The Case, Demonic Death

     Ulyssa had heard of murder cases in the city before. There was the Jeremy Case four years ago, where a mysterious murderer dubbed Jeremy was going around drowning people during the night, as well as the Kelvin Incidents two years ago, where a man was killing people with a poker stick. It was expected, as the area of the city where Ulyssa lived did, unfortunately, have the highest crime rate.

     But no one had ever seen anything as peculiar as the Ring Case, as the detectives called it, where people just started…dropping dead.

     That’s right. There was no sign of physical injuries, poisoning, or health issues on the victims. They all just…died.

     Ulyssa couldn’t stop herself from worrying about the latest series of murders as she prepared her simple breakfast for the day. There were no precautionary measures she could take to keep safe during this case; people just dropped dead out of nowhere. It could happen to anyone, anywhere! 

This couldn't be some 'advanced technology' that a 'secret organization' had 'invented.' No, none of that. Ulyssa had always been one to suspect supernatural answers to puzzling questions, not science fiction answers.

And the Ring Case definitely seemed like one with a spiritual ending.

     The world was riddled with monsters disguised as humans, appearing innocent and normal but hiding an unspeakable interior. Yet Ulyssa suspected that the murderer in this case didn’t even try to pretend to be human.

     Ulyssa microwaved a glass of milk and pulled out the Pumpkin Flakes, her favorite cereal. She absentmindedly poured the crispy ginger flakes into the bowl of milk, only to be snapped out of her stupor by a particularly sharp clinging.

     Something had fallen from the container into the bowl of milk that wasn’t another cereal flake. It was something much denser and metallic. 

     Raising an eyebrow, Ulyssa dipped her hand into the bowl of milk and pulled it in a cupped position, pulling up flakes of half-soaked pumpkin flakes…and a large blue sapphire ring.

     Ulyssa’s eyes widened just a fraction. She picked up the milk-ridden ring with her other hand and examined it just a bit closer. The handle of the ring was made from purified and refined silver, while the gem was a large, clear cut sapphire as blue as the ocean. There were no smaller gems embedded in the silver, just the one spotlight gem. And it was genuine…

     Ulyssa’s hands trembled as she connected the dots. She could sell this for a fortune! Ulyssa could move out to the countryside, and start a little farm of her own, just like she had always dreamed of doing so. 

     It started as a low chuckle. Then it morphed into a choked laugh. And then into complete and utterly mad cackling. Ulyssa could hardly believe her own eyes. This was worth so much! The key to her dreams was held in the small jewel cradled in Ulyssa’s own palms.

     Without wasting a second, Ulyssa grabbed her coat, put on the ring, and dashed out the front door of her apartment. People gave her the strangest of looks at her giddy demeanor, but Ulyssa didn’t care. They didn’t have the artifact that would change their lives forever!

     Being so giddy, Ulyssa didn’t even notice that she had taken a wrong turn to the jewelry store and ended up in an alleyway. She had her silvery gray eyes closed, a Cheshire grin upon her face as she danced her way through the streets.

     “Took the wrong path down the Path of Doom.”

     Ulyssa stopped her drunk-like acting and opened her eyes for once, glancing around in confusion on where she was at. How did she end up in an alleyway? Where were all the people? And why was the sky so dark?

     Shrugging it off as an upcoming storm, Ulyssa cheerfully skipped over to the other end of the alleyway, hoping to search for a landmark that could tell her where she had wandered off to. But…the street was completely empty.

     She was on Sawyer Ave, which was where the supermarket and several clothing stores were located. This street was never empty. The fact that the streets beyond also looked abandoned were unnerving.

     Feeling slightly unnerved, Ulyssa tried to seek out people in the supermarket. But the moment she walked through the door, she tripped on a fallen broomstick handle and fell on the ground in an awkward position. She let out a gasp of pain, as the nerves in her left leg flared up sharply.

     “Lose a leg. There’s no turning back now.”

     “Help!” Ulyssa cried desperately. “Anyone! Please!” As she crawled back out into the street, clutching her broken leg with a sweaty hand, Ulyssa failed to notice the ring on her hand glow faintly.

     The sky had darkened even further outside, and the wind started to pick up. The chilly breeze blew small objects through the air, and just happened to fling a needle right into Ulyssa’s right eye.

     “GAH!” Ulyssa cried. The vision in her right eye turned red, and she felt beads of blood trickle down her face.

     “Half-blinded. Now you can’t see if there’s someone coming from one side.”

     Cold, desperate, and utterly terrified, Ulyssa crawled back into the alleyway where she had come from, and curled up in a ball. Suddenly, she felt every ache, every wound, and every bruise more vividly than she had before, in the heat of the moment. Ulyssa wiped away the beads of blood from her blinded eye on her coat sleeve, and then buried her face in her hands. What the bloody hell was going on around here?!

     “Found by Death’s guard dog. End of the line!”

     Ulyssa felt a shiver run down her spine when those words began to reverberate inside her head, and stopped breathing altogether when she felt a hand clasp onto her hand. The one with the ring. It was frigid, like air on a stormy winter night, and had no signs of life.

     “W-wait, what are you—stop! I don’t wanna die!” Ulyssa screamed, clutching her head and making sure to keep her eyes shut at all times, not wanting to witness the monstrosity that had touched her.

     The hand shifted to place its thumb on Ulyssa’s ring. Ulyssa stiffened, opening her left eye and letting it widen until you could barely see the pupil. Before her stood a mass of black shadows, swirling and surrounding her in a dome of darkness. A pitch black figure stood before her, the only visible were a pair of demonic glowing red eyes.

     All feelings left Ulyssa’s body. She felt a tugging notion, as if someone were ripping the living essence out of her body. And then—

     Nothing.

     At 9:11, December 14th, Ulyssa Frostbreaker became another victim murdered under mysterious circumstances as part of the Ring Case.