Sunset woke up feeling awful. Her mouth was dry, and her head felt like it had been hit with a brick. She tried to move, but her arms and legs wouldn’t budge. Sunset looked down and saw that she was tied very tightly to a chair.

Sunset looked around her surroundings. She was in a concrete room that was lit by a fluorescent light. Hanging from the walls were various weapons, all made of a dark, metallic material.

Sunset tried to remember what happened. She remembered charging at the stranger who killed Wallflower, then there was a bright light and everything went black.

Sunset then noticed a metal door on one side of the room. It slid open, and the stranger walked in holding a chair. The stranger set the chair down across from Sunset and then sat on it.

“Where am I?! Who are you?! What are you going to do to me!?” Sunset shouted at the stranger.

The stranger leaned forward and put their hands together. “Questions. Questions, questions, questions. You don’t seem to know much for someone who has mastered magic.”

Sunset was confused and irritated. “What are you talking about?”

“You. It all began with you. You’re the one who brought magic into this world. You spread the disease. You are patient zero.”

“Why are you killing people who have used magic?”

The stranger sat upright. “To save this world from the fate that had befallen mine.”

Sunset was surprised. “You’re not from this world?”

“No. I come from a world that is long gone. A world destroyed by magic and those that wielded it.”

“What happened?”

“My world was imperfect. There was hunger, disease, and poverty. People were fighting each other all the time. Things became bleak. People lost hope. Then someone discovered magic. We didn’t know where it came from, but it fascinated us. A few began to study magic, and they soon mastered it. They used their powers to fix my world. They made the soil fertile and grew more crops. Diseases were eradicated. Homes were built, and peace was negotiated between those who hated one another.”

Sunset listened intently.

“Soon the magic users even opened up schools to teach others how to use magic. Everything was finally going right. Until it all went wrong.”

“How did it go wrong?”

“Not everyone in my world was adept at mastering magic. Only a very few could wield it. There were then arguments that magic users should be the ones in charge of society. People even preached that magic users were better than the rest of society. Some magic users disagreed with this, but most became drunk on their fame and power. They took the highest seats in government and in society. They claimed that because they had the power to save the world they were above doing what the rest of the population had to do.”

Sunset could not believe what she was hearing.

“Soon the magic wielders became drunk on their own power. They believed that they were gods. Those that had taken up political positions refused to step down. Soon they started making laws that violated the rights of the people, but there were those who believed that the magic wielder's word was holy, and they enforced what the magic wielders wanted.”

Sunset still could not believe what she was hearing.

“My world became a fascist shithole. Everyone was oppressed, and the ones who kissed up to the ones in charge were too stupid to see the broken world around them. The minority who did wield magic and opposed the ones in power tried to fight back, but they were quickly destroyed. Some went underground to form a resistance. I was one of them.”

A startling realization then dawned on Sunset. She was just like the magic wielders from the stranger’s world who abused their power. She stole Princess Twilight’s crown and became so drunk on its power that she turned into a demon. If she hadn’t been defeated by the power of friendship and redeemed, she would have done to this world what the magic wielders did to the stranger’s world.

“Why are you wearing a mask?”

“It helps me to breathe.” The stranger then opened up their cloak to reveal a metallic chestplate. “And this keeps my heart beating.”

Sunset was about to ask why the stranger needed those when they continued speaking.

“I was a member of the underground resistance. We wanted to take our world back from the magic wielders. We used sabotage and propaganda to fight back, but it wasn’t enough. Eventually we stumbled across a metallic substance that we deemed magicite. It has the ability to nullify magic. That is what my weapons are made of. One day I was leading a group on a recon mission when we were ambushed. My group was killed and I was taken prisoner. I was brought before the magic wielders who demanded that I tell them where our main base was located, but I refused to talk. That is when they tortured me.”

“You were tortured?”

“I was waterboarded, electrified, beaten, forced to stay awake, and burned, but I still would not talk. Eventually the magic wielders took things into their own hands. I was held down as they used a gravity spell to apply massive pressure to my chest. My ribs shattered, damaging my lungs and heart. The Magic wielders then used their powers to surround me in a mini tornado made of broken glass. My face was destroyed. The chest plate and mask not only helps me to breathe, it also covers up this.”

The stranger removed their mask. What Sunset saw made her want to scream. His face was completely torn up. What was left was obviously not his original shin. He had a patchwork of different skins sewn together in a crude attempt to give him a face. There was no trace of a nose. He looked like a jigsaw puzzle.

Author's Note

We explore the killer's backstory/