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This was a job I’d done more than once. Saying “once every hundred years” made it sound like plenty of rest, but if you existed for as long as a god, it was annoyingly tedious. A hundred years of dozing, a year of work — by human standards, it was like resting a hundred days and working one. Which meant, by my count, I worked three or four days a year. I suppose you could call me a pretty big NEET.

Then again, by godly standards, there were tales of beings who slept for a thousand years. Compared to that, ten percent of a thousand wasn’t much. Still, I might be the only one who consistently dozes for a century at a time.

This time, too, Lullus woke me, and we came to a world that was about to collapse. Fumitsuki and Lullus were staying behind. They were not needed in this world.

Worlds on the brink of collapse were usually noisy. But this one was quiet. Too quiet, really. Even though I was in a beautiful green forest, there was no sound. There was no wind.

I couldn’t feel water running. There were no animals. There was only the forest.

Outside the trees, there was nothing, and the sky above was just blue, with no clouds.

The only sound was my footsteps, and the moment the sound reached my ears, it cut off. I walked a little through that world and then found it.

A huge spirit in the likeness of a deer. Despite its presence being enormous, it also felt like it might vanish, the only survivor of this world.

“Who’s there?”
“I’m Finis. Finis Deacontiral. I’m about 17,000 years old. I’m just your run-of-the-mill God of Endings. Nice to meet you.”
“God of Endings… At last, it shall end.”

My heartfelt greeting was ignored. Sad, but fair enough. This spirit, who was structurally different from Lullus, had been around since the world was created. It was closer to a god. By the way, it was older than me.

“That is so. This world will disappear in the near future.”
“Is that your usual tone?”
“It is, but I don’t think it’s wrong to bring this up after you ignored me in the first place?”
“I do believe I showed you disrespect. It’s been a while since I’ve talked. I’m enjoying it. Feels like I’m young again.”

It mocked in a husky voice.

“I don’t think it’s disrespectful. Long ago, I was a person, after all.”
“So that is why you are both the God of Endings and the God of Contracts?”
“You’ll really believe me this fast?”

If someone suddenly appeared and claimed to be the God of Endings, you’d hardly believe them. Besides, how did it even know about the God of Endings? Gods of Endings were supposed to be beings who couldn’t descend into a world until its collapse was near. It also figured out I was a God of Contracts. Maybe it was because my name contained it. It could have figured it out if it had expansive knowledge.

The spirit leaned in as if peering and answered.

“I know I am the only one left in this world. So either you’ve wandered in from another world, or you’re some other supernatural being.”
“You’re pretty supernatural yourself. Not a god, yet watching a world from its beginning to its end.”
“It had all happened before I even realized it.”

Even so, that was a process that normally took billions, hundreds of billions of years,
more than a being like a spirit would usually survive. For a generation that first sprang up when the world was formed to still be around until the end was more than a miracle.

“So, why has the God of Endings come down to this world?” the spirit asked. “Basically, to scoop up anything we want to save from a world that’s collapsing.”
“Unfortunately, in this world, only the forest and I remain.”
“Seems so. Water and wind are already gone, and the sky and the land feel like they don’t belong either. This forest exists only because you’re here. Meaning, you’re the only thing left in this world.”
“So you’ve come to scoop me up?”
“Do you want to be scooped up?”
“I don’t have a choice, do I?”

It spoke as if its words carried the weight of a god. Though the spirit’s tone was lofty, it seemed to know which of us ranked higher. But I hadn’t come to scoop it up. I’d been told I didn’t need to take it with me. In fact, the request this time was to let it choose.

“No. This time, there is a choice. If you don’t want it, you can fade away with the world.”
“I see… Then can I ask you to continue being my conversation partner so I can make that judgment?”
“That sounds like a hassle, but alright.”

Compared to my previous jobs, this was easy. Personally, I was curious about this spirit’s story.

“Talking’s fine, but what should we talk about?”
“I would want to tell of my life from the beginning… but there isn’t enough time to recount everything. And as a god, you likely already know the gist, yes?”
“That is so. I know this world fairly well, so it’s probably fair to assume I know a lot about you, too.”
“Then tell me. What does this world look like to the God of Endings?”
“Hmm. Well, I’ve seen the collapse of over a hundred worlds. You could say I’m a pro at world endings, so I’m a bit harsh with grades,” I said playfully.

The spirit sat waiting as if nothing special had happened. When you’ve existed for so long, small things don’t fluster you. As for me… even if I were 17,000 years old, my awake time was much shorter, so I doubted I had reached that state.

“To me, this world is beautiful. It might be better to say it’s meeting a beautiful end.”
“What’s the basis of that?”
“When worlds collapse, it’s usually noisy. The ground splits, storms rage, magma fills the earth, water runs wild. The cries of living things echo, and it looks like hell. That’s because the world shouldn’t have broken then, the actions of its inhabitants shortened its life, and it collapsed because of that.”

I’d seen over a hundred worlds. None was different. Worlds that forced themselves beyond their limits fell apart as if screaming.

“But this world is different. It’s fulfilling its natural life. Which is why, even at the brink of collapse, it’s so quiet.”
“I see.”
“The worlds I’ve seen until now all fell into nothingness. But this world will dissolve into nothingness. It will slip away calmly, gently. Like a bird that leaves no trace behind, causing no trouble, disappearing quietly.”

This was, in a sense, a culmination. That was this world.

“Then I have no regrets. I will disappear with the world.”
“All right.”
“But I have one request.”
“That depends on the request.”

I was not an omnipotent god. I couldn’t read minds, I didn’t fly by default, and I didn’t teleport. So the things I could do were surprisingly few.

“If possible, remember that a world like this existed. When I’m gone, there will be no one left to remember this world, will there?”

You’d think the god who made the world would remember, but I stayed silent. I could read the room! Besides, among beings who had set foot on this land and felt it directly, I would likely be the only one left.

“Okay. I’ll dream about it. I’m asleep most of the time anyway.”
“That’s fine.”
“Then I’ll stay in this world until the end, so I don’t forget. I might be asleep, though.”
“The same goes for me. There’s nothing left for me but sleep.”
“All right, then, good night for now.”
“Good night.”

◇◇◇

The forest began to dissolve from the edges. This world would meet its end today. It vanished outward from the rim.

“This appears to be the last day.”
“It is.”
“Thank you for keeping me company. I managed to gain a nice final experience out of it.”
“I should be the one saying thanks. You did well to protect this world.”

Even as we exchanged farewells, the world melted into nothing. The sky was no longer blue, and the ground felt as uncertain as thin ice. The trees that disappeared held a vivid green until their last moment. This truly symbolized this world.

Soon, the spirit’s body began to vanish. Its presence thinned. Even though it was right before me, it felt far away.

“Let us meet in dreams.”
“Indeed. Come by whenever you wish.”
“Well then, goodbye.”

With my last words, the spirit disappeared. With the world gone, my role was finished, too. All that was left was to return quickly and doze off. Maybe I would get to meet the spirit who saw the world through to the end, once more.