Twilight lingered longer than it should have.
The sun had already fallen, yet the sky refused to darken—caught in that dying hue between gold and ash, as if the world itself could not decide whether to end.
Bodies lay scattered across the ruined plain. Some still smoldered. Others had already turned to dust.
The wind did not move.
One man remained standing.
His sword was chipped. Not broken—but close.
He no longer remembers when the others fell. The warrior, the archer, the saint… even the hero. One by one, their voices had vanished, swallowed by something that did not roar, did not rage—only erased.
He tightened his grip.
Across from him, it watched.
Not with eyes.
Not with form.
And yet—he knew.
This was the end.
"Snap out of it." The man heard from behind him.
The man turns around to see the archmage who had lost one leg.
"Persistent aren't you?" The man snickers.
"I could say the same thing." The great mage adds.
After some time of silence, the mage speaks first.
"3 minutes. Buy me some time."
"Are you kidding me? It'd be a miracle to last a minute right now" The man exclaims. "You need to treat me to some beer after this." The man says with a bitter smile.
The man rushes in, his blade skillfully deflecting the demon god's attacks. Behind him, the mage prepares to launch his final act.
"I won't be able to get you beer after this my friend." The mage whispers before dissolving the 9 circles of mana around his heart. The man's astronomical amount of mana was vast enough to cover the planet.
2:19
2:04
"It's barely been a minute, hurry up!" The man shouts.
1:48
1:22
0:31
0:18
The man failed to dodge the blade flying at him. A loud thud resounds through the realm as his head falls to the ground. However, it was enough.
"You've done well my friend, find rest." The mana rotates around the planet, then stops. The world, seemingly lost its color, has stopped moving to display the mage's final moments.
"It's been a hard journey, I wish I could've been there to see all of you change this godforsaken ending." The mage says, reminiscing about the past. His body starts to disintegrate as he recalls his life in the academy, the day he met the hero, and their journeys. "I really wish I was more honest about my feelings.. Trish.." The mage utters his final words as a tear falls from his cheek.
The world continues to revolve. However, it was different, it revolved backwards from its original set revolution. Before long, time has returned back to 20 years before the extinction of all life. And at the forefront of it all... to carry the burden... is the Sword Mast- no.. mage..?