What is the power of Exchange? Or its full name, Equivalent Exchange.

  Simply, it is the most fundamental nature of the universe. You offer something and get something back.

  Though it might not be of equal pricing.

  That is why the Eldritch Gods of Exchange try to get close to the true bance of the Exchange.

  One of them being Qaeidat Dhahabia, with near perfect bance— thus the one who can directly negotiate with the universe itself.

  Charlotte can vaguely see it. A scale shimmering behind The Golden Order. The Core of The Crawling Chaos in her hand vanished— it was pced on one side of the scale, tilting it.

  "Pierce.", she snapped her finger.

  In an instant, To'eva was pierced by a golden nail— it staggered backward.

  "Alchemy is ultimately a deal, to trade one thing for another. To turn one substance into something else, you have to calcute the Value of something.", she smiled, "And if the universe deemed it insufficient— you can do it a number of times with different miracles."

  The Golden Order turned to Charlotte, "For you, Master of Mankind— this is something you cannot do, but you can try and make your own system. That is what Life does best, isn't it?"

  Charlotte nodded. She had already seen the possibility...

  Not caring about her anymore, the Eldritch God turned to To'eva— who was already right in front of her.

  "Protection. Rebound.", another deal was made—

  BOOM!!!

  The Fragment of the Universe felt itself being sshed— another howl echoes as it stumbles backward.

  Leisurely, The Golden Order pulled out a golden revolver from her hat. She pointed it at the wailing Fragment of the Universe.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

  She unloaded four bullets into To'eva, the painful cries echo again. But The Golden Order does not care, she just casually flips the gun open and reloads.

  "Oh, by the way, Lugh.", The Golden Order turned to The Enigma Code, who was sitting on a burning patch of grass, "Same time?"

  "Same time.", they calmly nodded.

  "Still—", she dodged to the side while keeping up the conversation, "You did something pretty reckless, my dear friend."

  "Power. Speed. Endurance."

  She kicked To'eva away in a blur.

  "To use a Fragment of the Universe, you need to be more careful!!", she sighed, turning to Charlotte, "You just can't leave this deranged idiot alone, Charlotte. Argh... this is pretty frustrating, I can't collect it now its in this state..."

  "What do you mean by that?", Charlotte frowned, remembering the scam she had pulled on her.

  "A Fragment of the Universe is like that!! It's a piece of the universe— the Original One. It's prime material for creating an Eldritch God if used correctly.", she pointed at The Enigma Code, who just waved, "That idiot over there didn't even consult me!! I am two Stelr Cycles younger than the universe itself!!"

  She sighs, "Charlotte, as an apology for not informing you about the Deal. I will make another deal—"

  "Nah, I'm fine.", Charlotte answered nonchantly, "As long as you retract the deal, I won't ask for anything else."

  She gnced at her greatsword, seven out of eight sapphires were lit.

  "I am the protector of Humanity, if something threatens humanity it will be my enemy, and vice versa. My enemy is the enemy of humanity.", she lifted the sword from the ground, and pointed it at the struggling To'eva, "Tell me, Qaeidat Dhahabia, can I beat that thing?"

  The Golden Order smiled.

  "No. Not your current self.", she shook her head, "Your answer is Alchemy. Making an Exchange with the universe is too difficult for you so think of something else. That's my advice as the best in this field."

  "Shemiss Aluqdim had requested me to not interfere in meaningful ways...", steam began to billow out from her as her smile turned sinister, "So until you find a way to level up, I'll py with that monster. Sitting in the chair being important all day isn't good for my Avatar, you know."

  Then from the veil of steam, a giant golden monster took form. A bat with six wings crouches down as golden pipes wrap around it. Ten crimson eyes with ten X marks spilled over its face.

  The true form of The Golden Order.

  "LET SEE IF YOU CAN GIVE ME A GOOD SHOW."

  =0=0=

  As Qaeidat Dhahabia was engaging with the Fragment of the Universe. I ponder to myself.

  The result of my Alchemy, the power to reconstruct everything I want— a power that only I, Charlotte Silvi, can possess.

  Phantasmal Denial. My power to rewrite reality in my own image, representing my authority as the Argent Monarch of Humanity. For the will of a ruler is absolute, even the heaven must bend.

  And...

  Argent World of Chalk. My Inner World, a nd of absolute purity— one where only the purest and most beautiful existence can exist, me.

  Ah... the answer is extremely simple.

  I just have to mix them together— like chemistry, like Alchemy.

  I gnced at Olga, who was far behind us. She still observes the situation carefully, not making any move.

  Reilin held his breath if he even breathed at all. There was tension in the air. In front of him are two Harbingers of Life and the Fragment of the Universe.

  And Sun Wukong... he's eager to jump in. But from his quaking body, he knew that certain death would come...

  The second requirement for being a Harbinger of Life is the capability to present themselves at full power no matter the pce. Lughz Dustur with their hacks, and Qaeidat Dhahabia with the power of Exchange.

  In that way...

  "The Harbingers of Life aren't so different from the Lords of Annihition.", I chuckled.

  "[They are two sides of the same coin, Your Majesty.]", Utopia chimed in, "[But they fundamentally do not get along, one side seeks to destroy the universe, the other seek the spread of Life— Your Majesty, two another Eldritch Gods are coming in.]"

  WHY TODAY OF ALL DAY?!

  This is a slice of life for fuck sake!!

  "Did I come at a bad time?", that emotionless tone echo through the battlefield.

  Fuck...

  "Alnajam Qatayra...", I muttered their name.

  The Starlight Droplet and the North Star... their metallic blue hair sways in the wind. Now they possessed a purple eye in pce of the one Hoa shot. And... they are holding a rusty Qian sword.

  Qaeidat Dhahabia threw To'eva at Alnajam Qatayra. And To'eva switched target—

  The Starlight Droplet simply sliced the Fragment of the Universe in half. But the thing healed almost instant.

  "Oh, so you want to use that?", they gnced at the sword, "Fine."

  Corruption lines spread all over the ground, the blue then was mixed with red light.

  Oh...

  "[Identity Confirmed: Lord of Annihition - Samawi Qatil the Heavenly Sughter. The weakest Lord of Annihition.]"

  Weakest? That doesn't make me feel comfortable at all!! When the minimum requirement is the capability to destroy a star system, any Lord of Annihition is DANGEROUS!!

  Alnajam Qatayra raised the sword up into the air—

  "Heavenly Sughtering Star Art - Act 1: Blooming under a Cloudy Sky."

  Why are you speaking like some sort of Chinese martial arts novel?!

  They stabbed the sword into the ground. At the moment, nothing happened. When To'eva tried to attack again— it was sliced apart by an unseen force, but the regeneration was something else entirely. It vanished for a moment, then appeared again. Flickering in and out of existence.

  "Hmm? Already?", The Starlight Droplet tilted their head, looking at the sword, "Fine."

  They pulled the sword out of the ground, slicing their palm with the bde. Glowing blue blood drips down...

  "Heavenly Sughtering Star Art - Act 6: Showdown of Tiger and Crane."

  They waved the sword in the air, leaving trails of Corruption lines. Then with a swift action, they sliced through To'eva.

  Then the Corruption began to spread all over its body, rendering it still.

  This is the combination of two Lords of Annihition... to take down something that can kill me so easily...

  As Qaeidat Dhahabia said, I need to level up.

  "Come forth, my Argent World of Chalk."

  The nd beneath me instantly turned into chalk, rubbles, and trees. Everything that was still standing was consumed by my Inner World. Buildings of chalk rose and fell in a perpetual loop, silver gears spun in the sky above me. The others quickly retreated sensing the indiscriminate attack, that was fine...

  As long as the Eldritch Gods remain.

  To'eva ignored Alnajam Qatayra and headed straight for me, deeming me the most dangerous at the moment. I grabbed Carnwennan's handle— vanishing completely.

  Pulling the knife out calmly, I circled the confused monster... now, how should I deal with you?

  Right, I should work on combining Argent World of Chalk and Phantasmal Denial...

  I held the knife toward the sky. Carnwennan, the Knife of Pendragon, is a Fae Weapon. Connected to the Nature of the World.

  Hah... am I doing this again?

  Yes, I am.

  Equivalent Exchange is to offer something and gain something of equal value. The Golden Order offered to the Universal Matrix, which I guess is the will of the universe. But what does that make The Original One? Something that is also the universe itself.

  Hmm... The Original One being the Alpha and Omega, I guess that makes The Universal Matrix the Beta and Psi?

  Yeah, this is confusing. Let's not question higher powers that doesn't even concern me one bit.

  Anyway, I want to repce the Universe with the World. Would that work as intended?

  I don't know.

  But being human is all about trying.

  I took in a deep breath. Channeling my Will into myself, forming a circuit as the essence of my Mind partially fuses with my Soul. I'm getting lightheaded already.

  I cut my palm open, letting blood seep out and fall onto the chalk ground. To'eva immediately noticed— but a stream of steam blew it away.

  "I offer to the World."

  What is the oldest ritual in this World? One that has been performed since the dawn of time? One so ingrained in all creatures that people perform it unknowingly?

  Blood offering.

  The act of spilling the blood of another is a practice since the first creatures killed one another. It doesn't matter if there is a prayer or not, an offering is still an offering.

  Especially with the Ego of the World.

  So, I shall use my blood to make an Exchange with Terra.

  "For my blood, grant me a pathway. To build my solitary world— to create my Imperfect Paradise."

  Even if you are unconscious, even if you are sleeping... Terra. Would you want this world to be destroyed?

  No.

  You answered that before when you stopped me.

  So then...

  Make the Exchange happen!!

  Underneath me, a white pattern emerged. Lines crossed each other— forming the Flower of Life.

  So you responded instead...

  I smiled.

  "By the Will of the World."

  I threw Carnwennan to the side, revealing myself to To'eva. It immediately tried to attack me— but roots came out of the ground, binding it in pce.

  "I announce the Rights of Humanity,To hate, to pity, to forgive, to cry, to scream,And to Lament."

  I stabbed Marmyadose into the ground, letting my objective known— to face the monster in front of me.

  "I shall Sing the evil and good of Humanity,To Demonstrate my Rule."

  The Argent World of Chalk began to change, the buildings solidified, and the gears clicked into pce. From chalk to metal— where then the wind stopped and the world went quiet.

  "I shall Rejoice all Human Creation,And all Human Intellect."

  I see the Eldritch Gods, except Lughz Dustur, staggered in their pce. Phantasmal Denial is in full effect now...

  "Through Destruction, I shall Celebrate Humanity till the End of Time..."

  My sword sinks into the ground as if melting right into my own Soul. Ah... I can feel it.

  I snapped my finger— then from the ground, hundreds of bdes shot out, impaling the Fragment of the Universe in pce.

  "So Come Forth, my Argent World of Chalk - Act 2: Utopic Dystopia (Imperfect Paradise)"

  A city of silver and chalk formed right before my eyes, one filled with a serene beauty. This is my world, the future I strive for - the future that the Guardian of Humanity hoped for. A world of chaos and order, where there is no past or future, only the present and eternity. A lofty dream, a lofty reality, an impossible world.

  Yet I still hold my hand out, hoping for it.

  At that moment, from the sky, a massive whale-like creature descended. Its body quickly became infected by my Inner World, but the white part didn't reach further halfway.

  Ah... so you came too.

  The whale crashed into the ground, opening its mouth and... a tide of beasts came out, all gigantic, all-powerful, mythical monsters seen and unseen in legends. Avalon, the Master of Beasts.

  Oh... so another one came.

  Standing beside me now was a man of stone and earth, draped in fme from head to toe. Behind him was a burning wooden wheel. Kalpas, the Lord of Samsara.

  And of course, there is me. Charlotte Silvi, the Argent Monarch of Humanity.

  All the Records are here, to destroy the Fragment of the Universe.

  Then a cold voice came, "Release all bindings."

  It came from The Enigma Code—

  Damn... all this time To'eva was at its weakest...

  Rhaps