Chapter 86: Eighty Five
Everything around swirled and grew more and more distorted, and then out of nowhere I was back in the field. It wasn't my field though. I can't explain what was different or how it was different, it just felt different. I looked down and I was still holding the glowing ring. I turned to face Zephyr, but he wasn't there, Merlin was. He looked like the Merlin that taught me all I know, but he wasn't the same person, I think.
He congratulated me on "winning" and told me to put on the ring and finish his business. I reminded him how he told me to keep my heart pure, and he told me that he killed before, and the stone still chose him regardless. He told me intent is the judge of the pureness of one's heart. Merlin told me that killing one person won't taint my heart, but I didn't believe him.
Kevin then appeared and told me what Merlin said was true and how intent is the true dictator of corruption and pureness. I asked him if I would change if I were to put on the ring, and he told me that it would be for the better. With the power of the ring, I can bring peace to the world, and no one would ever have to suffer the pain of losing the people they love.
I was still a bit skeptical until the king and queen showed up and reinstated Kevin's and Merlin's words. They said that the ring would provide me with the power and wisdom to make the world a better place for everyone. All I had to do was give into its power and put it on. With its power, I would be able to protect everyone I love and I'll never have to suffer the pain of losing them.
One last person came up to me, and told me to put on the ring. She was a rather young woman, who had the same eyes as I. I asked her who she was, and she told me that her name was Aaliyah, and she was my mother. Before I could ask her anything, she told me that in order for me to know more about her, I needed to put on the ring. If I put on the ring, she would always be right beside me.
I stared at the ring as everyone around me chanted to put it on, but right before I did, something they said didn't sit right with me. Putting on the ring would almost certify Zephyr's demise, so why did his lover, his guardian, and his own mother want me to kill him so badly? That's when I realised. None of them were real. They were all figments of my imagination made by the ring to make me put it on.
I closed my eyes and slowly crushed the ring, and as I did, it played the screams of horror from that same ballroom that traumatized me months earlier. When I finally opened my eyes, Zephyr was livid. He tried to hit me with his magic, but I placed my hand on his head and knocked him out before he could.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone