The power of the mind is truly extraordinary. It is more powerful than a thousand super computers. It is the master of the body. It can make the body do things it should not be physically capable of. It can also cripple it into submission, and not allow it to do what it can. It can create imagery so powerful that it would seem real. The body is the stalwart of the mind. And when the mind is fixated on one thing for long enough, it becomes too strong to erase, and becomes part of that person.

Death Angel is discovering firsthand the power of the mind. And the spiritual journey he has embarked on may do more damage to his

innocence than he imagined. And one bad thing, something harder for him to do than he thought, may not take the path he imagined…

DING-A-LING-A-LING-A-LING

The school bells rang out just like the alarm bells sounding off in Lotus’ head. Everything he hears, he hears at extreme volume as if he were listening to it all through headphones at max volume. Every footstep, every word spoken, he heard so clearly. It is an almost unbearable clarity, like his ears had suddenly become ten times stronger than before.

When exactly it was that Death Angel mind deteriorated into what it is now happened is a dead memory. But with every heartbeat he hears he is reminded that he is not the same. He stood facing the school seemingly at his own will, yet the whole situation had an ill feeling about it. And as the scene unfolded before him, just as he had foreseen, he could only move as a part of it like a puppet on strings that was aware of its own hapless existence.

As countless children walked past him, Death Angel felt like the story too is doing the same. Every vehicle drove off, emptying the scene. And soon, silence consumed. Death Angel slowly revolved around, fearing the worst, and it is the worst he got. There she stood. That girl. That sweet, innocent girl. And when Death Angel locked eyes on her, the rest of the world faded out of his vision. She became the absolute centre of his attention. It was as if nothing else mattered. The nightmare that haunted Death Angel became reality in that instant.

The wind whistled and swept down the street so lightly it could not be heard. It was weak; it could not budge the discarded items lying on the ground. Although the sky is almost clear, the few thick clouds that occupied the sky shielded the sun from view. One could admire a peaceful day like this. But Death Angel would be admiring nothing this day. In fact he wouldn’t even think. This child had a vice grip on him. In every aspect, in every detail she is exactly as had pictured, from the color of her hair, the rosy cheeks, the button nose, and each little freckle, it is a remarkable sight to him. This child of course, is completely unaware of Death Angel looming presence. The only thing on her mind is her mother, eagerly awaiting her arrival. On Death Angel mind is nothing. He could only stand and wait for reality to strike.

And strike it did. Every moment, every scream, every struggle, hit all at once. Death Angel dropped to his knees with a thud. The girl spins around to see a man in pain. She is scared to say the least. She had been unaware of his existence until now, and there he is; standing right there behind her. She squeezed the books in her tighter, the only protection she could find. One thing she did know is to avoid strangers, and this one in particular didn’t look too friendly. But even so, he looked to be in suffering, and this made the girl worry. She felt sympathy for this stranger she has only known for mere seconds. Her foot is raised, not knowing to step back to be safe, or step forward to help. She delayed so long on her decision she almost loses balance, and she stumbles.

Death Angel soon regains his bearings. She shock of the sudden rush of images; memories, had been overwhelming. He is panting, holding his body up with his arms. He looks up. Standing tall before him is that girl. She blocked the light from behind her. Oh the innocence of childhood. She couldn’t know. She held only sympathy for her fellow being, only caring thoughts. Her big blue eyes locked with his. Not a word is spoken. What was there to say? Death Angel raised himself to his knees, never losing eye contact.

Death: Hello.

No response. He wasn’t expecting one. Still, he smiled. Death Angel found her choice moving. She abandoned her own safety to ensure it in another. She committed an act one would rarely see done for anyone by anyone. When one is as young as she is, she can expect no wrong doing in the world. This kind of innocence resulted in a foolish- no, uneducated decision. She is unaware of the demons of the world, or of the one emerging inside of the body before her.

In his mind he saw it. There is no doubt in his mind that is the girl he condemned to suffering. Her life destroyed by his hands. Just as it happened then, was it to happen again? Death Angel arm stirred. It rose slowly. From the moment it twitched the girl’s eyes switched focus to it. It raised, fingers open, and moved towards her. His eyes looked empty. He looked like he was reaching out for reality. The girl trembled slightly as Death Angel arm moved. His index finger is stretching to its limits in her direction.

Death: No.

He looked into her eyes, as he uttered the single word quietly, almost a whisper. His hand moved ever closer to hers. He stopped within an inch of touching distance for a moment. She looked at him once more, with the same cute face, which remained unchanged the entire time.

Death: Not this one.

He finally places his finger on her hand. Her skin is soft and warm. The feeling is pleasant. The girl does nothing.

Death: Not you.

Death Angel smile grows. He lets out a small chuckle, then starts laughing hard. The girl starts to giggle when she sees Death Angel happy. Death Angel calms down soon enough, and they return to silence.

Death: You are just precious, aren’t you? So young, so innocent. I bet you don’t even know what a sin is, do you? Do you know what a sin is?

The girl shakes her head side to side, her hair dancing as she does so. Death Angel is at level height with the girl. In this moment Death Angel felt normal. It’s like everything that had happened in the last month had never happened. He missed the care free days of youth, when there was nothing to fear, and much less emotions to understand.

Death: Well, a sin is when somebody does something bad. It’s when somebody does something that makes God unhappy. But you wouldn’t do something like that.

She shakes her head once more. Death Angel raises to a knee.

Death: That’s good. If you don’t commit sins, then you are a good person. No one will hurt a good person like you. Make sure you stay a good person. Okay?

She nods her head with a smile, not realizing what could have happened to her. A car turns around the corner. They both look at it. It comes to a halt just beside them. Death Angel gets to his feet.

Girl: Mommy!

The girl runs over to the car, and pulls the door open; a task requiring the strength of both hands. The driver, a young woman, cast a wary look over at Death Angel with good reason. One should never trust a stranger after all. As the door closed behind the girl, she could not even be seen through the window by Death Angel because of her size. The car pulled off, and once again, there is silence.
Death Angel buries his head in his hands.

Just like that, it was over. None of it happened. None of it would ever happen. A crime has been avoided this day. Death Angel had come here with purely evil intent, but chose against it…

Death: There was one moment when it all changed for me. As I kneeled before her, I could feel it all happening inside me, see it all happening. I was going to do it. I was ready to it until I realized something. This isn’t my intentions. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. I realized when I touched her that it wasn’t enough. Somehow, the cruelty of it all wasn’t enough for me. It needed to be more.
I want something that people would notice. Something like the killing of John Lennon. I thought about the Pope. Only he’s got his security with him everywhere and drives around in that bullet proof pope mobile. Ah well, Italy is a bit far off from here anyway.
I need somebody near me, I need to pick somebody for the sake of convenience. And then I knew exactly who it needs to be,

It’s has to be Connor O'Shannon.

Insanity! That’s what this is. My solution, is to eliminate him! It’s crazy no doubt. But then again, maybe that’s just what I am. Everyone would know it happened. Me, take out Connor O'Shannon, the Former NLWF Champion. Could I? Should I?
I need to think. This is ridiculous. To even think this shows how far gone I am. I couldn’t do serious harm to him. What if I found out I had made the wrong choice in the end after all? I could never look at myself in the mirror. It would be the end of my life. I’d never be able to atone. I would certainly self-destruct. The risk is so high, I can’t gamble my life like that. But I have to do something!

My head hurts. I cannot decide. I need to clear my head…

Death Angel thinking is purely wishful. His head has become so convoluted clearing it would be a feat in itself. Death Angel doesn’t know himself like he once did. Going on this soul searching has been more painful than he could have imagined. Nothing could cure his nostalgia of what once was. Death Angel walked slowly along a beach. Each step taken saw his feet sink into the soft sand. The tide is high. The waves crash on the sea, and roll onto the beach, losing energy long before they could reach Death Angel, so they gave up and receded to the sea. He could feel a stronger breeze on his face that had crossed the ocean to greet him. With each step taken Death Angel left his mark in the shape of his footprints, acknowledging his travels.

This beach seemed to stretch endlessly, and Death Angel seemed to be walking eternally without direction, contemplating what to do next. Death Angel never thought it was in him to consider what he is considering, but he has proven himself wrong. Connor O'Shannon, and his demise, was the centre of his thoughts.

Voice: Hello, brother.
T
hat absolutely unmistakable voice rang through Death Angel's ears, and his head shot straight up. And there, standing next to him, is a man in a Hooded jacket. A wave of emotions flooded through Death Angel. The Hooded man is walking at the same pace as Death Angel alongside him, dressed in white. Death Angel looks longingly at this Hooded Man. He would be lying if he said he didn’t miss him, but in his current state of mind, he is the last person Death Angel wanted to see. The Hooded Man looks decidedly calm. He is not looking at Death Angel, but ahead of himself Death Angel on the other hand, has eyes only for This Hooded Man. Death Angel is looking at The Hooded Man as if he were a mysterious, unorthodox looking person, like he’d never seen him before. He is perplexed by his sudden arrival. But after some deliberation, Death Angel looks away, reaching a conclusion.

Death: You are not my brother.

Now it is The Hooded Man’s turn to look at Death Angel, with raised eyebrows.

Voice: Why do you say that?

The Hooded Man’s response was said more like a statement then a question. Any eagerness for an answer he possessed could not be heard in his voice.

Death: My brother hates me. He wouldn’t want to speak to me.

Death Angel's tone showed disappointment. He was aware of the possibility that The Hooded Man would be angered, but he considered a worst case scenario that had come to pass. It made everything that much harder.

Voice: Is that so?

Death: I know that it is. You’re not my brother. I’m imagining you. You aren’t really standing next to me. I’m just losing it a little…
Death Angel was speaking with finality, but his words were soon trailing off. He didn’t believe his eyes still. The Hooded Man gives no response to Death Angel’ answer.

There’s no denying you put a barrier between us. A bridge has been burned, but even so, there’s still no need to resort to the drastic
plans you have.

Death: I don’t have a choice now. I have to salvage something out this mission…

Voice: But does it really seem necessary to harm me?

Death Angel looks at The Hooded Man with wide eyes. The Hooded Man is looking back at him with a soft look. How could he know? This only fuelled further speculation in Death Angel mind that he was imagining him. He was almost sure of it now. Still, The Hooded Man is looking at him in search of an answer. Death Angel however, has no answer. It is the question he had been asking himself, and it was the answer he hoped to find on this beach. Death Angel stayed quiet. The Hooded Man then spoke up rather than waiting for an answer.

Voice: Look at the footsteps that follow us, brother.

Death Angel looked over his shoulder, as The Hooded Man’s hand gestured. Death Angel is amazed the sight of endless footsteps that
followed. The two tracks seemed to stretch backwards infinitely.

Voice: We’ve come a long way together, as you can see. These footsteps are just like our lives. We walked side by side for a long time. Some of the tracks cross and intertwine over each other, just as you and I have crossed paths many times before.

Death Angel stops, and The Hooded Man does too. There are places where the footprints are side by side, and there are also places where the footprints cross over. There are places too where there is only one set of footprints. Death Angel finds the footprints of himself and the Hooded Man almost indistinguishable from each other.

Voice: There is a lot of history here. It’s been a long time, and you want to wipe it all away, get rid of it, and hope things will be like none of this ever happened. I know deep down that that’s not what you want. The footprints run out your sight because our history goes back further than you can remember. There’s too much for anyone to remember all of it. But the important thing is that we’ve always moved forward. And until now, we’ve done that together. But if you get rid of me, you’ll never be able to move on from it, because your history is mine.

Death Angel doesn’t speak, he only listens. He takes in every word he hears. He admires the scene it like a work of art. He is giving it careful consideration. This was never an easy decision, but The Hooded Man had given him even more to think of.

Voice: Even if there’s no hope for us, you don’t have to do this…

Death Angel's face is blank. It is only getting harder. But then, he notices something.

Death: You’ve come with me all this way. But there’s one thing I can see.

Death Angel speaks without looking at The Hooded Man, but he points out to the footprints.

Death: There are times along this journey where there is only one set of footprints. All the times when I was down, at my lowest is where there’s only one track. When I needed you, you weren’t there.

This time Death Angel turns to The Hooded Man. He spoke without a waver in his voice. Anger is more evident than sorrow in his tone, but he is speaking calmly. The Hooded Man remains still, with his arms folded. In fact, he lets out a chuckle.

Voice: Oh no dear brother, you don’t understand. I have been with you every step of the way. These times where you were at your lowest, when you needed somebody, I was there. You see, where you see only one track of footprints… Is when I carried you.

That struck Death Angel like a tone of bricks. It took his breath away. It hadn’t occurred to him at all, he felt stupid! Of course! It put things in a different perspective.

Death: You’ve always been there…

Voice: It’s entirely up to you now.

Death Angel turns away from The Hooded Man and faces the sea. The sun is sitting on the horizon, painting the sky red. The water is still. He puts his hand on his hips. It ate away at him. Death Angel hadn’t quite realized what The Hooded Man had done for him.

Death: I never realized…

Death Angel turned around.

Death: Y’know something…

But Death Angel would never finish that sentence, because The Hooded Man was gone. It was like he had never been there. The wind made the sand dance around the sport where he once stood, though there is no evidence of that now. Death Angel blurted out a laugh. He fell back onto the sand.

Death: Thought so.

Death Angel, sprawled out on the beach, continued to laugh as the scene fades…

Death Angel has become his own worst enemy. In one moment his brain will tell him do something, and then in the next moment it will tell him not to do it. It was as if his brain was a pendulum, swinging back in forth between thoughts and ideals. Every day is an internal struggle. His mind is making every decision so much harder. For Death Angel, it is this internal debating and struggling that truly drives a man insane. For him, what’s happening now is the definition of crazy. But he also felt like he is the only man so aware of his insanity.

This latest battle left Death Angel decision-less once again. And the sane half of Death Angel was feeling more and more stressed as time passed. However, even if it had left him decision-less, it had given a push forward towards one.

But for Death Angel, it will be the battle with Connor O’Shannon where he will realize exactly what must be done. And at Revolution, his
future becomes clear…