“Jack Marwood, please help me save this world,” the man with red eyes said to me.

  I had been waiting for this. I knew he’d eventually make a demand, and I had spent the entire conversation preparing for it.

  I was ready to refuse as a thoughtless reflex, the only way I could think of saving myself. But when the words finally came, I hesitated. It was simply because he asked it like a request instead of a command.

  It caught me off guard. The man before me, whose powers can grant him the world with just a few words, used such humble vocabulary with me. It was so out of character that it automatically raised my vigilance as I suspected foul play.

  If he said it like that deliberately, then I never stood a chance. Because by letting me suspect, by letting me think, he had brilliantly led me to fall into his trap.

  Time stopped. Colors drained from the world. Under the gaze of his red eyes, my thoughts, my will, my very soul all started bending under his power, making my acceptance of his plea inevitable. My fate was at that moment sealed.

  In this timeless and colorless world, where a moment was forever and forever was a moment, I started to consider his request.

  For what I had seen and experienced thus far, the world was indeed heading toward destruction.

  Ever since the Whiteout, the event that gave everyone supernatural powers, chaos had erupted. Atrocities were commonplace now, and I even suspected that some countries were already on the edge of collapse.

  Even this nation was now balancing on the edge, with the man before me being the main contributor to its current state. Like this, it was only a matter of time before the entire world fell into anarchy.

  I also could imagine how he planned to ‘save’ the world. With his manipulative powers, he would rise to the top of this country and take control himself. He would bring this nation to its heel.

  Then he would expand his influence, subjugate other nations still in chaos, and unite the world under his rule.

  And when the world hailed him as a messiah, he would manipulate humanity into never using their powers again.

  Peace would return, but only with him as a god pulling the strings.

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  But, did he really need my help? With his ability, he could control anyone, no one could oppose him. Why would he want me still by his side?

  Only one disturbing possibility came upon me, keeping me close to control me.

  He knew me. He knew I would oppose him if he left me to my own machinations. Maybe his definition of ‘help’ was twisted enough to mean keeping his enemies near, puppeteering them against their own free will to work for him, never being able to go against him anymore.

  If that was his reasoning, he would be correct. My hatred for this man was absolute. He was a monster, devoid of morals and empathy, obsessed with power and control. I couldn’t let him twist the world to his liking.

  And yet… who else could save it?

  That cold realization rooted me to the spot. As much as I despised him, I couldn’t deny his ability to restore order. No one else had a power suited for saving the world so bloodlessly. Without him, everything would collapse. Humanity would eradicate themselves by their own hands.

  I tried to convince myself that I didn’t need to help him. He’d execute his plan with or without me. But what if his plan involved even greater atrocities?

  I knew his disregard for human life. Perhaps he would start bloody wars and chaos, do things like he has already done to this country, if it will make control easier after the ashes have settled.

  Staying close meant I could maybe influence his decisions. I could minimize the bloodshed. So, was helping him the right choice? The idea repulsed me, but it seemed logical.

  Staying by his side kept my options open. Maybe I could interfere if things went too far. And maybe I could even steer him toward a more merciful path.

  Despite my hatred, the conclusion was clear. To save this world, I had to stand with this monster. Rationality over emotion.

  But it left me feeling hollow and cold, barely human. It was the same feeling as when I got lost in my own power.

  Her warmth couldn’t save me now like back then. I wished I could feel her again, that she could save me from this fate like back then.

  But, despite my wishes, my very being remained cold.

  I could only think about her. Her face, demeanor, personality, and of how good a person she really was.

  I had recently thought that her goodness was naive. If she knew what I knew, grew up like I had grown up, experienced the things that I had experienced, she would have no hope left for this world, just like me.

  Or… maybe even if that were the case, she could still keep faith.

  But one person, even a handful like her, who can use their power for good, who want to do good to the world, can never compare to the other majority who are only in it for themself, who use their power for harm and destruction to satiate their own gains.

  The notion was the peak of naivety. It was nothing more than seeing the world with rose colored glasses.

  And yet, to look at it like that, to have faith for the better even if fate itself strives for the worst, perhaps that might be the right attitude to have in the hopeless world we find ourselves in now.

  Maybe she had rubbed off on me more than I realised. Maybe I was becoming a naive fool myself, but I thought that was undoubtedly better than selling my soul.

  Between the cold rationality in helping this man control a world heading towards destruction, or having the warmth of faith that a few good people will prevent that forgone conclusion, I had found my own answer.

  And with that newfound faith, warmth filled my being once again.

  I will reject him. I will prove fate wrong. I will show him that the goodness in me will forever reject his evil world. I will show him that the goodness in people will save this world.

  That is my conclusion. I’ll later find out if this will lead the world to heaven or hell. But, for now, I have faith.

  My vision regained color, the timeless moment passed, and I uttered my response.

  “I refuse,” I said to the devil in front of me.