She was all I ever wanted.
Rachel.
When I looked at her, I saw years of marital bliss. I saw children. I saw the nice house with a white picket fence. I put everything I had into getting her to notice me, to maybe… just for a second… to give me a shot.
Finally, when she laid her gaze upon me, she actually seemed to be interested.
Rachel, all I ever wanted wrapped up in a single thing, gave me a shot.
But I hit a speed bump.
See, despite my roguish reputation, my stellar sport performances, everyone knew I was something else.
A collector.
A collector of action figures to be precise.
Man, I had the full Star Wars Power of the Force collection. Mint condition, in box.
Do you know what I had to go through to get those, man?
But when it came time to finally make Rachel mine, to put that ring on her finger, I needed more than I had.
That collection, all of my blood, sweat, and tears?
I had to trade it in to get the one thing I truly wanted.
So I did. All of it was gone, and Rachel and I were together.
And for a moment, I thought it was going to go as I had planned. All the bliss, the kids, the nice houses.
But then she got sick…
When she breathed her last, Sigil, I knew I’d traded everything in for something that’d never come to pass. Instead, my true trade was for something more sinister.
Death.
So trust me when I tell you, that I fucking get your predicament.
Whatever those crystals and crown do, man, they are your Rachel. They’re the thing that you desire above all else. You see in them true bliss, a future you can be proud of.
Over the years, they’ve given you your shot, tempted you with their gaze. You may even think they want you.
But now that you’re here in this moment, when all you lack is the last piece of that puzzle to make them fully yours, all you can see is your collection.
Those items that you’ve put everything into.
Your blood, sweat, and tears over the years have given you something special, but you see something more special before you.
Will you trade it in to get what you want?
See, I can tell you how that story ends.
Give it all up, sacrifice everything, and you may get your hands on Death’s crystal. Put them all in that crown, and you can be whatever you want to be.
For a moment.
But no matter what you get out of it, remember that you’re trading it all in for Death. That’s your future if you go this route.
The blissful future you seek won’t come to pass, and you’ll be alone again. No collection. No wife.
All for nothing.
So don’t be me, Sigil.
Be something more.
Walk away from your destructive path.
When the storm comes, Sigil, you won’t be able to fight it.
Don’t be me.
Don’t let Death win.