The hallway seems to be built of an old brick. Several doors of polished oak line the hallway. Each door has an old fashioned golden knocker on it. The floor of the hallway is a fine burgundy carpet. The walls are lined with candle holders made of gold. On the ceiling of the hallway are odd paintings of death in various forms from different cultures. Suddenly fog begins to build up at the end of the hallway. A shadowy figure can be seen from within the shadows. He begins to slowly emerge from the fog as the fog spreads down the hallway and the lights in the hallway begin to dimmer until finally only a few are still on.
The camera does a close up of the figure.
His narrow face reveals much age behind his high cheek bones. His long white hair reaches down just past the shoulders. His white robe flows gently around his body as he walks. He is clearly the man known as Sickle. The man begins to speak as he walks down the hallway.
Sickle: You will notice that there are several images of death from various cultures above my head. They are from various cultures because obviously death is something that affects everyone. Death shows no favoritism. It cares not for age, race, religion, or any other trivial classification we humans may device.
Sickle pauses for a moment in front of one of the doors, and rubs the fine wood. He turns to the camera with a slight grin, still leaning against the wood.
Sickle: Death is not the finale but simply the gateway, a door which we must all pass through.
Sickle moves away from the door and begins to slowly continue his walk back down the hallway.
Sickle: You see this world is nothing more than a test. We each must do our duty. We are each given the opportunity to make an impression before we progress to the subsequent echelon, the superior reality. We must each notify those around us that the key to comprehending the test has come. It was hand delivered to us and it is our duty to pass that information on to others. As we trek this somnolent route that is this world we must not efface ourselves to the level of those around us. We must retain that we live for a higher purpose. For we must each riposte our lord upon the opening of the door. At the end of the test we will be graded and we must each account for the answers that we have given. It is okay to make to faux pas but we must learn from those mistakes.
Sickle pauses in the middle of the hallway. He throws his hood over his head quickly and lowers his head. Less than a quarter of the lights remain as all the rest go out suddenly. Sickle raises his head again slowly. His eyes are now whiter than a passing cloud. He begins to speak again. His words echo against the brick walls.
Sickle: I have forced my ears to be open to the words of the man who is called Lucas Stevenson. I blanked out my mind from all I knew or thought I knew because I figured surely a man of such background would have some very intelligent responses to which I could perhaps gain wisdom despite his youth. Unfortunately this was not the case as I would come to find. Instead I found nothing but ignorance and prejudice in his words. What do I speak of?
Lucas you would treat me as if I were a rookie. This would be a sad and dangerous mistake on your part. You would underestimate me because I do not speak in your common tongue but choose to embrace the full roundness of the dialect.
You see Lucas I look not to enlighten you personally but to enlighten the world and currently you stand as an obstacle to the key to the path that I am traveling. I will stop at nothing to obtain that key to open that door to reveal the path of true enlightenment to others. As I have said before I am not another poor child of the candle distracted by worldly possessions. I am not blinded by greed for power or money. I seek not glory and fame for thy self. For you see I am nothing more than a spiritual man on a trek. I have been given a mission that I must fulfill. As far as your moves go you can have as many as you like the fact of the matter is that I am an experienced wrestler. I have seen combat inside of that ring many a time. You can check for yourself if you do not believe me. You on the other hand are still somewhat new at this whole thing. You have not been inside of the ring as often as I. Sure you had a match here and there and won but you were not facing me then now were you? You were not facing an in ring veteran of several decades.
Sickle stops for a moment and puts his head down again. He removes his hood, his eyes have returned to normal, and begins to walk down the hallway again as he speaks.
Sickle: Look dead into my eyes and understand my words Lucas for I do not speak in confusing language or complicated conjecture. I am going to be really simple for you this time around. I am not one of the best of the children in his world but I am a child. I was once a child who relished great pleasure from doing that which others told me would be considered sinful to the father. I was a very vicious person towards innocent people most of the time but now I have been enlightened as I have said before. There is one thing that has not changed however. I am still a very violent person. The only difference now is that I can use that violence for good. I can channel my violence and inner anger towards something constructive. I can use my violence to remove the obstacles that the opposing side would wish to throw upon my path.
I will place this as simply as I can for you Lucas. I believe in this cause assigned to me so greatly that I would be willing to sacrifice my own personal salvation to complete it. I WILL fulfill my mission. NOTHIN will stand in my way. Do you really think I care who you beat in the past? I care not if you are old or young, woman or man. If you are placed in my way I will remove you. You do not have to find my words impressive for them to be truthful. You do not have to find my words impressive for them to come back to haunt you while you are thinking of the past in future years. I do not have to intimidate you to kick your ass. I do not have to frighten you to defeat you during in ring combat. I have not only in ring skill, familiarity with the ring do to previous in ring experience but I also have determination and blind faith. I am the most dangerous opponent you could want to face because while I know fear I would face it and continue to achieve my mission. While I feel pain I would face it and continue to achieve my mission. I will not cease until my heart is no longer beating, and my mind no longer functioning. Until my soul has left my body I will continue to fight and continue to do everything in my power to fulfill my mission. Lucas come Breakdown you will find out how true my resolve is as come Breakdown I shall free you of your obligation to continue on your current trek. I do not claim that my victory shall come lightly or with ease but I will come out victorious. And come Breakdown there will be a battle like never was, and it will end in blood��YOUR BLOOD! And as you are reveling in pain after the match you will finally come to the realization that my words were not hollow but fulfilled and almost prophetic and my actions mystical.
Suddenly all the lights come on at once. It causes the lens to crack on the camera and messes with the signal of the camera and is so bright as to �cause a moment of temporary loss of sight through the camera. It takes a few minutes but finally the camera readjusts and the hallway is able to be seen once again only Sickle is gone.
