The Cabin On The Edge of The World
Note: This is a very very rough draft of an idea I have.
On the last of the final ten days, the old man sat with his feet dangling off the edge of the universe, alone.
He’d foolishly hoped to spend his last hours peacefully watching the last light dim out. He knew of course that he’d never get that luxury. After all, this wasn’t the first final day he’d lived through. So when the knock on the door came, followed by the shouts of 30 odd gruff soldiers, he picked up his hammer, said a prayer, and waited.
They broke down the door and ran in the same way they had a thousand times before and the old king dealt with them the same way he had the last nine hundred and ninety nine times, with hammers to the head. Not the most elegant way of dealing with it, but his brother had always been the more proper of the two.
As always, the old man left the same soldier at the end of the group unharmed. Tall, visibly shaken, and incredibly confused the soldier took a seat in front of the king with no kingdom.
They sat in silence for a while, with nothing but the still air and each other as company. Eventually, curiosity got the better of the young soldier and he asked the question he’d had since he joined the army.
“Why?”
“You know why.”
“I suppose, everyone learns about you and your brother in school, but I still don’t understand why.”
“Sometimes, neither do I” replied the old man.
The lost king pointed at the wave of darkness on the horizon. “I’ve spent all my life trying to stop what I started. I’ve lived through these seven days a thousand times now, and every time it ends the same way. With me and you sitting here watching the end.”
Bewildered, the young soldier asked another question “How many more times will this happen to you?”
With a smile on his face, the old man replies “Thanks to you, not very long. Very soon, you’ll be in the same position as me and we’ll solve this pesky armageddon issue together. See you soon, you might find the notes on the table helpful.”
The soldier listens, unable to comprehend what he’s hearing. Then, the End tears his flesh from his body, and the universe ends for the thousandth time.
On the last of the final ten days, the soldier found himself on the edge of the known universe, alone.