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A sharp blade sliced through Princess Topersion’s slender neck. Perhaps 80% of the onlookers cheered at the sight of her severed head rolling to the ground. The remaining 20% seemed to be quietly unsettled by the princess’ final words, their expressions clouded with unease.

Still, it was hard to deny the festive air of the occasion. After all, the foolish royal bloodline that had dared defy the gods had now been completely eradicated. Some felt relief, believing this marked their salvation. Others raised their voices in triumph, shouting, “Serves her right!”

Had there been more supplies, food stalls might have lined the streets, turning this execution into a full-blown festival. But such luxuries were beyond the reach of the kingdom in its current state. Which was exactly why nearly every citizen of the capital had come to witness the grandest spectacle of all.

Surely, many among them believed that they would now be forgiven by God, that they could build a new nation from the ashes. How fleeting that hope truly was, I couldn’t say. But thoughts were free, so I left them be.

In any case, this marked the end of Princess Topersion’s life. She had orchestrated the hero summoning and even schemed to have Makoto Toriyama killed. Yet her end had come in such an abrupt way—it carried a quiet sadness. Humans seemed persistent, but their lives could end in an instant.

“Is this the end of your revenge?”
Lullus asked me, and I shook my head.

“I may have stirred the pot a little, but in truth, things only unfolded the way they were always going to. No matter what path anyone chose, the collapse of the world was inevitable. Still… it does feel like it has finally ended. Most of the people who had a hand in Makoto Toriyama’s death are now gone. There’s nothing else I particularly want to do. If I had to say something, I suppose I just want to sit back and quietly watch the world fall apart. What about you, Lullus? You’ve helped me quite a bit—you’re free to go to God’s side and rest, if you’d like.”
“No, I’ll stay with you until the very end.”
“You’re quite the strange one.”

With that, we climbed to the top of the castle ruins and sat down to watch. To be so giddy at the brink of the world’s collapse—what strange creatures humans were. I idly wondered how long this mood would last. Maybe it was because of that idle thought that the ground beneath where I had been standing just moments ago suddenly cracked open.

The earth split in a cross-shaped fissure centered on the spot I had just left. Many people ended up falling into the chasm below, likely because I’d decided to blend with the crowd.

The god of endings really was a troublesome being. Such a blatant display must have meant the world was truly nearing its end. If its end were still a few years off, this wouldn’t be happening—not yet.

Leaving my thoughts aside, the joyful cheers from before were now completely drowned out by screams. Some begged God for help. Others hurled curses at him. Some were frozen in shock. Others screamed or raged.

And then—someone shouted Avaritia’s name.

They claimed Avaritia had told them that overthrowing the royal family would lead to salvation.

One person’s cry of blame was joined by another and another. Soon, all eyes turned to Avaritia, who—pale with terror—tried to flee.

But he was quickly captured and dragged to the guillotine.

“Feels like we’re nearing the end of a century.”
“The end of the century?”
“In my world, we divide time into units of 100 years called centuries. The end of a century would be like the year ninety-something.”
“So does everything descend into chaos every hundred years in your world, Master Finis?”

Her question made me pause. Lullus imagined the end of a century as a devastated, lawless world without rules. I was born just after the turn of a new century. I hadn’t witnessed the real end of one myself, but my parents had lived through it. And yet, I’d never heard stories of total collapse. Even TV retrospectives on the ’90s never mentioned anything like that.

If the world had fallen apart back then, it must have bounced back at incredible speed.

“I suppose it’s due to the influence of fiction that we would imagine the end of the century similar to what is happening now.”
“Yes… This really feels like it might be the end of the world.”

Avaritia, still shrieking, was pinned down and forced onto the guillotine. The blade dropped swiftly. His face—frozen in a mix of fear and rage—tumbled into the crowd and vanished among the masses.

◇◇◇

We continued watching for a while. But within just a few days, the world had descended into utter savagery. People fought over the dwindling food supply. The strong indulged themselves in cruel pleasures. The weak were either killed or forced to follow their oppressors.

And then, the world truly began to collapse. The ground split apart—isolated chunks crumbling and falling deeper and deeper below. From top to bottom, the world began to vanish, as though dissolving into nothingness.

I peered into the depths of one of the ruptures. There was nothing. Just a vast black void—not darkness from lack of light, but a strange space where even the things falling into it could still be seen, despite the absence of light.

Even the screams of the people were sucked into that void and vanished. There was probably no pain, no suffering… but the sheer terror of death might well be enough to make someone scream. I had experienced it once before—so I knew a bit about that feeling.

Still, if everyone were to disappear equally, maybe that would be a kind of salvation. After all, when we die, we lose all consciousness—everything.

Collapse upon collapse. Vanish upon vanish. Was this what the end of the world looked like? Or were there other kinds of endings, too? I didn’t know. But this was the moment one world met its end. This was the moment when I first witnessed the fall of a world.

Once the world had been reduced to nothing, I made my way to God.