Apocalypse

He took the last few steps in a journey that had begun aeons ago, when the earth was but a fireball, and mankind – a whisper in the darkness. He had come close many times before, but the pettiest of mistakes in timing had often cost him his ultimate prize.

But this time, it was different – he was close to the end, the last few steps in an endgame that had lasted millennia. Finally, the moment arrived, as he took his last, hesitant step, and stood in position - in the most sacred of all places in the Cosmos – among the blazing electric lights, brighter than a second Sun, surrounded by towers that stood like bastions of the night sky – the heart of Times Square!

It was as though the last pawn had moved into place in a cosmic game of chess. For, across vast galaxies in its heart, nine hundred and ninety nine men had already moved into position since the dawn of time, watching....waiting.

The universe paused for an instant, as though taking stock of a reality it had never believed would come about. A deep, thunderous rumble began to take shape from somewhere within its depths, rising towards a biblical crescendo - a sound of doom like nothing that would ever be heard again. Then, as it had been deemed before its creation, slowly....steadily, its very fabric started to unravel.

He looked up at the heart of darkness, and this time, he knew he had made no mistake. Within moments, the smooth, glistening blackness above him was torn asunder – with brilliance that was more terrifying than anything that had ever been experienced before – like the symphony of a billion suns.

The ground around his feet began to cleave, and he rose on a pillar, coolly, calmly; thrust in a trice deep into the heart of the cold, merciless darkness of outer space, towards that blinding inferno.....