End of an era

The world was on fire, everything was burning hotter than hellfire. The girl tried to run away but the flame was all consuming, it swallowed her whole. Making a dash for it, the Kid jumped into the cold water of the deep. There, she sunk and sunk with no bottom in sight.

Inside her heart was a warm feeling as the Kid knew where she was going. Back to that strange kingdom with its strange people. And there, its king would be there, always.

Or that was what she had expected. The girl arrived at that same room alright but there was no one there for her. The place was shrouded in the shadow with only a dim light coming from the window. The Kid peaked outside, she could see the street always so bustling with people lied deserted.

‘What happened?’ She thought to herself. ‘Was today a special event?’

That was when the Kid noticed the spiral door. It was a mystery even to the king himself, yet there it was, left opened. Behind there was nothing but the cold brick wall. At least the Kid assumed that was brick.

Fueled by a growing sense of worry and maybe a bit of curiosity, she decided to head out.

This was her first time ever been outside of that room. The hallway in front of her was well decorated, but there was no light lit. Around each marble pillar was a snake coiling around, forming a spiral. And that pattern was also underneath in the soft carpet under the Kid’s feet. She approached the pillar to find it had an ethereal blue tint to it, like the calm ocean.

As the Kid paced down the hallway, she realized the spiral beneath her was not without a rhythm. No, they blended together, creating the illusion of the sea waves twisting and twirling. As she took her steps, the girl feel like being brought forward, carried by the water.

Despite having never seen an ocean before in her life, the Kid knew exactly what it was like. The soft sand under one’s feet, the cool breeze rolling over the skin.

Most of all, the girl knew of the spiral that dwelled beneath it all.

Before she knew it, the Kid found herself at the end of the hallway. Looking back, the girl could not see where she had started, it had been swallowed by the darkness. There was only forward to go. As she approached the door, it swung opened to reveal a temple behind.

It must have been a majestic place once, a place of worshiped filled with believers. But it was now a deserted ruin, except for a lone figure kneeling in the middle.

‘Is that a statue?’ The girl thought to herself.

Looking around, the Kid could spot a gigantic curve blade, lodge at the far wall. At the other side, a lonely throne sit, devoid of a subject of worship, its king.

It was then that the Kid realized, that figure in the middle was no statue.

That was once a living creature, now encased in an armor made of chitin adorned with spiral pattern. As the Kid approached the deceased being, she spot something glimmering on the ground. Broken pieces of something larger, enough for the girl to realize what the original item was.

It was something she had seen so many time before, a crown made of reef.

The girl gazed upon the being in armor, her heart struck with a painful realization. This used to be the king that always greeted her with a warm embrace.

“No, no, no, no…”

The girl fell onto her knees and wept. No matter how much she wish, nothing could change the truth. Just as the king had predicted, [The World’s End] had swept through his kingdom, reducing it to ruin. Once a mighty civilization, conqueror of the six seas, now nothing.

But the king did not die.

To fight back against the threat, he had opened the spiral door and granted power. It was not enough to save his people but it could keep him going past the apocalypse. The king then existed as a lonely existent, the last of his kind.

It was a life of pure agony, but it was all over now. The king was finally vanquished, the bolt that ended his tortured soul still lodged at the nape of his neck.

“Why does this have to happen…”

The girl continued to cry. Claudia had never truly known him, but the king had always been there every time she fell asleep. And now, there was nothing for her to dream of. The girl was then hit by an even worse reminder. The king would not be the only person who had always been in her life to be taken always.

The End Of The Line was reaching its final destination, along with everyone within. Among those people was… its mayor.

Even now, Claudia did not understand why her mother decided to stay behind. The woman was not young but she was still youthful compared to the others around them. And unlike the mage William, mother was strong enough to not be corrupted by the doomed town. She stood tall in front of the dread it inflict, shielding her child, allowing Claudia to be able to laugh.

But mother would also perish along with everyone else.

The girl cried her heart out for what seemed like eons. She cried until her eyes felt like falling out of their sockets. She cried until there was no tear left to shed. Claudia realized why she was sent here, to the end of this mighty civilization. The girl would soon be a part of it, the fire must have now consumed her whole, and her life was no more.

But as she gazed up, the girl was startled by the dead king suddenly started to move. He was still very much dead, but his body remained. And within his very muscles, they still remembered.

The king raised his head, with one finger poking at her head. It was the final thing his decrepit body would ever do.