Chapter Text
Sona sat in her dressing room, her darling wife, Davina, brushing her hair.
“Are you still sure about this show, love?” Davina asked. “That last threat…”
Sona was a musician who had earned intergalactic fame through the playing of her one-of-a-kind instrument, the Stringed Etwahl. Naturally, being so popular led to many cruel people taking shots at her, whether through trolling or death threats. The most recent one she received was blunt and to the point.
I will kill you.
Sona hated to admit it, but that bluntness compared to all the other threats she received throughout her career made it have a genuineness that made her feel uneasy. Usually, the death threats were filled with cussing and graphic descriptions of what her hater wanted, or, in most cases, pretended to have wanted, to do to her, and Sona and her friends and family usually laughed them off, even going on an uncensored talk show to have Davina read them out loud to the amusement of herself and the audiences. Everyone felt different about this last threat, and the heightened security, as a result.
“Maybe we should just cancel the show,” Davina suggested. “We can offer refunds and it’ll only be for a little bit. Just for the heat from this threat to die down.”
No. Sona signed, having been mute since the day she was born. We can not allow people like this to win. If I cancel this show, it’ll give this heartless person power over me. You don’t want that. Do you, beloved?
“No.” Davina sighed. “No, I don’t.”
We have guards patrolling the inside and out. Sona signed. I trust these men and so should you.
“I do trust them, I’m just worried,” Davina said.
Everything will be fine, beloved, Sona assured. Surely you trust my word?
“Without question, love.” Davina set down the brush and checked Sona’s hair.
“Sona.” One of the men who worked in the opera house she was playing in opened the door to the dressing room. “You’re on.”
Be right out. Sona gave the man a courteous nod.
“Uh…what?” The man cocked an eyebrow.
“She said she’d be right out,” Davina said.
“Oh, alright then!” The man closed the door.
Davina sighed, then turned Sona around in her chair to give her a good luck kiss. When they finished, Davina stroked Sona’s cheek, and the latter snuggled against it.
“Knock them dead for me, love.”
For you, beloved? Sona smiled. I’d killed the entire universe.
The audience sat in anticipation for the coming show. The theater was quiet, all except for the ambient chatter as the Opera House’s guests talked amongst themselves, but even as quiet as it was, the silence as Sona walked onto the stage with her Stringed Etwahl was deafening. She gave one last glance to Davina, who gave a warm smile and a thumbs up, then she began to play, expertly strumming the strings like she had done since she was a little girl.
As the show went on inside, something far more nightmarish was approaching the Opera House, using the shadows to hide from the guards.
“Mind watching this spot on your own?” A guard asked. “Just wanna take a quick smoke break.”
“It’s cool.” The other guard nodded.
The guard walked away from the front door and turned into the alley, pulling out his lighter and cigarette pack. As he pulled out a fresh cigarette, some movement in the darkness was caught in his peripheral vision.
“Hey, who’s there?!” The guard whispered.
No answer.
Dropping his cigarette, the guard used his lighter to see in the darkness.
“I said, who is-” The guard was cut off by a garrote wrapping around his throat.
The other guard at the front door heard the sounds of a struggle in the alleyway.
“Jackson? You okay?” The guard called.
No answer came, but the noises stopped. The guard readied his taser as he walked towards the darkness. Before he could even round the corner, a figure casually strolled out of the shadows, slitting his throat with a small blade without even breaking his stride. The guard held his throat in shock, fell to his knees, and then lifeless to the ground. The killer briefly stopped to watch the man die, then unholstered his hand cannon, and opened the doors to the opera house’s lobby, greeted by an army of shocked guards. The killer smirked and raised his weapon.
Sona’s pleasant music was slowly overtaken by the sounds of screaming and gunfire. Everyone in the auditorium froze as they realized what was going on. Sona shot a look of absolute terror to Davina, realizing her wife was right.
The killer kicked in the doors to the auditorium. His eyes scoped out the room, admiring all of the beautifully terrified eyes looking at him. Then he looked to his target, the scared stiff Sona.
“Good evening, Sona!” The killer greeted with a bow. “I am Khada Jhin, and I will be your death. However, first I will take as many of your worthless fans as I can.”
Jhin suddenly sent four different throwing knives into the heads of four different people in the audience. Jhin loaded his gun as the scream started, and stalked over to the petrified Sona, gleefully shooting and throwing knives at the unlucky audience as they fled the room.
“Sona!” Davina shouted from backstage. “Love, get out of there!”
It was no use, Sona was in shock, and Jhin had gotten his fill of slaughtering the audience.
“This one.” Jhin slipped his mask up so he could kiss the bullet before loading it into his gun. “This one is for you.”
Davina hesitated for a moment but knew she couldn’t let her love die. She rushed out onto the stage.
“Sona!” Davina cried.
Jhin noticed Davina rushing at Sona, and quickly took aim at Sona and fired. Davina got in front of her just in time. Davina’s blood splattering her face is what finally pulled her from her shock. Sona looked down at her beloved, and she fell to her knees, turning her onto her back and covering her mouth when she saw the bullet hold between Davina’s eyes.
She died for me. Sona’s thoughts screamed in her head even as she remind silent. She died for me.
Jhin cursed Davina under his breath, enraged his kissed bullet was wasted on some lowly woman instead of his famous target. Nonetheless, he loaded his gun, Whisper, with another round and walked upstairs of the stage. Standing over the broken Sona as she attempted in vain to shake her love awake and hold the hunt to her forehead. Sona showed no fear, even brushing some of her hair away from the gun barrel.
“Hmmm.” Jhin didn’t hide his dissatisfaction at his targets lack of fear.
Come on. Sona took the gun and pressed the barrel tighter against her head. Come on.
There are fates worse than death, Jhin realized he hadn’t wasted the bullet as he lowered his gun.
What are you doing?! Sona reached for the weapon, but Jhin pushed her away. Do what you promised! Kill me!
“You could’ve canceled the show,” Jhin said, kneeling in front of Sona, then he gestured to the room full of dead audience members. “They would’ve still alive. The guards outside would still be alive. Your love…would still be alive.”
Sona widened her eyes, and Jhin smiled. His guilt trip had worked.
“I’ll leave you to live with that.” Jhin stood, turned, and walked towards the exit as sirens closed in on the scene.
Just before Jhin left, he took in the sight of the broken Sona, cradling Davina while looking out to all the dead people in the audience.
“Beautiful.” Jhin slipped out of the room and into the darkness behind the opera house.
Sona wished she could cry. She wished she could scream and curse the man who had just taken her reason for living from her, but all she could was hold onto the body of her beloved Davina, silently weeping.