The Bad vs. The Best

Ru was staring at himself in the woman's deep blue eyes. It felt like facing his own reflection in the raging waters of a fierce ocean. Cool, powerful, and salty—those were exactly his feelings.

A voice inside him whispered, "Enough."

"This humiliation... it's enough."

"I didn't choose this. I never wanted to be like this. To be born this way..."

The child within him screamed, "I didn't choose this!"

Almighty Ru knew he carried the tainted essence of his mother. He saw himself as nothing more than a corrupted copy. Being born male was either nature's joke or its revenge. Mother Nature had never loved him. He had never been accepted for what he was. To everyone, he was a creature. His beauty was toxic, his essence impure.

That's why he had tried to prove himself. One of the ways was to defeat his father—the one who had contributed to his creation—and take his essence to grow stronger. But had he wanted power for himself?

No.

"I just wanted to drive the dragons out of my land."

It was such an innocent yet powerful answer that his last clone easily pushed the dark sorceress away.

As the flames in his eyes shifted from green to yellow, he growled, his voice deep, feral, and unsettling. "This humiliation must end!"

He stood up at once and made his way to the desk. The parchment and quill were waiting. Pulling out the chair, he sat down with unwavering determination.

"I'm signing the contract. And I will win. I will absolutely... absolutely win."

A wild grin spread across Amunet's face. "We'll see."

Ru skimmed the terms. Each clause was worse than the last, but all were acceptable. His gaze fell on the wish phrase, restoring his mind to a calm state. If he won the game, what would he want?

More power?

Freedom?

Purify and restore his true essence?

To be loved?

Fame?

Perhaps wealth...

"The destruction of my enemies," Almighty Ru suggested.

But Ru remained indifferent to the idea. From what little he had learned in his short life, there would always be new enemies. As for the old ones... their complete eradication would only be possible if he ceased to exist. "For example, the genie sultan."

"Maybe more power," Almighty Ru offered. But Ru knew Almighty Ru was already overwhelmingly powerful. He had stolen the strength of other beings, transforming into a mutant of sorts.

"May we restore our core?" Almighty Ru pondered. Deep down, he truly wanted that. But his last clone would die before the game even began. How much of the stolen power from ancient beings had transferred to the clone remained unknown. On top of that, his original self had never been accepted. He had never truly felt like a woman.

"A pointless wish," he concluded.

"Should we choose freedom?" Ru wondered. Almighty Ru opposed the idea. After all, once the game started, he would leave the crystal tower, even if it meant dying.

"What about being loved?" The question made them both chuckle. Truthfully, they both longed for love, but winning love through a mere wish?

"Fame?" Ru asked innocently.

"We're famous enough already, in case you haven't noticed," Almighty Ru replied.

"And what do we owe our fame to?" Ru mused.

No answer.

Ru rested his elbow on the desk, placing his chin in his palm, deep in thought. He must have dozed off, for the next moment, he found himself in the same room—only drained of color.

"What's going on?" He blurted out, jumping to his feet. As he scanned his surroundings, he noticed the room's image was flickering. Amunet was still nearby, but like everything else, she was nothing more than a blur.

The view that should have been outside the window was replaced by a pitch-black sky. The stars were unnaturally bright—moving.

"What the hell is this?" Ru asked.

Just then, the stars shifted, changing positions. The trails of light they left behind formed letters.

'I created a safe space.'

Signed: Original Handsome

"Good thinking," Ru said with a grin. Then, hesitantly, he turned around. Amunet was nothing more than a silhouette pasted onto the background. Even so, he asked, "Can the sorceress sense us? Can she read my mind?"

'She can't do shit,' the sky spelled out.

"Excellent," Ru said cheerfully. "Now, let's talk about the wish. Or... write about it."

'You must wish to take over the planet Earth. And we will rule humans forever, happy ending.'

"So you want me to wish for the Earth to be taken over? That's an interesting wish."

'Don't joke around. My planet is already destroyed. Even if I go back, I have no place to live.' Almighty Ru's text appeared like an unwelcome reminder.

"You can live on Earth, like me," Ru said with a half-hearted grin, sitting on the desk. "You don't have to conquer it."

'Can I crawl in the world like you?'

When this text appeared, Ru just smiled and paced around the room, his footsteps light but restless. He opened the balcony door with both wings, only to be met by a dark sky and unbearable cold. His brow furrowed as he quickly slammed the doors shut.

“The world is ending,” he whispered softly, his tone laced with sorrow.

The stars glowed with words, 'Okay, we will save your planet; calm down,' but the reassurance felt as hollow as the world outside.

"May I ask what happened to your planet?" Ru muttered, grabbing the contract from the table and flopping onto the couch.

'Titans destroyed my planet.' Almighty Ru wrote.

Ru blinked, the lightness in his voice vanishing. "What? Titans?" His hand swiped at the words in the air as if to brush them away.

Text flashed: 'You thought it was me, didn't you—that I destroyed Planet Arinna?'

A dry chuckle escaped Ru's lips. "Almighty Ru, who ruins everything, may have sent an invitation to the Titans."

The spacing between the letters has been reduced: 'No. If you could hear my voice, you'd know how serious I am.'

"Use emojis, king," Ru teased, raising an eyebrow and stretching his legs out on the couch.

'I will try:/'

Ru glanced at the text, trying to ignore the pit forming in his stomach. "If you had nothing to do with the Titans and the destruction of your planet, why are you imprisoned? Who put you there?"

'I stole something from the Tree of Knowledge. Its guardian caught me. That's why :( <3'

Ru smiled faintly, his fingers tapping against the edge of the contract. "Fu mentioned this," he said softly, the name lingering like a forgotten melody.

'Never mind Fu now :*'

Ru's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. "Didn't you ever love your brother? Is he that unimportant to you?"

'Who asked you for lessons in brotherhood? Meeting with Lord Dekaris has had a bad effect on you. ><'

"Maybe you're right." Ru sank deeper into the couch, his voice a little softer now.

'They took our blood and gave it to the girl. So the vampire chick became our slave. ;) <3'

Ru shook his head, his voice sharp again. "I don't know... would someone who lived through slavery want to enslave someone else? It's ridiculous."

'Why wouldn't I want to? :)'

Ru sighed, rubbing his temples. "Let me start by saying, I may not be a good guy. But I'm not a jerk."

'Oh my, oh my, is a hero in the making? :)'

"Heroism's not for me," Ru said flatly.

'Sovereignty's not for you either. What is for you?'

Ru hesitated, staring at the ceiling as if it held some secret answer. "I want to be the most loved. I want fans. And yes, I don't want to worry about money. In short, I want to be a famous musician."

'When the world is ours, we will be the most loved musicians ;)'

"No, you don't understand." Ru leaned forward, eyes flickering with determination. "If we're going to dominate the world, the Earthlings should willingly give us what we want. We must be chosen, wanted."

'Some people adore you, some people hate you. That's what it means to be strong. (*_*)'

Ru whispered softly, "But I don't want to be adored." He drew a heart in the air with his fingers. "I just want to be loved."

'Maybe it's time to remind you that being loved isn't such a beautiful thing after all (- - )'

"You? You're loved, huh?" Ru let out a disbelieving laugh. "Incredible."

'Keep joking around. Even in my human form—your form—I am the most desired ;) <3'

"I am not what is wanted," Ru corrected, his voice growing darker. "I'm not the one who's loved. They want the genie's name, the heart of the demon king, and the blood—whose owner is unknown. But love? This presents a unique challenge."

'My blood belongs to me, my dear <3 ;)'

Ru's lips tipped up in a smile, but it wasn't reflected in his eyes. "Where is my heart? Our heart? Answer that, you."

'I think it's inside my ribs. Maybe it's merged with the demon king's heart. Or maybe the demon's heart has already eaten it. :)'

"What?"

'This is what happened. O_= No problem <3.'

"How can you not care about your heart?"

'How do you think I've endured all this suffering my whole life, my whole life?'

"You talk nonsense," Ru said, his fingers curled into the fabric of the couch. "Big nonsense."

'Look, the plan is simple. You take your puppet and train it. ;)'

"And you'll eat the ancient spirit that enters my puppet, right?"

'No, I'll merge with you. Then eat the spirit ;) <3 Bam! Ru the champion!!!'

Ru's eyes rolled. "If the other players do nothing or fight each other, we might slip through."

'I'll take care of everything. :) Just don't dig into the past.'

"Well," Ru trailed off and sat on the couch. "The genie can also enter the game, just so you know."

'Fuck the genie!'

Ru laughed bitterly. "Feels more like the genie fucks you."

'Shut your mouth! :/'

Ru yawned and stretched lazily. "If you have nothing to say, I'd like to rest."

'I hope you don't screw up big o_0 < Gn ;)'

The glowing text blinked once more before fading into the shadows. Ru lay down on the couch, closing his eyes. Sleep was already pulling him under when, almost instinctively, he raised his hand and made a slicing motion through the air. Opening one eye cautiously, he glanced around. No strange presence. No unseen force was creeping into his mind.

"Did I succeed?"

Without hesitation, he seized the pen and, with a sharp stroke, inscribed his wish onto the contract. The ink gleamed under the dim light, sealing his resolve.

"No one will ever call you a bad king, Almighty Ru—not a king, not anything at all."