Mark "The Grand Architect" stood in front of a massive altar, his expression calm, almost serene. Behind him, shadowy figures, members of the elite, watched in silence as holographic images of strange, pulsating machines flickered on the walls. These weren’t ordinary machines. They were the "Soul Catchers"—devices built to capture and harvest the very essence of human souls.

“The time has come,” Mark began, his voice echoing through the cavernous hall. “The world has given all it can. Now, we move to the final stage.”

The elite nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. The Soul Catchers had been in operation for years, quietly harvesting the energy of humanity through wars, disasters, and pandemics. But now, the process would become open, unstoppable, and merciless.

“The masses have already surrendered their bodies,” Mark continued, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. “But they don’t realize that their souls were always the ultimate prize.”

On the screens behind him, images of humans hooked up to the Soul Catchers flashed. These were not the sick or the dying; they were everyday people, going about their lives, unaware that every thought, every moment of fear, every act of submission was being siphoned into these machines.

Mark smiled, the dark secret that had powered his rise to global domination now out in the open. “These machines don’t just capture the soul’s energy. They store it, process it, and deliver it directly to the beings that have guided us for millennia—our interdimensional allies. They require this energy to thrive, and in return, they give us the control we need.”

He paused, looking around at the faces of the elites, who were all complicit in the grand deception. “You’ve all benefited from their power. Now, we take the final step. Every soul on Earth will be harvested, fed into the machines, and drained of its essence. We will be the shepherds of humanity’s final offering.”