“We did not give him the satisfaction…” Wraith mumbles.
As the scenery unfolds within the confines of the void, Wraith is not joined by the possessed, Sabin, but rather they are seated alone. The shadows forge a chair that Wraith resides in, and despite their highest efforts, they are unable to erase that sneer from across their face. The latest encounter at Pro Wrestling Excellence has been another failure… another thwart… another disappointment.
“We did not tap out…” Wraith mumbles again, this time clenching their fist and digging their knuckles against their leg, but their red eyes finally peer forward, and they cock their head to the side before resuming, “As tough as it gets, we would NOT tap out! But we are not going to look back at what should have been– all the times that we have tasted defeat in the ring, and all the times we knew that we had it within our grasp. All the times that we knew we should have DOMINATED! We should have CONQUERED! We should be the ones standing toe-to-toe with the likes of Allen… We should be the ones greeting returning venturers and showing them that this is not their home; this is not their company; this is going to be…OURS.” Wraith snarls.
They finally stand from their chair, with their hands still clenched, and their nails digging into their own skin while continuing to let everything stuck in their head come out, “So much promise! So many people look at the likes of us, and say that we are expected to become THE BEST, we are expected to put on THE BEST, we are expected to be BETTER THAN THE REST, because they know of the tree from which Sabin fell; they know of the legacy that precedes… They know of Mother, they know of Father, they know who trained us to become the monster that we are!
Mercy was not something that we were granted…
Mercy was weak, and thus, we do not have it; we do not offer it… But despite the merciless nature, it has not been enough!” They finish their statement, then pause to ponder what the next move should be. What could Wraith– what could Sabin do to correct their course? To accomplish their goal of conquering PWE?
They click their tongue several times, and pivot on their heels to take several steps forward, but refuse to give their gaze to the camera at this particular moment, and that sneer still resides, “It has not been enough to ask people to hurt us… And show us that we can take it. Because then you get idiot officials who are calling matches off for
safety concerns...” Wraith rolls their eyes with utter annoyance, “It has not been enough that we inflict as much damage against the people standing across from us! Because it has gotten us…NOWHERE. Every time! Every time we get close! Allen Chaney… ends in a draw. A chance to fight for the Excellence Championship…loss. Impulse Championship…loss. Number one contendership for the Impulse Championship…loss. It seems that every single time that we dig deep to get to where we want to be, the people standing across from us dig…a little…deeper…” Wraith sighs.
“So it is not going to be enough to show how much I can take… It is not going to be enough to show how much I can do. What needs to be done; the games…need…to be…over… I want to know EVERYTHING, I want to see EVERYTHING that EVERYONE is going to bring to the ring, and I want to CRUSH IT! I want to see all your dreams, all your aspirations, all your goals, and with all of your families watching, I want them to know that when you get into the ring with me… I am going to crush every little piece of your soul! When you walk out of the ring, you are going to question your own sanity… you are going to question your own humanity… you are going to second guess yourself for daring to get into the ring, and going forward, you are going to contemplate an early retirement, all to save yourselves from what I am going to unleash on you… and…” Wraith finally does turn their head toward the camera.
Their lips curl into a grin; a smirk that, despite the constant failures they have endured, still emits confidence in their ability in the ring… Confidence that they are going to do everything they said they would do, and more, and they would accomplish all of their goals in conquering. It would only be an uphill battle.
“We set our sights on El Landerson,” Wraith traces their tongue across their lips, and falls into a seated position as the camera maintains its focus on the superstar as they cock their head to one side, and then the other, “We do share some similarities, do we not? Look… at the BRIGHT SIDE–” Wraith raises their hand to imitate the sun as those words escape, but then their arm comes back down and resumes, “–of everything, right? We are only our own worst enemy; right? I am afraid… that that… is as far as our similarities go. You do not want to let life get you down, but then you are about to enter the ring… with me. You are about to enter the ring with someone who does not just like to win, they also like to force their opponent to TAP OUT! And do you want to know why? Hmm?” Wraith tilts their head to the side, and gives a momentary pause for the viewer, El Landerson, to ponder.
“The reason that I like to make people TAP OUT is because there is something a little more satisfying about having them TAP OUT and ADMIT that they are not good enough, as opposed to knocking someone out for three measly seconds!”
Wraith points out now, as if gesturing to an empty audience, “All of those little kids are going to be sitting on the edge of their seats… PRAYING! HOPING! BEGGING for you to not give up! PLEADING with you to continue the fight! You are going to look at all of those beady little eyes staring at you throughout the audience, tears in their eyes, and then you are going to have to go through with the inevitable… because I am not releasing that hold until you do… you are going to admit to those fans, those children, yourself, and your family, that you ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO BE IN THE RING WITH ME! You are going to ADMIT that you were in the WRONG PLACE at the WRONG TIME, and by the end of the week, I am thinking that you are going to question whether you are even in the right profession.”
Wraith now points their fingers to their own eyes, “Look at my eyes, Landerson. Look at my eyes and know that this is what you are going to see wherever you look! When you close your eyes to escape everything, this is what you are going to see! These eyes– MY! EYES– are going to be the reminder to you that, at Victory, you were not good enough. It is going to be the reminder that you are never going to be good enough! When you are sitting at home and wondering whether you could have a better chance, it is these eyes that are going to tell you to think twice… Because after I make you tap out this week, if you so much as glance at another ring in the same way, I am going to come back to remind you that this is NOT FOR YOU.”
Wraith snorts out, and loses their focus from the camera briefly, “Bright side… For you, there will be no bright side. But let me take a moment to look at ours: all of the times that I have been defeated, and I am starting to lose track, there is one thing that people always tell Sabin after it is all said and done…” Wraith pinches their fingers together, “
So close...” they say in a mocking tone, “
So close to taking the victory!
So close to having what you sought!
So close to becoming a champion! SO! CLOSE! And I am sick of hearing it through his ears… I am sick of hearing how close we got; I am sick of hearing praises of how great we COULD BE! Or how great WE ARE! Because NONE OF THAT is reflected by what we are doing in the ring! Sure, I can go on and on and on about how we became…the youngest…to ever…hold a World Championship, but NONE OF THAT MATTERS! Not here. I could go on about how well I’ve been trained, but NONE OF THAT MATTERS!” Their voice echoes several times as silence then ensues. A low growl can be heard under their breath, and they sneer again.
“None of what I have done matters… None of that promise matters. None of the people who say how good I could be, or how good I should be, matters, because all I seem to be doing anymore is disappointing. I am not monstrous enough; I am not harsh enough! I am not vicious enough! I am not enough! …or… I am not doing enough. Victory comes this week; victory comes when I bend and break Landerson in ways that he did not believe possible! And then… I am going to take every bit of energy… and every bit of animosity that is building… and UNLEASH IT… on everybody who ever stood in my way. No more games. There will be no hitting me to show how much I can take; what there will be… will be broken bodies… and broken dreams. This new path starts this week. This new path starts with its first body as El Landerson.”
END.
