Darkness Without Bounds

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A Drake Nygma Cinematic Production

Part One: Darkness Without Bounds

A wicked grin twisted itself upon the lips of The Sphinx, his features had turned inhuman. Gone was the light that had existed in the form of Drake Nygma. He had become darkness and in turn that darkness gave him the strength to do what must be done. This darkness was matched by his drive, by his utter ferocity both inside the ring and outside of it.

The gleam in his eyes was cold, predatory like those of a shark’s. Like a shark The Sphinx was used to sitting at the top of the food chain, devouring every challenger that dared get in his way. His appetite for destruction, for chaos hadn’t decreased at all. Now it had grown, demanding more prey, more souls to devour.

The Sphinx could feel his hunger raging inside his blood. Blood that was like an inferno inside his veins. An infernal fire that refused to be put out.

The Sphinx: “You know what they say about darkness, how it claims everything it touches. How nothing escapes its grasp. And the claiming of the UOW Youngblood championship is just the start. I’m not done yet. I’ll never be done.”

The grin never left his face, a grin that spoke of a savage intensity that was oddly vengeful in nature. His predatory instincts are those of an apex hunter who fed when and where he chose. Fed on whom he chose. UOW was a smorgasbord of snacks, humans who thought they could challenge HIM!.

Reckless and stupid humans, as was often the case.

By his side as always was his empath and manager Dollia Trypp. Her emotional persona balanced out his lack of emotions, in many ways Dollia was The Sphinx’s last connection to a semblance of humanity, no matter how fleeting it was. In that moment The Sphinx had made a decision, a decision that would shake the foundations of all that was known, all that was accepted.

Dollia breathed out gently, her voice an ethereal whisper.

Dollia Trypp: “You’ve made a decision, I can sense it. What have you chosen?”

The Sphinx turned slowly, his eyes meeting her own, those eyes of his still cold and like those belonging to a shark, empty of mercy, unfeeling. Like ice.

The Sphinx: “I’ve decided that Drake Nygma must die. He’s been holding me back. The persona of Drake Nygma will no longer exist. Only The Sphinx will remain. Only The Sphinx is capable of doing what must be done, of eliminating those who need it. And this elimination starts at the Ronin Rumble.”

Dollia could not help but shiver, pure terror written all over her face, her soft features bearing the weight of so many emotions, all of them varied and heavy. This was what it meant to be an empath. She felt everything, including the things The Sphinx refused to allow himself to feel, the emotions he considered beneath him.

Dollia Trypp: “You plan to allow the persona of Drake Nygma to die? Because he’s holding you back?” she questioned, her voice shaking with the weight of her emotions, the chilling reality that The Sphinx planned on symbolically letting the persona of Drake Nygma die was terrifying to her.

The Sphinx simply spoke his bone chilling reply to her question.

The Sphinx: “Did I misspeak, did I stutter. Drake Nygma must die and so he shall. This is happening and nothing you can do or say will change this.”

His words were met only with a sorrow filled silence, Dollia’s tender heart bruised and heartbroken at what was going to happen.

Part Two: Drake Nygma No More

Black smoke rose slowly as it danced further into the skyline, the smoke itself a symbol of death in the ancient world. Only this time it spoke of the death of the human half of The Sphinx, the half that was holding him back. A part that The Sphinx had concluded never should have existed in the first place.

Dollia stood silent, a tear tumbling down her cheek as she closed her eyes, all too aware of the ancient symbolism of black smoke in the world The Sphinx had come from.

In the hours that followed there was no flashy memorial given to the former human half of The Sphinx, no only The Sphinx and Dollia would know for now that Drake Nygma had ceased to exist.

As those hours spanned into days, word of Drake Nygma’s passing would spread as would the fact that The Sphinx and The Sphinx alone now stood ascendant, poised and ready to cause unfiltered destruction.

Turning on his heel The Sphinx spoke simply.

The Sphinx: “Emotions have no place in this world, emotions make you weak. Master them or don’t. The choice is yours and yours alone.”

Dollia looked up at the retreating form of The Sphinx, her eyes wide and sorrowful as she heard the quietly spoken yet ominously controlled tone of voice he had used. She knew in that moment that any softness he had once held because Drake Nygma had died, had vanished for good.

Now she could see that only the darkness of The Sphinx remained.

Placing a hand to her heart she whispered so softly, her voice carried away by the breeze. A breeze that was washing over her in an attempt at a soothing embrace, as if the wind mourned the loss of Drake Nygma as well.

Dollia Trypp: “Goodbye Drake Nygma, your fight is over. May you know peace on the shore you’ve landed on.”

Part Three: The Sphinx delivers a message

Vicious. Enigmatic. Unknowable. Unhinged. Chaotic. Relentless. Dominant.

These were the words that best described the nature of The Sphinx. Each word spoke to a facet of what made The Sphinx so dangerous. A dangerous entity no longer held back by the humanity of Drake Nygma. His eyes had gone black, like a starless night, empty of anything resembling warmth or kindness.

Kindness and empathy were not qualities The Sphinx considered to be of value. At least not in himself.

This didn’t mean he couldn’t see it in others of course, others like his manager and empath Dollia Trypp for starters.

The Sphinx: “This is a hunt playing out on a grand scale and like all hunts that have come before this moment and will come after this moment, it is a reality that many bodies will be broken. At Ronin Rumble The Sphinx will break a great many bodies, and will remind AAPW of the consequences of challenging The Sphinx.”

A hum of ancient and lethal energy rumbled through the air at these words.

The Sphinx’s expression remained icy and composed as he began to speak.

The Sphinx: “Saiko Sasori. The AAPW Heavyweight Champion, we’ll be watching you. While we have no issue with you personally yet, we will do our duty, watch the back of Chulunn Bold. Not because Bold is in need of help, no. We will watch his back simply because this is yet another way in which we exert our dominance.A man does what he needs to do simply because this is what is right. By all means continue doubting me, doubt my riddles, doubt my darkness, you’ll see the folly of your actions soon enough that we can be sure of. My dominance will be without limit, without end, for like the darkness we are eternal.”

The Sphinx’s expression remained as enigmatic as ever as the next voice over began to play. A rumbling and wicked bout of laughter slipped out as he spoke a second time.

The Sphinx: “I don’t buckle. I don’t stumble under the pressure. Clever of you to recognize you underestimated us once. That at least shows the potential for growth. However small that growth might be. AAPW your tricks and deceptions won’t make a difference in the end, not when you come face to face with The Sphinx, unburdened by his former humanity.”

The Sphinx sat silently, letting his words sink in.An impassive smirk tipped The Sphinx’s lips now. The sound of The Sphinx clapping his hands together mockingly rose into the air.

The Sphinx: “By all means let yourself be driven by emotions, by rage, after all rage and emotion are blinding. You’ll be focused on your selfish aims. While I? I will be focused on a display of unparalleled dominance, on causing as much destruction as possible while doing so.”

The Sphinx’s eyes narrowed as he delivered the opening of his message.

The Sphinx: “AAPW. Once again you are presented to us. Clearly you didn’t learn your lesson the first time around. So be it. We’ll fight you again and this time we’ll clip your wings, make sure that you can never fly again. This time we will stop at nothing, this time we aim to injure all of you. To injure everyone who is in our way.”

The Sphinx allowed for a momentary pause as he delivered the final part of his message.

The Sphinx: “This match of ours at Ronin Rumble is just another step along the path that we walk. We’ve come too far to be stopped now. AAPW you managed to lay us low once when we had humanity. A mistake that you’ll pay for in every way that you fear. Your biggest error is laying your hands on my empath, on Dollia. That you should not have done. imagine what we’ll do now that we are no longer human. Imagine the destruction we’ll wreak, the pain we’ll put you in, the limbs we’ll break, all in an effort to open the eyes of the world and prove that even AAPW can not stand up to the might of The Sphinx.”

For a moment Dollia’s face came into view as she spoke softly to end the promo.

Dollia Trypp: “AAPW. This is not just a match, this is an execution. Ronin Rumble will mark the start of the end of your uprising and life as you know it. Take heed of my words and know that wherever you end up after Ronin Rumble, your fights will be over, your struggles will be done. May you find peace on the shore. Till next we meet again your fight is over.”

The Sphinx raised the UOW Youngblood championship high, his jaw set tight, his eyes cold as the frost of winter, his lack of humanity would make Ronin Rumble very interesting indeed.

The promo came to an end as The Sphinx whispered a final eerie statement.

The Sphinx: “Ronin Rumble is the start of the era of The Sphinx. This era shall be defined by brutality, a lack of remorse on any level. Buckle up and prepare for a darkness unlike anything ever seen anywhere else. We warned Rupert, warned UOW, warned AAPW, that we would reign without peer, that no one would be on our level. Foolish as they were, they chose to start a war with another company. A war that WE will end. That The Sphinx will end.”

The sound of Dollia’s hand hitting the Goblet drum filtered out into the air, an ominous and mournful tone surging through the air, hinting at events to come.