After the scream - 900 million universes remaining

The auction had just begun a few seconds ago, but it had already reached several thousand Promis. The bidders were mostly mere mortals leading criminal organizations, thus having vast capital at their disposal. But there was also a minority of lone killers who had amassed a fortune by multiplying their hunts.

The price now reached ten thousand Promis. They showed no sign of slowing down because they knew the best artifacts would be secured by much more powerful, affluent, and wealthy individuals than themselves.

After several minutes, the price finally stabilized at 34,568 Promis, a very handsome sum without a doubt. The name of the winner was not announced.

The second artifact arrived with the presenter.

It was a firearm barely a meter long, its body constructed from dark wood. Its ends were made of cold metal, and its scope was made of a translucent material unknown to Gaël.

The description of the weapon finally appeared on the screen:

[Each bullet fired from this weapon will surely kill its target, provided it hits and the target is not a Monarch. It has unlimited range and its bullets are nearly undetectable. However, it should be noted that only one bullet can be fired from this weapon each year and no silencer can muffle its shot. A weapon forged by Anything, its signature on the creation makes it undetectable to the senses of the Monarchs.]

Once again, none of the Monarchs present bid. In contrast, below, mortals and eternals were frantic at the thought of obtaining this artifact. A weapon like this was perfect for hunting Singularities, whose bounties often far exceeded one hundred thousand Promis. Buying this weapon was nothing more than a long-term investment for them. However, the Singularities were not going to give them a chance to obtain it.

As the auction reached one million Promis, one of them finally placed a bid. Mortals then watched in astonishment as the bid jumped from one million to one billion Promis in a single bid. If humans and other races capable of taking a humanoid form thought they could use this weapon to hunt Singularities, the latter were buying it to protect themselves.

Some eternals continued to bid despite the massive jumps from the Singularities. The price of the artifact now reached a fifteen-digit figure. After a long wait without the slightest new bid, the artifact was thus obtained by a Singularity for the colossal sum of one quadrillion Promis.

The Singularity that had won the auction was a translucent cube with a dazzling bluish light pulsing inside. It had the particularity of having no limbs, making it impossible to use this weapon. Once the artifact appeared before it, a voice resounded in the auction room. All mortals, eternals, and Singularities looked up towards the source of the voice. They couldn't know who was speaking to them, but most of them knew this voice must belong to a Monarch. The voice had spoken in absolute calm, without even using its powers to emphasize its words.

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It simply announced:

"You are not allowed to destroy the artifacts presented during this auction."

Perhaps this voice had read the intentions of the Singularity since it asked in a gruff voice:

"And if I do not comply with your demands?"

There was a brief silence before the voice responded:

"Then I will destroy you as you will have destroyed his creation."

What chilled the blood of some mortals and eternals present was the absence of emotion in this voice.

It seemed to state a fact, as if taking its life was of absolute simplicity.

However, the Singularity did not allow itself to be intimidated:

"No matter your status, there are rules here to which you must submit. The rules clearly state that no attack will be tolerated within Promise. Do you think you can flout these rules under the Director's gaze?"

Gaël and the other Monarchs turned in unison towards this voice, curious to know its response.

"Then it would be better for you never to leave the grounds of this hotel."

The Director's voice was still as calm. He hadn't even stopped looking at the stars to face the Singularity.

Faced with this most direct threat, the Singularity was now enraged.

'Since when does Promise allow individuals to use their influence to threaten other members? Why doesn't the Director take my side?'

Then it remembered a crucial point.

The artifacts in this auction came from the Director's personal collection. No matter the identity of the voice, he would take its side to avoid seeing his former possessions destroyed.

It cast one last glance at the sky before storing the weapon inside its own body, and the auction resumed.

The next artifact was a one-time-use amulet that allowed the generation of a galaxy from nothing, followed by a spell enabling its bearer to duplicate their own body. The clone retained all the powers of the original but could only last a few days at most before becoming deviant and potential problems arose.

And so on, the artifacts followed one another. For several hours, which quickly turned into several days, only artifacts of mortal and eternal grade were auctioned. As some Monarchs began to lose patience, a weapon appeared on the stage.

It was a magnificent spear several meters long. Its body was made of a material resembling obsidian, so dark it seemed to absorb the light around it. But Gaël and the other Monarchs could feel this spear did much more than that.

Indeed, it even absorbed the surrounding laws.

Their powers were restricted in the presence of this spear, except for a Monarch who herself carried a spear on her back. The presenter hadn't even spoken yet, and all the Monarchs had already straightened up.

They had waited several days for this moment, and they were all ready.

For the Monarchs, this artifact signaled the beginning of the auction.