Truth Masked As Lies

A man lay curled, naked in a void. Nothing but blackness surrounds him in all directions. The shell of the man cries out in desperation. For all the mistakes he has made in his pathetic life, he feels this is the worst. He uncontrollably weeps as he pounds his fists into the blackness. He picks his weary head up and stares into the never ending abyss, tears streaming. This is what its like to feel truly alone. This is truly a Hell that no man can endure and could never imagine, even in his worst nightmares.

Familiar claws caress his body. "Its ok. I forgive you," an eerie, gravely voice softly speaks. Fear suddenly grips the man's heart. He turns his head slightly to see the scarred face of his greatest adversary and life long companion. Before he can react, the manifestation lifts him up to his feet. The man jumps back and goes on the defensive. "Stop," the creature calmly commands. The broken soul doesn't listen and instead throws a flurry of punches at the being in front of him. Each punch connects, but the barbed wire skin and rusty blades protruding from the monster wounds his hands with every blow.

"Stop fighting me," the beast says unflinchingly, "haven't you noticed you can't resist me?" The man stops, looking at his bloody hands. "When you resist me all you do is cause yourself pain. Do you not see? You cannot live without me."

"I don't need you!' The man screams at the demon. "We are one and the same. Without me, you are nothing. Past experiences prove this," the monster says, reaching out a mangled claw towards the wreck in front of him. Tears continue to fall from the man's face. He knows he is too weak to continue on like this, "So what are you saying?"

"Accept me, we are on. Its time you realize this." The man reaches forth to the monster's claws reluctantly. "Good, I have and will never leave you," the manifestation explains as their bodies start to meld as one. The man screams in pain from the transmogrification of becoming the perfect being.

He is startled from his slumber from his alarm clock. He feels different, powerful. He goes about his morning routine as normal. When he takes his first step out the door, he hears, "There is much work to be done..."