Within the Purgatory, there existed a building that any being living in that realm would be able to see from any direction and any distance. After all, that building was considered the most important building in the realm, housing all of the jobs that the Purgatory offered to gods and mortals alike. Although it went by many names, every being in the Purgatory agreed on one name.

The Citadel.

The Citadel was around 10 kilometers in diameter, with its shape similar to a star as slightly smaller towers were erected at its points. In total, it had 500 floors, accommodating various needs and requests, such as guiding mortals on the path to reincarnation, training a new generation of beings that would guard the Citadel, and so on. In fact, it even had a massive entertainment section underground, allowing those that worked at the Citadel to remove all of the stress they’ve accumulated from work.

At the central tower of the Citadel was a floor that only a few people knew of and had access to. After all, everyone that worked at the Citadel knew that that specific floor was only reserved for the higher-ups of the Purgatory, as well as representatives that came from the two other realms that worked with the Purgatory: the Heavenly Court and the Underworld Alliance.

Surprisingly, three people were currently on that floor.

Seated in front of a round table were three people, all of them subconsciously exuding auras that definitely had the ability to destroy a star system if they had the need to. Though, for some reason, after looking at each other for a few seconds, the three retracted their auras, seemingly recalling where they were at the moment.

“Well, let’s get to business, shall we? After all, it’s quite rare for representatives from the Heavenly Court and the Underworld Alliance to come here,” said one of the three people to the other two. This person wore a dark gray suit, complementing his black hair that was neatly combed. His irises were dark red in color, with one of his pupils taking on the shape of a trefoil. From how the man looked, it was apparent that he was one of the higher-ups of the Purgatory.

Specifically, this man was Azazel, one of the Directors of the Citadel.

“Sure, that may be true, but the fact still stands that we communicate with one another on a daily basis. After all, the three realms are currently focusing on the New Cosmos Project,” said a woman in response to Azazel’s words. Unlike the dark gray suit he wore, this woman wore a white dress that gave off the feeling that it couldn’t be sullied. Nevertheless, it quite complemented the faint holy aura she still gave off, a sign that she was part of the Heavenly Court.

With long silver hair, yellow irises, and a calming smile, it would naturally come as a surprise to any other being that this woman was a member of the Grand Council, the ruling body of the Heavenly Court. Her name was Uriel.

“Oh, lighten up, will you, Uriel? Don’t you miss seeing us two? Then again, with how you’re looking at me with slight disgust right now, it’s pretty obvious that you don’t,” said a man after Uriel was finished talking, chuckling soon after. With the two being part of the Purgatory and the Heavenly Court, then it only made sense that the final person was a representative of the Underworld Alliance.

Wearing a red suit that complemented his charming smile, the man had his black hair styled in a way that made him look more attractive than usual. Coupled with the man’s green irises that gave off the feeling that anyone looking at it would fall in love with him, one would think that he was someone who wielded the power of lust or charm.

However, his true nature was anything but that. In any case, he was one of the Supreme Kings of the Underworld Alliance, taking on the name of Belial.

Letting out a light cough to dispel the awkward atmosphere that appeared after Belial’s words, Azazel looked at the two for a bit before sporting a solemn expression. “Although I already have a feeling as to why the two of you have come here to talk to me, it wouldn’t hurt to tell me what the others from your realms think about our progress.”

“Since you’re asking us to take the initiative, let me be the first then,” replied Belial with a light smile on his face. Though, not long after, a serious expression appeared on it as he told the two, specifically Azazel, “As we all know, the three realms have been focusing on the New Cosmos Project for quite some time now, given how the threat of our multiverse breaking apart is becoming more unsettling as time passes. However, as we’ve observed the progress of the project through the reports of the Purgatory, there seems to be something slightly off with how the project is being handled.”

After that, he looked at Uriel, who had already forgotten the small remark from before. With a calm expression, she then said, “Of course, the Heavenly Court and the Underworld Alliance have no problems with how the Purgatory is handling the project. After all, we’re making great progress in getting closer to the completion of the project. However, there’s something the Purgatory lacks that might possibly lead to the failure of the project.”

“And that would be…?” Azazel asked, quite curious as to what the answer might be.

“The uniqueness of each entity,” Uriel said in response, with Belial nodding in agreement. “Or, to be more specific, the entities of energy and law that are part of the New Cosmos Project lack the individuality that makes a multiverse what it is.”

“Individuality?” Hearing that, Azazel could not help but tilt his head in confusion, wondering what they meant by that. “I’m pretty sure the beings chosen by those from the reincarnation division show great levels of individuality. After all, those that were chosen to become entities of energy and law were specifically chosen for their uniqueness among other beings.”

“Although that may be the case, the conversion process is too streamlined. It’s too linear,” Belial could not help but say in response to Azazel’s words. “They might make different choices along the way, but in the end, the endpoint is the same. Those that were chosen to become entities of energy would turn into the epitome of energy. Those that were chosen to become entities of law would turn into the epitome of law. There’s no in between. There’s no being that would go against those specified paths whatsoever.”

“Think about it, Azazel. Didn’t we take a lot of twists and turns in our journey to become gods? And now, we’re depriving those that are forced to be involved in this project the ability to make their own choices. Don’t you think that’s kind of ironic?” Uriel said soon after. “Just so you know, Chronos divined that the New Cosmos Project might turn out to be a failure in the end if we continue streamlining the process of accumulating entities of energy and law.”

“Even the other Supreme Kings agree on that statement, Azazel,” Belial added. “They told me the New Cosmos Project wouldn’t be able to grow to a full multiverse if we keep things the way they are. For the lack of a better term, the Purgatory has to add an element of surprise to the beings they choose for their project. And I don’t just mean their personality like what you’re doing so far. I also mean the assistive systems they have that are aiding their journey to the peak of their specific paths.”

“Hmm…” Listening to their words, Azazel went silent for a bit, mulling over how the Purgatory was going to do what they wanted them to do. Scratching his head, he then let out a light sigh as he said, “It’s going to take a while to fully implement the changes, so the Purgatory will be implementing it by batch. Are the two realms fine with that?”

“I’ve already received a response from the Grand Council. They say that as long as it doesn’t take 10,000 years, it would be fine,” Uriel replied.

“On the other hand, the Supreme Kings are a bit more impatient. They want the transition to be finished in 5,000 years or less,” said Belial with a somewhat apologetic smile.

“Well, that’s not much of a problem,” said Azazel in response to the words of the two. “With the help of the other Directors, I think we’ll be able to fully transition in around 3,000 years or so, give or take. In any case, I’ve more or less written all of the clauses regarding this amendment.”

Saying that, he then snapped his finger, prompting two large parchments to appear in front of the other two with hundreds of lines of text written on them. As they were gods, it did not take long for the two of them to read through the parchment, voicing out a bit of their concerns, which were quickly amended by the three as they finalized the clauses.

Eventually, the three of them looked through the clauses on the parchment, nodding in satisfaction as there seemed to be no problems with the amendment. With that, both Uriel and Belial signed the parchments in front of them, signifying that the amendment was now official.

After that, Azazel also signed on the parchment before snapping his fingers once more, making the parchments burst into flames. Then, with a light smile, he stood up from his seat as he shook the hands of both Uriel and Belial. “It’s been nice meeting you two again. How about we go grab some food before you two return to your respective realms?”

“I’m down,” Belial replied with a chuckle. “As long as you’re paying for it, that is.”

“Well, as long as I can finish eating within a day or two, then I wouldn’t mind joining you,” said Uriel, prompting the other two to look at her with a hint of doubt. After all, the two knew that she was the most gluttonous among them.

“Speaking of which, what kind of fancy name did you give the amendment?” As they headed to the lower floors of the Citadel, Belial asked Azazel.

Lightly scratching his cheek, he then replied, “What fancy name? I only gave it a simple name. I just called it…”

“The Treaty of Individuality.”