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Shawn Warstein · (04-10-2020)

The disembodied voice continues to call to me from beyond the door. The lights shining in my face as I hold up my hand in a vain attempt to shield my eyes. I follow the voice out into a courtyard. The sun shines down upon me, as it’s warmth cascades over me. The voice becomes louder.

“το ταξίδι αρχίζει…”

At first I didn’t know what to respond with, I was frozen in the courtyard. When all of a sudden a child’s voice can be heard screaming from just outside the walls. I quickly rush over to the large wooden door and lift off the barricade. I drag the door open as a small child no older than 10 falls to the ground on his back. Kicking his legs furiously, and sliding across the ground. A cloud of dust accompanying him as he does so. I reach down to help him up.

“Stop it….. tha…. that thing is back!” He bellows as he uses my hand and lifts himself to his feet. “I….I… we all thought it was gone….”

I look out towards the door and see a few people running down the cobblestone streets. All of them rushing in the same direction, from the east heading towards the west. I walk towards the streets and hear all the commotion.

A large hulking figure coming down the street with reckless abandon. Tearing into street vendors, and mauling anything in its path. While everyone else is fleeing, I take a step towards the figure. Unarmed, and by myself I head right towards the figure.

With every step I take towards it, my heart beats faster. More and more people are rushing around me. As some people fall I help them back to their feet, my eyes never wavering from the figure before me. The dust hangs in the air, as I can hear the screams from the innocents.

Every step I take the ground crunches beneath my feet. I hear the pleas and cries of people wanting it to just be over, for this siege to come to a halt. I finally made it to the figure. Only this wasn’t a man. It wasn’t even human. Four eyes glowing like embers staring right at me. Suddenly this creature's head splits into two, as it’s body begins to uncurl itself, only both heads aren’t where you’d expect them to be. One is where it should be, the other is on its tail. It wasn’t uncurling itself, it was repositioning to face right towards my direction. This overly large, two headed snake begins to slither to me.

I stumble backwards, tripping over my own feet and falling to the ground. Much like the child I use my feet to sidle my way backwards. Desperately I reach my hands around, searching for anything.

The beast’s heads slither right up in my face. Two long tongues wave about in front of my face. Still searching blindly as I grab a hold of something. I swing my makeshift weapon across the faces of the beast. It recoils, but only for a moment. Allowing myself enough time to get to my feet and in a readied position.

The beast makes up for the ground it had lost, and slithers towards me. There will be no backing down now. As the beast rises up, two large talons emerge from its scaly underside. The serpent lunges at me with one of its talons.

Just barley missing me by inches as I felt the gust of air rush past my face. I stand my ground, as the beast continues to charge forward. With one swipe of his talon, I was thrust high into the air. Only to be caught and slammed right down to earth. The air rushed from my lungs, leaving me gasping for air. Every breath inhaled felt like a million needles in my chest, and every exhale left me with a brief moment of respite.

I rolled over to my back as a talon pierced the ground next to my head, and the second one wasn’t far behind. Trapped underneath the beast I could do nothing but watch as it advanced towards the castle.

I fight to get to my feet, but can't. I slowly drag myself across the ground, digging my fingers in between the cobblestones adoring the street. Fires rage on either side of me, and the screaming rises to a crescendo. Then suddenly dies out. The silence is what forced me to stop. I looked around me, as people were still fleeing, and I couldn’t hear anything. I reach up to my ear and pull my now blood soaked hand to my face.

As I wipe my hand on the ground and continue moving forward slowly, a large burst of light followed by an immense heat washed over me. Then I saw it. The beast had laid waste to the castle. Nothing stood except for some pillars. The beast continued to move on, as I slowly made my way up the steps.

I finally reached the throne room, or better yet where it was, and saw it. The throne smashed into a million pieces. The one thing I fought so hard for, gone in an instant. In the blink of an eye, everything is gone. Nothing left but dust and debris, and the fragility of vanity.

I drag myself towards the broken throne and pull myself up to a sitting position. I close my eyes and tilt my head skyward.

“So this is what I’m destined for? This brokedown palace, this shrine to me and my accomplishments and this is where I’m supposed to be?” I grab my rib cage and apply pressure in an attempt to curb some of the pain. “This isn’t anything new to me. I’ve been here before and everything is playing out like dejavu. My ascent to the top might have come as a surprise to some, but to the others it’s not.”

“There’s a reason why when I first came back, Centurion didn’t want me here. Same with James, and a smattering of others in the back. They all knew…” I wince in pain as I lean forward on the throne, and rest an elbow on my knee. “They all knew this day was coming. It was as if Moses himself had hand delivered the stone tablets to them and at the top of the list was my name emblazoned in gold. Call me a false idol. Call me a demon. Call me whatever you want to help yourself sleep at night. Think that you’re going to be the one to take down the king. Dream it, believe it. Try it.”

“The key word there is TRY. Just like the two of you are going to try. It’s not a mistake that the two headed serpent decided to attack my kingdom. I mean there’s one that thinks it’s the brains, that’s you Hanari, and then there is the shit for brains that’s you Grif pulling up the rear end. The biggest difference is that while it seems like that serpent has succeeded, you two will do no such thing.”

“My throne may be broken but it’s only temporary. I’ve seen my kingdom destroyed and left barren. I know how to rebuild it. I know how to move on from failures. I know that kingdoms aren’t built in a day, but I also know they can be rebuilt.” I let out a small laugh, but ended up wincing in pain and letting out a small cough. “Yet I’m the snake right Hanari?”

“You don’t like the way I got this title? Well too fucking bad. That’s how the fucking business is played. I earned the right to be a prick. I earned the right to take this title and make it mine. As I’ve said already your jealousy is showing, and that’s understandable. I embody everything you WISH you were.” A slight shrug and half smile. “I’m well respected. I’m the essence of fear. Say that you don’t fear me and I’ll show you a liar. I am THE champion of the XWF. People know who I am. When I got to the top it wasn’t a surprise, it was expected. My bar is higher than most people’s. Unlike you, my bar doesn’t lay flat on the ground, where being the runner up to something is seen as a major accomplishment. It’s not something that gets slapped on the old resume. It’s seen as a failure. The only reason why you were where you were in that tournament, was because I was ‘Too Busy’, and we all know better don’t we? They just didn’t want me to win another tournament. Had to give some people a chance to shine. I guess the peasants needed some scraps.”

“Allow me to shift my focus for a mere moment. There are people out there who think some people don’t deserve to be where they are. They think what they have procured for themselves was unearned. Well I’m not going to speak out of turn, but if you can’t see the truth, then you are cutting off your face despite your nose. As the cream rises to the top, some will be left behind, and if you think I’m talking about you, you’re right.”

“Back to Hanari, and I guess Grif. Yes Hanari I know how to kill a snake. Off with its head. The problem is when that snake is a bigger problem that you anticipated. What are you going to do if you succeed and two more heads pop up? What then?”I run my finger across my throat and when I finish I hold up two fingers. “Right? I’m going to say this in crystal clear English for you holmes…. What I’ve done, and what I’ve been through in just the past six months is more than you’ve ever accomplished in your pathetic attempt at a career. I’ve mastered the art of being relevant even when I’m not around. When this is all over, they aren’t going to say…”

“Wow look at how Hanari won the big one. No, what they are going to be saying is…”

“Poor Hanari and Grif. They both got the shot of a lifetime, and pissed down their legs and promptly disappeared. Shame that Shawn has that ability to just kick the mid-card back to where they belong and put them in their proper place.”

I stand there and watch as the room continues to crumble around me, as I lean back on the throne.

“Why now? Why so soon?” My breathing wasn’t labored, as I hung my head. Footsteps echoed through the destroyed room. I frantically search the room from the destroyed throne. My head spinning, searching for someone who wasn’t there.

“Vanity. Ego. Greed.” A wispy voice is heard faintly. My eyes go wide as a spectral being floats in the middle of the room. A pale blue hue encompasses the figure. “You’ve angered one of the gods.”

“.....” It was like a force was stopping me from talking. I was left there to just listen.

“A certain god or goddess has been slighted by your actions. Therefore in their eyes you must be punished. This is just the beginning.” The light begins to fade slowly as it’s last words are spoken. “The virus that infiltrated the gods must be vanquished, starting with you.”

The light fizzled and with a slight poof was gone. I pull myself up to my feet, and stare over the ruins of the caste. I see the despair in the kingdom as homes, lives and innocents were left to fend for themselves. I can barely stand as I walk outside what was once the castle. I look directly to the west, and begin my journey anew. Every step was pained, and I was in agony. A growl from deep within allows me to continue to move forward, muttering only one thing under my breath.

“Fuck the Gods.” Another guttural growl. “They took from me...I’ll take from them.” The camera fades as I just make it past the horizon to the west.

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