Apex walked down the hallway in silence. He touched his ear. Which broke that silence.
/I believe him Apex./
"Why?"
/He wanted the ring more than the pendant. Don't you find that odd?/
"Worldeaters are unpredictable. Power is all they care about."
/But that's the thing! That ring was useless, most likely sentimental to him. But what I find more interesting was his heartbeat./
"You recorded?"
/I scanned, but I logged it. F173, his heart rate increased to the same level when you mentioned its resurrection potential./
"Doesn't matter. I have a meeting."
/I know but think about it. He used non lethal force. He carries divine artifacts… this isn't normal./
"So, you want me to vouch for him?"
/Would it get me deleted if I said yes?/
"It would."
/Then I'll say yes./
Apex stopped.
"Don't joke like that Athena."
/Apex, I agree. It's an odd… calculation. I think I'm right./
"Log off Athena."
/Logging off. Good luck Apex!/
His boots clicked against the sterile floor, the hum of the overhead lights blending with the distant whine of hovercrafts outside. He had been summoned for a classified debriefing.
About the Worldeater.
He entered the office.
General Gears sat behind a polished oak desk, hands folded. His slicked-back grey hair and precisely trimmed mustache gave him the look of a man who had never once lost control.
Apex saluted and stood at attention. "Sir!"
"Soldier Apex Nova number five hundred fifty five," Gears said. "Take a seat."
He did.
Gears tapped a button on the desk. A video flickered into view above them, Willow, chained and fireless, slamming his fists against the wall of his cell. Cell block guards rushing in and throwing him to the ground.
"Let's begin," the General said. "Inmate F173. You believe the footage? His story?"
"I do," Apex replied without hesitation. "He lied once. But also told the truth. Everything matched. His guilt… it's genuine."
Gears leaned back, arms crossed.
"This changes everything Ben. A Worldeater who is not like the others, who claims to be trying to save a world. The one he destroyed."
Apex's voice was calm, ignoring that General Gears broke protocol saying his real name. "Yes, sir. I reviewed the combat footage. His power output was well above my expectations for a World Harboring World Eater. Two hits dropped my armor's shields by over 50%."
Gears raised an eyebrow. "That much? Did we not give you the new prototype?"
"Yes, sir. You did. And more concerning…" Apex looked directly at him. "He held back."
Silence.
Gears stood, walking to the wide window. Flying cars streaked through the air beyond the skyline.
"The Gods are selfish," he muttered. "They can't play in their own worlds, so they meddle in ours. It's rare to find a Worldeater who's destroyed his own world and feels guilty. But never have we found one trying to restore it."
"Sir, never had we encountered such an anomaly," Apex's voice grew stern. "If such a thing were possible we'd have heard of it."
Gears turned back. "This Willow… he carried not one, but two divine artifacts. The ring, linked to a soul. A soul bound to a Goddess. We're assuming the Goddess of Shadow he mentioned. The necklace, directly tied to him. Non-transferable. No one else can use it. That's a shame. It could resurrect armies."
Apex said nothing.
Gears's gaze sharpened. "That makes two Gods who entrusted him with power. Whether that is to save or destroy, we still do not know. We cannot assume either but we can use this."
"With respect, sir," Apex said, "Inmate F173 committed the gravest crime imaginable. He erased a world. That cannot go unpunished."
Gears's face hardened.
Then, slowly, he spoke.
"I understand, but Apex, how many Worldeaters have we encountered that we could not defeat?"
"Abyss, Calamity, Nightmare, Lilithia, Aiko Stand, Emperor Ghidro and Ekaj Nosnhoj."
"Yes and all were similar, chasing power. And even worse, they keep gaining power. They are infectious. They spawn like roaches. And now we have a chance to fight fire with fire."
"That's what the prototype is for. Sir, we can't trust a Worldeater."
"Elora, she was killed by a Worldeater was she not?" Gears gave him a glare.
Apex went silent.
Nightmare…
"Do not allow emotions to sway your thoughts." Gears said.
"But sir, assisting Worldeaters is a greater crime- "
"This is why that A.I. was never deleted. Your impulses are your weakness. I've made a decision. We're releasing him, he will be on parole."
Apex didn't blink.
"You'll supervise the mission he claims to be on as his officer," Gears continued. "You will record everything. Observing him is the mission. If he steps out of line, you bring him in. Or take him down."
"Understood."
General Gears gazed back out the window.
That elf seemed attached to that ring…
"And the artifacts?" Apex asked.
"Return them," Gears said. "We have analyzed them. They are useless to us. Also, he has a weird obsession with that ring, giving it back could put us in his good graces, and it should lead to cooperation."
Apex stood and saluted. "Understood, sir."
"Dismissed."
****
Hours later.
Apex stood outside Cell 13 looking at the screen.
/It's like he's fire made flesh./
Willow sat inside, shackled due to his recent outburst after his interrogation, surrounded by the sterile cold of reinforced nullifier fields. His red cloak lay folded on the cot beside him. Even without magic, his eyes burned, of hot coals refusing to die.
/The elf near death. Yet-/
"Agreed, even zeroed on magic with the extra nullifiers he still fights. He would make an extraordinary super solider."
/Wow thats coming from you, what praise! We could always force him through the procedure./
"No Athena, that pain will break even the hardest of wills, even with sedation."
/I was kidding. Hey, be nice to him ok? He's had a rough day./
Apex opened the door.
Willow tried to rise instantly but instead he rose slowly and stubbornly, with fire in his gaze despite the collar around his throat.
"What do you want?" He said, his voice sharp.
Apex stepped forward. Pressing the remote, releasing Willow from his shackles and turning off the extra nullifiers.
Willow's withered body changed. His skin was sucked to his bones. Now it recovered and he looked healthy.
"We're offering you a deal."
He held out two items.
The black ring and the phoenix amulet.
Willow snatched them, one in each hand, as if they were his lifeline. He held them close, clutched like they were the last real hope he had left.
Willow's voice cracked. "…Why? You could have kept these. Used them. Why return them?"
Apex's face remained unreadable.
"Because I was ordered to."
He turned to leave.
Then paused.
"And because we intend to supervise you. And use you. We are going to figure out whose side you are on."
Apex stared back.
"Let's go, that's an order."