Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm

"That is not the point," snapped Xing Xin Ya as she attempted to stare me down. I say attempted because even though I was still sitting on my throne and she was standing, the glare on her face did nothing but make me amused.

"That is exactly the point," I said, not caring about how much her men didn't like what I was saying. It was a fact. It was more humane to kill them in their sleep than to have them awake and understand what was going on. Or, heaven forbid, let them flee, thinking that they were running to freedom only to cut them down from behind.

Huh, that last one seemed a bit fun. Maybe I would store that in my bank just in case we met with any more military or bikers. I would have added Reavers to that list, but I know that they would never run.

"There are women and children here," she pressed. Her face softened, and it almost looked like she was trying to plead with me for mercy.

"And?" I asked with a sigh. I was well aware that there were women and children here. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if there were even babies. Maybe I could let the babies live. After all, it's not like they would have had any flesh. Unless their parents fed them broth made from humans. I would have to think about that for a moment.

"You can't kill women and children. You are not that type of person. You even gave us a car!"

I was stunned by her logic, not sure how my giving them a car to get away from the people trying to kill them meant that I couldn't kill others. "I will kill them," volunteered Liu Yu Zeng as he approached my throne. He picked me up in his arms and turned so that he was sitting on the throne, and I was sitting on his lap.

He called his black mists to him and was about to send them out, but I quickly stopped him. This would be no different from letting Violence take over the killings just so I didn't have to feel bad.

I had just finished promising myself that would become stronger. I could do this.

Yes, it was sad that men, women, and children were going to die at my hands. But it needed to be this way. Besides, if they ever found out what they were eating, they might just choose to kill themselves instead. Especially since the ones to be cooked first were normally the children. Easier to explain their disappearance, and the meat was more tender.

'Are you sure? You don't have to push yourself so hard. I know you have been improving. Just take little steps and let me or your man do the killing,' said Violence, her voice surrounding me in a blanket of warm acceptance.

I smiled as I looked at Liu Yu Zeng. "I need to do this," I said, holding my head up.

"Then you do what you need to do, and the rest of us will support you however you need it," said Chen Zi Han putting his hand on my shoulder. I could feel him staring down Xing Xin Ya and her men, almost daring them to make a move.

I smiled at him before I closed my eyes. Forgetting about the world, I concentrated on the feeling of all the flames around me. "You are getting better," said Violence, and I quickly opened my eyes. Thinking that the flames would have disappeared when I broke my concentration, I was surprised to see exactly what was going on. 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟ｅｌ．𝚌ｏ𝚖

I was still sitting on my ice throne, but instead of being surrounded by my men, I was inside the same throne room where I had watched Violence arguing with Romance and Sadness. "Why am I here?" I asked, confused. "And why can I hear you?"

"You pulled yourself in here when you were thinking of the flames," said Violence as she walked down the purple carpet in front of me. "And you can hear me because here, I am just as much flesh and blood as you are."

"Huh," I said with a shrug. I really wished that Liu Yu Zeng was here, I could use a few of his jokes to break the tense atmosphere that seemed to permeate the room. "Learn something new every day. Anyway you are willing to tell me exactly where we are?"

Before Violence could answer my question, Liu Yu Zeng's voice appeared out of nowhere. "You know, I said that I would follow you to Hell and back, but a creepy throne room was not part of the deal."

I looked up to see my Joker standing beside my throne, leaning his arm against the back. "You okay, Sweetness?" he asked softly, a look of concern etched over his face.

"Yes," I answered with a shrug like it was no big deal to suddenly find yourself in some weird place with no idea how you got there. "Sorry to drag you in here."

Liu Yu Zeng crouched down so that he was at eye level with me before gently taking my face in his hands. "Drag me anywhere you want me. I told you this before, and I will tell you this again. I want to be by your side, I need to be by your side. If I woke up one morning and you weren't there, I would hunt you down to the ends of the world and into the next if necessary. Don't ever apologize for bringing me to your side."

"Sir, yes, Sir," I joked before turning my attention back to violence and the pink flames hanging in the air above our heads. "What are they?" I asked. I was pretty sure that I knew what they were, I just didn't understand what was going on.

"These are the flames from the people at the compound. Every last one. Including Xing Xin Ya, her men, and yours. Well, except for Liu Yu Zeng," explained Violence as she nodded at him in greeting.

"They are awaiting your judgment."