The Third Impact (Neon Genesis Evangelion)

What is it? Personally, I didn’t watch Evangelion, so I’m going to get some details wrong. But, from what I read, the Third Impact is when every single human soul is merged into one massive entity sharing a consciousness. A human’s body melts into primordial soup, and the soul is gathered with all the others. The Third Impact is technically botched when main character Shinji comes back from his misanthropic despair, saying that despite the pain he experienced, life is worth living. This act of rejecting the hive mind causes the Angel who was trying to absorb the souls to die. In addition, the humans regain a bit of their autonomy and gain the ability to return to normal, provided they have the will to do so.

Do I have what it takes to survive that? To an extent, yes. If events played out the same way they did in Evangelion, and someone who knew what was happening had the will to break out of the hive mind and stop the impact, then I think I’d have enough willpower to get out, too. If the Third Impact were to happen in, say, the worst year of my life so far, then I’d probably still be soup for a while after Shinji and Asuka got out.

The Rumbling (Attack on Titan)

What is it? I haven’t seen Attack on Titan either, and I don’t think I have the intestinal fortitude for it. But, from what I read, the king of Paradis Island set in motion the end of the world at the hands of the Titans he and his ancestors helped create. He enclosed his kingdom within massive walls containing millions of inert Titans, and vowed that if anyone threatened his kingdom, he would unleash the Titans on the world. They would march a path of destruction, signaled only by the sound of distant rumbling. Everyone on the planet would die, including everyone in his kingdom, but he was kind of welcoming it at that point.

Do I have what it takes to survive that? Hard no. First off, I have no combat training whatsoever. The only people capable of even injuring a titan are highly trained soldiers with extremely specialized gear. Second, we are talking about millions of 50-meter, or 164-foot, tall Titans, led by an immeasurably huge creature. The army of Titans crushed 80% of the world’s population in 4 days. Nothing stopped them until the Founding Titan’s defeat returned them to human form. The only way to survive was to be in a place the Titans hadn’t walked yet.

The Tempest (Magical Girl Site) 

What is it? In Magical Girl Site, the various magical girls are given magic items (all called “sticks”) that cause various things to happen (time stop, mind control, teleportation, etc.). But, every time the girls use their sticks, it saps a bit of their life force away. All the life force is being fed into a god-like girl called “the King,” who grows stronger from the negative life energy the magical girls give her. When she becomes strong enough, she will cause the Tempest, a rebirth of the world and its people with all negative energy removed. And I mean as literal of a birth process as possible. When the Tempest starts, humans everywhere start turning into giant sperm and start “swimming” towards the King’s Altar, atop a mountain of flesh, to be absorbed. After that, the King will tear the Altar away from the Earth to move to another planet, destroying the world in the process.

Do I have what it takes to survive that? Possibly, under a specific circumstance. The only people un-spermed are those who already used a magic stick. But, if I happened to be one of the people who did use a magic stick, I would need to be part of the crew trying to destroy the Altar instead of attacking the King directly. The only way to harm the King is negative energy from a man (or someone who identifies as a man) who uses a magic stick. 

Assuming I’m just a civilian, I would just be turned into a giant sperm and swim into the sky. Unlike the Third Impact, there’s no willpowering your way out of it.

Trigon’s End of All Things Mortal (Teen Titans)

What is it? During season 4 of Teen Titans (2003), the overarching plot was about Raven’s destiny as the daughter of Trigon, a demon who sought to conquer the universe. After being imprisoned for millennia, Trigon was able to emerge into the mortal world using Raven herself as a portal. In a matter of seconds, he razed the entire planet with a wave of destruction, turning all of its inhabitants to stone and every landmass into a pool of lava and rubble. The only survivors are the Titans, thanks to a blessing from Raven, and Slade, who had a ring made by the monks who imprisoned Trigon in the first place.

Do I have what it takes to survive that? Hell no. As far as I’m aware, the Justice League was also affected by Trigon’s wave of destruction. Unless I found Raven and made friends with her long before Trigon emerged, I’d be a statue plopped right next to a river of lava.

Alduin Eating The World (Skyrim)

What is it? In Skyrim, the end of the world is prophesied to be the cause of Alduin the World Eater. Alduin is the “son” of the chief deity in the Elder Scrolls universe. As such, he has greater power than other dragons. Not only can he destroy things with fire, ice, and meteor storms, he can raise dragons from the dead, provided the Dragonborn hadn’t gotten to them yet. To make things worse, he can go into Sovngarde (basically Valhalla) and eat the souls of the dead to regain strength. His plan is to enslave the mortals of the world, and destroy anyone and anything that goes against him. If left unopposed, he and his dragon brethren will bring about the end of the world, which will allow Akatosh to make a new one.

Do I have what it takes to survive that? I think so. Despite Alduin being very powerful, he also works very slowly. He destroyed the town of Helgen on his own and left few survivors. But, while the Dragonborn was running around, slaying his kin and climbing the tallest mountain in Skyrim multiple times, Alduin wasn’t doing much subjugating. He was mostly resurrecting fallen dragons and eating souls in Sovngarde. The major cities got attacked infrequently compared to other towns. I think if I were to live in Markarth, the most fortified city in Skyrim, I would be safe until the Dragonborn handled things.