Ryan raised the phone.
For a few seconds, he simply stared at the screen.
He didn't need to read the name.
He knew exactly who it was.
He answered.
—Hello, champ.
The voice on the other end sounded cheerful. Far too cheerful.
Ryan remained silent.
—What a surprise —the voice continued—. You're still alive.
Ryan looked at the ruins in front of him.
—What do you want?
The original Clown let out a laugh.
—Come on, don't get shy now. You just turned two fanatics of the Lord into purple dust. At least say "thank you."
—I don't owe you anything.
—That's what you say now.
There was a brief pause.
—Although I have to admit... you did pretty well.
Ryan narrowed his eyes.
—Pretty well?
—Yeah. You faced that purple entity again and you're still breathing. That's something.
The voice became more thoughtful.
—The first time was different. Back then, it was able to manifest much more of its true power. It was a difficult fight. It almost took you out.
Ryan said nothing.
—But this time... —the Clown laughed— it only sent two of its followers.
Ryan looked at Justin and Jack's bodies among the rubble.
—They weren't weak.
—I never said they were. I said they were followers.
Another laugh.
—What a disappointment. I expected something more.
Ryan remained silent.
The purple particles were still floating around him.
Some of them contained tiny smiles.
The Clown seemed to notice that Ryan was watching them.
—Ah. And speaking of that...
Ryan slightly raised his gaze.
—What are they?
—The particles.
The voice sounded proud.
—They're a gift from me.
Ryan stared at one of the tiny smiles.
—A gift?
—Don't make that face. It's not a completely new power. Let's call it a little boost.
—An increase?
—Something like that.
The voice became mocking.
—A little extra so your abilities work a bit better. More strength. More control. A little more energy.
Ryan remained thoughtful.
—And what do you want in return?
The Clown laughed.
—Nothing.
Silence.
—For now.
Ryan said nothing.
—But listen carefully, champ. This is the last time I'm helping you with this. From now on, if you want more strength...
The voice paused.
—Find it yourself.
Ryan tightened his grip slightly around the phone.
—Understood.
—Perfect.
The Clown laughed again.
—I knew you'd understand.
Ryan looked at his left hand, which was still severely injured.
—And the injuries?
—Ah, I'm not fixing those.
—Then it's not much of a gift.
—HA!
The laugh was so loud that Ryan had to pull the phone slightly away from his ear.
—I liked that.
The voice returned to its normal tone.
—Now, about those girls...
Ryan remained still.
—Vivian, Brittany, Madeleine, and Ana.
Ryan's expression changed slightly.
—What about them?
—Nothing important.
The voice sounded casual.
—I'm just saying you did the right thing by putting them to work for you.
Ryan remained silent.
—Use them whenever you need them. They can be useful.
A small laugh.
—And they still have no idea what kind of trouble they're involved in.
Ryan didn't respond.
—Well...
The Clown's tone suddenly changed.
He sounded bored.
—I'm tired.
Ryan looked at the phone.
—Is that all?
—For now.
—Then why did you call?
—To hear your voice.
Ryan frowned.
—What a waste of time.
—I also wanted to make sure you weren't dead.
A pause.
—That would've been rather annoying.
Ryan let out a small laugh.
—How considerate.
—I know.
The Clown laughed one last time.
—Goodbye, loser.
—Goodbye.
—Don't miss me.
The call ended.
Ryan slowly lowered the phone.
For several seconds, he remained motionless.
Then he tightened his grip around the device.
The purple particles began spinning around him.
One.
Two.
Dozens.
All the tiny smiles seemed to be looking at him at the same time.
Ryan extended his hand.
—So... a gift...
The particles began moving toward him.
One entered his arm.
Then another.
Then hundreds.
The energy traveled through his body like a warm current.
Ryan closed his eyes.
His breathing steadied.
His muscles no longer felt quite as heavy.
The magic remaining inside him became denser.
More precise.
For a few seconds, he thought he had truly received a considerable power increase.
But then he opened his eyes.
Something didn't feel right.
The sensation was too perfect.
Too clean.
Ryan slowly moved his fingers.
The energy responded.
But it didn't feel permanent.
Ryan narrowed his eyes.
—A lie...
It wasn't a true increase.
It was temporary.
A boost.
A carefully calculated helping hand.
Another trick.
Ryan let out a small laugh.
—Even when you help... you have to pull some trick.
Dark magic traveled through his body.
For an instant, the pressure became so great that the ground beneath his feet began to crack.
Ryan took a deep breath.
He controlled the energy.
The pressure disappeared.
The remaining particles slowly faded away.
Ryan looked toward the sky.
—We'll meet again.
It wasn't clear whether he was talking about the Entity.
The original Clown.
Or both.
Then he opened a small portal.
He stepped through.
And disappeared.
---
Later...
Ryan appeared in his bedroom.
The dimensional doorway closed behind him.
For the first time in hours, he couldn't hear explosions.
There was no purple energy.
No screams.
No thousands of voices laughing.
Only silence.
Ryan slowly removed the mask.
The second skin separated from his face and returned to being an ordinary mask.
He held it for a few seconds.
There were several cracks.
Dried blood covered part of the inside.
Ryan stared at it.
—Quite a night.
He stored the mask.
Then he made the rest of the suit disappear into his storage space.
He stared at his left hand.
It was wrecked.
Ryan tried to close his fingers.
Pain.
He opened them again.
—This is going to take a while.
He collapsed onto the bed.
He closed his eyes.
For the first time in hours...
He could rest.
Although something was still circling around in his mind.
The Entity.
It was still weak.
And now Ryan knew it could use the bodies of its followers as vessels.
He also knew something else.
The next time it appeared...
Things would be different.
Ryan opened his eyes for a moment.
—Next time, I'll be ready.
Then he closed them again.
---
Elsewhere in Morris County...
Vivian and Brittany remained together.
Neither of them spoke much.
The laughter they had heard earlier was still present in their thoughts.
Brittany looked toward the window.
—Do you think it's really over?
Vivian took a few seconds to answer.
—I don't know.
—But he won.
Vivian nodded.
—Yes.
The two remained silent.
They didn't know what had happened inside that warehouse.
They hadn't seen the fight.
They didn't know the exact fate of Justin and Jack.
They had only heard that laughter.
And for them, that was enough.
The Clown had won.
Brittany sighed.
—I hope that means we can forget about him for a while.
Vivian looked at her.
—I hope so.
Then something gently struck the glass.
Tap.
The two froze.
Tap.
Brittany slowly approached.
A red balloon was floating outside the window.
Vivian frowned.
—No...
The balloon moved closer.
Pop.
It exploded.
But there was no fire.
Only a small cloud of confetti.
An envelope fell to the floor.
Brittany picked it up.
—What is this?
Vivian opened the envelope.
Inside was a small note.
And four five-dollar bills.
Vivian read it.
You can go home now.
Good job.
$20.
—The Clown
Brittany looked at the bills.
—Twenty dollars?
Vivian dropped the letter.
—Five for each of us.
—At least he pays.
Vivian folded the note.
—Yeah.
Brittany put the money away.
For several seconds, neither of them said anything.
Finally, Brittany looked toward the window again.
The balloon was gone.
—You know what's strange?
—What?
—After everything that happened...
Brittany stared into the night.
—I don't feel like this is over.
Vivian looked outside as well.
—Because it probably isn't.
The two fell silent.
They didn't know who the Clown really was.
They didn't know what he wanted.
They didn't know when he would appear again.
But now they knew one thing for certain.
The show that night was over.
And somewhere in the darkness...
The Clown was still smiling.
Or at least, that's what they believed.
Because the clown had already fallen asleep.