Dionysus
Professional Wrestler
Contains 50% Fruit Juice
Posts: 582
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Post by Dionysus on Apr 16, 2023 1:01:51 GMT -5
My hand feels naked now.The brace was removed; the bandages gone. My fingers, while still tender and weakened, were no longer broken. Everything else, the cuts, the bruises, those too had healed over time. As for my soul......Well, my body had recovered, anyway.The steam enveloped my body as I washed myself in the shower. I was not as ambidextrous as I would like to pretend I am, so it made the whole process...difficult. The armth felt good against my old wounds, especially around the bruised rib. I couldn't help but shudder and chuckle uncontrollably as the droplets hit my body. I didn't know what I was laughing about. Something hollow, I'm sure. Having finished off with the soak, I turned off the water, taking a moment to try and feel each droplet that remained. Running down my face...my arms...my legs...my back...it was meditative, the quiet contemplation of a broken man and his broken dreams.That, and it would be quite cold stepping out of the shower.As I pulled the curtain back, the sharp, cool air cut through me as the steam rushed out. I took a sharp inhalation, shuddering at the cold. I reached for the towel handing on the wall, drying myself off as best as I could manage, before wrapping the same towel around my waist. Grabbing a dry washcloth from the towel rack, I wiped down the fogged mirror, to stare back at a man who I thought I could recognize.Dionysus.Lord of the Vine.Crimson Gladiator....Who even am I anymore?This wasn't me. This was just Dionysus Berget. A man in his thirties looking to grab onto a spark of glory. His nose is crooked. The lines of age on his face were showing. This was no god looking back at me in the mirror; this was a mere mortal. I kept trying to force a grin, but it came off hollow, unrecognizable, crooked. Inauthentic. Why can't I recognize my own face? The same face I've seen in this fucking mirror every other day? Am I that ashamed of myself that I can't even accept who I am now?Y̷̟̩̽o̶̬̓̚u̵̲̓ ̵͖́͠f̵͕̘̎̾u̴̲̒̚c̸͓̈́͑k̵̤̓̚i̷̝͒ň̵͔̠g̷̮̋ ̸͍̦͛̔d̶̜̓i̶͎̾̓ṣ̴̐̉ạ̴̗̀͝p̷͓̒p̴̗̅͐o̴̹̊i̴̜̔͐ͅń̶͍̅t̶̻̏͠m̵͇̌̏ę̴͍͊̀ṅ̶̟͊t̸̗͉̎.̸̦͆Pain spiked through my hand. I hadn't realized I was clenching the sink as hard as I was. Taking a sharp gasp, I let go of the table, rubbing out the pain as best I could. I also started to notice that my breathing had quickened, my eyes red from holding back tears...though whether it was from the pain or from my inner doubts, I couldn't really tell you. Thankfully, I still had some pain medication that would help should it ever flare up on its own...I suppose it could also be used when I accidentally do that to myself. Though should I really take this now? I mean, I'm expected to return and compete against Mason Jones this week. Not that one pill will make me reliant toward it, but if I can't handle the pain as it is, should I really be trying to mask it? Maybe I should rethink this and-The sharpness returned, spiking through my nerves and up my arm. In that moment, I'm choosing pain management over managing through pain.As I left the bathroom, I couldn't help but think what was wrong with me. A moment ago I was laughing and feeling alive for the first time. And suddenly, looking in the mirror made me feel...lesser somehow. Man, Elbrook was going to have a field day with this one. So, you looked in the mirror and saw yourself, and didn't like what you saw. Lets talk about that. I'm pretty sure that is exactly what he'd say, all while that clock keeps ticking away.I felt a sudden chill as I entered into my bedroom. At some point I hadn't noticed the towel had slid off. No matter; it was my own home and I was preparing for rest anyhow. I opened the dresser to find some underwear and a pair of loungers, then turned to the nightstand where the pill bottle stood. It stood out of place; normally I would keep my medicine in the cabinet in the bathroom, but I figured since I'm more likely to be awoken with pain in the middle of the night, I should just keep it in here. I picked up the bottle, opening it and tipping a pill into the aching hand. I had been prescribed for two if pain persists, but one should suffice. I had nothing to drink nearby, but the pill was small enough for me to swallow without the aid of water. I took the pill into my mouth, rubbing my neck like I was a stubborn dog not wanting to take its own medication, to ease with swallowing the pill. While unpleasant, the ordeal was at least over.I was ready for sleep to take me. I slid underneath the sheets, staring up at the ceiling as I did. My mind wandered to inconsequential things as my weariness took over......And eventually I drifted to sleep...Elysium...is calling...My eyes flashed open to a hazy yellow light.It was strange. I knew I was lying on my back, but now I was...standing upright? My head was in a fog while I acquainted myself as best I could with my new surroundings.It was...a hazy yellow room. A connection point of many different halls, doors off to either side. I reached out behind me and felt a wall. Good, a solid surface. I turned to look, and confirmed that there was, indeed, a wall behind me. My panicked, just-freshly-awakened state was coming down, and my energy was subsiding into acceptance. There were no identifying features on the walls; just the same, repeated pattern of upward arrows on a yellow backdrop, made more prominent by the golden-tinted hue of the lights above me. I could also hear a faint ringing, as though one's tinnitus was acting up. Not annoying, just...present. Like this room. It just felt...here.I was beginning to feel claustrophobic.Move.
The thought screamed at me in this stillness. I had to will myself to take that first step, carefully peering around each corner to ensure I would not be taken unaware. A door stood at the end of the hall I was in. Still with doubt in my heart, I walked with confidence towards the door, happy to discover that it was unlocked. I turned the knob to find...another...yellow hallway. I passed through the threshold, and saw more of the same, only with a slight variation in the layout. Perhaps I should try a different door. I turned back toward where I had come from-...It was...different. The wall I had leaned against when I woke up...it had disappeared. It was just an open room with two offshoot hallways...No, this didn't make any sense. I know the room I walked through; it definitely did not look like...this. Was I mistaken?He does not know the way...I picked up the faintest whispers in the new room I found myself in. And as soon as I heard those whispers, I understood what was going on. Clearly, this is a dream. But a dream about what? What were the whispers trying to tell me? Or this room, this...place...and its constant shifting? I had to keep moving. I had to know more.I began to run.Not even looking at doors, I took off down different hallways. Various bends and twists, with each room appearing just off enough from one another to have the doubt of progress cross my mind. I shook those doubts away; moving forward was my only option. I could think about the psychological implications later. My doubts were in the good hands of Elbrook. Right now, in this dream, all I needed to do was move forward. More halls. More doors. No end in sight to this corridor of madness I found myself in. I didn't dare look back at the previous rooms I had traveled through. Looking behind was not an option.Move forward.Only forward.This is the only sane thing I can do in this sea of chaos.There will be clarity at the end. I know it.I round another corner-...There is only darkness...Ǎ̶̠̻̀́ľ̵̨̲̻̱͕́͋͜a̴̞͉̣̲̬̰̓s̴̼͔̱͚̪̯̽̇̄͋̂t̸̩̰̩͌̀̿͂̾̕o̴̢̦͇̞͚͋͜͠r̴̯̾̒͛̌̋̓ ̷̨̭͖̭̓̎k̵̦͉͉̫̈̒̊͝n̶̢̮̘̮̟̰̅̓̐̔́̊ö̵̝̞̲͓̂͛̂w̷̤̻̻͗͂͐̆ś̸̳̄͝ ̸͍̿ͅt̵͎̱͂̾̀ḩ̶̭͖͍̘̿̄́͘é̷̛͔̫̹͇̭̀ ̴̠̲͛͗̀̈́͆ẅ̶̪́̿̆̋̕a̵̧̢̠̮͈͚͑͐͑͗y̵̡̝̗̟̓̌̅͊̄͌ The whispers were still quiet...but not as much as before. I stepped into the darkness. My footstep echoed into the void. Each step became more labored, making sure that I did not hit a wall or fall through a hole. But I still moved forward. My breathing was labored. I had not realized how far I had traveled, or how much I had exerted myself to get to this point. Eventually I did come to a stop to catch my breath. I should not have stopped. I began to feel weightlessness...then the sense of falling took over. In any other circumstance I would have yelled for help...but I was not falling down. I was falling...forward...as though I were rushing toward something. That is when I saw the faintest outline...of a perfect circle. Pencil thin, barely illuminated by a purplish-pink hue. As I fell toward the circle, the hue grew in brightness. The light became unbearable given how much time I had spent in this void. My eyes were closed as I felt the wind rush through my hair. And when my eyes opened......What I saw...would be very hard to describe.The feeling of falling turned into a sense of flying, though there was only the direction of the middle of the circle. Beneath me were vibrant colors blanketing the foliage and landscape. Even looking at my own hands and feet, I could feel and see those same vibrant features. And in that moment...all I could do was laugh. I felt alive. I felt free. I felt as though the weight of my failings and disappointments fell away from me. The only way was forward. The circle began to shrink as I drew closer to it, seemingly matching my rate to still be able to envelop me. That was when a chorus of voices spoke out. They were muffled and distorted...but unified in their chaos:Alastor knows the way. The ebb and flow will guide you to him. Elysium is calling. Move forward and answer.I began to slow as the circle was now roughly my size, a reflective energy ripping across the edges. I took a look at myself in this reflection. While I was still in my pajamas, I could see the face I was familiar with. Dionysus. In his usual suit. Only this time...my eyes beheld a purple hue. Much more pronounced than my normal eye color. I smiled. And laughed. I reached out to touch my own face. The ripples disrupted the world around me as I began to fall once more.
Only this time, it would be down...
Only down...
Elysium...is calling...
I felt the impact of the floor when I woke up again. Apparently I had fallen out of bed...and hit my head in the process. Rubbing at where it was sore, I looked at the clock. 3 AM. Still too early to do anything...yet too awake now to just lie back in bed. There was only one thing I could do now. I fumbled for my phone, and after finding it, I located Elbrook's number.
I dialed.
Answering machine. Understandable; it was very early.
"Hey doc its me," I said awkwardly. "Listen, I know this is an early call, but...I need to come in and see you right away. Something...has changed."
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