DEATH OF THE ENDLESS 24-Hour Task -
EARTH -
The city of London was restless, loud, full of motion that never really stopped. Cars rolled past in steady streams, tires hissing against wet asphalt as rain fell in soft sheets from a gray sky. People moved, heads down, shoulders tucked against the cold, each one wrapped in their own small world.
Among them was her.
She stepped off the sidewalk with a small bounce in her stride, a couple of shopping bags swinging lightly from her hands. There was a smile on her face, unguarded and bright, she adjusted her grip on the bags as she crossed the street, glancing once at the traffic light before continuing.
Then her foot caught on the uneven edge of the pavement.
"Ah... damn it!"
She stumbled forward, balance slipping for a split second,
But she didn't hit the ground.
A hand caught her arm, steadying her before she could fall.
"Careful."
The voice was calm and gentle.
She blinked, regaining her footing as she straightened up. "Oh.. thank you, I didn't even see.."
Her words trailed for just a second as she looked at him.
Arthur.
Standing there like he had just appeared out of nowhere.
She let out a small, embarrassed laugh, brushing at her clothes as if she'd actually fallen. "Almost broke these. That would've been tragic." She lifted one of the bags slightly with a grin. "Silly me."
Arthur's lips curved faintly in response.
"Would've been a shame," he said.
She laughed again, lighter this time, and gave him a quick nod before stepping past him, already moving forward.
"Thanks again!"
And just like that, she was gone, blending back into the flow of the city.
Arthur simply turned his head slightly, watching her as she walked away.
The rain continued to fall and the world continued to move.
And yet,
He stepped forward.
She was humming to herself now, barely audible beneath the noise of the street. The bags in her hands swayed with her steps as she crossed to the other side, her thoughts already somewhere else.
"I can't wait to show them…" she murmured to herself, smiling. "They're gonna love this…"
It was small. Ordinary.
A moment that would have passed unnoticed by anyone else.
Then, the rain stopped.
Not everywhere, just around her.
A perfect, invisible boundary formed without warning. Drops continued to fall beyond it, streaking down in steady lines, but around her, there was nothing. Not a single drop touched her.
It took her a moment to realize, and then she slowed and her smile faltered.
"…What?"
Her footsteps came to a halt.
The sound of the city was muted, like something had turned the volume down on the world. The cars weren't moving anymore. The people nearby stood frozen mid-step, mid-gesture, locked in place like statues.
"What is going on…?"
The bags slipped from her hands, falling to the ground without a sound.
Her heart started racing.
She turned in a slow circle, eyes darting from one frozen figure to another, panic rising in her chest with every second that passed.
This wasn't real.
It couldn't be.
"…No… no, this isn't.."
Her voice trembled, breaking as fear finally took hold.
Then she saw him.
Standing a short distance away.
The same man, the one who had caught her.
Unmoving, unfrozen, and he was simply watching.
Her breath hitched as she took a step back, her legs suddenly unsteady.
"You…" Her voice came out shaky, barely holding together. "You see this… don't you…?"
Arthur stood there in silence for a moment,
Then he stepped forward.
"Fear not." his words were simple.
She shook her head quickly, panic still rising. Her eyes darted again, searching for anything that made sense, anything that could explain what she was seeing.
Everything was wrong, time had stopped. The world had stopped.
Except for her, and Arthur.
"…Was this… your doing…?"
Her voice cracked as her eyes filled with tears, her strength slipping from her legs as the weight of it all crashed down on her.
Arthur closed the distance between them slowly, until he stood right in front of her.
Then, gently,
He took her hand.
"Calm down."
His voice was far quieter now.
He held her hand, his grip wasn't firm.
There was something in his violet eyes when she looked at him, something deep and endless, it made the chaos in her chest begin to fade.
The fear didn't vanish, but it softened in her heart.
Her breathing slowed, her grip on his hand tightened without her realizing it.
"…I don't understand…" she whispered.
Arthur didn't answer immediately. Instead, he shifted slightly, guiding her closer without force.
And then, She saw it.
Her body.
Lying on the road behind them.
Unmoving, a faint blur of red against the wet asphalt where a car had stopped too late.
Her breath left her in a broken, silent gasp.
"No…"
Her voice trembled, fragile, disbelieving. "That's… that's not real…"
Her fingers tightened around his hand, almost desperately.
"I'm right here… I'm here... look!!"
"That's okay."
Arthur's voice cut gently through her panic.
"You're here."
She turned toward him, her eyes wide.
"I don't..what does that even mean…?"
For a moment, he simply looked at her.
Then he straightened slightly, his hand still holding hers as he guided her to stand fully.
She followed without resistance now, her movements slower, as if something inside her had begun to accept what her mind still struggled against.
"Come," he said.
His voice was still calm and gentle.
She looked at him, really looked at him this time. At the glow in his eyes,
And somehow… That was enough.
"…Okay," she whispered.
He turned, and she followed.
Her hand in his.
Step by step.
Ahead of them, something began to form, gently. A soft light, through the frozen gray of the world.
It wasn't blinding or overwhelmingly bright, It was… inviting.
She hesitated for only a second before taking another step forward, her grip on his hand tightening just slightly.
"…Is that…?"
Arthur didn't look back.
"Yes."
Her fear had faded now, replaced by acceptance.
As they walked, she glanced once more over her shoulder, at the still city, at the life she had just been part of, at her shell that remained behind.
There was sadness there.
But not despair.
"…They'll be okay," she murmured, more to herself than to him.
Arthur's expression didn't change.
"They will." And with that They stepped into the light together.
And the world moved on as if it was never frozen.
****
There was no ground beneath Arthur's feet, yet he stood as if there was. No sky stretched above him, no stars, no void, only an endless expanse that felt like everything and nothing at once. It was a place between moments, where time didn't pass so much as it layered over itself, where beginnings and endings brushed past each other in silence.
Arthur remained still in the center of it, eyes closed, his presence spread far beyond the shape of his body.
At first, it had felt manageable.
One life. One end. One quiet moment at a time.
He had met them gently, the way he thought it should be done. A steady hand, a calm voice, guiding them forward. There was meaning in it, even a strange kind of peace.
But that illusion hadn't lasted.
Now it all came at once.
It was constant. Relentless. Billions of lives reaching their final moment across countless worlds, countless timelines, all pressing against his awareness at the same time. Different skies, different languages, different fears, but the same ending.
And he felt every single one.
Arthur's breathing slowed,
"Half a day…" he murmured quietly.
The words didn't echo. There was nothing here for sound to reflect against.
"Not even that."
He exhaled slowly,
"I've already guided billions upon billions," he said under his breath,
And the worst part was that it didn't feel like an achievement.
It felt like a beginning.
A presence stirred beside him, simply becoming noticeable, as if it had always been there and he had only just turned his attention to it.
Death stood next to him, relaxed.
"You're counting," she said lightly.
Arthur let out a faint breath,"I thought it might help."
"It doesn't."
"I Noticed."
"They don't all go quietly," Arthur said after a while, his voice lower than before.
Death didn't interrupt him.
Arthur's brow furrowed slightly, the only visible crack in his expression. "I knew that, obviously. It's not a revelation. People fear death. They resist it. That's… normal."
He paused, his fingers curling faintly at his side.
"But standing there in front of them while they beg…" His voice softened, "While they try to hold onto something that's already gone… it's different."
There was a brief silence before he continued,
"I hesitated with some of them."
Death turned her head just slightly, her attention sharpening, not surprised, or disappointed, simply listening.
"I wasn't supposed to," Arthur went on. "I could feel it. The moment stretching longer than it should, like the world itself was waiting for me to finish what I started." He exhaled slowly. "And for a second… I didn't."
"And then?" she asked.
Arthur's eyes remained closed,
"I stayed," he said. "I listened."
Memories flickered, not one, not a few, but countless layered over each other. A child asking if it would hurt. A man too angry to accept the end. A woman who smiled through her fear because someone else needed her to be strong, even now.
"And then I did what I had to do."
There was no pride in his voice. No sense of accomplishment. Just acceptance.
After a moment, he added, "Some of them were afraid of being alone.".
"I told them I'd be there."
That lingered in the space between them.
"I don't think I planned to say it," he admitted. "It just… happened, this is not like me."
Death studied him for a moment, then gave the faintest nod. "That's because you meant it."
Arthur didn't argue.
"It's not just exhausting," he said after a while. "It's not just the scale of it."
He paused, searching for the right way to put it.
"It's what it does to you," he finished quietly. "Seeing all of it. Feeling all of it. The fear, the relief, the anger, the peace… over and over again, without stopping."
Death's expression softened just slightly. "Yep. That's my job."
/-\
If you Like this story! Check out my other stories! Shadow Monarch: In One Piece / The Witcher: Heir of Fire!
&
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my p@t-reon / FrenzyAren"
You can Get Access to 7 More Chapters on all of my stories!