Jack spent the rest of his day avoiding John unsuccessfully, trying his best to blend in with crowds, or sitting silently in the back of the room, but to no avail, since John seemed to have some sort of Jack-detector. Everywhere he went, John would follow while repeatedly asking for an explanation, but Jack would just shake his head and ignore him, hoping his pursuer would get bored, and leave him alone. However it did not, continuing for the rest of the day until Jack went home, and was able to shake John off his back by ducking in and out of alleyways, and running on a couple of rooftops.

Jack returned home mentally exhausted from the day’s events, and went straight to bed, collapsing on the soft mattress that hugged his body and relaxed his muscles. He was asleep within moments, even though the night was still young, only about seven in the evening and the sun just setting and turning the sky a deep golden color. Jack slept deeply that night, and, unbeknownst to him, was joined by two others laying on either side of him and resting close. The third was denied this out of fear for Jack’s virginity, and the third submitted, knowing she would likely get nowhere anyway while the other two were present.

The next morning, Jack woke up alone and looked around at his surroundings, noticing his night vision had significantly improved, and he could see normally in the poorly illuminated room. Jack climbed out of bed, and immediately began his morning routine, which started with a shower, noticing when he exited his room that it was still dark outside, and the rest of the world was still asleep. He saw Val and Jenny sleeping on the couch, practically on top of each other, their legs meeting in the middle and tying a human knot while their heads on either side of the couch, sleeping soundly. Fae was nowhere to be seen, and had probably left, going wherever it is she goes to sleep.

‘It’s good they get along so well, since Jenny doesn’t really have many female friends. Actually, now that I think about it, she doesn’t have many friends at all, which is probably the reason she is so overprotective of me.’

Jack let out a sigh, feeling slightly sentimental while looking at the girl who was seemingly his polar opposite, and thinking about how lucky he was to have such a good friend.

(I think you may have got it a bit backwards, but it’s less scary to think of it that way, I guess.)

Ellis appeared, materializing in front of Jack, a familiar voice with an unfamiliar face, stretching out her arms as if just waking up, though it was more likely she was just enjoying her freedom. She flipped her hair back, and let the long curly blond hair tumble down her shoulders, and her ruby-red eyes meet Jack’s as she drifted closer.

‘Don’t follow me into the bathroom please, I’m going to take a shower.’

Jack turned to his right, and opened the brown wooden door, entering his bathroom with a towel in hand, and Ellis following closely behind.

(Why not? I’ve seen you naked plenty of times while trapped in your head. Why are beings so obsessed with nudity and mating? The gods were this way too, but I never really understood why.)

Watching her talk gave Jack a feeling similair to seeing your favorite voice actor in a live-action movie, and almost seemed like the voice didn’t fit the person’s looks. Jack closed the door behind him, and Ellis floated straight through without any effort, stopping when he turned to face her.

‘You really don’t understand? You’re the goddess of love right? Mating is a big part of love... I think. In any case, in most human cultures, it is usually only done with someone as a way to express your love. Kind of like the next level of a kiss.’

Ellis seemed curious, watching Jack with big eyes as he explained the importance of mating with a slight blush. Just because he was surrounded by girls now, does not mean he had enough confidence to discuss intercourse with them as if it was nothing.

(Really?)

‘Well, that’s kind of how I look at it.’

But I don’t think Fae loves you, so why would she do it? If you don’t love her, and she doesn’t love you, then what do either of you gain by mating?)

Ellis’s ignorance of human culture nearly gave Jack a heart attack, and he quickly shooed her out of the bathroom. She reluctantly obeyed, turning away with a disappointed look on her face before drifting through the door.

‘That goddess is going to be the death of me.’

Jack turned away from the door, and proceeded to shower, got dressed, ate breakfast while ignoring Ellis’s persistent questions, and proceeded to leave the house, making sure not to wake the girls. Jack had enjoyed his early morning stroll the previous morning, and thought it might be a good idea to go for a walk until the phone store opened, which, Jack assumed, would be around eight. He looked up at the sky as he left the building, and from what he knew about himself, it was probably around midnight, or earlier since he just went through a magical enhancement.

Ellis sensed that Jack was enjoying the silence, and decided not to interrupt, instead indulging herself in his memories, specifically ones that focused on human reproduction.

Jack inhaled deeply, thinking about the past week and the events that transpired in that short amount of time. It was Saturday now, more than a week had passed since he met Ellis, though it felt like more, probably because every day had been packed with death-defying battles, and new, shocking developments that kept him busy. Now that things had calmed down a little, and there were no more pressing threats, Jack felt free from stress, and allowed himself to indulge in the quietness of the world around him.

Jack dug his hands deep into his pockets, and closed his eyes, relying on his other senses to lazily navigate himself down the sidewalk, and buildings that provided the only light on the street. It he continued this for a few minutes before a fearful voice filled his head, and cold water poured down his back, and spread out to the rest of his limbs.

(Jack... run...)

Ellis was almost whispering, but Jack had no idea what was happening, frantically searching the area for any threat no matter how small, but found none. The feeling of eyes watching him caused his back to tingle, and he turned, looking for the source, but only large, ominous buildings stood, casting deep shadows for an enemy to hide. However, the enemy didn’t come from the shadows.

“Hello... Jack... was it?”

Jack turned around and his eyes widened when he saw the figure standing in front of him, calm and collected, looking to be in his early twenties. The man stood comfortably, not really threatening Jack, but more just standing, as if naturally waiting for a response. Jack didn’t reply, shocked while trying to figure out how the man got behind him without making any sound, or even disturbing the wind enough for Jack to sense it. The man dressed casually, wearing blue jeans and a blue t-shirt that was mostly covered by a black jacket which made seem almost human.

An aura assaulted Jack, an oppressive feeling that weighed down on him, almost pushing him into the ground, but the man still showed no sign of hostility, only chuckling at Jack’s confusion.

“That’s alright, I assumed this might happen. I suppose it would be rude to not give you my name after appearing, and already knowing yours.”

The man shook his head, a bit of embarrassment at his own bad manners, then offered up a friendly hand.

“My name is Charles White, it’s nice to meet you.”

His voice was friendly, and Jack nearly accepted the hand subconsciously, but quickly stopped himself, and summoned up his magic. Jack did not forget, or take lightly the warning Ellis had given him earlier, and ejected magic out of his feet and right hand at full power, rocketing himself back at the speed of a bullet, the air around him breaking at the force, and shattering the windows of the nearby buildings. The man paused for a moment, retracting his hand, and releasing a sigh, while reaching up to scratch his head.

“Why does this always happen?”

He whispered, then vanished. Jack was still flying through the air, releasing more magic occasionally to maintain his speed while questioning Ellis.

‘Why did I have to run?’

(It’s a wraith! An upper class one at that! Usually a hero has to take one down, so all you can do now is hope it doesn’t decide to pursue you!)

‘What’s a wrai-‘

Jack’s thought was interrupted when a black blur streaked across the sky, from the direction Jack had just left, and slammed into his abdomen from his right side, blowing him away. Jack smashed through several buildings, and nearly lost consciousness as he was buried in the sixth or seventh building’s rubble, finally stopping. His entire body screamed in pain with every breath, and he gripped the side that was struck by the blur, feeling his ribs click and scrape with every little movement.

Jack pushed himself up, trying his best to ignore the pain that threatened his sanity, and let the concrete, and metal fall of his body, and clatter to the ground. The man Jack saw earlier was standing just outside of the newly made maw of the building, an apologetic look displayed on his face, as he held his hands up in front of him, as if wanting to help, but not knowing what to do.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry! I got a bit carried away, but I promise I didn’t mean to, I just wanted to talk.”

Charles White inhaled deeply, and Jack stood, waiting for the man to continue, all the while trying to think of a way out of the situation.

“What do you want?"

Jack forced out the words, barely able to breath because of his wounds, and his shirt, which was barely hanging on to him now, was slowly being drenched in sweat. Jack’s raspy breath filled the silence until Charles’ response came, still maintaining an apologetic tone as he continued.

“I see. Well, I know I’ve made a bad first impression, but I promise it was an accident, and I have an ogre friend who may be able to help with your injury. As for what I want, I simply have a proposition for you, and you may not like it at first, but please, hear me out.”

The man straightened, dusting himself off, and taking a more business-like tone over his previous one. The night deepened, and the world was much darker than when Jack left, only the stars and half-moon illuminating the world around the two. There were holes in each of the buildings behind Charles white, revealing the path Jack had taken after the attack, and creating more tension.

“I am organizing a... group, of exceptional beings, such as yourself, to realize a dream, one filled with peace and prosperity-a utopia, if you will-where all people can live together without fear of pain or suffering. Of course, I can’t stop death, no one can do that, but I think I can at least reduce some of the suffering, and make life a little more bearable.”

Charles rubbed his chin, sliding his palm down the front side while wrapping his fingers around it, as if stroking a beard, and choosing his next words carefully, his eyes trailing off as he was wrapped up in his thoughts.

“But... as do all dreams, there are certain... sacrifices that need to be made, both on our part, and the ones that will benefit.”

Jack’s expression darkened, he knew where this conversation was going, and he was already preparing to release more magic to escape. Noticing this, Charles quickly tried to settle Jack down, stepping forward and giving his explanation.

“Now, I know how that sounds, but it’s not like that. I have no desire to rule the humans, I only want to make this world a better place for both monsters and humans, while keeping both in check. Right now monsters are oppressed, both by gods and humans, and while most of them should be, not all of them are out to get humans, like ogres, and wraiths such as myself, yet we are constantly hunted and demonized solely for being different. I am simply proposing that we, for lack of a better metaphor, trim the hedges, and centralize each group in nice, even districts where humans and intelligent monster can live in peace, while the unintelligent ones can all live happily murdering each other to their heart’s content. It’s honestly a win-win situation.”

Jack was still standing defensively, magic brought to bare, but not using it since he knew there was no way to escape.

”And how would you achieve this separation?”

”Well, that is the tricky part, to keep everyone organized, and everything running smoothly, everyone would be given a specific task, and as long as they complete that task, and follow a certain set of rules. If they obey, then they will live happily in a peaceful world where everyone is treated equally.”

”And if they don’t?”

The wraith shrugged, confirming Jack’s suspicions and leaving him with only one more question, one that had been nagging at his mind since the conversation began.

“Why would you care about this? You’re already strong enough to survive if someone attacks, and you look human, so you don’t have to hide in the shadows.”

Charles smiled, remembering some far-off memory as he grabbed the base of his left ring finger with the thumb and index finger of his right hand, rubbing a small, golden ring that Jack had missed until now. The man became glassy eyed, snapping back to reality, and blinking the nostalgia away before returning to the conversation.

“I have... personal reasons. You can rest assured that I harbor no ill-will towards humans, and am only making the hard decision for the greater good of all that inhabit this planet.”

“That’s not your decision to make, Charles.”

Jack voiced his opinion calmly, but with plenty of caution, trying not to offend the wraith who was obviously emotionally involved in these plans. Charles white just shook his head, a light smile on his lips.

“You’re right, it’s not, but the people who should make this decision won’t because they are already cozy, building their empire on the lives of thousands. They waste perfectly good food, throwing it away because they don’t care for the taste, while others die of starvation with the dream of full stomachs in sight, only the lack of money holding them back.”

His face darkened, the anger inside him boiled up, overflowing in the air around him and blocking the stars from view.

“I’ve seen things, horrible things that no one should ever see, much less experience. In this world, you don’t have things that you own, you only have things that you lose, whether it’s today, or generations from now, no matter how much power you have, no matter how much you love something, you will lose it. Someone will take it from you, and you will never get it back. That’s what I am going to change.”

A look of determination replaced the anger, a passionate gaze met Jack’s face, and searched for a response, but found none. Jack maintained his poker face, not giving anything away as he stared back blankly.

“What do you say, Jack? You want to make the world a better place?”

Jack took a step forward, carefully measuring each step, and contemplating what Charles had told him.

“You underestimate humans. If you get burnt by a flame, you don’t suddenly have the right or ability to control it’s flow, or what it burns, you simply deal with the pain, or die from the wounds. Humans are uncontrollable, and will always resist peace because it isn’t in their nature. I’m sorry, but if you play with this fire, you’re going to get burnt, either by me, or someone stronger.”

Charles smiled at Jack, the friendliness gone, and a disappointed look replacing it as he listened to the ex-human’s point of view. Neither backed down, and the tension rose rapidly as the night air gently blew in and out of the now open building, and Jack prepared for a fight, creating a long whip on his right index finger that burned a hot pink color, while his left hand lit up, burning the remainder of his shirt into nothing.

“Well, I can’t say I’m not disappointed. I had high hopes for you, Jack, and I am very curious as to what kind of power you have, but... I respect your views, and will not pursue the argument any farther. However...”

Charles White emitted a threatening aura for the first time, directing the weight of his words solely at jack, who nearly collapsed under the pressure, and had to fight to stand.

“...if you interfere, we will have a disagreement, and it will not end with just one hit.”

The wraith stepped to the side, revealing the holes Jack had made when he received the blow earlier, then vanished, as if he was never there. Jack released himself, and collapsed on the rubble, holding his side in pain as a warm, wet substance filled his hand as he stared up at the stars that were once again visible.

(Jack, a-are you okay?)

Ella asked with a voice that revealed her fear, and she materialized in front of him, floating just above him while looking down.

‘Yeah, I’m fine, I’ll probably be healed by the time the girls wake up... are you okay?’

Ellis face distorted, tears became visible in her eyes, which gave the rubies a glassy coat, and making them look like real gems. Jack smiled reassuringly, shifting to a more comfortable position.

“It’s alright, I’m still here, and I don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon.”

Jack spoke the words out loud instead of thinking it, and her tears released, crying heavily as her image hugged him. Jack could barely tell she was touching him, but he, moved, holding his right arm up, and stroking the back of her head, his fingertips barely tingling with each stroke.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”

Jack made a mental note to steer clear of that wraith unless the situation became urgent, hopefully there were still gods that cared enough about humans to interfere. However, if it comes down to it, he will hopefully be able to separate Ellis from him completely before challenging it.

(Jack...)

Ellis had calmed down now, and was able to speak clearly, though she spoke in a soft voice that was still a bit shaken.

‘Yes?’

(Will you promise me something?)

‘Okay.’

There was a hesitation before the final response, and Jack thought she might have actually fallen asleep, but then the silence broke.

(After I come back all the way... will you... mate with me?)