End of the World

"You've failed!"

The speaker was no longer recognizable as human. His face was a network of cracks filled with flames, reminiscent of ocean waves, but aflame.

"Why have you betrayed mankind?"

"Why did I betray mankind? Isn't it obvious? Because I want to become a god," the figure declared arrogantly.

He lowered his gaze to the man sprawled before him, bloodied and battered.

The man was in his sixties; his hair had turned white, and wrinkles lined his face.

But there was something remarkable about him, a defiant spark in his eyes.

"God? Do you think you're a god now?" the man rasped, seemingly stalling for time against the menacing figure.

"Ha, of course not. But I'm on the brink of gaining that immense power."

"Ah, Lucius. I know you cherished this land. You fought for forty years, serving the people. Now look at us, the last humans on this planet. Everyone you loved is dead, Lucius."

"To hell with you."

Mustering the last of his strength, the elderly man tried to rise, reaching for the figure. His intention was clear - to detonate the bomb he carried and take out the monstrous figure with him.

"Slash!"

He didn't have time to trigger the explosion. The figure slashed his arm first.

His arm, too, bore cracks filled with flames. The next instant, the old man's head shattered.

The body collapsed, no longer possessing a head. A terrible sight, too swift even for a death cry to escape his lips.

"Lucius, did you think I wouldn't foresee your plan?" the figure sneered, crouching to examine the lifeless body.

"Lucius, you were a fool. Had you chosen my path, you would've become a god," he murmured, speaking to no one in particular, for Lucius was gone.

"Well, where's my prize?" he bellowed, shaking the arid red soil tainted with hazardous materials.

The land was barren, devoid of any signs of life, save for this monstrous king.

"System, where is the promised reward?" he demanded, eager for his prize.

[The mission of exterminating the entire human race has been completed, the reward for the host is the Eye of Time]

"Ha, finally! I'm about to become a god!" he roared, obsessed with his ascension.

A dazzling light appeared before him, unable to dim his radiant anticipation.

[Eye of Time]

He stared at the small hologram that floated before him, the system that promised this special ability.

"So, this is the Eye of Time?"

He grasped the newly appeared object, studying it in awe.

The Eye of Time, an artifact reputed to bestow godhood, granted only after fulfilling the merciless task of wiping out all humans.

"Beep, beep, beep."

"What?"

A familiar sound startled him. He thought he was the last living thing. The electronic countdown to an explosion.

"Lucius? You bastard!" he cursed, ripping the clothes from Lucius's corpse to find circuits implanted within.

"Boom!"

"Ahhh!" he screamed.

Though he wasn't severely injured, the explosion Lucius had rigged stunned him. He had not anticipated that the detonation would be triggered upon the stoppage of Lucius's heartbeat.

The desperate measures of the last human on Earth.

"Splash!"

He stared in disbelief as the corpse exploded. The shockwave flung pieces of Lucius's flesh onto the Eye of Time in his hand.

"Damn it! Your rotten flesh dares to taint this sacred artifact!" he spat, shaking his hand.

Expecting the flesh to fall away, he was taken aback when it adhered to the Eye of Time, which then began to glow.

"No, what's happening?" he cursed, taken by surprise when his artifact activated upon contact with the human remains.

[Eye of Time activated! God has been chosen]

The hologram's declaration sent him into a rage.

"No, no! This can't be!" he screamed, unable to intervene as the artifact absorbed the flesh, grew larger, and slipped from his grasp.

The artifact seemed to deliver electric shocks that forced him to let go.

[Anomaly! Anomaly! There is still one living being left]

The hologram turned red, flickering and driving him into further dismay.

[Eliminating all living things]

"Aah, what's happening to me?" he shrieked, watching his body disintegrate into sand-like particles before vanishing.

Soon after, the last living entity on Earth disappeared. A mysterious voice echoed in the sky.

[Anomaly detected, First floor experiencing interference. The process of restarting the world begins]

The voice ended, and the small pearl of the Eye of Time disintegrated into dust. The sky darkened, seemingly swallowing everything.