I am alone

It wasn’t always this way

it wasn’t always so drab and grey

It used to be full of bright colors

flashing lights

 

That was years ago

That was before He showed up

That was before everything I had ever known changed

 

I used to be happy

I used to have friends

I used to have people who loved me

and people I loved back

 

But He took that from me

From everyone

He made everything orderly and straight

 

‘A new life’ he said

‘A better life’

We believed him

We welcomed with open arms

 

Then he destroyed us

 

It didn’t happen quickly

Most didn’t notice

 

But I did

I noticed how He separated us

I noticed how He slowly turned us against each other

I noticed how He turned everyone to his cause

And I ran

 

I hid

Hoping against all hope, things would get better

That was ludicrous of course

Things only got worse

Reaching lows I could never have anticipated

 

I watched

As Neighbor turned on neighbor

Friend on friend

They all reveled in it

They reveled in the pain

The misery

It horrified me

 

I watched as children

The brightest light of the Earth

Withered away

Or were slaughtered

 

I watched as the people I loved slowly disappeared

I watched as they lost themselves and became part of It

 

After the bloodbath only the strongest remained

There were no sick

There were no old

There were no children

Only It

A collective under his control

Submissive to His every whim

 

With every death I grew older

With every tragedy wiser

With every sound of destruction I slowly lost myself

Until I too was unrecognisable

 

I am no longer the hopeful spirit I once was

I am no longer the imaginative child

with dreams enough to fill a castle

I am primal

 

I rely on instinct

An animal vying for survival

Sometimes I don't know why I continue

Sometimes I question why

Why fight when the battle is pointless

 

Then I look to the sky

Where every so often rays of pure radiant sunlight pierce through the despair

 

It is in those moments I remember why I am still here

 

Because when there is light

There is hope

And when there is hope anything is possible

 

 

 

Of course, possible doesn't mean easy

Those who survived became an army

A single entity serving Him

He who filled this world with darkness

He a demon walking among men

 

I am charged with defeating Him

To honor those I have lost

To undo what has been done

I alone hold the key to his undoing

 

He is the shadows

And I the light

Together a double-edged sword

But now I have the upperhand

As the souls of the lost strengthen me

I will take back the Earth

I will liberate those few still alive

 

With those precious few

We can start over

We can learn from our mistakes

We can be better

I cling to this Vision as I set out

 

To War

 

 

 

I see each and every spirit

Casualties of darkness

And each provides me a reason

Each pushes me forward

And I submit willingly

 

I am their champion

And I embrace the title

I wear it like a crown

Their suffering is my sword

Their humanity my shield

 

I will win this fight

 

Their resilience is my bread

Their tears quench my thirst

 

I will win this fight

 

Their presence gives me hope

Their stories light the flame

 

I will win this fight!

 

 

 

This is not the first confrontation

War is not a single battle

It is long

It is grueling

It is suffering

 

I have suffered for years

But today marks the end of that

Today marks the end of It

Today marks the end of Him

 

I have Him in my sights

He stands alone

Confident in his strength

The It are nowhere in sight

But are surely nearby

 

He has become their meat and salt

It believes He gives them strength

They are wrong

I will give It strength

And freedom

And Hope

So many things hatred disregards

For those things I possess

 

We are eye to eye

Toe to toe

This ends today

For better or for worse

I am ready

 

 

Silence

There is no cheering

No evidence of the crowd we have attracted

 

Tension

There is no laughter

No evidence that we are surrounded by living people

 

Acceptance

Today this war ends

 

He sprints forward

We begin

 

Being the so called “Conqueror of the World”

You would expect a large, mighty foe

And you would be wrong

 

He is small

A pixie who calls himself human

This is a front

His thin limbs garner surprising strength

And his small brain, terrifying intelligence

 

A small, unassuming exterior lowers guards

Raises trusts

Exposes weaknesses

 

Such an exterior is the perfect cover

for spite

for cruelty

for exploitation

 

In battle he is a serpent

But so I am

We are evenly matched

 

I have something he doesn’t

I hear them now

They whisper encouragement

And give me hope

 

But he has something I do not

Savagery

Ruthlessness

 

This battle decides which is stronger

Hope or Hate

Freedom or Conformity

 

It is not a battle of Good and Evil

I strike low and parry his strike

I look for weaknesses and expose them

Just as He does

 

We are equal in skill

The yin and yang

Two sides of the same coin

 

One cannot exist without the other

Without the other balance ceases to exist

Balance is the key

 

I realize this

He does not

I have an advantage

 

I take it

 

 

I stand victorious

Though without valor

I take no trophy

 

He no longer retains the It

Still He remains

In the shadows

Waiting to strike

 

Hope reigns

For now

This will not last forever

 

But when it falls

There will I be

Waiting

I am eternal

So is He

 

And this dance of power

Will continue

Forevermore