The Core of Nothingness made no sound.
It was only a spinning vortex, silent as a rotten tooth in the universe, black-hole rotten. Yet in that silence, Ethan suddenly heard a voice:
"Choose."
He froze."Choose what? Beef or chicken?"
No answer. The vortex just kept swallowing.
"Destruction… or Rebirth."The voice fizzed in his skull, like a soda can cracking open.
—So this was the so-called Final Trial. Just one damn line.
Ethan rolled his eyes. "Really? Cosmic Ultimate Power can't come up with fresh test questions? It's always 'who's the traitor,' or a binary choice. Why not throw in a third option—'Play Again?'"
Nothingness wasn't offended. It replied like a polite call center rep:"Destruction: all returns to zero.Rebirth: all resets."
It sounded exactly like a busted game console menu, one glitch away from freezing.
Karl's fractured soul laughed hoarsely in his head: "Rebirth? Destruction? That's just layoffs versus new management. Either way, we're still the corporate slaves.""Exactly," Ethan muttered. "Only now the company isn't 'Human Society.' It's 'Nothingness Inc.'"
Around them, the worlds shrank, film reels catching fire one frame at a time. Screams, laughter, even a dog's whimper—all compressed into noise, all sucked into the vortex.
Ethan realized this trial wasn't asking what he wanted. It was testing whether he could stay sane in a black comedy finale.
"Destruction," he blurted.
Karl panicked. "You're nuts!"Ethan smirked. "Of course I'm nuts. But the world's nuts first. Humans ran from Nothingness only to find out they're its feedstock. Better to burn the stage than reboot the scam."
The vortex slowed, as though staring at him with a vast eye."You are certain?""Hell no, I'm not sure." Ethan rolled his eyes. "But at least destruction doesn't need a damn project plan."
Silence hung. Then the vortex… laughed.
It wasn't joy, but the mechanical rhythm of a printer spewing overdue bills.
"Very well."
Ethan braced for instant annihilation. Instead, the vortex split in two—half still devouring, half erupting with light, opening a path outward.
"Destruction is inevitable.But you decide: after destruction… shall there be rebirth?"
Ethan blinked."Wasn't this supposed to be binary? Now you're selling me a DLC pack?"Karl chuckled weakly: "Told you. Even Nothingness doesn't know how to stick the landing. Changing scripts at the finale."
Ethan stared into the light and felt like a wage slave forced to sign another contract. Destruction? Rebirth? The answers were pre-written. He was just here to tick a box.
—The true black humor wasn't in the joke. It was in the illusion of choice.
He drew a deep breath, raised his hand, and pointed at the blazing exit."Fine. Destroy it all first… then rebuild something even worse."
The Core of Nothingness convulsed. The world swung like a mad pendulum. Shattered realms, the Death Realm's echoes, polluted teammate shades—all were dragged into the light.
Ethan and Karl's fused soul ripped apart and stitched back together. He even heard his future self whispering mockingly in his ear:"Welcome to the Infinite Loop."
At the final moment, a reflection surfaced in the vortex.
It wasn't Nothingness.It wasn't a reaper.
It was himself—Ethan—leaning close, whispering:
"True destruction begins… the moment you choose."
The light swallowed everything.