The Grand Duelist

Title: End Times

Splat!

Blood splattered everywhere. A man let out his final pained groan as his dazed eyes landed on the sword that pierced through his chest. When he felt the coldness of the blade penetrating his heart, his pupils constricted as his body slowly lost its strength.

AAAHHH!!!

As the man collapsed onto the ground, an anguished cry rang out as another man rushed towards the sword-wielding man. The swordsman swiftly turned around, his movements didn't display any panic and with a single slash of his sword, another life ended once again.

"You... Why are you not... why are you not helping your comrades?"

The swordsman turned to look at the distance where another man was standing with tears streaming down his face. In the fact of death, the man was utterly terrified but in order to practice his calling, his profession, or some may call his class to the very end. The man remained standing there, scribbling some words on a piece of paper.

Gustav, my best friend of thirty-years died from the hands of the prey... I merely stood in the distance and did nothing.

I am nothing but a mere observer. 

George, a man of sheer will and determination also died from the hands of the same prey. His movements looked full of fear to me, yet his actions never lagged and had no hesitation as he swung his sword and aimed to end the life of the prey.

But in the end, it doesn't even matter.

The prey was too strong.

Us, predators...

Couldn't do anything about him.

The man scribbled down these words in the piece of paper and as he wrote the final words in the sentence. The piece of paper shone in a brilliant light. A thick book radiating an air of ancientness appeared beside the piece of paper and it sucked the paper into it, forming a page that could never be removed, defaced, nor altered. 

"That..."

The swordsman who had already pointed his sword at the man stopped what he was doing. Disbelief appeared on his face when he saw the book, but his expression quickly turned into mocking and some pity when he realized the profession of the man standing in front of him.

"I see..."

"So, the reason why you haven't died yet is because of this..."

"His Majesty purposely spared you from death so you can record all significant events of this turning point of destiny within that book of history in your hands."

The swordsman shook his head and laughingly mocked, "You truly are a pitiful man." He then sheathed his sword back to its scabbard before stretching his hand towards the man's collar.

"Since your job is to observe and record everything that you see, then fine... Record everything... I won't let you die. If you are severely injured from the shockwaves of the battle then I will heal you until you're at your top condition. I won't let you die... I will let you see... I will let you see everything..."

"I will let you see how my sword cuts through each and every comrade of yours, you pathetic so-called Predator!" The swordsman boisterously laughed and he dragged the man with such force that he felt painfully suffocated, yet he couldn't even die nor kill himself.

He then proceeded to do just as he was told.

He recorded everything.

While bawling his eyes out, he stayed true to the facts and wrote every death and every slaughter that he saw into the Great Book of History. There were times when he thought of changing the facts within the Great Book of History so that humanity wouldn't look so pathetic in their fight against the invader, yet he decided that in the end...

He must stay true to his profession and write without any bias.

Humanity had ample time to prepare. 

But each and every one of them ignored all the warning signs until it was already too late.

In other words, they reaped what they sowed.

The historian could only let out a sigh.

In the end, he was just a mere observer. Of course, he would still die when his job was done, but until then. He would stay true to his profession and write down everything that he needed to write. Years, after years, after years passed and the historian never falsified any information that he wrote within the Great Book of History.

Humanity suffered a lot and now, the end finally arrived.

Cough...

The collapsed woman let out a dry cough. The surroundings were filled with ashes, suffocating her lungs. But her discomfort only lasted for a few moments. She lifted her head and surveyed her surroundings.

"Hello..."

"Is anybody there?"

A defiant light flashed across the woman's eyes as she forcefully raised her severely injured body from the ground. She took a good look at her surroundings and her pupils constricted when she realized where she was standing. 

"Dead... Everyone... They're dead..." 

She looked at a mutilated corpse near her and bitterly smiled for she realized that the state of this corpse was far better than the others. Some of the corpses didn't even have the shape of a human anymore. Instead, they looked like lumps of meat and some even looked like pancakes.

Ugh...

The woman covered her mouth.

She managed to forcefully swallow down the vomit that threatened to come out her mouth. Despite seeing hundreds of slaughters within the past several decades. The scene around her still disturbed her will as her expression quickly became as pale as a sheet of paper.

"How..."

"How did Humanity end up like this...?"

She collapsed on the ground.

She could still remember that day when everything changed.

Several years before that change.

Humanity suddenly gained random supernatural abilities. Along with the appearance of what looked to be system prompts, every human being in the world gained abilities that science couldn't explain. Of course, some abilities were far stronger than others and the woman was one of those lucky ones that gained such an ability.

The woman was delighted by the change that the abilities brought to the world and she quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming an Apex Predator, classified as one of the strongest humans in the world. But in the end, her abilities were for naught.

The invaders were far stronger than any Apex Predator and no amount of technology and magic engineering could suppress the invaders. 

Humanity fought valiantly, yet in just several decades.

Their final bastion, the Empire of the South Eastern Seas finally collapsed from the attacks of the invaders.

At this moment, the woman reckoned that she was the only survivor.

But why did these invaders invade her homeland in the first place?

Even now, the woman still couldn't find the answer to this burning question of hers.

And from the looks of it, she'll forever be curious even as a ghost.

"Write it down."

A charming voice belonging to a man suddenly rang out.

The fog that surrounded the woman disappeared and she found herself standing in the middle of a deep valley. Above her were several hundreds of invaders. They were staring at her with this triumphant look in their eyes.

But the woman's eyes weren't focused on these invaders.

Instead, they were focused on the image of a trembling man standing at the edge of the valley.

"You..."

"You're that..."

"You're that coward!"

"You're that coward who instead of fighting for the sake of the homeland, insists on writing on that stupid book instead!"

"How are you alive?"

"How come that you're alive?"

"Everyone is already dead, but you're still alive?"

"On what basis?!"

"How is a coward like you still alive?!"

The woman suddenly became hysterical. 

She lost all her dignity as the Goddess of the Blade and started cursing at the trembling man.

The man cowered in fear when he saw the actions of the Goddess of the Blade. But her words made sense for him.

Yes, he was a coward.

After acquiring his Calling, Diary-Keeper. He had never done anything other than write. 

He thought that he'd become stronger than anyone just by writing and he did!

From Diary-Keeper, he became a Scribe, a Historian and now, he was a Keeper of History.

He still wanted to advance, the next sequence of his calling was Author.

He reckoned that in order to become an Author. He must write books.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the time nor the leeway to write a book.

In the end, he got stuck as a Keeper of History and now, the end times have arrived.

His Great Book of History has reached its limits and only a single sentence could be written. 

Every word that a Keeper of History wrote into the Great Book of History could never be changed. Anyone, including those that have the capability to transcend time, would be unable to go back and change the history that was already written in the Great Book of History.

This was the reason why the invaders kept the man alive.

He was basically their shield against time-transcending humans that may go back to the past and change the course of history from there.

But the powers of a Keeper of History were limited.

To be exact, the pages of the Great Book of History was limited.

It was said that if he ascended and became an Author. He would be able to change, write, delete everything as much as he wanted, but alas. The man never had the opportunity to ascend.

In fact, he didn't even understand what an Author was.

Profession Ascension required a deep understanding of that particular profession and since the man didn't understand what an Author was. It was basically impossible for him to become an Author.

Only a single final sentence could be written within the Great Book of History. 

But a single sentence was enough to seal the fate of humanity.

"What's wrong? Write it... That's the final page of the Great Book of History, right? Go ahead. Write it. Write the end." 

The charming voice spoke once again.

The man trembled as his hand holding the pen floated over the last space of the Great Book of History's final page.

Once he wrote the final sentence, there was no going back.

The true end of humanity would come.

The woman beneath the valley seemed to have recognized this as she cried out.

"No!"

"Don't..."

"Don't write it!"

"Let them kill you, but don't write it!"

"Do you really think that they are going to let you off once you've done your job?"

"No!" 

"These sons of bitches are the devils! They will never honor a promise!"

"Shut up!"

The charming voice coldly responded and his voice seemed to transform into an incomparably sharp blade that sliced the head of the woman from her shoulders. 

Just like that, the life of the Goddess of the Blade ended.

"Ah..."

"Ahhh!!!"

The man loudly screamed and tears rolled down his cheeks as he let out a sorrowful cry.

"How pathetic...

"Just write the final sentence already and I'll grant you a painless death."

"I am not a completely cold man, so you can consider that painless death as my reward for your service. The great traitor of humanity." The charming voice's tone of speaking suddenly became filled with intense mocking.

The trembling man sucked a mouthful of cold air.

His eyes reddened and he seemed to have lost his mind as he cried out.

"Fine... You want me to write?"

"I'll write it then..."

"I'll write..."

"I'll write..."

"I'll write!!!"

The pen landed on the final page and left its mark as it wrote the final sentence of the Great Book of History.

Out of defiance and deep regret, the Scribe, the Historian, The Keeper of History, and the great traitor of humanity wrote at the final pages of the Great Book of History.

"With my body as the sacrifice, I'll turn back time, change the past, and change the harrowing destiny of humanity!"

As the pen wrote the exclamation mark, the Great Book of History closed on its own for it has already completed its job.

It transformed into a dazzling light before diving into the forehead of the historian.

[You have exhausted the pages of the Great Heavenly Profound Treasure: The Great Book of History.] 

[You have witnessed everything and wrote the end times of Humanity while staying true to the facts.]

[Your name has left its mark on The Great Book of History.]

[You have become the Author of The Great Book of History.]

[Congratulations to the user for becoming an Apex Predator in the Writer Profession!]

[You have obtained the Calling: Author of Fate.]

[With your will as the canvas and your body as the ink. The Author of Fate wrote...]

[I'll turn back time, change the past, and change the harrowing destiny of humanity!]