“Let me tell you a story, comrade.”
“Deep within the burning forges of Arcadia, a man demanded that a sword be forged for him to wield. He did not want just any blade, no. It must be the biggest, strongest, sharpest sword in all the land!”
“As hardy as it was massive, this sword was more than a weapon to the man, it was a symbol.”
“It was power.”
“Unrivaled strength formed with every strike of the hammer, metal folded and formed into an unstoppable force of strength that could tear through anything in the man’s path.”
“Complete with a handle he could hold onto with an iron grip, to control and swing the weapon with impunity. In his eyes, sword in his hand was his. It was his to cover in scratches, to chip the edge, and to abuse with every last swing.”
“Until the day that his grip grew too loose.”
“The sword slipped from his hand.”
“And for the first time, he found himself completely powerless against the world around him.”
“No weapon.”
“No symbol.”
“No strength with which to punish those who get in his way.”
“Klaus, ever since I was young I knew my place in your little circus. I was to stand by your side, a weapon for you to threaten your enemies with. A paragon of power to brute force your will upon the world. The circus was your kingdom, I was the Excalibur held so tightly in your grasp.”
“My body forged from birth to grow big, strong, and imposing. My life never mine to live, my existence determined by the whims of a petulant little control freak.”
“And why, comrade?”
“It is because you knew that you needed me, Klaus.”
“That you needed Damien, and Michaela, and every last ‘freak’ who dared call your broken kingdom their home.”
“The moment that your hand slipped from my pommel and I was allowed to clatter to the ground is the moment you knew your whole world would topple, Way.”
“Your reality built on the backs of people who could do everything you could not.”
“I tire of being your weapon, Klaus. My muscles have broken for you, my body has bled, my morals have eroded and all that I am left with are the scars of your misuse.”
“No more.”
“At Ring of Dreams you will face retribution for your abuse.”
“The sword that you swung so viciously now free from your hands.”
“Now you shall be the one who suffers from my strength.”
“I will cleave through you, Klaus. The muscle you coveted and flaunted turned against you for the first time in your puny little life.”
“Because you are powerless without me.”
“I will not bend, I will not break.”
“I will only swing, chop, and crush you beneath my power.”
“As you lie broken, your blood dripping from my blade, my body stained with weakness…”
“Allow me to give you wisdom.”
“What does not kill you makes you stronger.”
“But to be stronger you must survive.”