The wind howled like a dying beast across the desert canyon.
Sand tore through the air in violent spirals, scraping against skin, against bone—against what little remained of the world.
"You know this is where it ends… right?"
A pause.
"…Yeah," Leon exhaled slowly. "Had to end somewhere."
He stood at the edge of the canyon, a cigarette resting between his lips, the ember flickering against the storm. His crimson eyes were distant—calm in a way that didn't belong in a dying world.
"My name is Leon," he said flatly. "And the half-naked idiot next to me is Kevin Mark."
Kevin scoffed. "Half-naked? Says the guy dressed like he walked out of a funeral."
Leon ignored him.
"I know this doesn't make sense," he continued, glancing at the horizon where something moved beneath the sandstorm. "Standing here… like this. But the world's about to end."
A voice suddenly spoke from his waist.
"You're really doing narration now, kid?"
The voice came from the sword hilt strapped to Leon's hip—metallic, intricate, lined with night-blue, silver, and gold. A dragon's head was carved into it, its red eyes glowing faintly.
"And that," Leon said dryly, "is Kelbuis. A talking sword. Try not to question it."
"To think," Kevin smirked, "the mighty Kelbuis sounds nervous."
"Who's nervous, you piece of—" the sword snapped. "I am Kelbuis, the MIGHTY BLADE. And don't forget—I helped you lose your virginity."
Leon froze.
Kevin blinked.
"…What?"
"Yeah," Kelbuis continued proudly. "I pretended to be a ghost to scare that girl. And you didn't even last three minutes."
"HEY!"
Kevin lunged forward.
Leon burst out laughing, doubling over as the cigarette nearly fell from his mouth.
"Three minutes?!" he choked.
"That's tragic, man—"
"Laugh all you want," Kevin shot back with a grin. "You're still a virgin in your thirties."
Silence.
A vein popped on Leon's forehead.
"…That's not fair."
He slowly picked up a stick from the ground.
Kevin took a step back.
"…Leon?"
Leon smiled.
Not a normal smile.
The kind that meant violence.
"Why are you running?" Leon asked.
Kevin ran trying to escape
Far beyond them—
The storm shifted.
And then it came.
A tide of horror spilled into the canyon.
Zombies with bloated bodies and grey, rotting flesh dragged themselves forward. Behind them, things that should not exist followed—creatures stitched together from nightmare and madness.
Towering beasts with too many limbs. Skin that moved like liquid. Eyes—hundreds of them—blinking out of places where eyes shouldn't be.
Worms the size of buildings tore through the sand. Winged abominations screeched overhead, their faces nothing but fleshy openings lined with thorns.
And above them all—
A behemoth.
Seven legs. Scaled in teal like a living mountain. A massive flower bloomed from its back, writhing tendrils extending outward like a crown of death.
The world had already lost.
This… was just the ending.
"Kid," Kelbuis muttered, quieter now. "It was fun."
Leon took a slow breath.
"…Yeah. It was."
Kevin cracked his neck, stretching like an old man about to start a fight he knew he wouldn't win.
"So… this is it."
The wind roared louder.
Clothes snapped like war banners.
The final battlefield of Earth stood before them.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Leon reached into his coat, pulling out a small device. The screen flickered.
10 minutes left.
His eyes didn't change.
They had already accepted it.
Deep beneath the Earth—
"Is it ready?"
"…Yes."
A man in a torn lab coat stared at glowing monitors. Beside him, a woman held a baby tightly against her chest.
"…Soon," he whispered. "The Earth… will be no more."
Back in the canyon—
"Don't you want to see her?" Leon asked quietly.
Kevin didn't answer immediately.
"…Even if I did," he said finally, "what difference would it make?"
Silence.
Then—
"…Do you think we could go back in time?"
Leon let out a faint laugh.
"Time? That's not a gift. That's a burden."
Kevin looked up at the storm.
"…Yeah," he murmured. "Who'd want that?"
"…Time, huh," Kelbuis whispered.
The monsters closed in.
No escape remained.
And yet—
Neither of them felt fear.
Because fear only comes once.
After that—
There's only acceptance.
Or madness.
Leon drew Kelbuis.
"Automode."
"Finally," the blade hummed.
The sword expanded, transforming into a massive greatsword. Then—engines ignited, and it lifted into the air, spinning with deadly precision.
Kevin's body shifted—bones cracking, muscles swelling, skin hardening into black armor. His eyes burned like a dying sun.
Leon's hair turned white.
His claws extended.
Crimson lightning cracked across the ground.
"Engram: Tiger's Claw Through the Forest."
And then—
They vanished.
The battlefield became a storm of blood and destruction.
Monsters fell before they could even react.
Kelbuis carved through the sky like a living weapon.
Kevin tore through flesh with raw brutality.
Leon—
Moved like a devil.
Eight minutes.
That's all it took.
The canyon fell silent
"…How much time?" Kevin asked.
"One minute."
They sat at the edge of the canyon.
Watching the end.
Leon lit another cigarette.
"…Man," he muttered. "I wish I had a cola."
"…Same."
The sky turned purple.
Light began to bloom across the horizon.
Explosions rippled beneath the Earth.
The girl held the baby tight
Then—
Domes of pure brilliance expanded outward, erasing everything in their path.
"…So this is it," Kevin said softly.
"…Yeah."
"…It's kinda beautiful."
Leon didn't respond.
"…What do you think, Kelbuis?"
"…It was nice knowing you idiots."
Kevin grabbed the sword.
"I'M GONNA MISS YOU—"
"GET OFF ME, YOU—"
Leon just watched.
For a moment—
It felt normal.
And then—
The light swallowed everything.
To be continued…