A Pale Discussion
He steps out into the night air and takes a deep, long drag on his cigarette, playfully blowing the smoke into rings as he exhales. Some people can smoke their whole lives and never master the technique, so he always likes to proudly display the skill that took him countless hours to achieve—none of them wasted, as far as he’s concerned.
“One day, those things will kill you, you realise?” a voice hisses from the darkness.
“What? Does it make you jealous?”
“Far from it. The word I would use is curious, more than jealous.”
“Why curious?”
“It’s a simple curiosity, you see. You risk your life, fighting against so many unknown entities, defending your friends, lovers, and from time to time, enemies, from the things that lurk in the darkest places mankind turns a blind eye to. Yet, for all that bravado and passion, you suck those things into you, those killers. It just seems humorous that someone such as you will eventually die in a hospital bed, succumbing to your own body’s defences. That is why I use curious rather than jealous.”
“I’m sure you didn’t come here out of concern for my health,” he says as he flicks the cigarette into the darkness. It lands at his feet.
“Bravo. Do you feel pleased with yourself?”
“Don’t waste any more of my time. What do you want?”
“I want what I always want. I want everything. I want it all. And this time, I want to offer you a deal you cannot refuse.”
“Go away! Don’t try to convince me of some great plan that you have, one that’ll not only make you super rich and powerful, but will also give me all the things I desire—things I can get myself if I really wanted to.”
“Then why haven’t you? I’ll tell you why: because you’re a goody two-shoes, and you need to take a step back and embrace what you were born to be.”
“And what exactly was I born to be?”
“A motherfucking king, of course! Not some sappy hero who saves the day and gets a cheer from people who never give back. Join me, and I’ll give you what they should be giving you: riches, respect, loyalty, and above all else, utter servitude.”
“It’s not going to happen. So you’ve wasted your time coming all the way out here to ask,” he says, turning back towards the doorway and taking a step inside.
“Don’t you want what should be yours? You shouldn’t have to want like a normal man—you should take, like you can. Like you were born to do. Together, this world would be ours, and no one, not even the darker so-called heroes, could stop us. I know. I’ve seen it. I know how it all goes down, and together, we rule.”
He looks over his shoulder and smiles. “I’ve seen it too. And we do indeed rule—for a long time. But eventually, one day, something happens. I don’t know how, but I guess that’s why it happens the way it does. But that’s not important. What is important is that sometime, well after we’ve ruled this world together, I’ll remember something—something from my past, something from this conversation. The part where I swore what I’d do to you if this ever came about… and then, I’ll rip your head from your body.”
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