The Dreamer's Epilogue-Chapter 13: Earth’s Epilogue

Chapter 13 – Earth’s Epilogue

"NO!!"

Emrys shouted in pure disbelief knitted with overwhelming anger that flushed his face red and hot.

Bang! Bang!

Dead silence. The world felt like a paused video at that instant, time slowed down so much it felt like a snail crawling gingerly.

"W-what?"

Emrys stuttered, instinctively halting his steps, almost falling. He looked at the tall white man collapsing to the ground, his head torn open by two gunshots, blood spluttering through the air as if it was crying, eyes still wide in disbelief at his sudden death.

He fell on the ground to the left, blood still gushing from his head, transforming the floor beneath him into a sticky pool of blood.

Shock and tremors jolted through Emrys’s body as he peeled his eyes away from the horrendous scene and directed them toward Océane.

He found her there, sprawling weakly on the ground, her cheek still bleeding, her body riddled with wounds and blood.

Yet her eyes were so cold Emrys felt a shiver.

In Océane’s right hand was the gun pointing at the dead, bleeding man, the tip emitting coiling, hissing steam, proving a very recent use.

’She killed him,’ Emrys thought, lips dry like cotton, throat parched.

That confirmation rang sharply inside his mind, making him strangely freeze in dread.

It was not the first time he had seen dead bodies since the beginning of this nightmare. But it was the first time Emrys saw a human killing another human so coldly.

Océane mechanically turned her head toward him and smiled sadly. "For... you," she whispered, her eyes filled with unconcealed madness and shimmering tears. "I did it for you, Emrys. I can’t lose you. I lost my brother. I can’t lose you."

Those words and the roar of the soon-to-explode boss monster made Emrys recover his mind immediately.

The current situation was not for fear or surprise.

He bolted to his feet, running faster than he ever had in his life. Emrys reached Océane in about fifteen seconds, the woman looking at him, searching inside his eyes for solace.

Something that would prove to her that she had done nothing wrong.

However, Emrys was too busy to give her what she wanted.

There were only five seconds left before the explosion.

Emrys picked up Océane, inwardly thanking all the gods that his enhancement was strength, then sprinted toward the portal as if his —their — lives depended on it.

They actually did.

Only two seconds were left, and they both knew they would need another five to seven seconds to reach the portal.

Emrys cursed inwardly, then pivoted, spinning upon himself like a turbulence and hurled Océane directly through the portal.

Her eyes widened, tears flying from them, feeling the wind slap her hair and face.

"BROTHER! EMRYS! NO—!"

Her shouts were swallowed as she entered the portal.

Emrys sighed in relief for Océane, cursed furiously, then hardened his eyes, bracing himself for the impact.

The last two seconds were over.

"ROAAARRARRRRR!!!!"

The boss monster let out one last demonic roar before completely bursting into a rain of blood, ash, and fire like a gory damn balloon.

A devouring, spitting, cackling purple fire that was encompassed —and confined — inside the barrier erupted like the wrath of a god.

Emrys was only an inch from the portal.

He finally used the shockwave from the explosion, which reached him first, to propel himself into the barrier before the actual flames touched him.

His plan was accurate, but the fire was faster, and Emrys felt his back turn into molten flesh as he finally entered the portal with a cry of agony.

Immediately after, the portal turned red, signifying that no one could enter again.

Emrys left behind him crashing waves of hot air that dried the surroundings in one terrifying instant, and purple ashes that curtained everything.

The Boss-level monster was officially dead.

Emrys and Océane successfully entered the Tower.

And Earth was no more, as hours later...

{Time is up.}

The {Mother}’s voice rang across the surface of Earth, reaching every corner with chilling accuracy.

{The process of absorption of the Essence of GeumGeum of Earth is completed. From now on, the essence of Earth will be assimilated into the Tower and the World of Premier.}

{For those who didn’t succeed in reaching the Tower on time...}

{Mother} paused, and across the surface of the world, beings raised their heads to the sky, watching as everything cracked apart, transforming into essence.

Some smiled and closed their eyes, ready to die with their world in peace.

Others cried, begging for mercy and a second chance.

Others were numb, watching listlessly as the world they knew became memories for the survivors.

While others, gripped by madness, killed those beside them before killing themselves.

Earth drowned in complete destruction as the Eiffel Tower dissolved, the pyramids of Egypt followed, and all other cultural relics vanished.

It was as if the world itself was being refined into something else.

And all that while in a small village in Africa, a young boy was kneeling beside his mother who had killed herself, leaving him alone. He stared at her corpse and felt himself being pulled away... being killed with the world he was born into.

His eyes lost all light. And the light of the world dimmed until...

{Mother}’s voice boomed again,

{For those who didn’t succeed, you have the honor of dying with your world. Take it. Savor it.}

{There are endings, Earthlings. Life is made of them. This is one of them. One of the many to come.}

Another curt, solemn pause, and then...

{You have reached your Epilogue.}

Then Earth and everything within it was no more.

The Light vanished. And with it, Life followed.

—End of Chapter 13—