Jett and Whimsy strolled down the road towards the apartment, the sky slowly turning dark.

Whimsy glanced at Jett and asked, "Have you gotten over your whole first-time murder phase?"

Jett nodded silently, but inwardly, he was still grappling with the reality of taking a life. As they walked, Jett repeated convictions to himself like a mantra. ‘It’s not my fault she died. It was just an accident. It’s not murder if it was an accident.’

Meanwhile, Whimsy, bored out of their mind, tried to strike up a random conversation. "So, what’s your favorite superhero movie?"

"Uh, probably The Dark Knight. Why?"

Whimsy grinned. "Just making conversation. Mine’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It’s got comedy and action. Plus, it’s a classic!"

‘Is that even a superhero film?’ Jett wondered in silence.

They finally arrived at the apartment. The building was old and rundown, with peeling paint and broken windows. The address from the recording.

Whimsy asked, "So, what are the chances that Ryan is in there waiting for us with a hot cup of cocoa?"

Jett smiled. "I’d say zero. Maybe I should go in from the back. You take the front."

Whimsy grinned. "Oh, I didn't know you liked to sneak in from behind."

Jett rolled his eyes but kept his smile. "I just need you to distract Ryan. After that, I can launch a surprise attack."

Whimsy nodded. "So you want me to be the damsel in distress?"

"More or less. You’re more of a distraction, really."

"Do you still need to-?"

Whimsy stopped listening and barged into the apartment, yelling, "O Ryan! Mummy’s home!"

Jett muttered, "Or you could just figure it out as you go. That works."

He went around to the back of the apartment. The back was cluttered with trashcans and old furniture, offering plenty of hiding spots. Jett silently entered through a broken window and hid behind an old couch.

After a few minutes, he heard someone approaching from the front. The person was tall and lanky, with black hair and shadowed eyes.

‘I’ll just have to assume this is Ryan,’ Jett thought.

The man walked towards Whimsy and asked calmly, “Who are you? Are you with the white-haired man from earlier?”

Whimsy looked at the man and asked, "Are you Ryan? You look like a Ryan."

Whimsy scratched their head and replied, "Well, that depends. What did the ‘white-haired man’ from earlier want with you?"

Ryan’s eyes darkened. "He wanted to take what belongs to me."

"Oh, really. And what’s that?"

Ryan held up his ring, showing them a rusty black ring. "He tried to steal my purpose from me."

Whimsy made a face, then showed him their own ring. "Sorry to break it to you, buddy, but you aren’t exactly the only one with a 'purpose.' You really need to get out more."

Ryan chuckled. "You are just chaff. Chaff mixing in with the wheat."

Whimsy smirked. "You were bullied as a kid, weren’t you?"

Ryan continued, ignoring Whimsy. "And all chaff must be burnt."

Whimsy rolled their eyes. "Does that mean you killed Eric?"

Ryan shrugged. "Who’s Eric?"

"Eric is the white-haired angel we’ve been talking about. The one that came to chat with you earlier," Whimsy explained.

Ryan nodded slowly. "We fought for a while, and then my followers came to my aid, saved me, and brought me back here. I sent them back to kill him, though I don’t know if they succeeded."

"Well, we ran into your little followers, and well… you’ll probably need an urn," Whimsy said nonchalantly.

"What’s your name?" Ryan asked, scanning Whimsy.

"It’s Whimsy," they replied.

"Your real name," Ryan insisted.

Whimsy chuckled softly. "I don’t remember. It could be Jo. Probably Darnelle. Heck, I could even be a Zephyr."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Ryan stared at Whimsy, his patience thinning. "Alright, Whimsy, what do you want with me?"

Whimsy grinned. "Oh, me? I just wanted to steal some spooky objects from you so that I could win a bet. But him however…"

Jett suddenly teleported to the back of Ryan and tried to get the jump on him, but Ryan easily evaded Jett with surprising agility.

Ryan chuckled. "Do you really think I’m that stupid?"

Whimsy nodded. "Well, yeah, hopefully."

Jett straightened up, his eyes fixed on Ryan. "It’s two of us, Ryan. Give up the ring. I don’t want to have to get into unnecessary fights."

Ryan chuckled again. "Why would I give up the ring? I was chosen. And they can see it."

"They?" Jett asked, narrowing his eyes.

Suddenly, several people clad in black emerged from different parts of the apartment, guns pointed at Jett and Whimsy.

Jett thought, ‘He had others here with him?’

Ryan raised his arms, basking in the moment. "I was chosen to bring death… to all humans in this wretched, immoral world. Yes, that’s what I will do."

Whimsy tilted their head, a playful smirk on their lips. "What’s disappointing is that you look nothing like a typical cult leader. No robe. No chanting. I mean, you look just like an emo Kylo Ren."

Ryan glared at Whimsy. "Nothing but chaff."

***

"Cocoa?" a woman with angelic beauty, blonde hair, and blue eyes asked, handing a cup of cocoa to Eric.

Eric, who was sitting in a chair, simply shook his head. They were in what looked like an office room, but a grey forcefield surrounded the entire room. Eric sat at a table, and opposite him, the woman sat in another chair.

The woman smiled. "Oh sugar, you haven’t changed at all."

Eric turned to look at the chair beside the woman. Another man was sitting there. He had dyed orange hair and beautiful baby blue eyes. He was busy building a tower out of paper clips, stacking them with intense focus.

"Didn’t expect the Legion to send the both of you," Eric remarked.

The woman smiled warmly. "Well, surprises can be quite exciting, right Z?" she said, turning to the man beside her.

Z gave a thumbs up without looking away from his paper clip tower.

"Are you here for Jett?" Eric asked.

The woman chuckled softly. "Our original mission was to get Ryan. But you and Jett also showed up, so that’s a bonus."

"Does the Legion want the man or just the ring?" Eric asked.

"The ring. Once we get the Plague ring from Ryan, we’ll simply kill him," the woman replied with a bright smile.

Z looked up from his paper clip tower and asked, "Aren’t you supposed to be with Jett? You never know when he might end up in too much trouble."

"As long as I’m watching the two of you, Jett will protect himself," Eric replied.

Z picked up a pen and began to spin it between his fingers. "What if Legion sent other members apart from us?"

"I know how the Legion works. Once they send two executives for a mission, they won’t send any more," Eric said.

The woman nodded. "I’m glad you still remember how it works, sugar."

"I don’t forget things, Cherry," Eric responded calmly.

Cherry grinned playfully. "So your plan is to keep all three of us trapped here until Jett gets the plague ring from Ryan?"

Eric nodded.

Cherry sighed. "Oh, sugar, did you know that we’d come?"

Eric nodded again. "That’s why I brought Jett along."

Z stopped spinning the pen and looked at Eric. "So you knew you’d never stand a chance against the two of us if you worked this job alone?"

Eric nodded once more.

Cherry playfully flirted. "You ought to believe in your abilities more, sweetheart. After all, you are the wielder of the Tech ring, and we don’t even have rings of our own."

"You two are dangerous enough without rings," Eric said.

Cherry laughed softly. "Stop it, you’re flattering me."

"Why haven’t you two tried to escape?" Eric asked, redirecting the conversation.

Z replied with a smile. "Because Jett won’t be able to stop Ryan."

"Why not?"

"Because Ryan has more... followers than you think. And he’s not as weak as you believe," Z replied as he continued to stack paper clips.

Eric remained silent in response.

***

Ryan gave a sinister smile. "You two should’ve never come to get me."

Jett clenched his jaw. "One of your followers. We currently have him hostage. If you hurt us, he dies."

"Why would I care about that?" Ryan retorted dismissively.

"Yeah, I saw this coming," Whimsy remarked with a dry chuckle. Whimsy then walked closer to Jett and whispered, "Maybe we should tell Sheila that she doesn’t have to watch over the man anymore."

"If he isn’t already dead, then he will be in a few seconds," Ryan declared coldly.

Jett's eyes widened in horror. "Y—You’re not going to-" he began, his voice trembling.

Interrupting him, Ryan declared, "I’ll kill him."

Ryan’s ring suddenly glowed pale green, and he coughed up blood. Then suddenly, the ring stopped glowing.

Just then, Jett's phone buzzed. A call from Sheila. He answered, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Hey, Jett. Erm, the man’s dead," Sheila's voice crackled over the line. "He suddenly bled from, well… everywhere. Then he just died." Jett's hand tightened around the phone as he cut the call, his knuckles turning white.

Ryan smiled even more. "You two are next."

Jett’s anger boiled over. "That man gave up on controlling his life and made himself a loyal dog for you. Yet… Yet... you just snuffed him out without a care in the world."

"He chose his fate. Just as you all have chosen yours," he retorted coldly.

"Fate? Fate! Don’t give me that bullshit about fate! You killed him just to satisfy your ego!"

"He knew the risks," Ryan replied callously.

"You can’t just kill people without a care in the world! Everyone deserves to live. You don’t have the right to execute people as-"

Ryan suddenly broke into laughter, interrupting Jett. "Deserve? The only thing humans deserve is death. Humans are evil… blotches upon our world. My purpose is to eradicate that evil. And I can waste my followers’ life as I please to fulfil my purpose."

"Purpose? You're insane if you think you have the right to choose who lives and who dies. Nobody has that right! Life is precious and taking it away is wrong, no matter what you believe in."

Ryan’s eyes suddenly turned cold. "What would you do if saving an innocent life means taking the life of another? Would you still hold on to that belief that all lives are precious?"

Jett was taken aback.

"See? Not even your beliefs-"

Jett interrupted Ryan. "I will do whatever it takes to protect the innocent." Jett then gazed at Ryan with a burning intensity. "But I will never lose sight of my humanity. Never."

***

The room had been deathly silent for a while.

Eric finally broke the silence. "You believe that Ryan will win, right?"

Z nodded.

"You'd be wrong about that," Eric asserted confidently.

"And why's that?" Z inquired.

"Because Ryan goes against everything that Jett believes in. And Jett can be very stubborn with what he believes in," Eric explained.

Z was silent for a while before he finally spoke up. "He still won’t bring himself to kill."

"It’s not about what he can or cannot do. It’s about what he’s willing to sacrifice," Eric replied.

Cherry interjected with a soft chuckle. "You always were smarter than you look, Eric," she remarked.

"You two might want to start planning your escape," Eric suggested, staring at the forcefield.