The information revealed by the Ancient One left them all feeling both confused and discouraged.
They had thought they were close to uncovering the truth behind the Quiz Game—like they'd finally grabbed hold of its tail. But as they tugged, they realized it wasn't the tail of some monster, nor that of an alien entity, but rather something far more abstract and indescribable.
As Tony put it, it was an unsolvable philosophical dilemma.
No matter which world you came from, no one could ever be completely certain about the true nature of their own reality.
If someone told you that you were just a character in a novel, a movie, or a comic book, you could roll your eyes or laugh it off. But you wouldn't be able to disprove it.
Bruce, Tony, and the others weren't just grappling with a single question anymore. The Quiz Game had been dropping increasingly detailed clues, and it was getting harder and harder to ignore them.
If they truly followed the trail all the way down, they'd be forced to confront the ultimate question—whether their world and even their own identities were real or merely fabricated.
Worse still, this kind of investigation—driven by curiosity—could easily lead them to the brink of madness.
That was when Diana, with a sudden and peculiar insight, said,
"If that's the case, I think I finally understand Deadpool. He's chaotic and insane, sure—but maybe it's because he knows too much. The line between truth and fiction has completely blurred for him. Imagine knowing exactly what you're supposed to say and do every day, knowing that your entire existence is scripted—written out for someone else's entertainment—and still choosing to keep going… If it were us in his shoes, we'd probably crack even harder than he has."
She finished speaking and gave Bruce Wayne a pointed look.
Bruce met her gaze, then turned to the Ancient One and asked,
"Stephen once said that the Quiz Game grants the opportunity to transcend… Do you know anything more about that?"
"I've learned a few things from my dreams," the Ancient One said calmly.
"Before the Quiz Game appeared, beings like us—and even greater entities like Eternity—had no real concept of transcendence. In fact, the very idea of transcendence only began to take shape after the Quiz Game entered our world."
She didn't play coy, either, and instead offered a hopeful possibility:
"To transcend everything means to gain a fate truly your own, a life free from the interference of others."
Bruce nodded.
"You've answered many of our questions."
"Have I?" the Ancient One replied with a serene smile.
"I'm not so sure. But if there's one piece of advice I can give you, it's this: stay true to your inner self. No matter what happens, always follow the voice deep within you. That's the only way to walk out of confusion and into clarity."
Steve nodded in agreement.
"I completely believe in that."
Tony, however, sighed.
"Well, now I'm starting to regret coming here. After all that, we're still no closer to understanding the true nature of the Quiz Game."
"Sometimes the truth doesn't matter as much as dealing with what's right in front of us," Diana interjected.
"We're not exactly playing the role of heroes in this world. There's bound to be backlash. I think we should take more than just Homelander and the other dangerous ones—we should protect Annie, Hughie, and the others too."
Tony raised his hand.
"No objections here. The more people we bring into the fold, the better. We're being pulled into more and more worlds, facing more and more problems, and we're desperately short on manpower!"
Steve then brought up Thor and Butcher.
"They both went to mission worlds. Could one of those worlds be the setting for the next round of the Quiz Game?"
That wasn't an unfounded assumption. After all, the world of The Boys and the corrupted Doctor Strange world had both been mission destinations for previous eliminated players—then were selected as the next game world.
If the pattern held, it made sense to send someone to check in on both Thor's and Butcher's mission worlds, just to be prepared.
Diana thought for a moment.
"Peter #1 used his points to get Wanda the Snow of Serenity. She's currently using dream-walking sorcery to search for those worlds. But there's a complication. Thor's not too hard to track, since Wanda knows him. But Butcher's proving more difficult—Wanda hasn't been able to pin him down just yet."
The Ancient One raised an eyebrow.
"Overusing Darkhold is never a good thing."
Steve chimed in, "Snow of Serenity works well. And if you're concerned, maybe you could check Wanda's condition when we return. None of us want to see anything go wrong with her."
The Ancient One nodded. After seeing all of Wanda's future videos, she had developed a healthy respect for the innate power of the Scarlet Witch.
They continued discussing post-negotiation matters for a while longer until Nick Fury finally returned, holding a signed agreement in his hands.
Of course, this wasn't an official government-level treaty. Neither side would recognize it as legally binding. After all, the so-called "observation team" was little more than a ragtag group—not a formal diplomatic delegation.
The agreements Fury brought back merely represented a temporary, mutual understanding. If anything changed in the future, the deal could easily be scrapped.
"They've agreed to some concessions," Nick explained.
"For example, allowing us to place agents inside Vought. In return, they want a few pieces of advanced technology. Nothing too surprising. I'll spare you the details—I know none of you are really interested."
He looked quite satisfied with the outcome.
Bruce narrowed his eyes at him.
"Nick, you also got your hands on Compound V research data, didn't you?"
Fury sat down and steepled his fingers under his chin.
"Bruce, let's maintain a bit of professional courtesy. You can trust me—within limits. And I'll extend the same courtesy to you."
Tony laughed, crossing his legs.
"Trust? Hearing that word from either of you is the funniest thing I've heard all day."
Diana stood and walked toward the door.
"Well, if we're done here, we should start prepping to leave. I'll go get Annie and the others ready."
Nick turned to her.
"Not all of them are willing to leave, you know. This is their home world, after all. I brought it up during negotiations. The official stance is that if Hughie and the others choose to stay, today's 'incident' won't happen again. But… I'm not offering any guarantees."
"I'll explain everything to them," Diana replied as she pushed the door open.
Annie and the rest were still in the restaurant. After seeing the Secretary of State arrive and then leave in a hurry, they could all sense it—whatever happened in that meeting would determine their fate.