Ruby's hands wrapped around me as though holding me together. For a brief moment I just stood their motionless.
"Umm Ruby? How much longer are you going to hug me." I muttered.
"!"
Ruby flinched immediately pulling away and avoiding my gaze.
Her cheeks flushed, and she stammered, "I–I'm sorry. It just—" She exhaled deeply, "It just the way you looked earlier when you fought Glory…"
She hesitated, her words trailing off as her eyes flickered to the ground.
"What about it?" Curious myself, I asked.
With her voice muffled as her eyes fixated on me, she explained.
"You didn't look like your self. Your expression… your movements… it was like you weren't human anymore."
Her voice softened, carried the weight of her uneasiness, "You looked… terrifying. Ruthless."
As she said, my eyes drifted to Glory's remains. His unrecognizable corpse lying in a grotesque heap of his own blood and organs.
His front portion was split open, his intestines was spilling out onto the blood-soaked floor. His skull was cracked, with fragments of bone scattered around what used to be his face. A mangled lump of his brains gray matter lay discarded beside him.
The very sight was disturbing, even for me.
I clenched my fists as an unsettling thought lingered at my mind.
'I did all this?'
Was this who I was now? Was I always used to be this brutal? No! I hadn't always been this way. Before… before my death, I still believed in humanity.
This is beyond that. This isn't human.
No matter how much of a bitch a person was, killing him like this… is just, inhuman.
'What's happening to me?'
Maybe I am not myself any more?
"Zane?"
Ruby turned to me, confusion and concern displayed on her face.
"No, don't worry." I said abruptly, shaking off my thought. "It's just the side effects of my skill. [Distortion]. When I use it, it twists my mind, making me ruthless. It's nothing to worry about."
But deep down, I knew this wasn't the whole truth, and I think Ruby did too.
I forced my thoughts elsewhere, my gaze finally landed on Ruby's shoulder.
My breath hiked. There was blood across her shoulder, sticking against her uniform, yet there are no visible wound.
I frowned. "Ruby… why is there blood on your shoulder?"
I knew the answer, but still, to confirm that dream, I asked.
She stiffened. Her eyes darkened in a way I hadn't seen before, shadows creeping into her face. She spoke quietly, her voice was almost a whisper. "It's a curse. They gave it to me."
Her words sent a chill down my spine.
"They?" I asked, already piecing together the fragments of what I'd seen. Memories of the dream resurfaced in my mind—the confined room, the drawing, and Ruby's broken sobs.
Her lips tightened. "The Hero Association."
'Of course.'
I had suspected as much, but hearing it from her mouth brought an unfamiliar heat to my chest—anger.
But suddenly, I had an unbelievable hypothesis.
Her words clicked into place with my own theories. My skill, [Immortality], was unlike anything I had ever seen, it basically defies common sense.
But now, seeing Ruby, I couldn't shake the possibility that the Hero Association's experiments weren't only limited to her.
'I want to know.'
"Ruby," I began cautiously, "if you were injured let's say, if your arm was severed—would it grow back?"
Her gaze snapped to mine. "No. My skill only works against non-lethal attacks. If I were to die, then that's it. I won't revive. I'm not like you."
Her words confirmed my theories. Her power, whatever it was, was a weaker reflection of my [Immortality].
But it was still enough to make me question the extent of the Hero Association.
I wanted to press further, to ask her about the dream I had.
'Why had I seen her there, locked in that room? What had the Association done to her?'
Buzz. Buzz.
But before I could, a sharp buzzing sound echoed through the air.
Ruby and I froze, glancing down at her wristband. Her expression turned cold as the name flashing across the screen caught her attention.
"Markus," she whispered.
In an instant, my jaw tightened, and I nodded at Ruby.
"Do exactly as we planned," I told her.
Nodding, Ruby clicked in her wristband, answering Markus's call.
She took a deep heavy breath, deliberately making her voice sound weak and breathless, as though she'd just barely survived an intense battle.
"Pride reporting," she said, her tone trembling just enough to sell her act.
"Pride." Markus's voice came through, steady and sharp. "Glory's vitals are gone. What happened? What's the status of the mission?"
Ruby hesitated for a fraction of a second, as she stealing a glance at me. I gave her a curt nod.
"It's done," she said quietly. "Glory is dead."
". . ."
Silence fell on the line.
And I could almost picture Markus's racing his mind on the other end. Finally, his voice broke the tension, and I could hear the disbelief in his voice.
"Dead?" he repeated. "Who did it?"
'Of course, he would ask.'
It wasn't a question out of curiosity, it was his deduction.
Markus wasn't a fool. He knew Ruby a Rank-7 hero wasn't strong enough to take down someone like Glory on her own, not when he was ranked three.
His sharp mind had already ruled her out as the killer.
Ruby didn't falter. "I don't know who he was," she lied, her voice is calm despite the situation. "He called himself Nightmare. He had red hair—looked like he might be from Pyrestone. He was terrifying and… brutal. He killed Glory with such an ease."
Markus didn't respond immediately, and I could picture him processing her words one by one, piecing together the information.
Meanwhile, I remained silent, as I watched Ruby handle the conversation with a calm expression that impressed even me.
This was all a part of my plan. I had predicted Markus's reaction, anticipated his questions.
That's why I had altered my appearance, and crafted this new persona.
Nightmare.
A name I designed to strike fear into those unworthy of being called heroes. A name that would haunt them even in their dreams.
"Nightmare?" Markus finally said, his voice has hint of suspicion. "And you're saying he let you live?"
Ruby didn't miss a beat. "He didn't care about me," she said. "His only target was Glory. I stayed out of his way—figured it wasn't worth interfering since killing Glory was part of my mission anyway. And…" She paused, letting enough hesitation creep into her voice. "Glory was already dying. I didn't need to get involved."
Markus didn't pressed any further, instead he sighed.
"Alright, send me a detailed report," he ordered. "I want everything you've got on this Nightmare, his look, his fighting style, his skills everything. I'm hanging up, Good job, Pride."
The call ended with a soft click, leaving the room silenced.
Sigh…
Ruby let out a slow breath, her shoulders dropped slightly as she turned to me. "It's done," she said with a thumbs-up gesture.
I nodded, my mind already racing ahead.
Markus would investigate, of course. He'd dig into the identity of this so-called 'Nightmare', and he'd find nothing.
All that remained was the message I wanted to send.
And soon, the world would know.
The nightmare has begun.
End of Chapter.