Ronner

The void left in Ronner's chest at the tender age of eleven had consumed the lives of many. Innocent souls, victims of a futile attempt to fulfill the empty darkness.

Hundreds of women had visited his bed during his life, faceless humans with no names. Numbers in the records of his tumultuous memories. Sporadic feelings, unable to cloud the pain from his loss.

His second love had been Death. Rivers of blood washed his humanity away, the metallic flavor in his mouth and nose, and the sweet screams of another life put down by his hand.

Yet none of it was enough. It was never enough.

Magenta had come for him at the right time.

The Lady gave him a chance to turn nightmares into dreams. Power, flesh, and money at the tip of his fingers in exchange for blood and bones. The perfect deal that sealed too many fates.

Naively, she was seeking revenge and peace, and Ronner, a chance to prove himself capable of the impossible. What could go wrong?

They shared the same bed too many times, but Ronner never loved her, and neither did she.

No.

They both loved someone else.

How stupid.

How fucking stupid, right, Magenta?

Ronner sighed and clenched his fists. If you had only stuck to our deal . . . Perhaps, you'd be alive today.

Perhaps Marcus would be alive tonight . . . I wouldn't have had to kill him.

You could be happy with him, and I . . .

Ronner hesitated.

And I . . .

You could be happy too.

Widening his eyes, Ronner overheard a familiar voice. He chuckled. What the fuck are you doing here, Magenta?

You're still too stupid to see it. Why am I not surprised?

Clenching his teeth into a cynical smile, Ronner spat his words into a silent question, "Have you come to enjoy the sight?"

Magenta giggled, her soothing voice echoing in his brain. "No. I've come to open your eyes. How long do you plan to be a blind fool?"

Her last words resounded in the void of his mind until they faded, giving way to an eerie silence.

"I'm not blind anymore . . . " Ronner murmured. "I don't need you nor anyone to tell me this."

"Your ego has always been your worst enemy."

"Do you still think so?" He smirked bitterly and bit his tongue.

Closing his eyes, Ronner took a moment to decide whether he was already dead or not.

Finally, he spoke again, "I don't give a shit about what you think. You're dead. He is dead. Your baby daughter is dead."

"You're right. We're only ghosts from the past . . . Your past."

"Yet . . ." Ronner took a deep breath. "I could finally understand why you two died with a smile."

"You all died fighting for what you believed in . . . Even if it was stupid and useless . . . Even if your deaths achieved nothing. I told you this before, and I'll repeat it now . . . Marcus died like a fool."

"So let me ask you this . . . Why did I agree to give him a proper burial? Why is it that even though I knew his daughter's and ex-wife's location, I never tried to hurt them?"

A knot closed Ronner's throat as he searched for answers in the turmoil of his head.

"Because you respected that fool," Magenta said.

. . .

"I did . . ." Ronner whispered, swallowing his last droplet of ego. "I respected that fool, and despite everything, I respected you too."

"Oh, I know you did."

"I was never gonna carry out my threat. Even though I knew you would never speak and I needed your money . . . I couldn't bring myself to humiliate you the way I wanted . . . I lied. I wasn't gonna do it."

"I know that."

"Then, why?" Clenching his teeth, Ronner hissed and glared into the horizon. "Tell me why you chose to die?"

"Because I wanted to be with them . . . It's not easy to stay in the shallow cold when the loves of your life are waiting for you on the other side."

. . .

"I see."

. . .

"May you find your peace, Magenta . . . because I never did."

Silence.

"Goodbye, Ron."

*°*°*

Facing his destiny, Ronner stood taller than ever, with an immense amount of energy roaring and hissing around his broken arm. Lightning shot in every direction, crashing and piercing holes into the rocks and the ground.

Electric arcs and sparks swirled around Brisa's hair, caressing her face and gleaming in her wide-open eyes that witnessed how something so brutal and savage could be so harmless to her.

Brisa tightened her grip around Ronner's waist and whispered in his ear. Her words drowned under the wail of his electricity, but Ronner understood what she meant.

Kira shot, and hundreds of bullets blazed through smoke, flames, and dust.

Victorious, his enemy laughed maniacally. However, Ronner smirked, the same way he had done so many times.

Bursting with the energy of a morning star, a massive cobalt plasma ball grew between them, turning the night into a blue day. Not even Alayna's fire could compare with the heat emanating from Ronner's last ball of lightning.

The energy melted the rocks around them, leaving a trail of magma behind as it approached its target.

Like a cobalt dragon of plasma, Ronner's last attack released all its fury, covering Kira and Ronner himself.

The blast made the whole city shake with the force of a hundred earthquakes.

Ronner hugged Brisa as the shockwave hit them and sent them flying through molten rocks and burning trees.

The cobalt day turned into darkness.

Silence engulfed the field.

. . .

Trembling, Brisa sat up to witness her surroundings. Ronner lay on top of her with his arm wrapped around her torso.

Covered by thick black smoke, a gigantic crater burned in front of them, radiating an intense heat that distorted reality.

A silhouette glowed amid the inferno as the smoke dissipated into the sky. Brisa gasped.

Kira stood still in front of them. All his clothes were gone, and his body had turned a dark brown with smoke coming out of it. There was a hole in his chest, perfectly shaped. With his heart gone forever, Kira coughed a spurt of black blood and collapsed against the molten rocks, his legs and arms falling apart.

His whole body vanished into nothingness, and the wind carried away his ashes.

Lying stiff on the ground, Ronner chuckled. Brisa rushed to turn his body around and gazed into his eye.

A single bullet had penetrated Ronner's head, and blood flowed from it like a crimson river of life and death. Ronner tried to sit up, but his body didn't respond anymore. The blue demon fell into the arms of the woman he loved.

The last fire vanished, and the wind went quiet.

Staring at the sky, Ronner realized the stars had never looked so beautiful.

Hot tears landed on his face, mixing with his blood. Why was Brisa crying? He didn't deserve her tears. He never did.

Glimpsing through a layer of red covering his iris, Ronner contemplated Brisa sitting next to him, holding his cold body in the middle of the void of the night.

Why was he still alive? That bullet had been buried in his brain. What kept him alive?

Her sobs reached his ears, causing his weak heart to beat a little bit faster. "Why are you crying?" Ronner muttered while a gelid breeze hugged him from behind.

Brisa said nothing. She buried her face against his broken chest and muffled her sobs. Ronner tried to caress her hair, but his arm didn't move.

"Don't cry anymore . . . " His heart stopped for a moment, causing an excruciating pain throughout his body, yet he didn't care and continued, "This is my fate . . . and I don't deserve any of your tears."

"You made it this far . . . " Brisa whispered, lifting her head to stare at him.

How beautiful she was.

"Despite everything, you kept your promise," Brisa wiped her tears, her face stained by his blood. "You have no idea how much I hated you . . . yet . . . " She sniffled and smiled. "You truly showed me you could change."

Her words cut through Ronner's soul like a sharp knife, burying into his heart and mind. He gritted his teeth and squeezed his eye shut in a futile attempt to stop the pain he had been holding inside for over fifteen years.

A tear trailed down Ronner's cheek, drawing a clean line through the dried blood.

"You're human after all," Brisa assured him, leaning her forehead against his. "You made mistakes, yes, but . . . " She closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that still landed on Ronner's face. "I forgive you . . . "

"I forgive you."

Those words resonated in his mind, shattering everything he had believed in for fifteen years.

Hatred, lust, greed . . .

Those shallow feelings had never filled the emptiness of his chest.

Yet those simple words had given him that peace not even all the money and power in the universe could ever buy.

"Thank you . . . " Ronner murmured as blood began to fill his throat. "Thank you for everything."

Brisa returned a tender smile and slowly leaned on him. Her warm lips touched his, sending waves of peace throughout his whole body, causing his tears to flow again as they did fifteen years ago when life had taken everything from him.

Ronner realized he'd live forever in the woman he loved and the fruit she carried in her.

In the end, it seems like what kept me alive for this long was my endless search for a reason to die . . . Don't you agree, old hag?

You've already found it . . .

Not a reason to die. A reason to live forever. Join me on this journey, boy.

We're gonna walk the bowels of hell again, grandma?

That's where we belong. We're demons, this is our home. She chuckled. I've been waiting for you here, my dear boy.

So be it, old hag.

Ronner smirked and stared at Brisa for the last time.

"Tell my kid that I loved him, and despite all, I truly loved his mother."

Tears welled up in Brisa's eyes as she tightened the grip around his body. She nodded.

Ronner allowed his head to rest, leaning on Brisa's arms, and finally, his heart stopped.

. . .

Silence.

At the gates of hell, Ronner caught a glimpse of a better future.

His boy would change the fate of many.

Rem . . . Please, take care of them.

As the first sunbeam of the morning seeped through the mountains, an immortal warrior had left the earth.

A demon turned human.

His name was Ronner.