The End

A Story by Devyn Summers

Death comes to collect one final life

He gripped his scythe tightly as he walked down the path. Around him were the bodies. All of the bodies of the inhabitants of the holy city. One more. He thought to himself. One more until it’s all over.

The kingdom looked dreary now. Not as lively as it once was before. Walking through it, it felt as though he was in a dream. Well…more of a nightmare. The golden gates now looked rusted and worn and the trees that once held fruits meant for the denizens of heaven were now barren and gray.

He came to the castle at the top of the hill. The formerly vast mansion was now depleted to a mere shack and the vibrant colors the had previously radiated off of it had vanished. The doors creaked as Death pushed them open to reveal a dingy hallway with tattered tapestries that cluttered the ground with the rubbish. At the end of the hallway there was a fallen mirror shattered into hundreds of pieces.

Death couldn’t stand to look at himself in the broken pieces of glass. His ghostly pale face with faint scars littering it. He sighed turning away and pulling his frayed black hood up further to cover his ghastly appearance.He came to the next room. The throne room. He entered with little hesitation. Inside was God leaning wearily on his golden throne waiting, his face showing something close to boredom, for Death to deliver the final blow to end what was left of the universe.

Death was annoyed by this. The great and powerful God reduced to an old man in dirtied white robes that waited patiently for him.

“I hope you weren’t expecting a fight,” God’s voice thundered throughout the echoey room. It was just like Death had remembered, loud yet gentle; powerful and yet full of grace. A look of acceptance from God’s once omnipotent face seemed unfitting.

Death narrowed his eyes, “The Creator sits before me….defeated,” Death said under his breath.

God looked down almost ashamed of his decision.“I gave them free-will and they abused their power,” He explained as if that fixed everything. “I had to destroy them.”

“No,” Death replied his voice sounding more confident than he thought it would, “I had to destroy them. There hasn’t been blood on your hands for over an eon.” Death tightened his grip on his scythe once more and rose it over his head.

God closed eyes as Death swung the silver blade for the last time in all of time.

Around him the floor started to crumble and pieces of the ground started tearing away in large chunks. The floor caved in beneath him, but gravity was no longer working. Before long there was nothing around him at all. An empty space void of any light or sound.He screamed out into the darkness knowing there was no one to hear it. There never would be. Ever again.