After the scream - 900 million universes remaining
If the members of Promise expected that the last artifact in this auction series would be at least of Unleashed grade, they were surprised by the Director's words:
"The last item in this auction will be this keyring. Each of these keys will grant you access to a truth about this world. Everyone present here can access it once the keyring is in hand, but only a handful of you can pay the price. I must also specify that these keys will not provide the location of what they open, so you will have to embark on a very long journey."
Just like the last artifact, few people were interested in these keys. "Few" here translated to only the Unleashed. The Monarchs, of course, wished to discover the truths of this world, but the Director's warning had curbed their desire. They knew very well that some truths could lead to their downfall.
Among the Unleashed, only Arden seemed entirely disinterested in the keyring. Jason seemed slightly curious, while Orion, whose hair and eyes were now glowing with a blazing violet, looked at it with a gaze mixed with obsession and apprehension. They both knew that one of these keys might contain the answer to the question they had each pursued throughout their lives, but Jason strangely maintained his calm. Unfortunately for them, the last of the Unleashed also seemed to be hiding the numerous scars of his past. He stood perfectly straight, the darkness inside his cage trembling violently. His hands were clenched into fists, so tightly that his knuckles were turning white, and the sound of his fingers breaking under the pressure could be heard.
The Unleashed remained perfectly upright as if he was unaware of the state of his hands, simply staring at the keyring resting in the Director's palm.
Without uttering a word or waiting for the countdown to end, he opened a portal beside him. First, a single Promis fell out, then two, then ten, then several hundred in an endless cascade. After just a few seconds, it seemed to be raining Promis. The portal now spanned several million kilometers in width and showed no sign of stopping its growth.
It only took a few more seconds for the portal to reach the size of the most massive Singularities present. The various Monarchs and Unleashed had already teleported above the portal and watched in horror at the amount of Promis now on the ground. Even though the number of Promis on the ground still did not match the wealth of some Monarchs, the portal below them continued to pour out unimaginable quantities of Promis while continuing to expand.
Soon, there was nothing but Promis as far as the eye could see. One could now dig into the ocean of Promis without reaching the bottom. This quantity of Promis became horrifying when one imagined the number of lives they represented. This notion became terrifying when knowing that even Jason and Orion had no idea how he had obtained such wealth. There was no trace in the archives of his activities, so all his targets seemed never to have existed.
The quantity of Promis now exceeded the extent Zhang Shi could count, prompting the Director's voice to resound in the void:
"If no one here has any objection, he will win the last auction."
No sane person would voice the slightest objection, resulting in a long silence following the Director's words.
Meanwhile, the portal continued to grow and pour out Promis.
Without a sound, the ocean of Promis disappeared like a mirage, and the keyring appeared in the crushed hand of the creature.
The Director had vanished from the stage and had probably already returned to his office. For the mortals and eternals, there had been no auction for the keyring of truths. They had only heard the Director's verdict before he disappeared from the scene. In place of the Director now stood the man who had presented the majority of the auctions. A broad smile never left his face, given their success.
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"The auctions are indeed concluded. You will be teleported to the lounges assigned to you in a few moments. I remind you that you are all invited to the ball to be held in 4 hours, where you can meet the other members of Promise for the evening. With that, I leave you to return to your activities."
The presenter descended from the stage, and after a brief bow, disappeared amid the audience's applause.
Mortals and eternals were teleported back to the lounge of the universe from which they had joined the auction, leaving the Monarchs alone.
The gathering of nearly all the Monarchs was such a rare event that any absence became an instant topic of discussion. The absence of a Monarch could be due to numerous reasons, mainly related to their death or that of a family member. These reasons had to be particularly severe, given that today's event was the first organized by the Director himself.
One of the only figures who might know the reason was the Director himself, who had already returned to his office, and his right-hand man, who had disappeared just after obtaining the keyring.
Among the Unleashed, only Jason, Orion, and Arden remained. Some Monarchs were already conversing with Jason and Orion while Arden prepared to leave. Jason was the busiest of the three, being by far the most approachable of the Unleashed. He congratulated the Monarchs who had won artifacts and accepted dinner invitations with a smile. Orion, on the other hand, seemed to be in an energetic debate with young Aurore:
"How can everything be categorized as either soup or coffee? What would you call Jason if you could only choose between soup and coffee?" Aurore asked, a slight pout on her face.
"Well, big brother," he replied with a wide, innocent smile.
"No, but between soup and coffee!" she tried again, a hint of anger in her voice.
Seeing Aurore's annoyed expression, Orion took a few seconds to think but still arrived at the same conclusion. Now confused, he replied:
"Big broth—"
"And my father?" she asked, her face now reflecting her exasperation.
"Clearly a very, very, very strong coffee," he replied as if it were obvious.
Aurore let out a deep sigh.
"From now on, call people 'big sister' or 'big brother.' That should save you some trouble in the future."
"Okay, big sister!" he replied as if he had already forgotten the entire previous conversation.
Young Orion seemed extremely easy to influence. Aurore walked away, a satisfied smile on her lips and a sense of accomplishment. This smile undoubtedly had nothing to do with the fact that one more person now called her big sister.
As Jason was talking with Gaël and Zhang Shi, he abruptly turned his gaze. An envelope had materialized in the void a few hundred meters from where he stood and began to slowly fall towards its target.
Its target was Arden.
He, who was about to leave, had stopped dead in his tracks.
The Monarchs ceased their discussions and now silently watched the envelope. They knew this envelope symbolized the Director's will and contained a name. Arden opened it slowly before carefully reading its contents.
Not even the other Unleashed knew who had broken Promise's rules, but Arden took the trouble to clarify, likely because he had been instructed to do so in the letter.
"The chosen Monarch, Hammond, will die tonight. A letter will reach you with the date and time of his funeral," he stated slowly.
Gaël knew he had little chance of getting an answer, but he asked anyway:
"What did he do to deserve death?"
Arden's cold response came within a few heartbeats:
"He destroyed all of Promise's hotels in his own universe."
He then continued in an even voice, "As for his reasons, I am not sent to ask questions."
He elaborated no further on the subject and opened a portal before him. His portal was a blood-red color, but before he could step through, Jason had teleported to his side to ask:
"May I accompany you?"
To which Arden replied without flinching:
"Do as you wish."