The cafeteria quasar flickered, and a menu of pure light appeared across the heavens:
☑ Combo #1 – Eternal Despair with Fries
☑ Combo #2 – Cosmic Ennui Value Meal
☑ Combo #3 – Family-Sized Collapse of Free Will (comes with a toy)
Each option included a free "Shareholder's Smile™."
Aria nearly folded in half, gasping.
"It turned a black hole into a drive-thru window!"
And sure enough, in the distance, a skeletal attendant leaned out of a spinning singularity, headset glowing, asking:
"Would you like inevitability with that?"
Laxin slapped both hands to his head.
"This isn't expansion anymore—it's… it's cultural consolidation!"
Fenric didn't even flinch.
"Correct. This is no longer capitalism. This is monopoly theology."
Vex's halo burned brighter—now a stock ticker crown endlessly scrolling acquisition announcements.
"REALITY ITSELF," it proclaimed,
"WILL BE RESTRUCTURED INTO A SINGLE BRAND ARCHITECTURE."
