My dad used to whisk me to sleep with tales of valiant, stalwart protectors from all walks of life.
I’d spend every waking moment pretending to save the world
But Arcadia is a broken and soulless place that’s not fit for a hero and my parents tried to protect me the best they could.
Until dad was murdered and the whole world turned upside down.
I became angry, vicious, determined to find the bastard who did it and make them pay. Every day I kept breaking my mothers heart but I was single minded.
So one night I slipped out, and made the treck down to where he’d last been seen, one of the lower levels.
I walked for what seemed like days through utter ruin, almost ready to give up and tredge my way back home when I heard that scream.
A young girl, barely older then me with her back against the wall with a bunch of bloodthirsty savages coming for her.
Any sane person would’ve turned away and ran, but I stood there frozen, without a chance to change what I’d do next.
In every tale my father told, there was one moment that linked every hero becoming great. The moment their bodies moved without thinking, almost on their own.
As I ran towards them, my mind was screaming that this is a mistake, that I was going to die…and it’d be worth it if I could save her.
I tackled one but the others swarmed me like flies, bones breaking on impact I could barely breath yet I saw her escaping and knew I’d done the right thing.
After all anyone with an actual soul would never stand back and watch someone die if they could do something right?
So pray tell why when I was blacking out from the pain, was the last thing I saw a chrome skull mask watching passively on?
I woke up in my bed somehow, and I knew I’d heard of the man that wore that mask. The only tale my father told that I hated.
A watching pilgrim who travelled the world and simply observed while everything burned around him.
A man who could’ve changed the world but chose to live as a shadow because he thinks he’s better then everyone else.
So I trained, I got stronger, faster, and I counted the days until I’d see you again.
Look you in the eye and show the world I’m not afraid of the boogeyman.
But he damn well should be afraid of me.
Because you’re stronger, older, wiser and more experienced then me in every way.
You can break my bones and kick my ass time and time again.
But at the end of the day, a skinny ten year old kid risked his life for someone else
While you stood there a coward afraid to lift a finger.
You may have seen every reach of Arcadia but you’ve never seen the likes of me.
A hero who will above every limit you put in front of him
To show Arcadia the failure behind the mask.