Chef in the Apocalypse

As the tear in space yawned wide, an even more astonishing sight manifested. Three thrones that rested atop a pure white dais slowly drifted forth from the cosmic rift, its existence exerting a terrible pressure upon the very world itself.

Upon each of the thrones sat a figure enshrouded in darkness, their features obscured by impenetrable veils of shadow. They radiated an aura of profound and ancient power, one that transcended mortal understanding.

As the three thrones advanced into the earthly realm, Jayce and his party felt an overwhelming gravitational force bear down upon them. It was as though it had multiplied tenfold, forcing their exhausted bodies helplessly to the ground.

Jayce gritted his teeth, determined to defy this formidable pressure. He made a valiant effort to remain standing. His muscles strained and his willpower burned, but eventually, his knees buckled beneath the unimaginable force. With a deep sense of dread, he found himself kneeling before the imposing thrones, the weight of their presence pressing upon him like a mountain.

Around him, his comrades, equally unable to withstand the oppressive gravity, also found themselves prostrate upon the ground. The party, already spent from the long and arduous battle that had taken place overnight, were helpless in front of the unknown entities in front of them.

"Humans, I’m not sure how you’ve done it. I’m actually rather impressed." A monotonous voice rang out from the leftmost throne, its gender unapparent.

Jayce attempted to speak, however he had trouble resisting the pressure that had forced him onto the ground. This included the usual simple movements of opening and closing one’s mouth to form words.

"I can feel great strength coming from you all. This is most unusual~" Uncaring of their opinions, another voice which seemed the polar opposite of the first monotonous voice rang out from the rightmost throne. Its sing-song tone was quite pleasant to the ears.

"I agree. Such strength is not supposed to be achievable this early into the process." The final voice was hoarse as if there were two pieces of metal grinding together, coming from the center throne. Jayce frowned deeply, hearing the content of their words.

"If we allow these humans to frolic around as they please, they might disrupt the process." The monotonous words of the leftmost entity sent a shiver down Jayce’s spine. What did they mean by disrupting the process? The process of what exactly?

"Yes. There will be too many variables if we allow these people to live." said the being on the middle throne.

"But if we directly eliminate them, we’ll have to accept the backlash~"

"No. We have the authority to restore balance without punishment." The hoarse voice retorted.

Jayce and the party were forced to listen to the back and forth conversation between the three beings, as if they were convicted felons awaiting their judgment in a courtroom. The last time that Jayce had felt this helpless was when he watched his party get killed one by one before transmigrating.

The three beings sitting atop their thrones continued to talk back and forth as if Jayce and his party were not there, treating their existence as nothing more than ants. Jayce’s eyes traveled to his comrades who were writhing on the ground, yet their faces were filled with anger and defiance, not hopelessness like he would have expected.

He tried to move his legs which were pinned to the ground, yet no matter how much of his strength he put into it, they would not budge. Jayce gritted his teeth, feeling as if his bones and muscles were about to explode from the pressure being exerted on him.

It was then that he heard a clap, before his chin was forced upwards to look at the beings on the thrones. It seemed as if the three had reached their verdict and were now addressing the peasants below.

"We have deemed that you are all too strong for this world. Therefore when I rebalance this world, you and your friends will cease to exist." The sing-song tone of the voice was a stark contrast to the content of its words, causing Jayce to feel a state of dissonance.

’What... It’s going to end just like this?’ Jayce thought, his mind suddenly feeling blank. He wanted to turn his head to look at his friends, even if it was for the last time. Yet it felt as if his chin was in a vice-grip, being forced to look directly at the thrones.

With a wave of its hand, the dais carrying the three thrones began to slowly move towards the tear in space which was still being held open by the skeletal hands. As it began to disappear back to where it had come from, Jayce suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, forcing him to let out a cry of anguish.

His party also let out screams of pain, affected by the same sensation that Jayce was experiencing. The throne finally disappeared into the tear, prompting the giant skeletal hands to release their hold on the tear, causing both ends to snap together and produce a mighty boom.

At the closing of the spatial tear, the pressure which had held them down on the ground quickly receded as if it were not there in the first place. Without any time to rejoice, Jayce and the party’s pain seemed to increase twofold, making them feel as if they were being ripped in half.

The dead body of the Hydra which had been unmoving since Jayce had landed the finishing blow, suddenly caved in on itself. It’s giant corpse began to swirl, as if there was a black hole in its center, sucking up the entire thing until nothing was left.

Jayce’s eyes widened in fright. ’Is that what is happening to us?’ he panicked inwardly, trying to figure out a way to fight off the pain. "ARGHH!" he screamed, ripping open his dirtied chef jacket and exposing his bare chest.

In the center of his chest was the same thing he had seen on the Hydra just before it had imploded on itself, a mini black hole. He felt his hands being sucked towards the mini black hole, causing him to panic even more.

’What do I do? What do I do?’

Jayce looked around, trying to find something, anything that could help him out of his predicament. His gaze fell on Colin and the others who were also experiencing the same thing as himself, causing his eyes to water in pain and frustration.

"F*CK!" He screamed, feeling so useless.

It was then that a monotonous voice whispered into his mind.

[Time remaining 00:00 minutes]

[Dinner Rush has been deactivated]

[Player is now in Exhausted status - Stats reduced to 20%]