Grimskull stands, looming over an ancient scale.
On one side, a badge gleams weakly.
Opposite, a flaming skull.
“Behold the scale, Jackson,” Grimskull growls, his voice is a tempest of scorn. “Your badge, a pathetic emblem of a fool’s errand in seeking justice. A child’s belief in fairy tales in a world that devours the weak.”
“This skull is my truth.” He points to the skull, his words dripping with derision. “Forged in betrayal, hardened in the crucible of agony. While you played the hero, I was molded by the brutal realities of life. Pain is the only truth, the only teacher that matters.”
Leaning in, Grimskull’s skull-face is a grotesque spectacle of rage.
“Your path is a farce, Jackson. That badge? A mere trinket pretending to shield you from the harsh truths of the world. And now, even your delusions shatter – betrayed by your own blood standing beside the man who made a mockery of all you believe in. What worth is your justice now?”
“Justice is a child’s dream, a crutch for the feeble.” His laughter is cold, mirthless. “It’s pain that reigns supreme, pain that carves the essence of our being. While you chase illusions, I wield the stark reality of darkness, the only certainty.”
Pacing like a predator, Grimskull circles the scale.
“Your brutal awakening has arrived. You’ll see your so-called justice for what it truly is – a fragile illusion, shattered by the slightest touch of life’s harsh truths. And I will be that devastating touch.”
He stops, his menacing presence filling the screen.
“This is the end of your charade, Jackson Cade. The moment you confront the futility of your existence. Against the relentless force of pain, your ideals of justice will crumble into oblivion.”
As the scale tips, the badge sinks lower, overwhelmed by the weight of the flaming skull.
“Witness the inevitable, Jackson Cade.” Grimskull’s voice crescendos, every word a hammer strike. “Your ideals of justice, your moral compass, will crumble under the unyielding force of reality. In the arena where we meet, it will not be a battle of fists and strength alone, but a war of truths – and the truth is merciless.”
“You will understand, painfully and irrevocably, the futility of your struggle against the tide of pain. As I break you, piece by piece, your illusions will shatter, scattering like ashes in the wind. You will realize, too late, that in the grand scheme of existence, your pursuit of justice was nothing but a fleeting whisper against the roaring thunder of chaos and suffering.”
Grimskull’s presence fills the frame.
“Prepare for the end, Jackson Cade, where it will not be your ideals that will stand tall, but the stark, unadulterated reality of pain and power. And when the dust settles, my conquest will be written in the annals of time. And you, Jackson Cade, will be nothing more than a forgotten shadow, a testament to the crushing truth: in the face of the relentless power of pain, justice is but a frail, broken thing.”
Darkness.
“So it will be with you.”