Valkyrie Smash

"There are four types of participants in this race." Selene explained. "First are those who wish to obtain Truth so they can rule over Existence."

"Zeus and his ilk, huh?"

"Correct." She nodded. "They're the root cause of all our problems, and make up the vast majority as well."

"I see…"

"The second type are factions like yours. They have no intention of letting Truth fall in the hands of anyone, and are willing to take it for themselves to ensure that."

"I'm guessing there aren't many such factions," Sam commented.

"It is understandable," she replied with a sigh. "People take the path of least resistance, no matter the Realm they originate from. Without the greed that drives the others, most opt to remain on the sidelines, avoiding conflict as much as possible. That is if they don't start seeking the power to rule, of course."

It wasn't very difficult to understand the mindset of those people. No matter how noble the goal might seem, fighting an endless war takes its toll on people. Knowing that no one reached Akasha since the start of existence, it's safe to assume that it won't happen any time soon.

That eliminated the sense of urgency around the topic, which makes peace a matter of keeping a low profile and only acting if forced into it.

'Politics on an inter-dimensional level, huh…' Sam thought. 'Reminds me of our world before the Calamities…'

Even with all the evil in the world most choose to turn a blind eye, feigning ignorance until it's too late. That made them worse than those who supported that evil, spreading suffering and misery all while claiming to be God's chosen.

"So, what's the third faction?"

Selene's red lips curved slightly.

"I'm sure you have already run into one of them." She said. "The third type is the Fallen."

"The Fallen?"

"To be more accurate, I'm referring to Fallen Worlds. You do have an idea of what they are, I assume?"

"For the most part…"

His first source was Nino and Atropos helped fill in the gaps. Fallen Worlds are Realms whose Primordials actively spread Madness among sentient races, eliminating the Awakened and creating armies from those who succumbed to the Whispers and lost their sanity.

"What makes Fallen Worlds different is that they have no interest in reaching Akasha." Selene spoke. "Their only objective is to satisfy their boundless hunger for Aether, and to do so they wage wars on any Realm that manages to obtain a Key."

"... I see…" Sam held his chin in thought. Something told him that the Primordials ruling over those worlds are the main reason Akasha remains a distant goal.

"Then there is the fourth type." Making a dramatic pause, the white-haired woman continued. "Those who actively oppose the other three types, ensuring no one gets close to achieving their goals."

For a moment, Sam wasn't exactly sure he understood what he had just heard.

"... huh?" He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Actively… oppose?"

His confusion seemed to amuse the mysterious woman as she continued to observe him with her usual smile. Before he could ask her to elaborate, she stood up from her seat and walked toward the door. Sam was lost for what to do at first, but when she turned around to glance at him, he understood that she was saying to follow her.

As soon as he took a step away from his seat, the dimly lit room disappeared. Plains of lush green grass spread as far as the eye could see, meeting the clear blue sky at the distant horizon. If he were still a normal human, the sudden increase in brightness would have made him wince.

Sam observed his surroundings for a while until his eyes fell on a lone tree standing on a nearby hill. The mysterious woman seemed to be heading in its direction. She had the giant hat from before on, and her dress appeared a bit shorter as if it was adjusted to avoid dirtying it with the soil.

'This is just an illusion… right?'

He began to wonder if his previous conclusion was wrong. At first, the signs pointed toward it being a separate space inside the hotel, but now they were walking through an open field. A realistic illusion is one thing, but being able to move him to the other side of the planet with such ease, was a lot scarier.

It took him a couple of minutes to catch up with the mysterious woman, and by that time she had already made it to the tree at the top of the hill. Just as he approached her, she began speaking which prompted him to stop in his place.

"Doctor Sanderson, do you know what will happen if someone were to reach Akasha?"

Sam gave the question some thought before answering.

"Depends on the one who makes it." He replied.

According to Nino, the one who obtains Truth will gain the power to rule over all of Existence. Seeing that most of those racing to gather the Keys are power-hungry maniacs, one could tell how bad things would turn out if one of them succeeded. That said, it was a bit difficult to believe that they would turn into a cartoonish villain whose only goal is to destroy worlds.

"I see. So you subscribe to that philosophy." Selene sighed.

"I guess you have a different opinion?"

Sam sensed a hint of disappointment in her voice, but that only served to pique his curiosity. Her question wasn't what he thought would happen, but whether he knew instead. That made him think she had the answer, but as he waited for her to voice it, Selene kept staring at the horizon in silence.

"If someone manages to gather all ten Keys and opens the gates to Akasha..." She eventually said. Her voice had regained the weight from before. "It would mark the end of our existence."

For a few seconds, Sam was completely stunned. He didn't know whether his ears were playing tricks on him, or if his mind didn't grasp the correct meaning of what he heard. 'It would mark the end of our existence.' those were the words she used, but what did they mean?

Turning around, Selene looked him in the eyes, the large hat casting a dark veil on her solemn expression.

"I meant exactly what I said." She spoke as if his mind was an open book to her. "If someone, anyone, were to get their hands on Truth, Existence itself will come to an end. No Realm will be spared. Everything and everyone will be erased and all that would be left is an empty nothingness."

Sam was still speechless. He could only stare at her with furrowed brows showing that his confusion had yet to subside. After giving it some thought, he felt that he began to understand a little, but even then he found it impossible to envision the outcome she had described.

"I don't fault you for failing to grasp the magnitude of something of that nature." Once again Selene spoke as if she had read his mind. "Most sentient beings find it difficult to imagine the extinction of their race, let alone the end of all things. It is something beyond our understanding."

Sam touched his face while trying to comprehend and noticed that his expression had changed, signaling that he had lost his grasp on his emotions. He quickly replaced the chains and went on to ask another question.

"That is a very interesting hypothesis, but I have to ask… What makes you so sure that's the only outcome?"

Seeing him regain his calm prompted her to relax as well.

"Are you sure you want to test it?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

"I'm sorry, but…" Sam shook his head. "To me it sounds like a tall tale intended to sway people away from pursuing Truth."

Not to mention, now that he got his thoughts in order, the end of Existence didn't seem like something to be scared of. As someone who never believed in the afterlife, what Sam feared the most was having to say farewell to the people he cared about or leaving some matters unfinished. The idea of everything being sentenced to nothingness along with him didn't sound like the worst possible outcome.

Unfortunately, the mysterious woman didn't seem to think the same.

"Since you hold such beliefs..." As the words left his mouth, it unintentionally turned into a nervous smirk. "I take it you're the fourth type."

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