Eternia's Requiem
Chapter 36 – The King of the End
Falling.
Endlessly falling.
Eternia’s body plunged through infinite darkness while violent winds tore past her ears. There was no sky above. No ground below. No stars.
Only an endless abyss stretching infinitely in all directions.
And far above—
Millions of eyes stared down at her.
Watching.
Waiting.
Observing.
The Entity.
No.
Even now Eternia still didn’t know what to call that thing.
God?
Monster?
Primordial existence?
None felt correct.
Because those words implied understanding.
And Eternia understood absolutely nothing.
Her heart pounded violently.
The wager.
The vessel.
The soul pact.
The impossible pressure.
And worst of all—
That thing smiling.
No.
Not smiling.
Something infinitely worse.
Enjoying itself.
Like a child discovering a new toy.
"...Dammit..."
Wind exploded beneath her feet.
BOOOOM.
Eternia landed hard.
Stone shattered.
Cracks spread beneath her shoes.
For several moments she remained crouched silently.
Then—
Slowly—
She looked up.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
No darkness.
No void.
Instead—
A ruined world stretched endlessly before her.
Mountains shattered in half.
Black oceans boiled.
The sky itself looked cracked.
Gigantic skeletons larger than cities rested across distant horizons.
Broken weapons the size of kingdoms pierced the earth.
The entire landscape looked...
Dead.
No.
Not dead.
After death came peace.
This place had none.
Only endless suffering.
Only remnants.
Only destruction.
Eternia slowly stood.
"...Where..."
Her voice stopped.
Because something stood ahead.
Far away.
Very far away.
Yet despite the distance—
Her instincts screamed.
RUN.
RUN NOW.
RUN.
RUN.
Every muscle in her body froze instantly.
Because standing there—
At the center of endless ruin—
Was a creature.
No.
Monster wasn’t enough.
Words failed.
Its body resembled countless things stitched together by madness itself.
Black flesh.
Countless arms.
Horns.
Eyes.
Wings.
Bone.
Darkness.
Mouths.
Everything twisted unnaturally together.
Its mere existence distorted reality.
Even standing still—
Space bent around it.
Eternia’s breathing stopped.
No
No no no
No
No
Somewhere above—
The Entity spoke calmly.
"This..."
Silence.
"Was my previous vessel."
...
...
Silence.
Eternia blinked once.
Twice.
Then slowly—
Very slowly—
Her pupils shrank.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Because she recognized it.
Not from memories.
Not from books.
Not from experience.
Every child knew.
Every kingdom knew.
Every race knew.
Legends.
Ancient myths.
The oldest nightmare in existence.
The creature that nearly ended the world.
The First King of the Abyss.
The Calamity of Ending.
The Beginning of Purgatory.
A few million years ago—
Before modern kingdoms.
Before current civilizations.
Before recorded history itself—
The world had nearly ended.
Not from war.
Not from natural disasters.
Not from gods.
One creature.
Just one.
The First King of the Abyss.
History said it descended from darkness itself.
Entire races united against it.
Dragons.
Giants.
Ancient elves.
Titans.
Sea kings.
Celestial races.
Spirit kingdoms.
All fought.
And all died.
Seventy-two intelligent races disappeared entirely.
Erased.
Extinct.
Seventy-two percent of life vanished.
Continents shattered.
Mountains moved.
Entire seas formed from battles.
Even modern geography existed because of that war.
The strongest beings in existence fought together—
And still lost.
Only after sacrificing entire civilizations had they finally killed it.
No.
Not killed.
Sealed.
Maybe.
Nobody knew.
Because almost all records vanished.
Yet one thing remained consistent.
Every story.
Every myth.
Every legend.
Spoke of only one truth.
Absolute despair.
And now—
That thing stood before her.
Alive.
Watching.
Eternia slowly looked upward.
Toward the eyes in the sky.
Then—
Her expression cracked.
"...Excuse me?"
Silence.
"...EXCUSE ME?!"
The Entity remained silent.
Eternia pointed violently.
"THAT?"
"THAT?!"
"THAT IS YOUR LAST VESSEL?!"
Silence.
The eyes blinked.
"...YOU ARE TELLING ME TO FIGHT THAT?!"
Silence.
"...HOW STRONG ARE YOU?!"
For the first time—
The Entity answered.
Calmly.
Simply.
"Enough."
Silence.
...
That wasn’t an answer.
That was worse.
Far worse.
Eternia slowly looked back toward the creature.
The First King.
The thing hadn’t moved.
Not even once.
Yet tears nearly formed in her eyes.
Because instinct.
Instinct screamed.
Hopeless.
No chance.
Absolutely no chance.
Even in her first life—
Even at her strongest—
Even after surviving decades—
She would still die instantly.
Not battle.
Not struggle.
Death.
Instant death.
And right now?
She wasn’t Shatter.
She wasn’t strong.
She wasn’t ascended.
She wasn’t even close.
She was Eternia.
A child.
A ridiculously talented child.
But still—
A child.
Silence.
Then—
The Entity spoke.
"Prepare yourself."
Eternia froze.
"...What?"
"Begin."
Her pupils shrank.
"...WAIT—"
No.
Move.
MOVE.
Instinct exploded.
Mana circulation activated instantly.
Ancient Magic activated.
Body enhancement.
Acceleration.
Reinforcement.
Mana strengthening.
Everything.
Absolutely everything.
BOOOM.
Blue mana exploded around Eternia.
Ancient runes covered her skin.
Her crown emerged instantly.
Spikes extended.
Power surged.
She activated every strengthening ability she knew.
Every spell.
Every technique.
Every instinct.
Everything.
Because if she hesitated—
Death.
Absolute death.
"...MOVE!"
She screamed.
Mana erupted.
The strongest state Eternia could currently achieve exploded outward.
Air shattered.
Ground cracked.
Power surged.
Yet—
The First King remained still.
No movement.
No mana.
Nothing.
Just standing.
Watching.
Eternia’s instincts screamed harder.
Danger.
Danger.
Danger.
She tightened her staff.
Thoughts accelerated.
Ancient Magic.
Fusion.
Movement.
Dodge.
Analyze—
Then—
Silence.
...
Something felt strange.
Very strange.
Cold.
Why was it cold?
Why...
Slowly—
Very slowly—
Eternia looked downward.
Silence.
Her body stood several meters away.
Still holding her staff.
Still standing.
Still empowered.
Still alive.
...
No.
Not alive.
Headless.
Silence.
Eternia blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Confusion spread slowly.
Because her body remained standing—
Without her head.
...
...
"...Huh?"
Silence.
Then—
Understanding arrived.
Her head.
Her body.
Separate.
Separated.
Severed.
Her head slowly fell.
Tumbling.
Spinning.
And only then—
Far in the distance—
A sound reached her.
SHHHKKK.
A blade.
No.
Something faster than blades.
Faster than perception itself.
Faster than thought.
Faster than existence.
She hadn’t seen movement.
Hadn’t seen attack.
Hadn’t seen anything.
Because there had been nothing to see.
She died.
Instantly.
Silence.
As her vision faded—
Only one thought remained.
"...How is that fair..."
Darkness.
Silence.
Then—
Somewhere beyond fading consciousness—
The Entity spoke.
Quietly.
Almost thoughtfully.
"So that is your answer."
Silence.
"Then the wager concludes."
The eyes narrowed.
"I shall have control."
Silence.
"No time limit."
Silence.
"No restrictions."
Silence.
"My new vessel."
Darkness consumed everything.
Absolute darkness.
Then—
GASP.
Eternia suddenly sat upright.
Sweat covered her body.
Her breathing came violently.
Her heart nearly exploded from her chest.
Moonlight entered through her room window.
Bed.
Walls.
Furniture.
Room.
Normal.
Everything normal.
Silence.
Eternia stared ahead breathing heavily.
"..."
Long silence.
Then—
"...What..."
Her head hurt.
Badly.
Very badly.
She touched her face slowly.
No blood.
No injuries.
No severed head.
No void.
Nothing.
Just a dream.
Right?
"...A nightmare?"
Silence.
Fragments lingered.
Something.
Eyes.
Darkness.
Fear.
But strangely—
The details felt blurry.
Unclear.
Like water slipping through her fingers.
She frowned.
"...What was I dreaming about?"
Silence.
Nothing.
No answer came.
Only fragments.
Fear.
Darkness.
Something important.
Something terrifying.
But whenever she tried remembering—
Nothing appeared.
Like her mind itself refused.
Eventually Eternia sighed deeply.
"...Strange."
She rubbed her forehead.
Maybe stress.
Maybe exhaustion.
Maybe training.
Maybe Ancient Magic backlash.
Who knew.
Eventually she lay back down.
Closed her eyes slowly.
"...Tomorrow was Etherius training..."
Silence.
"...And Leon."
Pause.
Very small pause.
"...Cute."
Silence.
Eternia’s eyes suddenly opened.
"...Wait."
Long pause.
"...Why did I think that?"
No answer came.
Far beyond reality—
Beyond stars—
Beyond worlds—
Millions of eyes slowly opened.
Watching.
Waiting.
Smiling.
And somewhere within endless darkness—
Something laughed.
Very softly.
Very quietly.
Very happily.