The hand descended but abruptly halted, the inertia of its descent forcing hurricane winds that shattered the windows of the city.
Sirens rippled throughout the streets, signaling evacuation.
And from the enormous palm opened a hole. A hollow and black eye dilated in its mid-point.
Then, the world became unsettlingly quiet. Not even the sirens could be heard.
Plop!
"Yes! It's out, finally."
With a sigh of relief, Mo wiped himself and finished his business.
He continued staring at the open ceiling and eye before shaking his head.
'I didn't know climate change got this bad."
But when Mo's legs tried to move, they wouldn't budge. It was like industrial superglue stuck his feet to the marble tile floor.
Though it wasn't just his legs that couldn't move. His lips, eyes, hair, and even breath stopped in time. Was it because of fear?
Or was it that big fat eye in the sky?
"Of all times, I become constipated at the end of the world. I must be dreaming again." Mo felt himself leaning to the restroom wall from the pressure, until—
Shriekkk!!
A deafening cry fell upon the crimson night, breaking even the concrete streets outside the store.
The noise had returned; screams of terror echoed in the streets as people fled the vicinity, the sirens, and the beeping alarm of the wall clock notifying the end of his shift.
As the cry intensified, so did a greenish glow from the center of the big swirl.
The glow compressed further and further into itself, resonating with the shrieking which slowly increased in pitch until it reverberated like the cry of a kettle.
A cry of hunger and a promise of death.
Finally—
BOOM!
A pillar of green energy shot down towards the city, crushing everything in its path. The shockwave fell the high city buildings, flattened the houses, and incinerated all those unlucky in the way.
What remained was a 3km crater in place of the city center.
Surprisingly, the Eleven-Seven held against the powerful blast wave, seemingly unmoved and unharmed.
But that wouldn't last long.
Craww! Caww! Hiekkk!!
Creatures of shadow fell en mass from the heavens, crashing down like a typhoon of hail.
Each one wore bodies of disfigured anatomy, bulging eyes, and long limbs. Most varied in size, but a majority seemed to average twice a human's height and build.
Whoosh~ BOOM
A massive 5 story giant landed on the street nearby, sending debris in all directions. Above, winged lizards flew with a wild craze, snatching any human below them. Mainly, humans whose organs hadn't been incinerated by the green blast.
Meanwhile, Mo just stared blankly into the sky, unable to comprehend what he just witnessed.
"Ah! I get it!"
"This must be one of my lucid dreams." Mo declared.
"Just an incredibly realistic one. Silly brain of mine!"
Either he had gone mad or just can't accept the reality. I mean, who wouldn't? The world is ending after all.
'Ah, I still have work tomorrow, I need to wake up.'
Without flinching, he started pinching himself, slapping his cheek, and banging his head on the walls.
And as if karma exists—
Grrrr…
A terrible beast emerged from the restroom door, its nose catching the scent of Mo hiding in the stall.
The creature bore its eyes into Mo's, its thin slit yellow pupils shimmering green by the energy beam coming from the swirl and reflected by the red coat of fur.
Its sharp brown teeth, with 3 layers adorning its inner gums, glimmered while hungrily staring at him.
It looked like a wolf but wildly disfigured.
Mo felt himself shitting again.
He sighed inwardly.
What was even more surprising was how calmly Mo looked at the situation. Despite having the lowest grades in his college class, he has a knack for being unnaturally calm with a resting bitch face even in the wildest of scenarios.
Well, after a lifetime of self diagnosed depression and 'intentional' accidents, death is merely trivial to him.
At least, this is just a dream.
Yes, just a dream. He thought.
He huffed with exasperation, a mix of relief and annoyance.
"Couldn't my brain have come up with a more imaginative monster?" Mo scoffed.
"This lucid dream is ass, not even making my ex come back or making me rich as hell. All I get is this ugly red wolf coming to kill me."
"Wait! Since I'm lucid, I can control this dream, right?"
Mo pointed his finger towards the monster. The creature stared blankly.
"Alright, let's see…" He smirked like a kid discovering a new toy.
"You, turn into a beautiful, 5'4, black hair, with red eyes, cute, 19 year old girl!"
…
"Okay nevermind, become a Rolls Royce!"
…
"Uh… a bottle of grape juice..?"
Grrrrrrr
"Maybe just die?"
The massive red wolf, who clouded the mirrors, clawed towards him; its weight crushing the tiles underneath.
SHRIEKKK!
Behind and all around, more and more monsters rained from the swirl above. In the distance, smoke rose from rubble as fires erupted across the city. Sirens wailed, explosions echoed, and thunderous vibrations shook the earth.
It truly was — the end of the world. And Mo was at the center of it all, nearly shitting himself.
"I need to run. This isn't a dream!"
But he couldn't. He felt his stomach churning once more and he realized his potty business hadn't fully finished.
"This can't get any worse!"
…bzzzzt
"Okay WAIT! Let me shit first, it's the least you can do, sir Wolf!"
Bzzztttt
More tiles cracked and heaved under the hound's immense weight, its hellish aura thickening the air, slowly choking Mo.
"Guhk! F-fuck, just let me shit… please… that's my last wish."
Bzzzt, ding-ding!
The store's speaker crackled to life.
["S rank Hellhound detected in the vicinity.
Initiating Law 088 Protocol.
Elimination of intruders commencing."]
'Protocol?'
In the blink of an eye, the blueish energy that settled on the floor lifted and drowned the entire store in an aqua fog. Then, Mo felt it.
A searing burn in his lungs. At first, it felt incredibly miniscule, but it rapidly grew stronger until he could only gasp for breath.
'No… I don't want to die… mom… don't take me yet.'
'Please…'
Mo haphazardly stood, his upper body leaning closer towards the stall door.
"Just one last shit..."
[S Rank Hellhound died.]
[E Rank Human died.]
[C Rank Draconis died.]
[E R—-]
Within moments, any living being inside Eleven-Seven died. The noise outside had faded away,
Except for Mo.
He felt himself being dragged into void, one he wouldn't escape from.
For 666 years.