It was a dark and stormy night. The moon was shrouded by the clouds. I could see people running on the streets trying to seek shelter from the rain. Some strolling along, sheltered by umbrellas. From where I was perched, the colorful assortment of umbrellas looked like flowers – flowers that drifted on the concrete fields.
It seemed like it was going to be a peaceful night, but I wasn’t expecting much. Having played the game for the past 18 years, I knew that there was no such thing as a peaceful night. Saving this city was never-ending; it was plagued by criminals ranging from petty thieves to dangerous super-villains. I surveyed the street before moving on to the next.
Someone has to scour this filthy city. And if I don’t do it, who will?I was talking to myself as usual. One tends to do things like this when he spends most of his time alone. Suddenly from below me there was a scream. I stopped in my tracks and listened intently, trying to figure out where the cries for help were coming from. The pitter-patter of the rain obscured my hearing but I could roughly figure out its general direction. I descended into the darkness of the alleys and followed the cries for help.
Suddenly out of nowhere a shadow was overhead, and then without rest a huge crate crashed over me and splintered into tiny pieces. I managed to roll to safety but my attacker did not cease his offensive. One fist after another kept raining down on me as I dodged, rolled and leaped out of its reach – each hit getting more and more sluggish. Finally my attacker stopped. There he was about 6 feet in front of me, ready to erupt into another barrage of attacks. I took my stance, waiting for him to strike. But he didn’t.
I heard a cold laugh behind me. It sounded familiar. It can’t be. Kurse? Shouldn’t he be locked away? I spun around and there he was, standing there. Kurse. I was trapped by the two of them and the massive buildings on both sides. It had been a trap to lure me here. The rain had stopped. I looked around but there was no girl in danger.
“I see you’re still as naïve as always. You thought you had me locked away for good, but looks like I outsmarted you. You never had me,” he said with a smirk. “You were playing in the palm of my hands since the beginning of all of this. Now it’s time to finally get rid of you once and for all.” What did he mean by that? What had he planned out? It didn’t matter anyway; all I needed to do was to escape. But before I could make my move, I felt something strong grab me from behind. It was crushing me, as if I was being hugged by a bear. I had let my guard down. “Don’t think you’ve got me cornered yet,” I mocked. I merged with the shadows and slipped out of his grasp. I materialized above him and landed directly on his skull, knocking him out. That should have taken him out. “I see you may have temporarily disengaged Igor, but while you two were playing I had all the time in the world to set up my trap. I know your weakness, and this time you’re going down.” I didn’t know what he meant, but I was about to find out soon.
Suddenly a beam of light struck me. Oh shit! I managed to leap out of it but I was slightly burnt. Then I bumped into something. An invisible force field? I jumped back and tried to escape in the other direction, but I was blocked, and seared, by another invisible wall. What is this thing? How did he manage to set this up without me noticing? Then without me saying anything, Kurse suddenly burst into a tirade of revelation (as all villains usually do).
“The force fields that are blocking your path are actually photon-generated walls. In other words, they are light fields. And they are gradually shrinking as we are speaking. Eventually you they would suffocate you, but that’s if the beam or Igor there don’t kill you first.” I gaped in horror. There wasn’t any way out of this box, and furthermore there was a mad man trapped here with me who was bent on taken revenge. I couldn’t teleport out through the light walls. I was trapped. There has to be a way out of this, I thought to myself. But how?
Igor wasn’t affected by the light fields or the beam, he was entirely human. But I on the other hand, am not entirely human – at least not in this form. I am a Shadow Lurker, sent to earth by Lucifer himself to create chaos and destruction. But a change of heart changed my ways and I was banished from hell. And now I walk the streets of this damned city fighting crime. But all these were about to end, this could be my final showdown.
They say before you die, you’d be visited by Death himself and she’d flash your entire life before your eyes. But I was Death. I am immortal. Indestructible...or at least until now. There were many thoughts going through my head. I wasn’t really concentrating on dodging Igor anymore. He was getting tired and his actions were getting slower. But my main concern wasn’t that fool, it was that beam of light and the light walls.
Then as though someone threw a rock at me, a thought hit me. Where is the beam coming from? I looked up and I saw something there. It looked like one of those flood light canister things, but it was moving on its own. Then I thought of an idea. I picked up a piece of metal. Seems heavy enough. It should do. I aimed it at the canister and threw it as hard as I could. Missed. It fell within the boundary of the field, but just at the edge. I leaped in its direction, dodging another blow from Igor again. I reached for it but then suddenly the light walls constricted and it was out of my reach. Kurse laughed hysterically. “Now, now. Let’s not be throwing things around. It might hurt somebody,” he said tauntingly. I ignored him and looked around for another thing to throw. Then I spotted a beer bottle. I ran over to grab it but Igor came out of nowhere and knocked me to the ground. I was dazed for a moment. “Now you’ve done it!” I slid below him and launched myself upward, knocking him out with a powerful uppercut that could have felled a bear.
I then reached for the bottle and propelled it into the air. Bull’s eye! The bottle contacted with the canister and they both shattered. Raining glass all over the place. I shielded myself from the raining glass. Now with two distractions gone, I could focus on the remaining one – the light walls. I scanned the area to find its source but I couldn’t see what caused it. “Don’t bother; I concealed the source of the light walls. You’d never be able to see it from here.” I didn’t believe him at first, but I soon gave up searching. It was over. There was no way out of this enclosure. I was going to die…no, non-exist.
Time went by very slowly; I was getting bored of this. I looked at Kurse, and he too had a disinterested look in his face. He lost the enthusiasm which I could see in his eyes just minutes ago.
“Enough of this,” Kurse shouted “Lets end this now!” He waved his hand in the air, as if signaling for something. Then I noticed the light walls were moving differently. Without warning, they suddenly closed in on me very quickly. There was no escape from the inevitable pain. I would face it like a man, I wouldn’t cower to Kurse. I forced my eyes to stay open. The pain overwhelmed me; it surged through my nerves and it was like my entire body was on fire. I couldn’t die, I didn’t want to believe it. I am Death, I told myself. I will not die here! The agony lasted for what seemed like eternity. It wouldn’t end. As the light tore through my skin and burned my flesh, like acid griping at my bones. I eyes rolled back into my head, and a flash of light took me away...into nothingness.
I woke up in darkness. Where is this place? “Hahahaha..!” Someone was laughing, “Who’s there?” I jolted up and looked around. There he was, Lucifer the prince of darkness. He was standing there laughing hysterically. “What did you do? How am I still alive?” I interrogated him. “Oh relax, you wouldn’t think I’d let my favorite soldier die that easily now, would you? It’s very fun to see you struggling, fighting your internal demons and dying over and over again. I’m not letting you off for rebelling against me. Now go back to earth and fight for your life, you miserable insect!” History repeated itself and I was banished back to earth.
I was back in the alleyway and there he was, Kurse. Standing there reveling in his victory. But when he saw me, his expression changed. “H-h-how did you g-get back here? I killed you.” I stared at him and smiled, “Looks like you’re going to have to kill me again. But it won’t be so easy this time.” The light walls were all gone and now I was at full strength. I teleported right beside him. “Boo!” I shouted in his ear. He stumbled over and fell to the ground. “This is for trying to kill me,” I formed a shadow dagger in my hands and I raised it up. “Good bye…” I said and I pierced it straight into his heart.
Tonight I stared death and the face and I lived. I am Death. I am immortal. I am the Shadow Lurker. Leaving the two lifeless bodies in the alley, I slid away into the night in a dramatic exit from the scene.
