Dressed shoulders to ankles in a white two-piece black-striped prisoner outfit. The words “property of the Black Ring Organization” rested on the left-breast of my uniform.
I stood alone in a white room composed of pillows with a bandaged nose. I sunk down to my ankles with each step. Just pacing around.
My arms were fixed. They let me walk around; unrestrained and free.
No. That wasn’t the right way to put it. I wasn’t free. It was about fifteen-meters on all sides of the padded room to walk in. I wasn't deserving of any luxury, but it felt, oddly, a bit better than what I could be given. However, it wasn't like this place wasn't meant to keep me contained.
I swung my fist into the wall and had to narrowly dodge my forearm recoiling backward. The same result. Like a door stopper or a pillow that fought back. Throw a punch forward, and my arm would fly backward. At least I managed to not punch myself this time.
Punching it? Risk hitting myself. Trying to tear it? It was hard to even grab it. Trying to pull it off? Same thing as the second, it was a slippery pillow
I knew I shouldn’t have been playing around, they were likely watching me, and probably taking notes on each dumb thing I did in this pillowy cell.
It only made sense to lose any will to challenge it. Instead, falling back on the comfort of the padded floor and sinking deep into it. It made a good bed at the very least, even without a blanket, and sleeping wasn't really an issue. At least, if I could sleep with the stress.
I raised my hand up to my face and got a look at the black ring on my ring finger. It has been about, maybe without a calendar or any clock, about three days since I've been here.
How was this making things better? Seizon promised something like that, the chance to make things better, and he wasn't lying. At least, that's what I could tell, but as the time went on and I was losing ways of keeping myself company in this room away from the world it was getting harder to validate those words.
…
"How were the others holding up?" I wondered.
The guys back at the café. They were trying to salvage things after Jung was taken. People I owed.
It had been three days, and they heard nothing from me.
The café would be in shambles, and obviously, I wasn't there to pick up the pieces.
It was my fault, and I couldn't deny it. That they were cleaning up pieces of what they were trying to rebuild.
Is this really making things any better? For me or them?
What about Jung? How was he doing?
How was he suffering after all that? Being arrested, people looking at him like that, and then his masterpiece of a business being destroyed.
How was that going to make things better? I really left it all in pieces, didn't I?
…
Maybe they learnt the truth. It would’ve been better on everyone, including Jung, to learn.
I could feel myself continue to sink into the floor, my body was suddenly upright. An alarm blared through the room. It was too early for lunch and I didn’t ask to use the bathroom.
A low metallic whirr met my ears. The wall to my front began to split, showing off a large black metallic door I hadn’t seen before. The doors slowly slid open, revealing two men standing there in wait.
One man stared daggers at me. A black man that wore a mask over his mouth and a cap, covering the majority of his face; however his eyes, a silver blue, possessed a potent lingering disdain. It could’ve been the horrid smell, but there was a feeling. A presence of danger akin to Seizon and Ponytail; potent but lingering constant in the background. He wore a long-sleeved shirt, pants and boots with a lot of pockets, and an armored vest. Unlike the other uniforms, it didn’t seem made for along with the others:
There were notable points where the black paint had been scratched off or was worn, leaving small scratches of military camo along the clothes. There were many more stains, blotches of darkness which were likely the cause of red or blood. The key point was the fact the logo hadn’t even been embroidered or printed on; instead, it was spray painted with the words “BLACK RING” and the ring in white—lines from the dripping spray paint having already come down and dried. He didn’t look happy the least bit. On his hand, he wore a jade-green ring.
The other man was more simple. He wore black jeans, shirt, and cap with the same insignia printed onto them. He stood upright, parts of his black hair falling to the sides. Unlike the first he was anxious. He turned to face the Jade Ring. He murmured, not words, but just murmurs.
I swear, when the Jade Ring faced him the man shuddered. Jade nodded, and the shuddering man’s attention turned to me. His head reeled back, his mouth let out a noise akin to a wheeze mixed with a gargle. My stance shifted in relation to the man; gauging an uneasy feeling. There wasn’t danger, no, willingness to get caught.
“If you resist. We’ll use force. Comply.” Jade spoke, his voice low and muffled behind his mask. There was no attempt to strengthen his voice, but just get the words out.
The air shifted after he said it. Danger nearly in every corner around me; having shot outward from where he stood. I complied and in the next second the shuddering man spat. A large wad of warm mucus slammed into my torso. A human-sized snot rocket.
What the hell?
My arms were now glued to my sides, as I could feel the mucus begin hardening into a semi-crust and soft-state nearly immediately. I wanted to vomit. The section around my arms was partially loose, and I hated it.
Moving my arms disturbed the already sickening liquid and caused the warm mucus to crease against my skin. I gave up on moving them.
Jade gave the man another nod before turning around to walk outside the cell. M, easier to call him that, raised his hand and gestured me forward. An “invitation” to follow them into a blackened corridor.
I hesitated, not wanting to disturb the snot, but gave in. They waited for me by the entrance and when I caught up they moved at a steady pace. The doors of my cell closed behind us.
If I hadn’t just been escorted out, I couldn’t have told there was anything previously there. It was now a wall of polished black rock that blended into the rest of the halls. Only a panel overheard reading out “N-0015”.
Neither of the men escorting me seem to be talkers. One was ready to kill or severely maim me, and the other wanted to please the one that was willing to do it–or wanted to avoid getting on the bad side of someone like that. Hard to tell.
“Where—”
“Shut up.” Jade shut me down. “Keep quiet, keep on following.” He ordered.
M’s gaze fell on me, and he shook his head side-to-side. Silently begging me not to speak. I took the warning.
We walked through silent hallways, only passing by the occasional person. Many looked at me with warranted disgust, concealed but noticed, directed at the ring of mucus. At the very least, I wasn’t the only one uncomfortable with it.
What did surprise me was the fact not all of them wore rings. Maybe one or two out of the dozen.
The walk was longer than I anticipated. We headed into an elevator, instead of clicking a numbered floor, he clicked a blank button. There was so little movement that I couldn’t tell it had been moving, feeling the last few extremely minor tremors before the doors had opened.
After leaving, there was more walking. Not tiring, but tedious.
It was still better than the cell. Getting to stretch my legs without sinking into the ground and moving on more solid ground. In several minutes, we approached a door marked “Immortal Ring.” Both the men turned to me before approaching the ring* of the door. They both had taken a side, before pushing it inwards to reveal a room that didn’t quite fit with the rest of the building.
The interior mimicked the interior of a log cabin, fitted with all the pleasantries: a fireplace, animal rug, picture frames, and even a small couch where a man sat.
The hairs of my body stood on end. I wanted to run before he turned my way, but in the presence of him and the Jade Ring–along with my body still bound in mucus–my instincts instructed me to stand still. He had given me the same unsettling presence of the Blood Ring without needing to turn to me. Calm, but uneasy.
The man that sat there was the leader of the Black Ring Organization. A person only known by the moniker of “the Immortal Ring.” The Ring said to live through the ages since the Black Ring’s conception. A living legend.
“Ah, nice to have you.” His voice calm, I heard a book close in his hands and he set it to the side. It didn’t have a cover, just blank. He stood to his feet, donned in white robes with a black ring on the back of his clothing. Once he turned to face me, I found the source of my discomfort.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
His eyes illuminated a fierce golden glow; they outmatched Seizon’s. They stared down at me, analyzing me second by second. He remained placid, a small smile present in his beard. Taller than me with more muscle; imposing physically in terms of presence, height, and build.
His face softened, but despite that the pressure didn’t waver. He moved a hand to his chin, showing a white ring wrapped around his finger.
“Calm down. I’m not planning to kill you, Rookie Ring. Just interested.” Rookie Ring, the title Seizon had given from me on a spur of the moment. Ah, so it was directed at me. I understood why M hadn’t dared to speak in the presence of the Jade Ring.
He turned to the three of us. “Mucus Ring, you may return to your post. Oh, and remember to take the snot off of the Rookie Ring.” He waved
M nodded, happily letting go of his side of the door to approach me. He inhaled, snorting his nose. Suddenly, all the mucus violently pulled away from my body and back into his nostrils.
Gross.
He pulled away, nearly running off after having been excused.
“Jade, come in with the Rookie.” He instructed, the Jade Ring pushing me into the room on his way in. "Take a seat, kid. Jade, you too." He asked, directing our attention to the seats by the front of his desk.
Like before, we followed his words without much resistance. Finding a seat in front of his desk while he approached. He gave us each a smile, the time to pull back his chair to settle down.
“So, I’m the Immortal Ring.” He uttered, his glance shifting towards me. A sigh of relief escaped his lips, leaning back in his office seat. “Ah, thank god. I don’t have to explain. Thanks so much for being educated.” He breathed another sigh of relief, before giving me another look.
It was hard to tell completely the thoughts that lay behind those eyes, but I could tell he was still analyzing me. It was the same as Seizon.
“The Blood Ring was right. You're funny to look at.” Immediate offense. He tilted his head at me, giving me another glance as he rested his chin in his hands. “Do you purposely do it? Use your Key?” He added, his mood now one of interest.
I looked dumbfounded, and he snapped his fingers.
“It’s good to answer these types of questions. Could decide what I’m willing to do. Let me rephrase, besides that passive super-strength and all that jumble and jazz, have you used your Key purposely?” The Immortal Ring asked, awaiting an answer.
Again. I was dumbfounded, but the urge to answer was also spurred on by the first statement.
“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I replied, quickly shaking my head knowing that was in no way a good answer. “Wait–what I mean is. That is my Key. So, the question confused me.” I got out, before placing a hand against my chin. “I feel things sometimes—when things aren’t right, or a bit of a warning. It’s just that and being set in the physical department.” I added lastly, bowing my head before looking back to my interrogator.
“Eh,” He didn’t look amused, almost disinterested. “You aren’t the first to be at a loss. Makes it even more confusing why you’re of this much interest.” He hummed, before leaning in forward.
“Say, how strong are you, kid?” He asked, now trying to show interest in it. Once again, I felt forced to comply.
“I haven’t tested it much, but I can pull a car. Well, a small one.”
“How fast?”
“I can outrun a car on a good day… dodge a bullet or two.”
“How good are your senses?”
“I can—”
“Sense a car?”
“Well, no. Well, yes. The whole feeling thing too, but—”
“Ah, no wonder. You would’ve been slippery. Good thing we dodged that.” The Immortal exhaled, relaxing in his chair.
There were a few seconds of silence, him looking up to the roof on his chair and me watching him do it.
I could’ve remained quiet, but then it would have ended up like the cell. I was faced with the man in charge of everything, and I felt confined to silence by his sheer dominating presence; all he needed to do to shut me up was sit in a chair.
My body didn’t want it, but I needed to say something. I didn’t want to hate myself because I said nothing.
“Why am I here?” I asked, raising my head to face him. “I was put into a padded cell after being given a ring. I don't want to overstep, but that makes me one of you, right?" The words flew from my lips, dumb words, but words I couldn't help but ask. That wasn't the end of it either. "Seizon told me that if I join, I can make things better for the other keys. They won't have to get into these positions, with people being screwed over to get to me or things like that, or at least to help people using my key to make up for it. How. How am I going to do any of that in a cell? I'm sorry if I'm being rude, I don't mean any of that, but—I'm getting restless in my cell doing nothing but just waiting.” I wanted to stop, but everything about me forced some kind of movement.
Before I knew it, I was already moving. “Especially because of what happened. Not having the chance to surrender, but having people suddenly sprung upon me. The guys at the café, it's now damaged, and what is being done—”
I realized I left my seat, and now stood and was now standing closer to the desk than my seat. However, that only became noticeable at the sudden rush of fear. My sweat came racing down my temples, as the Jade Ring carved into me with eyes of daggers. My life was put at risk by a glare, even if it hadn't had any physical power, but it had been the possibility that he could and was more than willing to kill me.
My chair was thrown to the side out of instinct, my breaths heavy, and hand gripped tight at my chest to steady my breaths. I nearly died, I could feel it, and while I didn't know what it could be — everything pointed to the Jade Ring
“Jade, you’re going to scare him to death.” The Immortal Ring intervened, as he cracked his back and stretched his arms. He stared at the Jade Ring, those golden eyes stared him down, before his lids rested with a yawn leaving his lips. “Please, try not to assert yourself nor your key unless I ask. It took quite a while to get this place into my liking, and not the drab its been for about a century.” His glance turned to me, those golden eyes opening to me, and his expression seemed to calm into something else. A subtle glare, almost annoyed, but more if he were a teacher looking indifferent at a rowdy child.
“Sit.” He asked, and my body felt forced to comply. I picked up my chair from the floor and sat with a swift motion. The Immortal Ring sighed, resting a knuckle against his cheek, and glanced to the ceiling. "You believe that you can make things different. Of course, Seizon would jump on the chance to nab an external thinker, even if he conforms to it all the same." The Immortal Ring huffed, he looked more annoyed than satisfied anymore, and referred his eyes to the ceiling.
I tried to make sense of it, but his glare lowered back down to me. "You're a ring, yes, but you're — well, you're lacking." He chuckled a bit, and tilted his head back. "Naïve, but promising I guess. They said your physicals were about the same as Impact's, and that is well — it ain't nothing. How many keys have you fought?"
The question itself didn't surprise me, but rather had been the idea I was supposed to be fighting them. "Not many, well, about one actually so far. Well, four if we count the you know. There was this guy that when he touched things—”
“Induced detonation, and caused the shrapnel to be telekinetically controlled. Next.” He asked.
“Yeah, he blew up things after touching, yeah..” I simplified for myself, taking another moment. “The strong lady, think you talked about her, she used a gun and could blow up things. For some reason, she was also stronger, her key didn't seem to match, but—" I caught myself before I rambled, gauging the Immortal Ring's visual response, and decided to continue. "The other lady, she could make her tattoos take shape." There was the immediate urge to stop myself from showing any sign of annoyance, the image of Tattoo's faux key tattoos irritated me, but I needed to stop myself from conveying that with him. "Then Seizon, he controlled blood." Simple with that, nothing more to say there.
“Hm, impressive. You've managed against the Shrapnel key, the Impact, Tattoo and Blood Ring.” Immortal named, almost as if he was mentally checking lines off a list.
"For someone talking about being in deep shit. You've had good luck." I wanted to correct him, but he whistled and stood to his feet. "So, you have grievances. Yeah, everyone does, something or the other. However, you got off a bit freer than most, and even if it may be rational to be angry — but think about how you would have reacted if we went about it your way." He walked to the fireplace, taking one of the metal rods and stirring the firewood, and watched as the cinders reacted.
"You're an external thinker, not only that, but you're also stubborn to boot. You wouldn't go down easy, even if we caught you at your apartment with your pants down and you out of the shower. It would have been hell. Chasing you in your apartment with all those people, even if we evacuated the place, and you nearly went off the rails. Enough to make Blood weary about what you were planning on. Hell, your idea of your key — seeing as you use it passively, is lacking, and with all of that. Destroying a café wouldn't even compare to the likes of New York City or Mainz. That's what could happen if we don't know." The Immortal Ring hummed, still stirring the burning wood and coming pieces of charcoal, and turned his attention briefly back towards me.
"Might sound harsh, but a building is like a drop of rain in an ocean. Leaving a key unchecked is like either leaving a gun or a nuclear missile unchecked. From firing blood like a bullet to splitting atoms with an accidental thought. They all must be accounted for; to the ones that don't get accounted for, don't go easy, or go off the deep end. We remove them, and that's how the peace is kept. Not the preferred method, but hey, one or two lives is better than the lives of many lost from a key turned regressor. You agree with me on that, right?" He asked, pulling the rod from the burning coals and settling it onto the stand by the fireplace. He looked satisfied, not from his examples, but the chance of getting to monologue with a person present.
Especially when he knew my answer likely aligned with his own.
I hated myself for knowing he was right, even if not to the extreme, but upon noticing the crashing dominos. Me fighting and making myself known, not getting registered, and then not speaking up and fighting the Organization at the first chance I was given. I had turned my single life and blew that up into affecting dozens more people with that action alone
“I don’t believe it completely.” I took a breath, swallowing my regret, but needing to speak. "I can think on my own. I can think of a way not to screw up. I chose to become a part of this, so I can do better as a key part of the Black Ring. If I can't live my regular day-to-day life anymore, then I at least want to do the little I can to fix what I screwed up, and help the people as a part of the Organization. I want to change things, especially how the Organization goes about these things." I expressed, tightly gripping the fabric of my pants, and steeled any fear against the man before me.
Immortal's expression changed, if only just by a fraction. However, he still looked satisfied, and stepped away from the fireplace. His eyes turned away from me, and onto the Jade Ring.
“Well, at least it’s nice to listen to you spiel.” He hummed, approaching his desk. “Nice to listen to but, and good to have you on board. You're not shaped up yet, so, I want to see some things for myself. Especially your resolve. Jade, show him Jack.” He gave the Jade Ring a nod, and immediately I found my body jumping back but this time—there was a threat.
My arms braced faster than my eyes had time to recognize and react, and an unfamiliar impact collided with my arms. Almost like solid concrete had struck me, harder than the car but more... bony? The impact sent me from a stand and into flight, with enough power to knock me through the doors of the room, and send me skipping against the floors of the Organization like a pebble smacking against smooth rock before I slowed with momentum ending.
Once I had the chance to adjust, it caught my eye, and it was an utter monster. The skeleton of a giant, about eight feet in height with shoulders broad, and head small in contrast to its oversized body. So many bones made up its form, not seeming to belong to a single skeleton, but rather many that had been taken apart and combined into an abomination of bone and rotting muscle. Yet, it hit harder than I had ever imagined from the amalgamations of a rotting corpse.
It lumbered forward, empty sockets staring directly at me, as it approached with the urge to continue its focused assault.
"This will be a great chance to show of your abilities with a practical test. You got this, show us something interesting, Rookie Ring." The Immortal Ring spoke, a hand cuppd into a half speaker, as he and the Jade Ring looked over the battle. The skeleton not-stopping, and that lumber of its accelerated. Its bones creaked and rattled, but it broke into an full-on charge. It raising its hand to strike me down without any hesitation behind lifeless sockets.
My arms were just fixed.