"Yes, but aren't humans themselves such cruel creatures?" President retorted, "If eating is the only way to survive, then they will eat. That's the simplest truth, the evil rooted in human nature.

At first, they devoured thunder and fire, burned the wilderness, dug up coal mines, then extracted oil. When oil was insufficient, they coveted fission... and then, up to now, even if this world is dying, they still won't let go.

Ever since our ancestors put Neanderthals on the menu, it has been unstoppable."

Assistant turned around and looked at the man on the lounge chair, but with the hat in the way, he couldn't see his face clearly, couldn't tell whether that person's gaze was compassionate, or the familiar mockery and ridicule from the past.

In the long silence, the sky grew darker and darker. The once pure white sky gradually became gloomy, until finally, the illusory light behind the clouds slowly shrank and faded away...

"Is the sun about to go out too?"

"Yes, the power of the Pillar of Primal Essence is beginning to withdraw."

"The storm is rising again."

"Mm."

"Will it stop this time?"

"Who knows?" President slowly stood up and put his hat back on his head. "No matter how things change, this is no longer land where humans can survive... Haven't you already seen it? Besides all these wounds, it has nothing left."

He paused for a moment, murmuring softly, "This is our last supper."

The last cigarette was lit.

The flame flickered, and a wisp of blue smoke curled upward.

On the computer screen, all the icons representing satellite signals gradually went dark, replaced by one strange emblem after another. They moved across the pitch-black screen, as if deities were moving across their own abyss, carrying an indescribable coldness and majesty.

Utopia, online.

Institute of Continuance, online.

Bureau of Governance, online.

Stone Cauldron Society, Bronze Hand, Tomb of the Lost...

Through the black screen and their own emblems, it was as if countless gazes were cast upon this last patch of land, awaiting the arrival of the final moment.

All the guests had taken their seats, waiting for the last curtain to rise.

Gazing at that broken chessboard.

Assistant nervously swallowed, carefully watching the pocket watch in his hand. The moment the hour and minute hands overlapped, he jerked his head up as if shocked and reported, "The Pillar of Divine Marrow is fully preheated."

"...Wait!"

President suddenly frowned, as if listening intently.

Not only Assistant, but even those emblems on the screen seemed to become solemn, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Then, that guy suddenly reached out and yanked, pulling up the fishing rod, and actually hauled something out of the sea. It looked furry, like a cat, but had a fish-like tail—indescribably strange.

"Aha, after two hours, there's finally a catch. Who said Qiandu Encyclopedia isn't reliable?" President beamed, examining his 'harvest.' "What a coincidence, little thing! But no matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem like a fish. Is it edible?"

"......"

Everyone fell silent, saying nothing.

No one really wanted to pay him any attention.

Pulled up by the fishing rod, the little creature unhappily opened its mouth and cried out twice, stretched out its little front paws trying to scratch his face, but he casually stuffed it into the fish basket.

Once back in the seawater, it settled down, turned over, and couldn't be bothered to move.

"Alright." President shoved the fishing rod and bucket into Assistant's arms, hoisted his own chair, "Let's get ready to go."

He reached out and picked up the white rook from the chessboard.

With his movement, it was as if the last light went out.

The sun, hanging high beyond the sky, vanished without a trace.

Everything in the world fell into darkness.

After the light disappeared, not even the sound of wind could be heard, because except for them, everything came to an abrupt halt, as if time itself had frozen.

The first to leave was the universe, because a slender, graceful hand appeared from who knows where and took away the black queen—Utopia withdrew the foundation of stardust—thus, the original darkness faded, countless stars vanished, leaving only meaningless emptiness.

Next to depart was the remaining ocean; the Institute of Continuance removed the proof of existence, and the black bishop disappeared without a trace. Whether it was towering tsunamis or the boiling crimson sea, all the living waters of this world rapidly receded and collapsed, until finally, only a pitch-black seabed remained.

Then, the white bishop dissolved like an illusion, the Bureau of Governance shut down the radiant light, so all things became silent, the roaring crust fell into stillness, the lava gushing from the cracks quickly solidified, losing all its heat...

Now, Asia, Europe, Africa, South America, North America; barren lands, raging oceans, cold or scorching hurricanes, or even above the sky... everything was being destroyed in an orderly fashion.

Only the deep, mournful wail of the world's collapse remained.

Like strings snapping one by one, until in the end, only a hollow echo was left.

In this vast and lonely destruction, Old Gaia—Earth VIII—met its end.