End Of The Line

Slowly, she walked into the general store.

She looked at the man behind the counter. "Hello." he said. "Welcome to The Trading Post." She turned away from him, unable to speak. Even now, even at a time like this, he was as cheerful as ever, the same as she always remembered him being.

Even though the end was coming. The end of everything.

She'd heard about it a month prior. Since then she'd been to every town and city she had passed through on her journey years ago. She caught up with old friends, fought some old enemies. And even though nothing on the surface had changed, it all felt different somehow. She paid more attention to the smaller details of the world around her. The way weeds gently formed pathways on less-used cobblestones. The way moss spread to cover the side of a stone wall. The quiet corners of the shop she was standing in right now, where people rarely browsed.

It was all just as she had remembered, now appreciated in a new light. And it would all be going away.

She purchased a staff from the shopkeeper. She didn't need it, but she didn't need money any more either, and it was so cheap anyway. She turned the staff over in her hands. She had purchased a similar staff the first time she had come through this town all those years ago. It had served her well for a time, but later she had found another store selling a better staff and had purchased that, sold the old one, and not looked back. Now she was looking, really looking at the staff, as if seeing it for the first time. It had a simple wooden body, but the magic-channeling crystal mounted to the tip was beautiful, reflecting the light from many angles and creating a slight rainbow effect within its' form. Beneath the crystal tip, a small engraving was carved into the wood. She ran a gloved finger over the carving, admiring its' beauty. Someone had worked hard on this.

She walked out of the store and into the town square. People were gathering. It was almost time.

She moved slowly, her new old staff in hand, choosing to carry her latest purchase and ignoring the much more powerful and mighty staff strapped to her back. That one didn't matter any more. Not with time growing so short. She listened to the people around her as they engaged in conversation. She was reminded of how people talked on the church lawn after a funeral, before they got into their cars and left. Then the thought struck her. That's what this was. A funeral.

They were all attending the funeral of the world.

"It's been years! Where have you been?"

"Oh, you know, had to move on, always a new challenge. But I wasn't going to miss this."

"Remember when we fought the hydra of Liar's Cave?"

"Do I ever! You really pulled your weight in that one. Before, I wasn't sure what you brought to the guild. But after that performance, I never doubted you again." 

"Finally, you saw sense! Hahaha!"

They laughed and joked and reminisced. It was merrymaking, but there was this darkness at the edge of everyone's vision. That horrible lingering dread in the background, that reminded them all that once they were no longer distracted by talking amongst themselves, reality would set in. The world still seemed normal, the sky bright and sunny, villagers going about their day in the distance and ignoring the town square gathering, as if nothing was wrong at all. Perhaps that was better for them.

A knight, clad in golden armor and leaning on a massive glimmering battleaxe, looked over at her. "Well, there you are! I was worried you wouldn't make it."

She smiled sadly, holding up her staff. "No, I would never forget to come. I was just doing a little last-minute shopping."

"Ah, I see. Makes sense. After all, that's why we're all here, isn't it? Going back to where it all began."

"Yes... the beginning. It feels so long ago."

"I miss those days. Would give anything to have them back. If I could do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat."

"I think I feel the same."

Another voice cut through the conversations, stopping them in mid-sentence.

"It's time, everyone. One minute to go. Say your goodbyes, and see you on the other side."

She closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath, then opened them again, taking in the town one last time, admiring its' beauty. The craftsmanship that went into all these buildings, all this equipment, all of it lost forever.

She looked at her friends and former guildmates, remembering the past, and sighing as she shook her head sadly, realizing all these people and their accomplishments would fade away.

She looked up into the sky at the pure blue brilliance, not a cloud to be seen, and cried. The knight put his hand on her shoulder.

Together, they counted down the final ten seconds of life on this planet.

And then everything went black.

...

..........

A message from Rectangle

Support for Land Of Fantasy has ended. Thank you for joining us all these years. Since launch in 2003, Land Of Fantasy set the standard for MMO greatness, a legacy built on by its' 2017 successor, World Of Fantasy. World Of Fantasy will continue to be supported, so please join us there to continue your adventures in Magicia!

Thank you once again for being a loyal player. We hope you had fun!

 

---

 

Celestia let out a long, sad sigh, taking in the message box's text and rereading it twice before closing the window and exiting out of the now-useless program. She got up from her chair and headed to the fridge, where a freshly-baked cake had been cooling off. Now it awaited frosting. Celestia usually baked cakes for other people, but this one was for herself.

She needed it.