The White Room began to dissolve. It wasn't an explosion, but a "reformatting." The golden data from Omar's soul started to wrap around the pillars of the universe, rewriting the cruel laws of the Architects.
"Omar! Stop! You'll be erased!" Laila's voice was fading as the spatial dimensions between them stretched into infinity.
"I'm not being erased, Laila," Omar's voice echoed, now sounding like a thousand voices at once. "I'm just... expanding my inventory."
[Final Transaction: 45% Complete...]
[Merging 'The Sovereign Merchant' with 'The Origin Core'...]
The Lead Director screamed as his briefcase of "Fate" turned into dust. "You fool! You cannot contain the data of a billion worlds! Your mind will shatter! You are a mortal container trying to hold the ocean!"
"Then I'll just have to build a bigger bucket," Omar's translucent form replied.
Suddenly, the Infinite Realm Emporium—the shop itself—began to unfold. Its walls of obsidian and gold expanded, stretching across the white void, turning the "Corporate Office" of the Architects back into a Marketplace. But this time, it was a marketplace for the people, not the parasites.
Inside the shop's core, Sarah (Omar's mother) was working at lightning speed. Her holographic hands were flying across a keyboard made of stars. "I'm stabilizing the merger, Omar! I'm redirected the 'Debt' energy into the foundations of the new Earth! But you have to let go of your 'Self' to complete the bridge!"
Omar looked at Laila one last time. He saw a tear rolling down her cheek—the first time he had ever seen the cold assassin cry.
"Laila," Omar whispered, his image flickering between a human and a constellation. "The shop is yours now. You are the Manager. Keep the prices fair. And never... never let a customer walk away without hope."
"Omar, no! Don't you dare leave me with this responsibility!" she shouted, but her hand passed right through him.
[Merger: 99% Complete...]
[The Architects have been 'Liquidated'.]
[New Admin Identity: OMAR-01 (Sovereign Authority).]
With a final flash of blinding white light, the Directors vanished, turned into "Deleted Files." The White Room collapsed, and for a moment, there was absolute silence.
The Aftermath: Three Months Later
The city of Casablanca had changed, but it felt more alive than ever. In the spot where the black tower used to be, there was now a beautiful, open-air park. But for those with "Eyes to See," a shimmering black door stood in the center of the fountain.
Inside the Emporium, things were bustling. Laila sat behind the mahogany counter, wearing a suit that looked suspiciously like Omar's. Kaelen stood guard at the door, but now he was teaching young Moroccan orphans how to use "Mana-Shields" for defense, not war.
"The price is two Soul-Embers for the healing potion, not three," Laila said to a grumpy-looking dwarf from the 4th Dimension. "Check the new policy. We don't overcharge here anymore."
The dwarf grumbled but paid. As he left, the bell chimed.
A young man walked in. He looked like a porter, tired and covered in dust, holding a single copper coin. "I... I heard this is the place where a 'Commoner' can change his fate."
Laila looked up, a sad but beautiful smile on her face. "It is. But the Boss is currently... out of the office."
She looked at a small, golden bird sitting on the shelf. The bird's eyes glowed with a familiar, sharp gold light.
High above the clouds, in a dimension made of pure light and possibility, a figure sat at a desk made of stars. He wasn't a god, and he wasn't a clerk. He was a Merchant. He was watching a million worlds, ensuring that no soul was ever "harvested" again.
Omar leaned back, adjusted his celestial tie, and looked at a holographic screen showing Casablanca. "Business is looking good today," he whispered.
Then, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a copper coin—the very first one he ever earned—and flipped it into the air.
"Next customer, please."