Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

No wonder my appearances only earned me a second look.

On the serious side, in other places, green hair alone could make you a target of discrimination. But here was okay, probably because this was a world on the brink of collapse, with poor public safety and lots of pent-up frustration.

“That person is not from this world.”
“That cloak isn’t from here either.”
“What should we do?”
“Nothing.”

Chances were high that person was the cause of this world’s collapse, but it wasn’t my place to intervene. Besides, my presence in this world meant the collapse was already guaranteed, no matter what they did. Still, for the sake of knowledge, it might be worth asking why the world would collapse. The god who created the world probably knew, but I only had a general idea.

“With that in mind, I want to at least hear them out.”
“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m also curious.”

Fumitsuki agreed. So we sneaked up on the cloaked figure. They seemed unaware of us, or didn’t expect to be seen, and they were staring at something like a crystal.

“Nice to meet you, otherworlder. Or should I call you, Sylvia?”
“Y-You can see me?”
“Yes. We can see you clearly. That’s a nice cloak you have there. I would love to have one as well. Would you give it to me?”

When I asked, Sylvia shoved me instead of answering. She also apparently managed to stab me with the knife hidden in her cloak. What was she doing in plain sight like this? If I fell in the middle of the street, it would be conspicuous, even more so if I suddenly collapsed, she’d be the one to gain the attention.

“So, will you give it to me?”
“I-In this case…”

Maybe because I wasn’t harmed, she used the knife as a medium to cast some sort of spell. The attack could even fell dragons if conditions were right, but luckily, it didn’t affect me. It might have put Fumitsuki out for days, though.

“How about we talk, then?”
“Why?”
“We won’t interfere. If you speak with us, we’ll observe and then mind our own business.”
“Where’s your evidence of that?”
“I don’t have to give you one. Your only choice is to die now or tell us your story.”

With that, I shattered the barrier around her with a fingertip. The face beneath the hood was that of a girl roughly my age, with an expression of mingled surprise and despair. I’d said die to intimidate her, but I didn’t actually plan to kill her. Besides, killing might slow the collapse.

“I’ll talk.”
“In that case, shall we move somewhere else? Does your plan have the leeway?”
“As long as no interferences arise, the preparations are complete, so it should be fine.”
“Then follow us. Fumitsuki, let’s go.”

After seeing Fumitsuki nod, I led the way to a less conspicuous place.

◇◇◇

“Before we begin, tell me, who are you?”

We sat in a room in a building that looked long out of use. Fumitsuki and I sank into shabby chairs while the cloaked woman faced us. I was about to start asking questions when Sylvia beat me to it. I didn’t have to answer, but answering would make things smoother, so, with no choice, I answered.

“I’m Finis Deacontiral. I’ve forgotten my exact age. I was an ordinary high-school boy once, but before I knew it, I’d become an ordinary God of Endings, a poor girl, really. I heard this world was about to collapse, so I was sent on an errand. Nice to meet you!”
“So the God of Endings doesn’t have anything to do with this world’s collapse?”
“That is so. My role is needed right after a collapse. If possible, I’d like it to collapse now, do my work, and go home.”

Fumitsuki looked exasperated as usual as I introduced myself, but Sylvia still didn’t seem fully convinced. Regardless, she was willing to take my words at face value.

“What do you want to know?” She asked.
“What led this world to its collapse? As I said, I’m a God, but I don’t feel like this world is near its collapse.”
“You gods aren’t omnipotent, huh.”
“If we were omnipotent, they wouldn’t have given me the role of God of Endings.”

I’d love to teleport, control time, or time-jump, no, I actually wouldn’t. Honestly, I just want to keep dozing.

“I do have a hypothesis. This world’s core, the source of its energy, is being absorbed into the world you come from. You’ve been assimilating it bit by bit to avoid detection. Before the end of tomorrow, it will all be over.”
“That’s about all I know. Even if I fail, the assimilation should be irreversible.”
“Right. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. It’s a situation even a god can’t fix.”
“Good, I’m relieved to hear that,” Sylvia said in a relaxed tone.
“Then we’ve heard what we needed. Good luck with your work.”

Sylvia looked surprised when we left. Maybe she really hadn’t expected us to do nothing. For her, this was a wholly irregular encounter. I, honestly, felt a little guilty about it.

◇◇◇

And then the day the world suddenly disappeared arrived. Without warning, the ground gave way beneath people’s feet. Everyone had greeted the morning like any other day.

“Today’s the end,” I said.
“It is. Now the real thing begins,” Fumitsuki replied.
“You’re going to collect whatever remains after the collapse, right? What will there be?”
“Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, it’ll be people.”

That’s probably exactly why the world was created that way. Or maybe it had gotten too populous and someone planned to prune it. In the end, the world’s god had merely watched, then grown bored with watching, and decided to tinker a little by sending me.

A god’s whim, if you will. It was similar to the time when I threw a bloodstained sword into a ruined village.

As I reminisced, the ground beneath me crumbled. Another world collapse, one I’d seen many times. If anything stood out this time, it was the speed. Surely the world would be gone before people fully understood what was happening.

They’d barely manage a scream.

Ground disappeared, seas disappeared, towns disappeared, and the sky disappeared. In the instant everything vanished, a few existences clung as if refusing to accept the end. I scooped them up. These were human souls. The bodies were gone, but through sheer force of will, they fought the collapse for a moment.

I collected them so they wouldn’t be lost, handed them to the god, and that was it.

◇◇◇

“Fini!”
“What is it? I want to sleep.”

After finishing the job and getting ready to nap, Fumitsuki called to me, just as I had almost nodded off. I’d almost gone to sleep for the next 100 years.

“What happens to the souls you collected?”
“They probably get reincarnated into the world that caused the collapse.”
“I figured as much.”

Fumitsuki accepted that calmly. I couldn’t read other gods’ minds, but I could tell that both the broken world and the world that caused the damage were made by the same god.

“Thanks for answering. Good night.”
“See you in a hundred years.”

Because they were made by the same god, certain conclusions come to mind, but that’s none of my business. By the time I woke, this would be just one of many collapsed worlds.

Still, this job had been easy. If only every job were this simple. Thinking that, I remembered another equally easy world from before. I had promised to remember it sometimes. Dreaming of that comfortable world wouldn’t be a bad thing.