- Two Days Later - Ten Rings Headquarter - In Erik Dream -
In his dream, Erik stood alone in the middle of a dimly lit room. The air was thick with an eerie stillness. The kind that seeped into the bones, pressing down like a weight. Emptiness. Isolation.
But behind the closed door of the room. Voices stirred, a cacophony of murmurs rising and falling like distant waves.
Drawn toward the sound. Erik stepped forward, his fingers reaching for the handle—
"Wouldn't do that shit."
The voice cut through the darkness like a blade. Familiar.
Erik froze, his hand hovering just inches from the door. He knew that voice.
"Ain't no friendly faces out there." Said the voice again.
Slowly, he turned his head.
"Who are you?" Erik asked, his voice cold, guarded.
A figure lounged on a worn-out couch in the corner, half-hidden in the dim light. "Better question is... What have I become?" The man's voice carried a smirk, as if the answer amused him.
Erik narrowed his eyes. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about.." He turned back toward the door, ignoring the creeping unease curling in his gut.
"Your life."
The man rose smoothly from the couch, stepping forward, his movements too fluid, too familiar. A slow smile spread across his face. "Your life is my failure."
Erik's grip on the handle tightened before he let it go, finally turning to face him. And there he was—himself. A reflection, yet something was different.
His mirror image tilted his head. "You messed up."
Erik let out a dry chuckle. "I messed it up? For you?"
"Yeah. With your.. 'problems'." His doppelgänger began to circle him, his voice smooth, almost taunting.
Erik scoffed. "Nah. I don't have problems. Shit, I solve them."
"Hm." The other Erik didn't sound convinced.
He kept circling, his voice lowering. "You know, your fear let the worst thing our uncle T'Chaka ever did... Come true for you.. For us."
Erik's expression hardened. "That's bullshit."
His reflection let out a sharp laugh. "Is it? He never cared about anybody but himself. Said he worked for his people.. But the second someone crossed him? He threw 'em under the bus." His voice darkened. "And here you are, thinking you're so different. When in reality? Everybody's gotta kiss your ass... or else." The words lingered, sharp and cutting.
The body of his father N'jobu appeared suddenly laying on the ground lifeless.
Erik clenched his jaw. His heart pounded, but his face remained unreadable.
Because deep down, he wasn't sure if the voice was lying.
"I help people." Erik said, his voice hushed, almost as if convincing himself.
His doppelgänger let out a sharp chuckle. "Help people?" He leaned in, eyes glinting with amusement. "You hear yourself, god daaamn."
His tone shifted, mocking, pressing.
"What about the Iron Gang? What about the Ten Rings members in that warehouse a few years back? Or Lei? Xiang? Liu?" He stepped closer, voice rising. "Him, him, her, her! They're all dead. That's how you 'help' people?"
Erik's fists clenched. "All the people I killed, deserved it." His words were firm, but his voice wavered, just slightly.
His double only laughed again, shaking his head. "Oh yeah? And what about your little friends—M'nai and Li? Don't they deserve it?"
Erik's breath hitched, but he said nothing.
"What about all the innocent people who died because of them? Because you chose to do nothing?"
"I can change them." Erik's voice was quiet but steady.
His reflection exhaled sharply, almost pitying. "They don't see it that way. And they never will." His gaze drifted upward, lost in thought. "And you? You don't see it theirs." He smirked, tilting his head. "That's why this whole thing is destined to fall apart."
Erik's jaw tightened. "Nothing is gonna fall apart.." He stared straight into his own eyes, defiant.
His doppelgänger held his gaze, then leaned in just enough for his voice to drop, cold and final. "Even if you do believe that... It doesn't make a difference."
The silence stretched between them.
Erik's heartbeat thundered in his ears, faster, louder—until suddenly, his eyes snapped open
He was staring at the ceiling of his room.
"Awake?" Li's voice cut through the silence. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, a smirk tugging at his lips.
Erik, still irritated from his dream, turned his head and gave him a cold stare. "What does it look like?" He muttered, sitting up. "What' you doing here?"
Li chuckled. "Can't I check in on my dear brother?" His tone was playful, but Erik wasn't in the mood for games.
He just stared at Li, his expression unreadable.
Li lifted his palms in surrender. "Alright, alright" he said. "Advisor Ling wants to see you in his office." His tone turned more serious.
Erik didn't respond immediately. He sat still for a moment, thoughtful, then gestured for Li to leave.
Once he was alone, he got dressed, washed his face and ran a brush over his teeth before heading toward Ling's office.
As he approached, the door suddenly swung open and M'Nai stepped out.
"Hey" M'Nai said, his tone neutral as he walked past him without stopping.
Erik glanced over his shoulder, watching him for a moment. His expression unreadable. Then, without another word, he stepped inside the office.
Ling sat behind his desk, stroking his beard.
"Oh? You're already here, Killmonger." He mused. "Sit."
Erik settled into the chair, resting his elbows on the armrests. "You wanted to see me?"
Ling nodded, leaning forward slightly. "Another mission, successfully completed…" His eyes studied Erik carefully, searching for something beneath the surface.
Then, his tone shifted. "But… you caused quite a commotion." He tapped a finger on the wooden desk. "Not very assassin-like."
Erik scoffed. "Y'all wanted him dead, right? He's dead." His voice was cold, indifferent.
Ling exhaled slowly. "A lot of our people died too. Again." His gaze sharpened, calculating.
Erik's irritation flared. "That's a risk we all accept."
"Is that so?" Ling reached for his cup, tapping his fingers against it before taking a sip.
Then, after a pause. He spoke again. "You always complete your missions, Killmonger. That's undeniable. But…" His voice dropped slightly. "It seems like most members around you end up dying. Every time."
Erik's lips curled into a menacing smile. "Your insinuating somethin'?" His mind briefly flashed to his earlier encounter with M'Nai.
Ling's own smile was forced, fake. "Of course not." He said smoothly before sighing and glancing at the report on his desk.
"You always leave such a mess." He took another sip of coffee, then set the cup down. "From now on, you'll go on missions alone. We can't afford to lose a whole squad every time we send you out."
Erik didn't argue. His voice was cold and even. "Fine."
Ling stood and walked to the door, opening it. Then, as Erik rose to leave, the man spoke one last time.
"Sometimes… It seems like you're looking for death out there."
Erik paused in the doorway, staring at him for a long, silent moment. Then, without another word. He walked away.
The advisor watched him go, then sighed and shut the door.
"M'Nai…" Erik muttered under his breath as he walked through the dimly lit corridors.
His mind churned with thoughts.
He's probably the one who voiced his doubts about the Ten Rings members' deaths… Erik considered.
And most likely mentioned my name.
He clenched his jaw, his gaze darkening. He's not wrong, though…
His memory flashed back to the missions.. The quiet, precise killings. The Ten Rings members who never returned. Deaths that weren't always the enemy's doing.
Erik's fists tightened at his sides. But this is good to know.
M'Nai probably saw him as a friend. But his true loyalty? That, belonged to the Ten Rings. If it ever came down to a choice, He had no doubt now. M'Nai would choose the organization without any hesitation.
Can I really change him? Erik pondered as his boots echoed against the stone floor.
The Ten Rings had saved M'Nai's life, given him purpose. It was his everything—his reason for existing. How do you break that kind of devotion?
Then, there was Li.
A wild card. Unpredictable. He treated everything like a game, detached from it all. Erik narrowed his eyes.
Despite his youth, Li was hard to read, almost unnervingly so. He never seemed truly invested in anything, as if his emotions were just a mask he wore when needed.
Erik slowed his steps, stopping a few feet from Xu Wenwu's office.
And what about Wenwu? Still no news since his departure.
He muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing as he studied the guards stationed at the door.
"Should be about time…" Erik muttered, watching as the guards left their post, ready to switch shifts.
Without hesitation, he activated his cloaking ability. His form vanishing into thin air.
In the brief moment when the door stood unguarded, he slipped inside undetected.
The office was dimly lit, the scent of aged parchment and polished wood lingering in the air. Erik deactivated his camouflage and immediately set to work, scanning the room for anything of value.
He searched methodically.. Drawers, shelves, hidden compartments, Until he found something that caught his eye. A stack of documents.
One file, in particular, stood out.
A list of names.
He skimmed through it, his eyes narrowing as familiar names surfaced:
Tony Stark. Hank Pym. Alexander Pierce. Clint Barton. Ulysses Klaue..
Each name was accompanied by a detailed description—skills, known affiliations, potential threats.
A surveillance record? Erik pondered as he flipped through the pages.
"Interesting…" he muttered under his breath.
There were plenty of other names he didn't recognize, likely influential figures operating behind the scenes.
Setting the file aside, he continued his search. Another document caught his attention.. This one filled with intelligence on safe houses scattered across the globe.
But what really piqued his interest was a set of records detailing secret bank accounts and hidden vaults across multiple countries.
His fingers traced the information, his mind already calculating the possibilities.
After gathering the files, Erik moved toward the door, pausing for a moment before rapping his knuckles against it.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sudden noise made the two newly stationed guards outside nearly jump out of their skins. One of them instinctively reached for his holster, eyes darting to his partner.
"Did you hear that?" he asked, his voice uneasy.
"Y-Yeah…" the other stammered, glancing toward the door. "Did that… come from inside?"
A heavy silence followed.
"No way…" the first guard muttered, shaking his head—right before the sound of something scratching against the door made his blood run cold.
His instincts kicked in. He grabbed the handle and threw the door open, gun raised—
Nothing.
The office was completely empty.
The two guards exchanged wary glances before stepping inside, checking every corner, overturning chairs even glancing behind shelves.
"Am… Am I going crazy?" one of them whispered, his voice barely above a breath.
Meanwhile, Erik slipped past them, unseen. A smug grin forming as he disappeared into the corridors.
- Two Years later - 1998 - Inside Ten Rings Headquarters -
Erik stood alone in his personal quarters, methodically packing a small bag with the few belongings he had.
His fingers brushed over the fake IDs the Ten Rings had provided him.
He paused, then turned toward the window. The mountain peaks, bathed in the soft hues of sunrise. A haunting kind of peace.
His thoughts suddenly drifted to two years earlier..
Wenwu returned, one months after they came back from Russia.
The Ten Rings convoy ended up falling to the trap of the bamboo maze, as Xu Wenwu remained the sole survivor. Exactly like Erik recalled from the movies.
The champions of the Four Houses and The Chancellor Hui were also part of the team and died.
As expected, a familiar face came back with him.
Ying Li..
She was born in Ta Lo and was the guardian of that village situated in a dimension within the Multiverse.
From memory, they fought and ended up falling in love with each other.
Xu Wenwu had found the mysterious land he'd been searching for... But ended up choosing love over it.
The Ten Rings? Didn't matter anymore.
Influence? Power? Prestige? All of it—meaningless now.
To the great dismay of Advisor Ling and the remaining elders, Xu Wenwu began dismantling the empire he'd built piece by piece.
The operations were slowly shuttered. The weapons trades, the blackmail networks, the assassinations—all of it slowly faded into silence.
Meanwhile, Erik found himself spending less and less time within the headquarters' stone walls.
After the Russian mission, the Red Room had caught on. They knew the Ten Rings were behind the assault. Retaliation came quickly—disruptions, sabotage, assassinations.
And they sent widows.
Perhaps that's why they kept him moving—He had killed one of them personally, after all.
So they sent him to hunt the others little spiders.
And that's what he did.
One by one, over several months, Erik tracked and eliminated a bunch of them.
But back at the headquarters, the halls of the once-mighty Ten Rings grew quieter. Emptier.
Wenwu and Ying Li married, sealing the organization's fate.
With each passing week, several agents vanished into quiet lives, others sought new wars elsewhere.
Now, two years later.. Only a dozen remained living their last day here, scattered among the dusty halls of a big fortress.
There was no Ten Rings anymore.
Erik let out a long breath, slipping the backpack over his shoulder.
Without a word, he stepped outside, the weight of six years behind him, and walked slowly away from what once was.
He was the last to leave.
As he crossed the threshold of the Ten Rings' main gate, a voice called out.
"Killmonger."
He froze.
"You may very well be my finest student, Erik Stevens." The voice continued. "You have the potential to become unstoppable."
Erik turned slowly. Xu Wenwu stood five meters away, hands calmly clasped behind his back. The morning wind rustled his long coat.
"…Master?" Erik muttered, his voice low, cold.
"I see it in your eyes." Wenwu said. "Resentment."
Erik's jaw tightened. "You raised people to be killers. Twisted their minds. Stripped them of anything human—and now that you're done with your little game, you just let them loose into the world.." He took a step forward, fists clenched. "Do you even realize how many innocent people will die because of what you did?"
Wenwu's expression didn't shift. He stepped forward, closing the gap between them to just two meters.
"What would you have me do?" He asked softly. "Slaughter them all? I'm not that man anymore."
"You say that like it erases what you've done." Erik snapped.
"I taught them to survive. To fight. Just as I did with you." Wenwu's voice remained calm, unwavering. "What they choose to do with that knowledge is no longer mine to control."
Erik's eyes narrowed, anger burning quietly beneath the surface.
"Maybe…" He said, his voice low. "Maybe what I do with it… is kill you."
For a moment, silence. The two stood locked in a tense stare—master and student, warrior and weapon, the past and whatever might come next.
Then, a soft voice broke the moment.
"Xu?" Ying Li's presence entered like a breeze. She stepped beside her husband, gently slipping her hand into his. Her gaze shifted to Erik just as he turned away.
"Is everything alright?" she asked, concerned.
Wenwu didn't answer immediately. His eyes stayed fixed on Erik's back as the young man walked away, his figure shrinking against the vast mountain path.
Finally, Wenwu exhaled quietly. He intertwined his fingers with hers, lifted her hand, and kissed it gently.
"Everything's fine." He said softly.
And together, they turned back toward the house—leaving the mountain path behind them empty once more.
You're a fool Killmonger. A fool on a path.. Alone. Tought Xu Wenwu looking one last time over his shoulder, the ten rings on his arms relaxing as if they were alive.