have a katana ready to welcome them.

This series of attacks ended abruptly when Arden, after deflecting another arm, took a simple step to the side before calmly lowering his katana. It sliced through the end of a tentacle that had tried to pierce his heart. But this wound, normally minor for a Singularity of this size, still forced Astragor to tear off its entire limb. Its instinct was the only thing it could rely on, and it was rarely wrong in desperate situations. The entirety of its limb suddenly died, and it probably wouldn't have been part of this world without taking this radical solution. A fountain of blood gushed from the wound. There was so much blood that even the void seemed to have taken on a bloody hue.

Silence reigned in the endless darkness.

Perhaps because of the pain, the Singularity's gaze had changed. There was always a part of omnipresent hatred, but now there was a touch of relief because it would all soon be over.

"Let's continue," announced Arden, his gaze still impassive.

The fight resumed, but the outcome was already certain.

The same pattern seemed to repeat over and over. Arden would dodge and deflect the ever more numerous, faster, and violent attacks of the Singularity until he responded. Each slash forced Astragor to tear off the tentacle that was hit. It became increasingly weak as the fight went on, losing so much blood that Arden was now swimming in it.

The fight ended when Arden sliced off the end of its last tentacle and it couldn't amputate it. Arden then teleported a few meters from its eye. There was no more fury inside, just immense relief. He asked:

"Any last wishes?"

Astragor could feel death approaching. Singularities did not mingle with each other. They had no family, no friends.

It had only one word for its executioner:

"Thank you."

After uttering its last word, Astragor's eyes dimmed, leaving Arden alone.

He was in the middle of an ocean of blood, but not a single drop touched him.

His clothing was still perfectly clean, and the battle, which seemed to have lasted weeks or even months given the behemoth's size, had actually only lasted a few hours. The reason was that Arden did not have all the time in the world to do this job.

Indeed, the auction was coming, and his presence was required.