After the End: Serenity

Cold.

Silence.

Death.

This wasn’t the heat death of the universe, for all that it looked like it.

This was the true death of the multiverse. All possibilities ground down to one.

One

Lonely

Existence

He couldn’t call it life. In truth, he hadn’t been alive for longer than he could track.

At the end, he had been the winner. He had killed all of his enemies, and brought them under his banner. The banner of the Final Reaper.

That, too, was a long time ago. What was the point in tracking time when there is no one to share it with? His enemies had won long before he did, when they destroyed everything and everyone he cared about. One after another, they had proven that they would not leave him and his alone. He was an abomination … or he was simply weak enough to be ignored. It didn’t matter in the end.

They had killed everything he loved.

So he had set himself to vengeance, and his vengeance had burned out everything.

[An End has been reached. There is no more possibility for advancement.]

[As the current Supreme Existence, the choice is yours.]

[Do you wish to restart from your initiation?]

The Final Reaper simply looked at the prompt. It would be there until he decided.

He took his time.

Did he have the strength to do that again, for just the possibility of doing better? He knew that he would have to be vulnerable again. Let people in. He hadn’t dealt with anyone other than his undead minions for long enough that he was no longer sure that was possible.

Still. How could he say no? He would once have considered this ending to be the worst possible.

It really wasn’t a choice.

“Yes.”

[Calculating results for dead end]

[Remaining sapients: 1]

[Conquest Achieved. Contribution: 100%]

[Titles Added]

[Multiverse Ownership Achieved, Contribution: 100%]

[Supreme Existence]

[Duration]

[Qualifications met for template adjustment. Adjusting template.]

[Additional Paths will be available]

[Good Luck]

Good luck? That was a message he’d never seen before -