Chef in the Apocalypse

A thin man reclined back in his seat, whistling a tune merrily seemingly without a care in the world. His hands were interlaced behind his head and his feet were tapping against the footrest.

Every now and then the man would let out a chuckle, showcasing his incredibly good mood.

"The summit should probably be over by now. I wonder how many humans were able to step onto the right path?"

The man stood up and stretched. Despite his thin frame, his taut muscles rippled underneath his tight shirt like coiling dragons.

"If it’s that guy, then I don’t need to worry." He said confidently, walking over to his vanity. Upon the vanity was a creepy looking mask with a smile full of sharp teeth and openings for the eyes.

He reached out for the mask and placed it on his face. The silver hair that was tied behind his head suddenly disappeared, replaced with a shiny bald head which reflected the dim light in the room.

In the next moment, he reached out for the other item upon the vanity; a black top hat.

"I should probably head back. It’s been 6 months after all." His voice had now changed, becoming more high pitched and grating.

The man picked up his cloak from the back of the chair and slid his arms in one smooth motion. The cloak which seemed to be made of shadows clung tightly to his body, almost merging with his figure.

Just as he was about to leave, he felt a vibration in his pocket along with a ringing tone, catching his attention. He removed the transmitter which looked similar to a cell phone and gazed at the incoming call.

Even though he was wearing a mask, it was evident that a deep frown crept onto his features. He pressed a button on the device, which produced a hologram in front of him.

In the hologram were two short figures, both wearing plain masks and a dark uniform.

"What is it?" He asked, his tone impatient.

"M-Master Rubick I-It’s bad..."

"Tell. Me" His tone increased a few octaves, producing a shrill sound which caused the two on the other line to involuntarily shiver.

"Out of the 100 people you told us to monitor, over 30 are dead..." Both figures lowered their heads after saying these words, the fear easily seen beneath their masks.

Snap.

The air in the room froze, as if time itself had stopped. The hologram and the device that was producing it suddenly shattered into millions of pieces, yet they did not drop to the floor.

Space itself seemed to twist and warp, as if it was under a tremendous pressure. The surroundings began to splinter and the temperature in the room dropped below freezing in an instant.

"30 dead?" The voice was soft, yet carried with it a weight of emotion.

Rubick felt his whole body heat up in rage despite the low temperature surrounding him, causing him to unconsciously release his sealed power.

"DAMN IT!"

As he shouted, the whole space surrounding him shattered at once. Everything within 200 meters of him was instantly turned to dust as it rushed into the hole which had been created from the fracturing of space.

However, Rubick did not seem to notice, his thoughts fully absorbed with this news.

In the next moment, Rubick was finally snapped out of his tantrum by the stirring of power in his vicinity. It was then that he finally realized what he had done.

Deep clouds were stirring above his position, giving off a divine aura which threatened to erase his existence. Yet he did not look afraid.

With a wave of his hand, time began to flow in reverse around him. The space which had been torn apart quickly repaired itself, while the buildings in his surroundings were put together as if nothing had happened.

However, this time reversal only happened within a 200 meter radius of himself.

After everything had returned to normal, the divine power which was accumulating in the clouds stopped suddenly, as if losing the will to fight. Yet before leaving, it sent a tiny lightning bolt towards Rubick who was standing in the middle of a room.

The deep red bolt passed through the building as if it was paper, heading straight for Rubick’s head.

"Don’t be so angry, I put everything back to normal."

Rubick waved his hand, catching the lightning bolt in his hand and dispersing it easily. He shook his head in the next moment, admonishing himself for his earlier outburst.

Were it not for the Heavenly Retribution which knocked him out of his anger, he might have done some irreparable damage.

He let out a deep sigh and adjusted his mask and top hat, ensuring they were still in tact. Then with a chopping motion of his hand, he carved open a rift in the space beside him. However this time, the surroundings were not affected.

Rubick took a step inside the rift before it closed by itself a few moments later, leaving the room empty with no signs of the earlier action.

***

Within the security room, the two short figures were silently shitting themselves. The instant dissolution of the hologram told them all they needed to know about the reaction of their master.

They had never seen him this furious and were currently praying to any god that would listen to their plight. One of the figures had seemingly already given up, writing his will and a letter to his wife and kids.

In the next moment the automatic doors opened, revealing the tall and skinny figure draped in a cloak of shadows. The two figures instantly tensed up before bowing deeply.

"M-Master Rubick!"

They stared at the ground in trepidation as the footsteps of the figure got closer and closer. They didn’t dare to move in case he took offense.

"Hurry up and show me the last few moments before they died." Rubick replied, his tone unreadable.

"Y-Yes Master!"

The two dared not to slack, quickly bringing up the footage from a few of the victims.

After a while, Rubick’s face hardened.

"So it was those bastards..."