History and documentaries have told the world about a recurring reversal. But they either saw it as a superstition or ignored it.
It was like a nightmare to actually witness it today.
The world meets its end, as it did in past centuries.
***
Laboured shouts echoed in the smoke-thickened air. Buildings collapsed on humans escaping wrath, shards of rock scattering on the ground. Explosions screamed in the distance like a horror song no one had ever listened to.
Boom!
Fortunately, as survivors would see it, the Ascendants were there to protect them.
Only a few could launch attacks against the mysterious figures coming from the portals around the city.
They moved like phantoms, their black cloaks swirling as they erased lives without hesitation. No one knew where they came from, only that they always appeared when the world was nearing its end. The legends called them the Agents of Fate—unstoppable harbingers of annihilation.
Those that no one believed in their existence were the ones removing them like extra chess pieces.
Metals clattered against one another. Slitting of body parts wasn't something that was hard for those eloping to come across. They shouted in trepidation.
How could anyone accept such a surreal and monstrous action?
They had put in hard work over the years to build their abodes and city. The engineers built bridges and the once magnificent city skyscrapers.
For decades, Ascendants had come together to protect them from monsters. A lot of them had sacrificed their lives in dungeons.
All those efforts... Was waking up to a vast wipe-out the righteous justification?
In no time, the streets grew scant of living humans.
No one stood a chance against the Agents of Fate, as it was clear to everyone. Not even the Ascendants. If otherwise, the corpse of one of their strongest S-rank Ascendants would not be lying on the cold floor.
Meanwhile, in a district, a slender lady stood right before a black-cloaked killer. Her current condition indicated that her life was definitely hanging by a thread.
Blood had painted part of her grey-yellow gear. Her dagger trembled in her hands as if it were alive with fear.
Amidst a laboured pant, she sobbed, "You unforgivable monsters! Why are you doing this to us? What's the reason for wiping worlds after some decades? Wh...?"
Slash!
Her words froze in her throat. The cloaked agent landed behind her. Her body crashed to the ground, devoid of life.
She was dead. Another Ascendant was gone.
The agent shot a second look at her corpse. A pool of blood formed beneath her. It was almost impossible to tell the killer's emotion because they had masked their face.
They glanced at a mirror-built skyscraper on the left. With a gentle widening of their palm, a ball of flame travelled to the building and brought it down to collapse.
Crash!
Still, none of the debris crossed their path as they dashed down the wrecked road.
Flashes of light zipped across the road, between ruined buildings and inside apartments. Wherever one passes, no human would remain on their feet.
That was how ruthless and fierce the assassins were. The same way history relayed them.
Undoubtedly, they lacked other humane qualities. But one quality existed in them.
Purpose. The driving force of every living organism.
The same that fuelled the heart of a green-haired teenager to draw back from his enemy. One that approached him with a loaded gun in hand.
It was on a bridge several feet from a large body of water.
Leon Vale's eyes had seen terrors in this life. From being a potter in dungeons to not ever getting what he wanted. But none matches what he was experiencing currently.
He ground his teeth as he paced away from the masked assassin. What could he do? What else did he have left?
A potter.
A Failed Awakener!
What choice does he have left when even Ascendants have exhausted their last breaths?
His chest tightened.
Just at that moment, his butt reached a cold metal. His heart ached right away. He figured out he had reached the railings of the bridge. Looking down, his chest tightened. The vast ocean seemed to smile at him like an old friend.
"Shit!" Leon muttered under his breath. He gritted his teeth and shot his terrified look at the mask. "Please... Don't..."
At that moment, the agent aimed a revolver at the level of Leon's head. The spinning of the cylinder echoed like a reminder of what's to come.
Tears lined Leon's eyes. "Please... please don't kill me. I have people I must be there for. There is a lot I am yet to do! I haven't..." he sobbed, "... I am yet to buy even a handkerchief for my father! Not yet. I have never... made him happy..."
For a split second, a gentle sigh escaped his mouth on noticing the killer's handgrip loosening around the gun...
Bang!
Leon's mouth was left wide open. The bullet inscribed a hole at the centre of his forehead. In the next second, his body rolled over the railings.
Getting shot in the head was already an immediate death, not to mention falling from such a height.
The masked agent stepped closer to the railings. He watched as Leon's body dropped into the ocean with a loud splash.
The young man, being one of the few who made it to the last minute, had died too.
In no time, the city became empty. Every device around showed an [Error] screen. Dead bodies turned into red embers that dissipated into the air.
Portals emerged at distinct places, with the Agents of Fate disappearing into them.
As always, the agents had wiped every human from the face of the Earth.
The Great Reversal has repeated itself again.
***
Meanwhile, in the ocean body, ripples spread across the surface of a spot diluted by a faint red. Tiny air pockets escaped into the open air.
Leon's body floated with a gentle motion inside.
At that moment, water bubbled out of his mouth.
Then a reddish screen materialised before him.
Was it by him or something beyond mortal comprehension?
It displayed,
[Warning: System Failure. Resetting the universe.]
[Error! Unidentified survivor detected.]
[Rebooting...]
Then suddenly, the screen went black.