The Prisoner of Rage

[Strazio Rockwell]

"Fuck!"

Dead again.

Another failure.

This time however, there were no dreams. No blood. No ash. No char. No screams.

No, but there was a terrifying existence. Strazio could feel it thrumming between his ears and pulsing in his chest. Floating in this faceless void the mage was left with his thoughts and his thoughts alone.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Even his magick was strangely absent in this forlorn world. In the distance a pinprick of light peaked through the curtain of darkness. Strazio orientated his body to face the star. Travel was slow in this world, without a floor or any cielings one could only float along. The mage-turned-driftwood thrash helplessly against his situation. His limbs flailed wildy in hopes of finding a handhold or anything really. But in this realm all that existed was him and that infuriating mote of light. A fly caught in a drain,  Strazio could only thrash so hard. As he was drawn closer and closer to the baseball of light he picked up speed. Every moment the white orb grew larger and larger and Strazio grew faster and faster.

Collision.

The defender of Darkshire found himself in a starch white room. Before him stood a humanoid visage of swirling energy. This creature of hate and fury was the Avatar of Anger. It was the physical manifestation of Strazio's rage. The Avatar was his smoldering coal that he refused to let go. The burning cinder that devoured his flesh and incinerated his bones. It was his power. Thick metal manacles pinned the raging creature against the wall. His beady yellow eyes glared at the newcomer and his energy-infused flesh strained against its bindings. He was more refined than what Strazio would unleash upon the battlefield. No, the energy that sparked and arced around this avatar's form was much more precise and collected. It wasn't a haphazard collection of energy, it had purpose, it had precision. A jet black stripe swallowed its spine and controlled the energy to a greater degree than Strazio could ever hope to accomplish.

"You," Rockwell spoke, stepping closer to the snarling avatar, "I called upon you, and you wouldn't come."

The creature snarled and roared in response. Strazio reached out towards the fuming Avatar. Large licking flames snapped out from the monster and dared Strazio to push closer. The defender of Darkshire held his hand at a measured distance from the Avatar's snarling mug. Their eyes met and a smoldering hatred sparked between them. Strazio cursed under his breath and reached out towards the creature's face. His flesh was incinerated before he could even touch the monster. Black lines like a virus pulsed through his hand and down his arm. Breath was ripped from his chest and fire raced through his veins. He screamed and thrashed as his body was violently torn asunder. Bit by excruciating bit his flesh was shredded and his bones were pulverized. A wicked smile cracked across the avatar's face, burning its visage into Strazio's mind.

Rockwell awoke in a trashed movie theater. Chairs were upheaved and the cracks lined the walls. One massive slash gouged the projector screen, leaving it hanging haphazardly from a string. The acrid stench of burnt butter hung in the air, mixing noxiously with the scent of sugared candy. Strazio found himself seated in a torn chair in the heart of the cinema. He held his head and stood upon wobbly legs. The projector behind him clipped and whirred to life casting a greyscale five upon the torn screen. The number began to countdown slowly, with each frame change accompanied by a horrid clicking noise. Zero flashed across the screen followed by a wall of black and white static. Occasional "cigarette burns" singed across the frame, before being swallowed by the dancing static. Strazio's mouth was dry and his feet stuck against the tacky floor. A sticky crunch accompanied every step as he shuffled his way to the aisle leading towards the front of the theater. Soda stains and rubble covered the dried-blood colored carpet.

"This place is a mess," Strazio groaned, trying not to breath deep, "where the fuck am I?"