THE MOMENT
"What is this?" Aries arrived to a large crowd of adventurers surrounding the outskirts of the rift. He'd been notified that it was close to rupturing, and he went to investigate, assuming no one had taken an interest in it. He found most of the guild situated near the rift and preparing for battle. He identified the highest ranking member that seemed to be in charge and approached him with the question.
"Aries!" The knight, Carl, recognized the man even if they'd never met formally. Aries was a high-ranking executive in the guild and kept the business end of things running. Carl was thrilled that he'd get to share his visionary plan with such an important figure. "We're waiting for the rift to break," he grinned and puffed his chest out.
"The guild rules are very clear," Aries shook his head. "Adventurers are required to enter the rifts and clear out the festering evil. If the rift opens, it's the end of the world," he reminded Carl of the stakes.
"No, it's not," Carl laughed and shook his head. "The rift only allows 2 - 7 hunters, and that's enough to clear them out. It'll be even easier once it opens and we can all attack anything coming out," he said. Aries sighed.
"You're aware that I am privy to knowledge you might not have, aren't you? I am an executive member of Void Holdings, the sponsors of this adventuring guild. If you seek answers, I'll be happy to have a sit down with you and any other guild members interested. However, at the moment, we are on a schedule. The rift won't evolve if there are adventurers in there. I suggest sending in a team to clear it out first, then I can share more knowledge about the true nature of things."
"No thanks, Mr. Moneybags," Carl shook his head, as two burly adventurers tried to take intimidating poses behind him, with their arms crossed. "Unlike your boardroom view, I'm down here in the trenches. I've seen what these people can do," he gestured at the crowd and received a chorus of cheers in return. "We can handle anything that comes out of there."
"You probably could," Aries nodded with a smile. "Is that going to be the decision then? You're just going to let it break open?" He asked Carl directly, then turned around and looked at the crowd.
"Any single person want to save their world? I'll even go in with you; I'm just not allowed to do it myself." No one volunteered and Carl laughed.
"We'd rather trust our strength than what you tell us," the brave knight said.
"Well, alright then," Aries shrugged. I suppose the game's over," he made a dismissive gesture, and the swirling, glowing rift bloomed. Purple light expanded, seemingly enveloping everyone, and spreading to the rest of the world. "This world will be ending in approximately 10 minutes. If you have loved ones, now might be a good time to communicate with them,"Aries said. "Thank you all for the lovely game," he waved as a black hole opened in the air next to him. He was about to step into the vertical emptiness when Carl stopped him.
"Wait, what happened?" He was faced with a situation that Aries knew more about than him. The rift was gone, but the adventurers were standing around in confusion. There wasn't any climactic battle in process, like he expected.
"Humanity lost," Aries shrugged.
"What? What do you mean we lost?" Carl was too distracted with that to worry about the strange use of 'Humanity'. "We're still standing here... ready to fight. Where'd the rift go?"
"The rule was simple; don't let a rift break open," Aries replied. "You decided to let one break open, so you lost. It's as uncomplicated as that."
"Where is the evil core we're supposed to fight?" Carl asked. He was still determined to defeat something.
"Fight? Why?" Aries shook his head. "Not every battle is fought physically, and not every war is external. Your world lost the moment you decided you knew better about something without listening to any other reasoning."
"That's it? You can't just do that!" Carl said. "If you're going to put the fate of the world on my shoulders, put it on my shoulders!" he stepped forward with the last ounces of bravery he had. It was the right thing to do; yet, he wouldn't have done it without the audience present.
"It's not only on your shoulders," Aries shook his head as he looked around. "Deciding to do nothing was a collective decision. Goodbye, and good luck in your next lives," he waved one more time and stepped through the black portal to disappear. After he was gone, every screen in the world displayed a countdown.
[A Rift has broken! This world will end in 8 minutes.]