18 Years Ago

I had just been hired by The Manipulator, to be his personal executioner. I had no reason to do it other than money. I didn't need that much, I already have a shitload of money.

Bright had one of the worst underground societies. Second to Dettory. Crime level of the country was low because very few or very small crimes were caught. Every cop you look at might have been in someone's pocket.

The Manipulator, Eric had Shine-B. Dark Kin had Shine-C. They met up one day in Shine-A. To talk about sharing the land 50-50. Since they got there, their organizations had been fighting. Tons of people were killed in the process.

Dark Kin proposed a parlay. Something they would need to lessen bloodshed on both sides. The two never actually got involved directly in the fights. They were forbidden to do so by the sorcery world. Using their magic publicly would mean an immediate execution. Not just the two, but their entire organization would be burned to the ground.

Why didn't the sorcery world do it anyway? I have no idea. Maybe the sorcerers benefited from their crimes somehow.

In that meeting, there was me with Eric, Cathy Mcarthy and Dark Kin. Cathy and I were already friends by that point. We just faked being enemies. She asks me to hook up every now and then.

"Kin, what do you want?"

"I suggest a 50-50 split for Shine-A. You take west and south, I take east and north."

"Why?"

"Too much blood."

There was something weird about Kin. He always seemed to be having a monologue within himself. Long pauses as if he thinks that long. Does he think that long? Doesn't seem to be the case. I didn't care much about it.

"Too much innocent blood. I half care if it's my men, don't care if it's yours, but innocent people... I learnt to not bring them into my crimes." Kin claimed

"What, you got soft?"

"It's not tha-"

"Look, I don't give a shit. They don't die by MY hands. Not all of 'em anyway. If my men kills them, then so be it."

"How about a 40-60 split? Would you do that?"

"15-85."

"35-65."

"Hm... 30-70."

Kin paused for a very long moment. He looks like he's contemplating. Fighting himself by the looks of it.

"Deal."

That deal lasted only a few days. Kin was naïve. Or just blatantly ignorant. After the forces were split 30-70, Eric killed off that 30 in one day. And it was public. A lot of people were caught in the crossfire. Once Kin knew, he didn't care anymore, and went to kill Eric.

In 12 minutes, Shine-A was destroyed. While trying to kill Eric, Kin kept talking to himself. Like an open conversation but it was all to himself. I don't think he had any comms.

Kin killed more people than Eric did that day. To stop him I killed him. That's how I was involved. Cathy tried to save lives. Kai was also there that day, so were a lot of other sorcerers from the three clans, Hinora clan mostly.

The only reason I could land a killing blow on Kin was because he wanted to die. He was overwhelmed with guilt. Then after that, within the first 3 years, things were at chaos. Just as Eric predicted it would be. He took advantage of it by taking almost 80 percent of organizations in Dettory and he lay claim to the ones in Shine-B and Shine-C.

That was when Cathy, Kai, and I teamed up to kill Eric. Because I wanted out. I was also overwhelmed with guilt. I joined Eric not even for my own self-interest, but for money I didn't need. But guilt was a secondary factor. I kind of became indifferent to Eric's crimes that I just let him use me for what he wants.

The moment I wanted to quit was the moment I found out I was pregnant. I remembered a conversation with Cathy around 6 months before I found out I was pregnant.

"Is there really nothing else I could do?"

"You mean?"

"After I joined Eric, I could have anything I want bought with money. But, it just-"

"Doesn't make you happy."

"Yeah. I just thought maybe there's a life out there for me that is afar from killing people."

"You really want that kind of life? Even after everything?"

"Maybe I'm being optimistic, but I believe I deserve at least one chance."

"Then quit."

"How?"

"Kill Eric. I've taken down most of his organizations with Kai in Dettory. But the heart is in Bright. With you, we could destroy him."

Destroy him? I dunno about that. Maybe I could try to quit. Two and a half months later I asked Eric to quit.

But he somehow seduced me to stay with him. I was an idiot. I thought he was being genuine. It was just a lie to get me to stay. Then I found out I was pregnant. At that moment, I was overwhelmed with hope. My ticket to get out. A reason to live beyond killing.

So I did what Cathy told me. Her, Kai, and me. The three of us took down almost all of his organizations in Bright.

The three of us went on to kill him, but he had THAT ring. We were able to wound him but he got away. 'Till this day, I haven't seen him again.