Chapter 264 — The Negotiation Begins
Liora crossed her arms, looking serious.
— I only need to choose a few hunters for this mission.
She swept her gaze across the room.
— So… who are the volunteers?
A brief silence.
Annabelle raised her hand immediately, smile already ready.
— Of course, I want to go.
No one was surprised.
Arthur Pendragon sighed, placing a hand on Beatrice's shoulder.
— No thanks. I've defeated enough monsters in my life. Now I enjoy my wife.
Beatrice nodded with a satisfied smile.
— Exactly. The real adventure is the couple.
Valen muttered without looking at them:
— He's too pretentious…
Arthur turned his head.
— Jealous.
— Who's jealous here?! Valen shot back instantly.
Before it could escalate, Valor stepped forward, hands in his pockets, aura calm yet crushing.
— The great Valor is in.
Silence.
Even the air seemed to freeze for a second.
Annabelle thought inwardly:
This monster stopped absorbing mana from worlds just for this…
Lya raised her hand in turn, very naturally.
— I'm coming, obviously. Shadow comes with me. And Rynn too.
Shadow nodded without a word, arms crossed as always.
Rynn gave a thumbs‑up.
— I didn't understand anything, but I'm in.
Valen stepped forward.
— I'm going too.
Nova turned a page of her book without lifting her eyes.
— It's been a while since I stretched my hands. This is a good occasion.
Elyon shook his head.
— No thanks for me, mom.
Naël shrugged.
— Honestly… I don't think it's necessary for me to go.
Liora inhaled slowly.
— You can't all go.
She pointed.
— Valen. Annabelle. Lya. Shadow.
She paused.
— The rest of you wait. If there's a problem, Annabelle will teleport you.
Valor frowned.
— I don't agree with that. The great Valor stopped what he was doing to come. And you don't want him to go?
Liora sighed.
— …Fine. You're coming too.
Valor smiled.
— Wise decision.
Annabelle snapped her fingers.
— Well. Ready?
Lya nodded.
— Go ahead. We're ready.
Space folded.
And in an instant, they were teleported.
They appeared before the labyrinth.
Even Valen stayed silent.
Floors stretching endlessly.
Dimensions stacked, twisted, each breathing according to its own laws.
Impossible spaces, larger inside than outside.
Valen finally exhaled:
— …It's more impressive than I thought.
Lya smiled, fascinated.
— Wow. This structure is insane.
Meanwhile, above the labyrinth…
A silhouette slowly reopened its eyes.
— They are here…
It was neither a god.
Nor a demon.
Nor a primordial entity.
Something different.
An emanation without limit, not dominating by force…
But by the sheer evidence of its existence.
A being capable of modifying the labyrinth.
Of rewriting it.
Of negating it.
The Absolute Being.
Its presence condensed.
A human form.
Slender.
Effeminate.
Without gender.
A strange softness, almost soothing… yet profoundly unsettling.
Before the group, a silhouette appeared without sound.
A child.
Long black hair falling over his face, hiding his eyes.
Valen blinked.
— …What? A kid? Seriously, we haven't even entered the labyrinth yet. Did he get lost or what?
Lya looked at him, exasperated.
— Are you kidding? What would a child be doing here?
She narrowed her eyes.
— It's not a child. You can feel it.
The child lifted his head slightly.
— I am the Absolute Being.
Total silence.
Annabelle burst out laughing.
— Wait… the overwhelming presence I felt earlier… that was YOU?
She looked him over.
— Hahahahaha, seriously?!
The Absolute Being approached Valen and gently placed two fingers on his cheek.
— We resemble each other so much.
Valen stared at him.
Red pupils.
Star‑shaped irises.
Elyonna, the spirit of the Judgment Sword, murmured:
— Interesting… I've never heard of such a being.
The Absolute Being turned to Annabelle.
— So it was you… who made my labyrinth tremble.
He looked her up and down.
— You are very strong.
Pause.
— It's subtle… but you constantly absorb the mana of worlds.
A faint smile.
— I didn't know humans could do that.
Valen stepped forward, his long white hair floating slightly.
— We need something.
The Absolute Being turned his head toward him.
Even though his eyes remained hidden, his gaze was felt.
— And what do you need?
Silence fell again.
Lya spoke, calm but firm.
— We want a rule.
— A rule? repeated the Absolute Being.
Shadow added:
— That any human dying in the labyrinth be automatically resurrected outside.
A silence.
Then the Absolute Being smiled.
— Interesting…
He tilted his head slightly.
— You do not ask for control.
— Nor for power.
— Just… an exception.
Annabelle crossed her arms.
— Exactly. And believe me, it's a very good deal for you.
— Oh? replied the Absolute Being.
She smiled.
— Because if you refuse…
She glanced at the labyrinth behind her.
— I'll start trembling again. But harder.
A soft laugh escaped the Absolute Being.
— Humans are truly fascinating…
The negotiation had begun.
Chapter 265 — The Rule of Resurrection
Silence fell after the hunters' request.
Even the labyrinth seemed to hold its breath.
The floors ceased to vibrate.
The laws, usually unstable, froze as if awaiting a decision.
Valen held the gaze of the Absolute Being, impassive.
His tied white hair floated slightly under an invisible pressure.
— We need an agreement, he said calmly.
— Not a battle.
A faint smile curved the lips of the Absolute Being.
— Interesting…
— Humans always come here to prove something.
— You come to ask.
Annabelle crossed her arms.
— Don't act like you're above it all.
— If we were here to smash your toy, it would already be in pieces.
The Absolute Being tilted his head slightly, amused.
— True.
— Your presence brushed against my limits.
— Few beings can make this labyrinth tremble without even entering it.
He turned his head slightly toward Lya.
— And you…
— You're already thinking about how to use me.
Lya did not deny it.
— This labyrinth is a perfect structure.
— A thousand laws. A thousand progressions. A thousand ways to grow stronger.
— But without clear rules, it will become a useless massacre.
Shadow stepped forward.
— We don't want to destroy it.
— We want to exploit it intelligently.
A brief silence settled.
Then the Absolute Being looked back at Valen.
— You still haven't answered.
— What do you need?
Valen placed his hand on the hilt of the Judgment Sword.
In his mind, Elyonna sighed.
— …Be careful what you say.
— We want this labyrinth to become a place of trial, Valen said.
— Not a cemetery.
— That those who fail may emerge alive.
— And that those who progress… truly progress.
The Absolute Being pursed his lips slightly.
— A fundamental rule…
— You ask me to rewrite my creation.
Valor burst out laughing.
— Hey, cosmic kid.
— You seem smart.
— But refusing would be a strategic mistake.
All eyes turned to him.
— Because otherwise, Valor continued with a wide grin,
— the great Valor will climb floor after floor.
— And trust me…
— when I reach the top, I tend to settle in.
Total silence.
Then, against all expectation…
The Absolute Being laughed.
A clear laugh. Light. Almost childlike.
— You are truly strange…
— You seek neither absolute power…
— nor domination of the labyrinth.
He raised his hand slightly.
The labyrinth vibrated.
Symbols briefly appeared in the air, as if the laws themselves were being rewritten.
— Very well.
— I can inscribe a rule.
Lya held her breath.
— Resurrection outside the labyrinth?
— Yes.
— Every death here will be considered a failure.
— Not an end.
Annabelle smiled.
— I like this kid, after all.
The Absolute Being turned to Valen one last time.
— But in exchange…
Valen sighed.
— There is always an exchange.
— You will take me to visit Earth.
Annabelle blinked.
— Wait… you can't do that yourself?
— I can, the Absolute Being replied calmly.
— But it would be less fun.
Elyonna cursed in Valen's mind.
— …I don't like this.
Valen smiled faintly.
— That's a strange request.
— Too easy, even.
— Are you sure you want nothing else?
— I want nothing else.
Annabelle shrugged.
— If that's all, I don't see the problem.
Valen stepped closer.
He raised his hand…
And gently brushed aside the hair that hid the Absolute Being's face.
They discovered a visage of unreal beauty.
Neither masculine nor feminine.
Perfectly balanced.
Soft features, almost peaceful.
His eyes…
Divine eyes.
Deep, luminous, crossed with impossible patterns, as if several skies reflected at once.
Changing irises, impossible to fix.
Valen remained silent for a moment.
— First…
— We'll shorten your hair.
Valor burst out laughing.
— That's RICH coming from you.
— The guy hasn't cut his hair since I've known him.
Valen replied without looking at him.
— It's different. Mine is style.
The Absolute Being smiled even more.
— I already like this planet.
The labyrinth vibrated softly.
A new chapter had begun.
Chapter 266 — The Guest of the Impossible
The labyrinth still vibrated faintly.
Not like an unstable structure…
But like a living organism that had just accepted a conceptual graft.
The fractal walls pulsed slowly.
Symbols reorganized themselves, as if reading an invisible contract.
The laws inscribed themselves, line by line:
— conditional gravity
— reversible death
— fragmented time
— threshold causality
Annabelle observed the walls.
— Feels like I'm inside a physics manual written by someone who hates us.
Valen looked further ahead.
— Before you go any further, he said calmly, — show me what this labyrinth truly contains.
The Absolute Being turned his head slightly.
His eyes filled with impossible structures, as if entire libraries unfolded within them.
— Very well.
The labyrinth responded.
The floors unfolded in the air, not vertically, but conceptually.
As if opening a fan… except each branch contained a different apocalypse.
**The Ten Supreme Bosses**
At the top of the hierarchy, ten entities remained motionless.
Each existed in its own dimension.
They did not reign by force.
They reigned because the world could not contradict them.
- **The Inevitable** — the Concept of the End.
Everything that faces it understands it will cease to exist… someday.
Annabelle squinted. — Nice. Optimistic guy.
- **The Origin** — the Absolute Beginning.
Impossible to destroy without recreating what is erased.
— So you strike and you're doing it a favor, summarized Lya.
— Exactly.
- **The Continuity** — Time without break.
Every attack becomes another step in your own future.
Valor nodded. — Ah. The boss who beats you with your own timeline. — Detestable.
- **The Rupture** — Negation.
What becomes incoherent simply ceases to exist.
Annabelle frowned. — So I'm screwed.
- **The Measure** — Balance.
Any excessive force is immediately compensated.
— She just says "no," murmured Shadow.
- **The Accumulation** — Growth.
The longer the battle lasts, the more invincible she becomes.
— The favorite boss of stubborn idiots, noted Valen.
- **The Dissolution** — Entropy.
Everything crumbles. Slowly. Inevitably.
— That one's depression incarnate, whispered Annabelle.
- **The Possibility** — Pure Chance.
Every action opens a thousand contradictory outcomes.
— I hate when RNG has a conscience, growled Valor.
- **The Testimony** — Memory.
She remembers every death.
Every attempt.
Every failure.
Lya shivered. — She learns from the players…
- **The Silent Law** — Authority.
She does not attack.
She simply decides what is permitted.
Total silence.
— …Oh no, that one's a no, declared Annabelle. — She looks like she bans people.
The Absolute Being watched their reactions, visibly amused.
— These are not bosses, murmured Lya. — They are living axioms.
— Exactly.
**The Hundred Bosses of Law**
Below them, a hundred entities.
Each embodied a precise rule:
— Law of Equivalent Sacrifice
— Law of Persistent Pain
— Law of Hidden Cost
— Law of Learning Failure
— Law of Conditional Resurrection
— None are unjust, explained the Absolute Being. — But all are cruel.
Annabelle sighed. — Great. An honest system that ruins you anyway.
**The Creatures**
Finally, the monsters.
Beings born of contradictions: incomplete bodies, broken logic, recomposed instincts.
— They are not here to kill, clarified the Absolute Being. — They are here to force adaptation.
Valor smiled. — So if you die, it's a skill issue.
— Exactly.
The Absolute Being turned to Valen.
— Do you like it?
Valen remained silent. Then:
— …Isn't this a bit excessive?
A smile crossed the entity's face.
— In truth… — I am not the original creator of this labyrinth.
All froze.
— I defeated its owner. — Observed the structure. — Then I improved it.
Annabelle blinked. — …Improved?
— Yes. — It was poorly optimized.
He raised his hand.
— I can still extend it. — To infinity. — An eternal labyrinth, in your name.
Silence.
Valen slowly shook his head.
— No. — I would have preferred you reduce it.
The Absolute Being tilted his head.
— How many?
— One hundred floors.
A pause.
— …Wasn't a thousand floors excessive?
Annabelle burst out laughing. Valor raised a brow.
— He learns fast.
— Very well, said the Absolute Being.
— One hundred floors.
— Optimized.
He snapped his fingers softly.
The labyrinth vibrated one last time.
— It will no longer take human lives.
— Honestly, sighed Annabelle, — I bet you'd drag out the suspense.
— Suspense is useless. — You would have insisted. — I would have accepted.
Valor smiled. — The cosmic kid is reasonable.
— You are the one who would destroy the labyrinth without meaning to.
— Finally someone who understands me.
Lya frowned. — Some will try to die on purpose.
— No. He snapped his fingers.
— Resurrection works only in case of real failure.
— Cheating will be considered stagnation.
— Those will remain trapped.
Shadow nodded. — Logical.
Valen observed the entity.
— You adapt your rules in real time.
— A fixed system is a dead system.
Elyonna murmured:
— He thinks like a conscious weapon.
The Absolute Being then turned toward the portal.
— So… — Earth. — When do we leave?
Annabelle burst out laughing.
— Straight away? You're not even afraid?
— Afraid of what?
— Of an imperfect world that continues anyway?
He placed a hand on his chest.
The air contracted.
An infinity of realities compressed into a tolerable instant.
When everything stabilized… his presence no longer crushed space.
— You sealed yourself? asked Valen.
— Partially. — Earth‑compatible version.
— If you'd kept going, I'd have exploded, growled Annabelle.
— You would have endured. — But you would have understood you are not ready.
She clenched her teeth.
Lya observed.
— How long will this limitation hold?
— As long as I decide. — Or as long as this world forces me to abandon it.
Annabelle opened the portal.
Earth appeared. Noisy. Alive. Incoherent.
The Absolute Being stopped.
— This world ignores what it attracts.
Valen answered calmly:
— And we ignore what you will become here.
He smiled.
— Perfect.
The portal closed.
Somewhere on Earth…
An ancient entity opened its eyes.
A sealed artifact vibrated.
A child awoke crying.
And at the heart of the labyrinth, now alone…
The laws smiled.
Chapter 267 — The Most Dangerous Place: The Hairdresser
Valen turned to the group.
— Annabelle, you can return to the guild.
— I'll join you later.
— I'll show our guest around the city.
Annabelle narrowed her eyes slightly.
— …Are you sure?
— I remind you this thing could rewrite a continent if it gets bored.
Valen's tone and expression did not change.
— Precisely.
— He won't get bored.
Valor crossed his arms.
— I don't even want to know what that means.
Lya gave one last look at the boy with black hair.
— Be careful with Earth.
— It tends to leave marks.
The Absolute Being inclined his head.
— I'll take note.
Annabelle opened a portal.
— Well.
— If something explodes, I'll say it wasn't our fault.
They vanished one after another.
Valen remained alone with him.
The street was alive.
Passersby. Cars. Voices. Nothing exceptional.
And yet…
As Valen walked a few steps, some gazes lifted.
No screams.
No panic.
Just that slight pause.
A muffled whisper.
A phone lowered too quickly.
Someone recognizing without daring to confirm.
Valen, the strongest of human hunters, walked there calmly.
At his side: a boy with black hair, face calm, almost too calm.
The Absolute Being's hair still fell over his eyes.
Valen sighed.
— Seriously…
He untied the band holding his own white hair.
It fell freely down to the middle of his back.
Then he stepped closer.
— Don't move.
The Absolute Being obeyed without protest.
Valen used his own tie to lift the black strands, gathering them with precision, like a gesture repeated a thousand times on a battlefield… or in a training hall.
When the eyes were finally visible, Valen paused ever so slightly.
In one pupil: a perfect circle, rotating slowly.
In the other: an inverted triangle, motionless, definitive.
Two impossible forms.
And yet, stable.
— …Original, he said simply.
His white hair fell freely again.
The Absolute Being blinked.
— It didn't bother me.
Valen shrugged.
— Maybe.
— But humans like to know where to look.
He pulled another tie from his pocket.
— Don't worry.
— I always carry a spare.
He tied his hair again with the ease of someone who had survived worse than a mirror.
— I mentioned a place earlier.
— To reduce a little… all this.
He gestured at the black hair.
— Want to try?
The Absolute Being thought.
Not long.
But truly.
— Why not.
— I'd like to understand what it feels like… to choose to lose something.
The corner of Valen's mouth lifted.
— Then come.
He held out his hand.
After an almost imperceptible hesitation, the Absolute Being took it.
Warm. Real. Human.
They walked.
Reactions multiplied quietly.
— …It's him, isn't it?
— Shh.
— You think he'll go in there?
Nothing theatrical.
Just that discreet tension felt when a legend crosses the everyday.
Valen stopped before a shop window.
**HAIRDRESSING — MEN / WOMEN — NO APPOINTMENT**
— Where are we going? asked the Absolute Being.
— To one of the most dangerous places in this world.
— More dangerous than the labyrinth?
— Far worse.
He pushed the door.
The bell chimed.
— Next!
The hairdresser lifted her head… then froze.
No scream.
Just a held breath.
— Hello…
— Do you have an appointment?
— No, Valen replied naturally.
— It's his first time on Earth.
She looked at the boy.
His hair.
His eyes.
Then Valen.
— …Alright.
— We'll keep it simple.
The Absolute Being sat down.
The scissors opened.
The first lock fell to the floor.
Nothing broke.
Nothing stopped.
But something, somewhere, recorded the fact.
Valen smiled faintly.
— See?
— In the end, Earth isn't so dangerous.
The Absolute Being looked at the hair at his feet.
— No…
— But it learns quickly.
The hairdresser raised her eyes.
— What kind of cut do you want?
— Something normal, Valen answered without thinking.
— …Normal, repeated the Absolute Being.
And for the first time, that word had meaning.