The abyss of Nothingness had closed, like a giant black sack swallowing the world whole.Ethan's body was already half gone, his soul fluttering like a drowning insect in the vast dark.
Then, suddenly, a familiar voice surfaced from the black sea."…Hey, kid. You really made it to the bitter end, huh?"
Ethan froze. The voice carried a lazy smile—it was Carl, his old friend long since consumed by the Void. Ridiculous, really. Carl's tone sounded more like a coworker complaining about a crowded bus than someone reduced to an empty husk.
"You're supposed to be Nothingness'… mascot by now," Ethan sneered, his transparent teeth showing. "How'd you still find time to come back and tease me?"
"Maybe the Void got indigestion, burped, and spat me out as leftovers." Carl laughed, his voice echoing absurdly in the abyss, like someone throwing a party in a public restroom.
Ethan laughed so hard he coughed—coughing out not blood, but empty bubbles."So what are you here for? To watch me fade into molecules?"
Carl went silent for two seconds, then his voice turned serious."No. I'm here to help you finish this."
"Finish?" Ethan blinked.
"Yeah. You want to seal the Void, right? But you can't do it alone. I'm half-digested, not alive, not dead—just enough to wedge myself in the crack."As he spoke, a shadowy figure emerged from the darkness, stitched together from fractures and scraps, vaguely resembling Carl.
"Think of it as our last team-up."
Ethan stared at him, then burst out laughing."So you go from human to monster, and now you've got to moonlight as a sealing stone? That's some ridiculous career development."
Carl shrugged, his voice dripping with black humor."Hey, life's choices—some people lie flat, some people grind themselves out. Me? I chose to embed myself."
Ethan facepalmed. "God, that joke's awful."
But the next second, his eyes burned hot.They both knew what this was—the last flicker of friendship, the only warmth left in a collapsing world of blankness.
Nothingness grew restless, as if annoyed that two clowns on stage were still stalling for time. The black tide surged, wrapping around them.
"Hurry!" Carl shouted, his shadowy body cracking like a collapsing statue."Give me the Nightmare Key—use me as the container!"
Ethan froze, his throat choked with unspoken sarcasm. He knew it was the only way. Still, he squeezed out a grin:"So you're turning yourself into the world's lid? Should I slap a label on you that says: 'Friendship, Limited Edition'?"
Carl laughed so hard he nearly cried."Yeah, stick it on! Not like anyone'll be around to read it!"
They both erupted in their final, ridiculous laughter.The laughter twisted with sorrow, shredded into a discordant satire by the Void's pull.
In that laugh, Ethan shoved the Nightmare Key deep into Carl's chest.Instantly, Carl's cracked figure blazed with an eerie light. It wasn't holy fire, nor divine radiance—just the blinding glare of a broken stage spotlight, clumsy and brutal.
The Void roared, black tides surging—but Carl's body held it fast.He spread his arms like a volunteer diving into a blender, jamming what remained of his soul into the gap.
"Go!" Carl's final shout sounded like a security guard shooing people out of a theater after a terrible play."Don't let this crappy show drag on without an audience!"
Ethan wanted to say something, but his tongue was already gone.So he simply gave Carl a fading thumbs-up—only to watch it shatter into dust.
The Void was sealed.The abyss quaked shut, like someone slamming the world's iron door.
Silence.
Ethan stood alone on the black stage, half his body missing, a hollow in his chest—yet still laughing."The last friendship… turns out it's this cheap."
A single tear slipped from his eye. When it struck the ground, it rang out as clear laughter, like a glass marble shattering.