"His enemies I will clothe with shame, But upon himself his crown shall shine."– Psalms 132:18
The shellac coating causing beautiful dark cherry wood to glisten from an unknown, dimmed light source high above is our first sight as the camera also shows us that whatever this cherry wood object is, happens to be firmly upon the ground. As the camera begins to pan up, the wood reveals to us that it has various designs and curvatures sculpted into it thanks to some fine woodwork and craftsmanship. As we continue to move up, it has become clear that this is a cherry wood, column pedestal with various artistic designs carved throughout it until we finally come to the top of the pedestal. Lying on it is a beautiful, white silk pillow with a diamond design sewn into the fabric and an absolutely stunning trim that looks to be similar to rope woven with gold and on each corner of the pillow is a gold tassel to match the trim.
The camera now pulls back just a slight touch, revealing to the viewer that a dim light is shining down on this pedestal from an unknown source, creating almost a small circle of light around this cherry wood pedestal, yet complete and utter darkness that seems almost impenetrable encompasses every square inch of existence outside of this tiny circle of light.
One eye-catching feature beyond the beautifully crafted pedestal and this pillow that looks to have been created by a seamstress to the Gods is what lies on the pillow itself; a Golden Crown. Though it looks as if it has weathered the tests of time, the Crown itself reflects gloriously from even the smallest of light sources as proven by it’s almost sun-like shine caused by the dim light from above it. This Crown has swaying, almost swirl-like lines embedded into it, as well as a sapphire placed in every peak of the crown for a total of eight, which look as if they themselves embody the bluest of Caribbean oceans.
“The Crown is Respect. The Crown is Prominence. The Crown is Glory. The Crown is Royalty. The Crown is Everything.”
The slow pace of approaching footsteps coming from the rear of the pedestal echoes throughout the emptiness of wherever this is all taking place until finally, through the blackness, the Union Battleground Champion Nemesis steps into the small circle of dim light, standing behind the Crown. Nemesis stands donning black jeans, his normal pair of all black work boots and is shirtless, showing off the evil that has infested his body with various hands imprinted on his upper chest as if multiple evil entities are inside just waiting to escape. Nemesis’ face and neck are covered in white and black markings resembling the face of something beyond this worldly plane and of an evil unseen. His ritualistic head piece rests on his head with its strands hanging all the way down over his shoulders and also onto of the gold, shining plate of the Union Battleground Championship, which itself rests on Nemesis’ right shoulder.
With one swift backhand, Nemesis sends the Crown flying off of the pillow, to the left and off into the darkness nowhere to be seen but we hear it skid across the ground when it lands, wherever that may indeed be. Without hesitation, Nemesis takes the Union Battleground Championship and puts it on the pillow, showing off the Union Battleground as if it is the true Crown befitting of a King. The front gold plate shines brightly like a supernova amongst the surrounding darkness even with a handprint of Dick Devereaux’s blood staining it, making the tattered straps and gold side plates strung about them seem almost non-existent with the intimidating frame of Nemesis and the glory of the Championship’s broad front plate being the primary focus.
“There is a saying amongst you mortals; ‘uneasy lies the head that wears a Crown’ and though my Crown is worn amongst my waist, that still has not refrained those who oppose Salvation within Union Battleground and those who choose to stand in defiance against us from the outside from coming for my own head but am I the one that is to be burdened by feelings of uneasiness, paranoia or even fear alone for that matter?”, Nemesis scoffs at his own suggestions and even at the thought of showing weakness for that matter even if for an instance
“Not so, in fact it is quite the contrary because I rest easy knowing that whomever claims victory in the King Cobra Finals, whether it be Emery Layton or Finn Whelan, will be so consumed with their victory and also, so bloodied and beaten from their battle, that if they so foolishly decide to live up to the name of said Championship by perching up, opening their hood and preparing to strike like a Cobra, I will be waiting to dig my claws into whomever it may be and tear them to shreds mercilessly, piece by piece, bit by bit as a Mongoose would do to said Cobra. But although you slither as a snake would and look to strike with venom that would course through my veins causing my fatality, you are no King Cobra SHIDO, in fact, you are not even a King. You are merely a disillusioned mortal who tries his hardest to sound of Godly essence by constantly sifting through a Thesaurus which you keep on your night stand, as if you believe using big words is not only impressive but will also in somehow, someway, lead you towards an overwhelming victory…how pathetic”, Nemesis’ laughs mockingly while dismissing SHIDO as a simple man trying to mask himself as something he is not
“I will admit however, not only was your subtle challenge on Elysium Pro’s Anti-Social Network bold but so to was your little message during L!GHTS OUT but don’t get what this is convoluted SHIDO; you have only gained my attention, not my respect. Respect is earned, not merely given, as cliché as that may in fact sound but really, what have you done to garner my respect or respect from anyone not named Erik Holland for that matter? I mean, besides him, what, if anything, have you done worthy of any kind of notoriety? News flash to both Holland and yourself SHIDO, on Erik’s best day he can’t stand toe to toe with myself or anyone in Salvation, so I wouldn’t hang your proverbial 'hat' on those victories if I were you because you won't even earn a slow clap, let alone recognition. Yet, you dared to question what I had done some few weeks back…look around you when you walk through those Union Battleground doors SHIDO, as painful as it is for those who do not believe in Salvation’s cause to admit; without myself or Salvation, Union Battleground would be a hollow shell of itself, this influx of talent that the world has witnessed in Season Two is because everyone wants to dethrone the Ruler of the Battleground, yet while at the same time that I claimed the richest prize in this industry, I also forged the most formidable faction that not only Union Battleground has ever or will ever see but that goes for the entire world of professional wrestling as well while you…again…all you’ve done is beat Erik Holland”, Nemesis now places his hands on top of the Union Battleground Title with his fingertips coming down over the top of the front plate
“So while you continue on in your existence with the priority of trying to prove to the weak and feeble mortals that you are better than the world in which they roam about, I will continue to rule it but know this; the arms of a false prophet such as yourself are much, much too short to box with a real God like myself for when I am through with you SHIDO…when the dust settles…you will be left in defeat, contemplating your meager existence, left to play a game of Chess amongst the stars with the likes of Rodney Stillwater while you fade off into the abyss of irrelevance. SHIDO, you may wear the Crown of Elysium, or Tiara taking into consideration your fashion sense, but this is the Battleground, Salvation’s Kingdom, where I proceed over it’s inhabitants as their Ruler and it is my duty…no…it is my PLEASURE to lop your head off and to watch your pitiful Crown, still bound to your head, roll at my feet. I truly hope Finale enjoys the beheading of his ‘Champion’ because there can be only ONE King left standing this Sunday and that will be Nemesis…’The Alpha & Omega’…’The Harbinger of Revelation’…the downfall of you all”, Nemesis finishes his last word and walks off to his right into the darkness almost instantly
The camera begins to move in, focusing on the handprint of Dick Devereaux’s blood that blemishes the main gold plate of the Union Battleground Championship everyday that the title bears it, showing us the true cost of what one can endure to be crowned King as we then slowly fade out to black.
Post by Artemis Kaiser on Mar 6, 2018 22:30:34 GMT -5
Darkness congregated in the internal universe that SHIDO existed in. His Paradise had met its proverbial match in the miasma that Nemesis brought forward. Each growing moment, the maw of the eternal void threatened to eat away at the sanctum, but each time they were repelled. Teeth of otherworldly destruction tried to tear into the landscape of gold and majesty, yet divine light pierced through. SHIDO remained inside of the torrent of madness, with a serene expression. He laid in suspension, his eyes closed off to the chaos around him. When his eyes opened, his Paradise began to reconstruct itself, forcing the darkness to submit to its will of creation. Rows of golden pillars, where sculptors craved the legend of SHIDO into them.
Angels, the holy monsters of Heaven, ripped through their primordial cocoons and slew the vile shadows for their immortal master. When the deed was done, they settled on the steps of Elysium nature, pouring ambrosia into goblets. They retrieved grapes, a delicacy for their God to ingest. They giggled, they wavered, and they persisted. Their eyes, orbs of flame, looked onto the awakening SHIDO. There was only light in his eyes, and soon it started to pour all over his form. Angels rose, making a ceremonial beat for the grand resurrection, the human that appeared to fight Erik Holland had left. The God of Elysium, the Edge of Reality, had come back to life, letting loose a burst of light from his very essence.
It illuminated the Paradise, expelling the darkness. The statues, the frozen beings continued their eternal duty of marveling at SHIDO’s existence. The very remnants of SHIDO’s wings faded away, with their feathers flying upward in opposition to his descent. He landed in his seat, the stone throne, where the angels and the statues both tended to his beck and call. With a wave of his hand, angelic sentinels rose behind the throne. One of which carried the Elysium World Championship, giving it to SHIDO as an offering. Now with his prize in his possession, the Elysium World Champion reached out to take up a portrait of Nemesis. As he looked at it, he cooed condescendingly towards what he saw. With an absent hand gesture, a pillar of stone rose up, only high enough for SHIDO to place the picture down on.
“Nemesis, my dear Nemesis, when I laid my all-important gaze on you, I thought I found my equal. I went out into the world in hopes of fighting someone to satisfy this need for war that I have. I, a God, want nothing more than to fight the best fights that the world had ever witnessed. I wish to grow stronger by facing what the entire Network has to offer to me. With a single message, I secured what I thought I wanted most, a bout with the Union Battleground Champion! The excitement began to bubble in my stomach,” SHIDO rubbed his abdomen subtly, “like a school girl on prom night.”
“Yet,” he stopped the passive action with a disappointed noise behind it, “I found that excitement dying like a star each time you spoke. We’re both undefeated, but I began to doubt how you got there. The more times you opened your petulant mouth, I realized that you’re not what I’ve been looking for. You’re not some God; you’re not my equal. You’re just another fool that’s trying to emulate what I have accomplished. The image of the bringer of Salvation, the Harbinger of Revelation dissolved into cinders in front of me just like this.”
SHIDO got up from his throne, kicking over the picture frame of Nemesis with a playful kick. Glass shattered onto the ground, scattering all over. The angels picked up the debris post-haste while SHIDO ventured further into his Paradise. Down the eccentric hallway of cascading patterns, he went where there were doors that led to many worlds. SHIDO stopped in front of one door, opening it with a delightful hum. When he entered, he took a deep breath and released a satisfied sigh. The room itself wasn’t anything to find elation in. Figures all lined on the walls, chained there in macabre poses. They were statues as well like those in the throne room, but their life-like features gave way to a different theory—they weren’t always statues. As SHIDO walked through, the splashing of blood puddles and the occasional mashing of discarded gore aided to the room’s overall sense of dread. On the farthest wall, in the dead center, a final statue remained. Their body was covered with a long, white drape, and the Edge of Reality stopped before it.
“The mistake you made only viewing my victories over Erik Holland was the one that sealed your fate. When names across Elysium has fallen to me before I won what was rightfully mine. I exorcised the spirit of vengeance, Deus. I defeated an entire stable when I put down Ryleigh Mathis. I took down a hardcore legend too in Jonathan Cage. I put Holland’s wife in the hospital, visited her, and told her comatose body everything I was going to do Holland,” SHIDO paused, “then I beat Holland two times before Finale got tired of me beating him down.”
“You proclaim yourself the destroyer that Union Battleground cannot conquer and hail your accolade as something beyond my comprehension, but you know something? I can hold this championship clean of any stains,” SHIDO’s eyes narrowed at the camera, “because I have defended my championship. That’s something that you cannot say. No matter anything you proclaim, you’re the man with an entire congregation following your orders. You have monsters in your back pocket, but you still haven’t put up that championship yet. How can you call yourself the Alpha and Omega when you have an army to fight your war? You’re so scared of being helpless that you had to create Salvation.”
“Meanwhile, I, by my lonesome, have conquered everything that Elysium AND Union Battleground has put in front of me. A true God doesn’t make followers to fight his battles. Nemesis, you’re in the hands of an angry God, who’s ready to crush you like the ant that you are and be done with you. You have disrespected me from a place of hypocrisy. By the way, I need to ask you, Nemesis about something.”
“In Season One, who was the Champion of the Year?”
“The Female of the Year?”
“The Wrestler of the Year?”
“Oh, yes,” SHIDO laughed to himself as he reached up to unveil the featured statue. It was of Emery Layton, the Trench War Champion.
“I guess you’ve forgotten Emery Layton, or more so, that I put her down. My godly reach has reached here too, Nemesis, and I bet that made you nervous. You started to bolster your forces, not just because of Devereaux, but because you knew that there was a light coming that you couldn’t block out. You knew that this day was coming when a superior being would come and ruin this charade you had going on here.”
SHIDO patted the Emery statue on the face, almost lovingly. “The day that SHIDO returned to Union Battleground, the scriptures were proven true.”
The Elysium World Champion returned to his throne, which was now fashioned with a prismatic aura.
“The heavenly throne in the heavens, with the rainbow circling around it, was revealed. The trumpets sound, the Earth burns, the sea became blood, a star fell to the world, and darkness took over the world. For a long time, Nemesis ran the world, but then I came back to scorch the Salvation and throw your sorry ass in the Lake of Fire forever.”
“From there, I’ll do Union Battleground a favor by making a new Heaven and Earth for them. There will be no more Salvation, no more false prophets like you, Nemesis, and the old order that you forced on everyone will be expelled.”
SHIDO grinned wickedly, yet the heavenly light behind him offset the image.
“This is the world to come that you will have to deal with, Nemesis. Because like Emery, you will fall to me. I will hold the Elysium World Championship high above your broken body. The audience, the roster, and everyone watching will scream my praises. They will because, FINALLY, someone shut Nemesis the hell up.”
Once more, SHIDO stood up, prompting the audience of angels to clasp their hands together in prayer. SHIDO, in all his angelic presence, spread his arms. A light radiated from him, making the Elysium World Championship around his waist glisten with the same essence.
“This is the word of the true God, SHIDO, for the people of God.”
