Let's go back in time a while.

After having made his decision to save the world, Lassen had a long discussion with the System. He didn't want to act blindly. If he was to save anything, he wanted to know exactly what he was facing.

The world is made of matter, and matter is made of atoms. It's a simple truth, known by almost everyone.

But what most ignore is that this visible matter, everything we see around us, the planets, the stars, ourselves…, represents only a tiny fraction of the universe.

The majority of what makes up the universe is totally unknown to us. On one side, there is dark energy, which accounts for more than 68 % of the universe. It's a mysterious, invisible force suspected of driving the accelerated expansion of the universe. Basically, it pushes everything away from everything else.

And on the other side, there is dark matter, which makes up about 27 % of the universe. It, too, is invisible, but without it, galaxies wouldn't hold together. It acts like a kind of gravitational glue, a stabilizing force.

Which means that everything we see represents only about 5 % of the universe. The rest remains unknown.

Put simply: we know almost nothing about what surrounds us.

Fortunately for Lassen, he didn't need to rediscover everything himself. The System's former realm was far more advanced than current human civilization. For a long time, they had already discovered certain fundamental truths about the universe—truths that even our brightest scientists wouldn't dare imagine.

And the most important of all was simple: everything rests on balance.

Just as there is light, there is darkness. Just as there is good, there is evil.

And just as the universe continues to expand, creating new galaxies, stars, and planets… there also exists an opposing force, a force of destruction.

And it's that force that threatens everything. It's the cause of all this chaos.

But the universe never leaves anything to chance. There is always an escape, a loophole, a hidden solution somewhere.

And it's that escape that Lassen had to find.

He let out a long sigh.

"So you're telling me I have to find a solution that even you, the wonderfully super-advanced realm, haven't managed to discover? No pressure at all."

[Even if you say it sarcastically, yes, you're right. The only difference is that you know it before it happens. We were caught off guard.]

Lassen fell back onto his bed, arms outstretched, his gaze lost in the tiny cracks of the ceiling.

"Great. So the universe is going out of balance, some unknown cosmic force wants to destroy everything, and it's me, a guy in pajamas with a mug of hot chocolate, who has to save existence. Perfectly logical."

[Don't tell me you're still drinking that nasty powdered cocoa with the floating bits…]

"Keep my guilty pleasures out of this."

[Very well. Let's talk about the end of the universe instead, it's more cheerful.]

A silence settled.

Then Lassen, still lying down, asked, "So… where do we start?"

[It's up to you to figure it out.]

"You have absolutely no idea either, huh."

[…]

"OK, OK. If I've learned anything from all the novels I've read, it's that strength lies in unity. So if we're to be saved, we need to unite."

[And how do you plan to do that?]

"Well… we improvise. As usual."

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After his discussion with the System, Lassen summoned his entire team for an exceptional meeting. That almost never happened. Usually, he preferred to let things run remotely, giving his directives through secure channels, or even via the system when he was too lazy to speak. But this time, he wanted to see them. In person.

In the large circular room of the main residence, bathed in a soft artificial light, they were all there. Seated around the oval table, in respectful silence.

Kaela, the hacker, nervously chewed on a pen cap, eyes fixed on her portable screen.Adrian, the driver and bodyguard, sat upright like a soldier, hands folded on the table.Alex, the right-hand man, impeccably dressed, was already jotting something down in his digital notebook.And Elias, the scientist, was half-absorbed in a holographic diagram floating before him, looking absent yet present.

Lassen looked at each of them in turn.

All except Kaela had been summoned by the System. All had been designed to be brilliant, reliable, exceptional in their fields. And yet, despite their special nature, despite their loyalty, they remained deeply human.

And he knew what it meant to be human in the face of the unknown: fear, anxiety, the instinct to survive.

So no, he wouldn't tell them everything. Not yet.

He simply sat down, calmly placing his mug on the table.

"Thank you for coming."

A collective nod. Alex looked up from his notebook, waiting.

Lassen took a slow breath : "There are things I can't tell you yet. Not because I don't trust you. But because I don't want you to panic unnecessarily."

A brief silence. Kaela raised an eyebrow, curious. Elias blinked, momentarily pulled from his thoughts.

"Let's say… our universe has a few structural flaws that we can no longer ignore."

Adrian frowned. Alex slowly straightened.

"Nothing immediate, nothing requiring a red alert. But I want you to be ready. To be extra vigilant. To follow my instructions without asking too many questions. At least for now."

Kaela opened her mouth, ready to speak, then held back. She understood: if Lassen wasn't saying anything, it meant it was already beyond anything she could imagine.Lassen stood up, hands clasped behind his back.

"There are projects we need to speed up. Research we need to secure. And foundations we need to reinforce. Because in the near future… we might not be the only ones trying to understand the universe."

He slowly turned his head toward them : "You don't need to know everything. Just trust me."The silence that followed was heavy, but not oppressive. It was a silence filled with acceptance.Alex was the first to nod. "Alright. You say where, when, how. And we execute."

The others followed, each in their own way: a nod, a quiet sigh, a knowing glance.Lassen gave them a faint smile.

"Thank you. You don't know it yet, but you're writing a page of history."

[A bit dramatic, don't you think?] the System whispered in his mind.

"Shut up. I'm in the flow."