They say that the greatest joke the universe ever made is the illusion of free will.
And while it’s true the beginning and end of everyone’s tale is documented down to the most minute detail, everything in between is gamblers choice.
Every path taken, every choice made, whether you rise above or fall to the depths.
Its conviction and faith that change destinies. For the greatest of evils can save the world and the purest heroes can destroy it.
But some men, no matter how hard they try, can never shake the darkness intertwined with their souls.
It all began with a single choice, a broken man in his darkest hour who cast aside the one thing keeping the demon inside his soul at bay.
A twisted, devious mind wrapped up in an absolute hatred of the world who corrupted and destroyed everything he touched.
Yet a part of him despised the monster that stared back in the mirror.
Time and time again he tried to change, tried to walk a different path into the light yet he would always fall back into the abyss.
He blamed his enemies, the world’s preconceived notion on who he was, his very reason itself,
But in truth, he rigged the game from the start.
And just like poor old David ensured he would always be the virus that choked the world
That mask will forever be your tombstone.
A one trick pony demon who’s been infecting soul upon soul for millenia as you play puppeteer for any fool who takes up your mantle.
Chaos and subterfuge your game yet you follow such a rigid path that fate has never had to intervene.
Thou art legion for thou art single minded
Yet for the first time in centuries, something diverts your path into the unknown.
As it seems deep down, your latest puppet wishes to cut it’s strings.
The world saw your fear and panic the moment you were free of that mask’s burden.
The terror in your eyes, how you pleaded for your broken soul to escape the curse of the Impaler.
Part of you despises what you’ve become, a legacy turned into a curse that you can never escape, an eternal nightmare you have to endure until the moment you can pass it on.
Yet gifts like those never truly work unless you embrace them. It’s not a poison you can forcibly inflict, it’s a drug you inject willingly and sometime long ago you welcomed the darkness with open arms.
Because you see, the true punchline is there isn’t one ending to a tale, there’s multiple.
DTR could’ve chosen the path to heroics but he allowed his demons, his fears and his weak, pathetic excuses drag him down into the depths.
But unlike David, the sweet embrace of death will never pass your lips.
A coward watching helplessly inside your own body until the moment you become just another voice inside another vessel’s brain.
That’s the path you chose and I hope you know, you deserve every moment of it.