(TAKE II – In Progress)
There exists nary a wary nod inclined in my direction as I meander my way through the moon-lit streets. Vagrants, thugs, and scarlet women make their nightly rounds; our shadows mingle, but they daren’t take notice. For tonight, I am become Death: a grim spectre flitting its way through the fears of all who care or dare to dream this night. In this moment, this crux in time, I stand upon the precipice of decision. It is in this defining night that my humanity will be judged, and the ruling will determine my eternity. For on this dreary eve, I have placed my soul as collateral against the journey I now embark upon; however deplorable it may become. It is in this guise, this darkened cowl of mortality, that I have placed my fate. My actions are not my own, but instead are guided by the desires of another. Yet it is I that must bear the burden of the tasks, and the weight of the outcomes. Impugnments to my morality aside, I willing accept this deal; reluctance to do so would be nugatory at best, and would leave me a barren and hollow shell of who it is I strive to be.
Apparitions coalesce and recede with my every step, becoming the path of torment and agony I tread with boldened stride.
(Aside: Bleh. I fail to effectively channel the darkened consciousness that I embodied the night of my original writing. Perhaps it will be best to instead visit upon this another night.)