4✦ Auction or Judgement?!✦

"Where is Mommy?!"

"Uncle George?!"

"Grandma?!"

"Grandpa?!"

"…"

"…"

Children under the age of fifteen found themselves alone in the white void. Not truly alone, as all two billion of them were in the vast plane, each wearing a worried expression as they looked around for their guardians.

To them, their guardians had just vanished.

But to their guardians, the children had vanished, and they were desperately searching for them.

The white void looked no different from before, making it impossible for them to tell whether they had been teleported or remained in the same place.

A lone child, who had no guardian to cry for, looked up at the endless whiteness above. He noticed that the three giant wisps of red light had seemingly merged back into one.

The three wisps were responsible for the separation, dividing the eight billion people into three groups: children under fifteen, people between fourteen and sixty (Jake's group, as he was in his late forties), and those sixty and above.

Each group experienced the same phenomenon—seeing the other groups disappear before their eyes, while in reality, they had vanished from the original void they had all been in earlier.

The boy seemed to understand what was happening—they had been separated to be judged individually.

He was more mature than most of the children present, being a thirteen-year-old malnourished boy who had grown up in the harshest part of the world without anyone to call a mother or father.

He had once longed for death, but it never came. His uncanny luck always seemed to save him, though not to the extent that he'd suddenly become a millionaire.

He had nothing, yet always managed to sleep with something in his stomach, each day harsher than the last. Despite this, an inexplicable feeling of hope for a better tomorrow kept him going.

"Rasheed, what's going on? Where are the adults?" an equally malnourished boy inquired.

He was Rasheed's companion, a partner in crime as they survived on the streets. Being a year younger, he relied on Rasheed like a younger brother would.

"I… I…" Rasheed, who knew exactly what was happening, hesitated. He was unwilling to tell his friend the truth, knowing it would mean that all their efforts to stay alive, enduring countless hardships, had been in vain. Instead, he changed his words, offering reassurance. "It's fine. We're in a good place."

" Wha... ?! "

"Welcome to the cosmic auction," the confused boy's words were interrupted by a cheerful and feminine voice contrasting with the earlier ominous tone.

Hearing the excited tone, the children's cries and chatter halted as they all turned their heads toward the source of the voice.

"Stars," they all thought simultaneously, noticing the thousands of multicolored wisps of light scattered across the vast white expanse.

They looked on in a daze, unconsciously placed in a trance by the beings, who didn't want to be disturbed by their chatter.

"These are the best of the human race, barely tainted by the evil of their kind..." The feminine voice echoed again, though it wasn't directed at the children, but rather at the numerous wisps of light—each representing a cosmic deity like herself.

Cosmic deities are supreme beings with authority over solar systems and all the worlds within them.

The cosmic deity of Earth had grown weary of humanity. Ironically, the deity was not human but a chimera of a beast who had ascended to power. Witnessing how humans treated the world, especially the animals, he had long harbored the desire to destroy them. But time and again, he found himself forgiving them, granting them another chance.

To him, humans seemed to be growing more compassionate. Yet, one human had made him reconsider his leniency—this individual's relentless hunting of endangered species had boiled the deity's blood with anger.

Finally, he succumbed to his wrath. But being a deity of vast wisdom, he wasn't completely blinded by rage. Instead of simply annihilating humanity, he sought to profit from them, leading to the current auction.

Earth, unlike most worlds, lacked mana, yet it was not devoid of potential. Despite the absence of mana, the potential to wield it was greater than in worlds where mana was abundant. This potential was particularly strong in children, as it was tied closely to their imagination, dwindling as they aged.

"The least of the children present has three stars, while the greatest possesses a whopping seven stars," the voice said enthusiastically.

Unknown murmur filled the void as the cosmic deities expressed their disbelief.

For most of them, the highest level of potential was five stars, even among the best. Six was unheard of, and seven was beyond comprehension.

"Hahaha, I know you're in disbelief..." The voice, seemingly acting as a host, giggled.

"Let me show you that our words can be trusted," she said, as a beam of light emanated from her, bathing Rasheed and lifting him into the air.

Seven stars, each representing a color of the light spectrum, shone brightly around him.

"As you can see, we never lie. So, can we start the bidding?" she said cheerfully, hearing the restlessness from the wisps of light, some already making offers.

"...Wait, not yet. He is the best and will be saved for last. Let's start with the three stars," she said, slowly lowering Rasheed back into the crowd.

He remained unaware of what was happening, still in a trance, unconscious.

Red lights bathed the children supposedly possessing three stars as the bidding began.

Stars were a way to quantify one's potential in the energy known as mana, a form of energy that could be freely manipulated by man or beast.

The greater the number of stars, the higher the potential, with the highest potential for a mortal being seven stars, and the lowest being one.

In very rare cases, someone could possess a potential of nine stars—the potential to become a cosmic deity if given the chance.

...

" Ten thousand creato, going... Five stars sold to Vulcan " She announced, a green light bathing the five year old asian girl.

Her translucent body turned into a ball of light which flew into the green wisp of light, Vulcan who had just purchased her.

He like most of the cosmic deities needed to save their world from the threat of Exitium, a dark matter also known as demonic energy that plagues that world.

But most of thier people were too weak, so having some one with five stars, a master of the elements would aid them aid the humans of their world.

Some just bought them for entertainment making them villains in their worlds as they were locky not to have to face exitium but to stir up their boring life they decided to buy.

...

The auction continued until only three individuals were left, each possessing seven-star potential.

Rasheed, his abyss-like curly hair swaying to an unknown breeze; Abena, a ten-year-old girl with ebony skin and reddish-brown eyes closed; and lastly, Henry, a three-year-old boy, his petite and beautiful face making one think he was a girl.

His blonde hair and ruby eyes made his already beautiful face even more striking.

"We are left with our last three... And to make things more interesting, the big boss says I should auction all three as a package," she announced with a mischievous grin.

The cosmic deities were in an uproar, as this seemed unfair. Some had bought as little as possible, saving to buy Rasheed, but now all of that was in vain.

There was no way they could afford all three.

"SHHH!! You know the rules. This is from the emperor. He showed interest in the auction and said to spice things up," she said with a grin, the cosmic deities quieting down.

They were known as Lords, and those above them were known as emperors, beings who surveyed a galaxy.

"Okay, let's start the bid for the three..." She paused, trying to create suspense.

"One million creato," she announced, with no one raising a bid, as the amount was ridiculous.

Creato was basically their own divine essence converted into currency. Giving one million of it would send them into a comatose state at worst, and the best of them would lose ninety percent of their power.

"One million... No one?"

The void remained silent for a couple of minutes, after which a gentle feminine voice broke the silence.

"One million."

Gazes fell on the silver wisp of light, Yuno, a cosmic deity who was the closest to becoming an emperor.

Despite spending that much, none criticized her, understanding the circumstances she was in.

"One million, going... Three seven-stars sold to Yuno," the host announced, a silver light bathing the three as they flew into the silver ball of light.

"This does not bring us to the end. Let's go to the second group; there are a few stars there," she said, noticing that some of the lights were dimming.

They perked up once again, believing they might find a seven-star in the second group, Jake's group.