"Bro, this scene is peak cinema," Legolas muttered, eyes wide as he leaned closer to his laptop screen. The volcano erupted on-screen, lava flowing all around as Frodo hung off the cliff. His laptop sat on a pile of books – physics, history, even one titled 'Modern Quantum Theory' – none of which had been opened in weeks. Legolas sat cross-legged on the floor, still in a loose hoodie and track pants, completely immersed.
Across the room, Jay lay sprawled on the bed, phone in hand, earphones dangling but not in his ears. He glanced at the screen and shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. They didn't even let the villain gain full power. No chaos, no proper havoc. Just quick finish. Lame."
Legolas turned around, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'lame'? It's about the hero's journey, dude. Hope, sacrifice, friendship. All that matters."
Jay scoffed, tossing his phone on the bed and sitting up. "Pfft. Friendship's overrated. You know what would've been cool? If Sauron came back full form, summoned ten thousand fire demons, and burned every kingdom down. Now that's a climax."
"You're sick," Legolas grinned.
"I'm real," Jay grinned back, now clearly fired up. "Heroes are so… I dunno, too moral. Too clean. I say let the village burn. Let the sky bleed red. Villains have no boundaries. Chaos is power."
Legolas laughed, "You sound like that edgy anime side character that dies in episode 9."
"Nah," Jay said, now fully sitting cross-legged on the bed. "I'm that final villain who claps the hero's entire squad, then gives a philosophical speech while wiping blood off his hands."
"Bruh."
Jay pointed a finger like a dramatic anime villain. "Watch Seven. You'll get it."
"Too dark," Legolas said, shaking his head. "Not my type."
"You watched Tokyo Ghoul, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but Kaneki is a tragic hero. He didn't start out killing for fun."
Jay smirked. "Exactly. He got better."
Legolas rolled his eyes. "You're insane."
Jay stood up on the bed dramatically. "Okay, let's do this. Top three heroes, go."
"Easy," Legolas shot back. "Captain America, Goku, Frodo."
Jay groaned. "Bro, seriously? Captain 'I can do this all day'? He's like a motivational poster with muscles. And Frodo? Crying the entire second half."
"He carried the ring. The most powerful evil artifact. Show some respect."
"Whatever. Now my top three villains—Light Yagami, Joker, and... Anton Chigurh."
"Light is an anti-hero," Legolas corrected, "And Anton Chigurh?! Bro you nuts?!"
Jay shrugged. "Still better than your shiny heroes."
Legolas leaned back. "Fine. Let's say they're good characters, writing wise. But they lost... Except for Anton, most did"
Jay crossed his arms. "Exactly. That's why I like them. They should've won. Light had a twisted vision. And Joker and Anton were evil for the sake of it, the best kind of evil if you ask me."
Legolas said. "The point of the story is that evil can't win."
Jay flopped back onto the bed. "Or maybe good just got lucky. I mean, look at villains—they're smarter, more stylish, boundless and always five steps ahead."
"Until the hero unlocks their final power-up and smacks them into next week."
Jay grinned. "Still cooler."
Legolas laughed and looked around. The room was a chaotic mess. A single bed, now crumpled thanks to Jay, stood against the wall. Cup noodle containers were stacked under the table like mini towers. Books and papers were scattered on every surface. The small desk had a busted lamp poking out from beneath a pile of half-finished assignments. A dusty bookshelf stood to one side, loaded with manga volumes and thick textbooks—most untouched. Action figures from One Piece, Naruto, and Attack on Titan were lined across the top, some fallen over like they'd fought each other in the night. Anime posters covered the walls, some taped with colored paper corners.
There were two doors—one led outside the apartment, the other to the bathroom. A window by the bed was half open, and the moonlight cast a soft white glow into the otherwise dark room. The lights were off, by choice, giving the space a moody, peaceful vibe.
It was Legolas' small single-room apartment. His personal space. Jay didn't live here, but he may as well have—he dropped by every week to hang, argue, or just exist.
The clock on the wall beeped as it hit 9 PM. A small alarm went off with a "ping!"
Legolas sat up. "Let's go. Hop on."
He closed the movie, slapped his laptop keys, and CS:GO loaded up. Jay pulled out his phone and plugged in earphones.
Both joined the voice chat.
"Yo," Legolas said, mic clicking on.
"Yo yo," Aman's voice came through.
"Finally," Jay said. "I'm ready to commit in-game war crimes."
"You better not shoot me this time," someone else said.
"No promises," Jay grinned.
The match began. The usual chaos unfolded. Guns fired, grenades exploded, and teenage yelling filled the air.
"Jay! You shot me again!"
"I was trying to kill the guy behind you, chill!"
"Bro, you're worse than the enemies."
Legolas shielded a teammate, took a headshot, and died. "Bro. I jumped in front to save you and you ran away."
"Dramatic much?" Jay laughed. "Did you just anime-sacrifice me?"
"I did," Legolas said with pride. "And I regret it now."
They kept playing, rounds going on, casual cursing, jokes flying.
"Nice one, Aman!"
"Jay just no-scoped our own bot—why!?"
"Because he looked at me wrong."
Then suddenly—click—the lights went out.
The room turned pitch black. The fans stopped. The laptop screen flickered once and shut off. Jay's phone went dark.
"Oi…?"
"Dude—power cut?"
Jay stood up slowly. "That's creepy timing."
Legolas looked at his laptop. "It was fully charged. What the hell…"
The moonlight through the window now felt colder, sharper. Both boys stood still for a moment, ears straining.
Jay whispered, "Okay. If this is a horror movie moment, I just wanna say—you die first. You're the protagonist type."
"Shut up," Legolas muttered, trying to power his laptop on again. Nothing.
They both stood quietly, and that's when Legolas's phone rang loud, almost startling them.
Legolas pulled out his phone and an unknown number was calling, with a wierd phone number.
He looked at Jay, Jay nodded.
And he picked up the call.
That's when a blinding white light shined from the screens and lighted the entire room, turning it all white and bright.
Legolas passed out.