The Girl With The Crimson Eyes

43: A Demon Turned Human

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?"