Ms. Justice!

'Even if we gain 80% control over the Sefirot, as long as CW returns successfully, he can wipe out our control from the Sefirot. Unless we get 100% control, or CW fails in returning, we will not be able to continue to influence the Sefirot after CW is summoned.'

'But we don't need to influence it. All we needed was a sample of the essence. Why do we need to control it?' Max was even more confused

'The moment the new Lord of mysteries unseals the other Sefirots, we will need to first kill him, or gravely injure him in order to create enough chaos for us to sneak into each Sefirot and gain a sample of their essences and authorities.'

'To succeed in this, we will need some control over the Sefirot to be able to attack him from where he least expects it. As such, we will need to ensure both CW and Klein start on equal footing, but Klein ends up winning, just so we can injure or seal him away.'

'But then, can't we just ignore the promise?' Max asked.

'Unfortunately, for the deal to be made, I had to promise our souls as payment for failure to comply and use the Amalgamation of All as a source of power to execute the failure of payment to the Sefirah Castle. Basically, both of our souls will be consumed by the Sefirah castle if we do not agree.'

'Now I know, it was a rushed decision, but we did not have the time. And if we did not do this, we would definitely not be able to go past Sequence 0. We would be stuck as a God forever, and ultimately be killed by those greater beings.

Max had his mouth making an 'o' shape in sudden realisation.

Then a frown returned to his face as he muttered.

'This will become a lot more complicated.'

'That… that it will…' Samuel sighed while shaking his head. However, he suddenly turned his head towards the Earth as he felt something. One of the Unity souls that had been circling outside the barrier had entered it and was rapidly descending onto the planet, towards another dying person.

'It's one thing after another! We don't seem to be able to catch a break now do we?' Samuel nudged Max to leave the Amalgamation of All and begin his search for the soul. Everything else could wait. There was still a long time before the Backlund Smog, so he had time for other adventures, like the current one he needed to take with great urgency.

'But I think… we could wait a bit. I have a meeting to keep after all,' Max grinned as he recalled the letter he received from Ms. Justice. Of course, this letter was from Young Ms. Hall, for Max Verstappen and not from Ms. Justice to Mr. Death.

'This will be creating a lot of risk in our plans…' Samuel berated, still a little tired from his recent escapade.

'What is the point of just surviving? Life is about living. Everyone is going to die eventually; we must strive to gain control over when that untimely happens. What matters the most is what you do during your limited life, no matter how long. Just surviving will make us no different to bacteria. Plus, I don't exactly have anyone left to protect, just targets for revenge. That can wait.'

Samuel was stunned into silence at these words. He had not expected Max to suddenly come out with a philosophical monologue out of the blue and fall into contemplation for a moment.

'I've already died once…' Samuel shrugged as allowed Max to return to his body having a few important pieces of information removed from his mind and stored in the Amalgamation of All.

…

Sep 24th, 1349 of the Fifth Epoch

Max sat on the couch, waiting for Ms. Audrey to come in when she was ready. He had been called here because Audrey wanted to discuss business with him, and also because she wanted to get to know the person who had built up a business he was considerably invested in.

This was the official reason she had told Max, but both Max and Audrey knew that this meeting was mainly for her to use her Beyonder abilities to observe Max and ensure her family was not being scammed by someone.

The door was opened by a servant, however as soon as Audrey saw Max, and as soon as Max saw Audrey, the two were stunned for words.

Max's teenage hormones went into overdrive. He had seen Mrs. Hall multiple times, but she was the age of his mother, and often wore incredibly conservative clothing which basically covered most of her body, leaving only her slightly aged face.

However, Audrey wore a tight corset to accentuate her curves and had her golden hair tied in a bun near the top of her head. With her large Green eyes and flawless skin, which might have been due to make-up, made her look like some sort of AI-generated work of art.

Meanwhile, In Audrey's eyes, Max, who was supposed to be 18, just a year older than her, with a scrawny build and almost malnourished face, now looked completely different. Max looked like someone who was at least 20 years old just based on his muscular body and tightly fitting clothes.

 If not for the lack of facial hair, she might have even thought he was older.

But more importantly, the bright silver hair almost shone in her eyes. Contrasting with his deep crimson eyes that seemed to be made from real blood. His heartbeat increased as a sense of adventure exuded Max, but it was quickly brought under control by her mentality as a Beyonder, one of the Reader Pathway.

If an outsider were to look at the current scene, they would see flowers begin to appear around them. Max was too flustered to say anything as his face gradually turned redder and redder, and somehow so did Ms. Audrey's.

[AN: Read the Author's note at the end of the chapter, and comment your thoughts:]