Post by zombie on Nov 1, 2019 8:35:24 GMT -5
His face becomes a celebration of pain sensors and numbness as he lets out the silent roar. Aokigahara Zombie opens his mouth fully, showing his busted and sharp teeth and frowns wide, dislodging a part of the butterfly bandage over his eye. His eyes are full of feigned malice. The bruises and cuts are almost healed from his devastating match at Valor’s Blitz 24. His is emotions brought right up to the surface without a care in the world. The little girl in front of him considers this with an adjustment of her glasses. She returns this move with a sharp intake of breath and contorts her face into the shape of her wildest nightmares. Her brows go in opposite directions as her eyes almost bulge out of her skull. Her nostrils expand as she exhales foul air our of her lungs. Her mouth makes the most unholy of shapes. Aokigahara recoils in fright.
“Oh my goodness, Clara. I think you got me beat.”
Clara doesn’t hold the grimace for long and jumps up and down in triumph.
“Really?! Was it scary? I have been practicing for this all week.”
Aokigahara relaxes and lets out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, that was some proper intimidation. I don’t think anybody would want to step to you after seeing that. Now to the victor goes the spoils. Here you go!”
Clara scoops some of her long black hair to move it behind her ear as she marvels at the sizeable hot fudge sundae Aokigahara presents to her. It has all the works of a proper dessert with two scoops of ice cream topped with fudge, a mountain of whip cream, crushed cookies, sprinkles, and a cherry on top, which Aokigahara promptly plucks and eats.
“Hey!” Clara protests, but Aokigahara wags a finger in front of her face.
“Now, now. Let Granpa Aoki have a little fun. Check this out.”
He makes a show out of putting the stem in his mouth, and when he takes it out, it is tied in a neat little knot. Clara is amazed.
“Wow, teach me!”
Aokigahara lets out a chuckle.
“Maybe when you’re older. What are you now? Eight?”
Clara nods as she starts to get into the dessert like an eagle devouring a meal. Aokigahara leans in conspiratorially.
“Ok, so this is good enough of a compromise. I heard about your attempts on Fallon and that other one. You did ok, but your materials were a bit too obvious. To do something like that, you have to use something like poison. Luckily any well-equipped household will have the necessary materials under the kitchen sink. What you have to do is-”
“No! Nope. Stop right there. She does not need this information.”
Aokigahara looks over to the phone propped up on the side that live streams the playdate at the diner. The voice on the other end of the phone that interrupts him is stern. He moves his gaze out of the window to stare at Alexis Kennedy, watching and listening from her jeep.
“She needs to know this, Alexis!”
“I don’t think so. Move on.”
Clara sits up to glare at her mother, but Aokigahara gets her attention back by scooping up what’s left of her treat with a large spoon and eating it in one gulp. She frowns at him, ready to kill, but he looks hurt.
“That part had all of the brain freezes in it. I am saving you. Also, we need to move on. Let me show you something. This is a little test, so I need you to pay close attention, ok?”
Aokigahara moves the empty sundae glass to the side and wipes at Clara’s mouth with his fingers. He cleans up and turns the dinner mat upside down and puts the phone up on the napkin dispenser to get a clear view. The mood gets solemn, and Clara picks up on this and gets serious. Aokigahara goes into a bag at his side and places a few items out in front of her. The first is a small leather-bound book with a fountain pen on top. Next to that, he places a single long feather. Then he sits a doll down, followed by a .50 caliber bullet. Finally, at the end of all of this, he puts a knife with a jade hilt. He motions over all of the items in front of her with a wave of his hand.
“Now pick one, kid.”
Clara looks over at the jeep outside, waiting for some protest. When none of it comes, she smiles and focuses on the task at hand. She moves her hand over all of the items and goes for the doll but looks at Aokigahara. He offers no change in his expressionless mangled face. Clara hesitates and thinks now that she is left to her own devices. She waits for a few moments before finally choosing the knife at the end of the row.
“This one.”
Aokigahra raises his brow.
“Are you sure? You could tie that feather into your hair and be a whimsical little beast aside from just a regular one.”
Clara holds up the knife.
“I am sure.”
Aokigahara claps once and gives the camera a thumbs up.
“That’s good. Really good! You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, kid. Here, take this.”
He presents a sheath to her, and she puts it inside.
“Remember only to draw that knife again when you want to draw blood… or practice some moves. It’s yours now.”
Clara takes the knife in her hands and shifts up in her seat.
“What about all of the other stuff? Can I have the doll? What about the feather?”
Aokigahara clicks his mouth.
“No, you made your choice, and that is final. Don’t worry, it is a very good one, and you have saved me a lot of worry over your generation. You’ll be just fine.”
Alexis pops up again over the phone.
“What was that about, Aoki?”
He leans into the phone.
“Don’t worry, girl. She passed with flying colors. Now it’s time for some real fun. Follow us.”
He picks everything up and puts down some money on the table. Clara follows him outside. He grins at Alexis as they pass by her car to get into his green Lincoln Cadillac. He checks his watch and peels out of the diner’s parking lot to get onto the road. Clara looks at her knife and unsheathes it halfway to look at the Damascus stains on the blade.
“It’s so pretty.”
Aokigahara focuses on weaving through traffic as if he is late for something Alexis follows close behind them. He glances back at her to either make sure she is there or to see if he has lost her. Who knows with him.
“Yes, it’s a special tool for a special kid. I did this with my kid, too, when she was younger than you. She made the same choice, but she threw it away after a while.”
Clara clutches the knife close to her chest.
“Aww.”
Aokigahara shrugs.
“It’s ok, it was a little bit of my fault. The important thing is that Kimitsu made that choice. It says something about you. Maybe it shows that you are cut from the same cloth. This choice means that you are sharp. You’ll cut through any fluff and get right into the heart of the matter at hand. You’re willing to get your hands dirty and do things directly. No show, no safety, no stalling. That is just what I’m going to need too to make it in my next few battles. Do you remember what that is?”
Clara beams.
“Yes! The Carnage Carnival. Uncle Josh is going to be in it too!”
Aokigahra grins his crooked grin.
“Exactly. This one is important to me. I have all of my most favorite people in my block. Last year I went undefeated until the very end, but I couldn’t take the top prize. Do you know what that means?”
“Uh, that you are going to take it all this year? Doesn’t that mean that you are going to beat my uncle?”
“That might be a possibility, but he is strong. The thing about a contest like the Carnage Carnival is that you need to outlast everyone until the very end. This time around, I not only have the Ace of DTW in my way, but I’ve also got the World Champion, The person that defeated me for the Eternal Warfare Championship, and one of the people I beat for the Tag Titles. Last but not least, I have that Kawamata who beat me out last year for the whole thing. It’s an interesting time. How do you think I will do?”
Clara thinks hard for a moment.
“I think you will do, ok. What if the same thing happens and you come up short at the end? Again.”
Aokigahra looks back before taking a sharp swerve for three lanes to take an exit. Alexis barely makes it avoiding more than a few collisions, and she is right on his bumper in seconds.
“What the fuck!”
Alexis protests, but Aokigahara howls through he phone. He turns to Clara while motioning at her mom in the rearview mirror
“Obsession is an interesting thing, Clara. You were able to avoid any other desires to get at the thing you want deep down. I think I am going to do the same. The only thing that lasts in this world is your name. The only way to achieve immortality is to be remembered throughout the ages. That’s how we know that one man held up an army for a little while at Stamford Bridge, and a female samurai took the heads of prominent lords every time she went to battle.”
“Tomoe Gozen!”
“Aha, so you’ve been reading. But yes, nameless or not, our actions and deeds are what lasts in this world, and you can do so much with your will and a weapon, be it that knife or your crazy little mind. So I ask you,” He looks right at the camera for the stream. “What is a little flesh when you want to achieve greatness.”
He howls again and turns into the parking lot of a small stadium. He avoids the central area of the parking lot where many idle cars sit and goes to the side area where some staff members are loading up equipment. He enters the arena where a bright spotlight gives way to a dirt floor and a gaggle of beat-up cars running around crashing into each other to the roar of an audience. The green Cadillac doesn’t look so out of place in the vehicular melee. Other demolition drivers accept it as part of the derby and attempt to hit the car as usual. They do not expect the hell that follows in the big jeep.
Aokigahara drives around the circular arena narrowly, avoiding any collisions, and the ones he can’t avoid being taken care of by a rampaging Alexis in her bigger car. Clara braces herself against the seat and the dashboard every time there is a close call but seems overly enthusiastic at the prospect. Aokigahara keeps an eye on their path and another on Alexis, hoping to catch a glimpse of her face as she smashes another contender out of their way. The announcers of the event don’t have any idea of what to make of these events but run with it, and the crowd roars in acceptance.
“Listen to that, Clara! These are the seeds of memory. Last year at the Carnage Carnival, I addressed every type of contender that I may cross paths with and noted our differences. Every single type of wrestler is in this thing, but this year, mostly everyone in the field knows what they are getting themselves into. DTW has grown into Yamashi Pro and engrossed the wrestling world at large. We still have everything from the skull rapists like Kuntz to the glitter brigade leader, Fallon, and everything in between. The leviathans of the sport like Laughlin and Seldon are up against the new hopes with promises. Just like my first in DECAY. The singular goal is there. That is to test yourself against the gauntlet and be immortalized.”
While Alexis attracts a lot of attention in her behemoth, Aokigahara targets a lone contender by leaning out of the window and pointing across the battlefield.
“You! You!” He enters the car again after the man in the other car lines up with him, and they race off towards each other. Clara understands what is going on and lets out a defiant roar of a battle cry. Aokigahara almost sheds a proud tear before joining her. The car turns at the very last second and is rewarded by being crushed into the wall by Alexis. Aokigahara does a rollout as he scans the area and sees that there are no other cars left. He comes to a stop and gets out. The staff and medical personnel rush into action to check on the drivers, and more than a few of them go to Alexis. Clara is the first to get to her as she spills out of her car. As big and protected as it was, the car could only do so much to protect the driver against such an onslaught. Alexis bleeds from her forehead, among many other cuts and scrapes. She kneels to take Clara up into a hug with one hand. She fixes her bloodshot eyes on Aokigahara. He kneels to her level and focuses the shot on the scene. When he talks, his tone is different. There is less jovial mirth in his voice, replaced by something different.
“One of the last things that woman told me before today was ‘Fight me.’ I’ve been getting that a lot, and it is a welcome challenge. In the year since the last Carnage Carnival, I came in second so many times. To her brother, Josh. To Bryan Laughlin, and Avaline Blondieu. They defeated me. I believe that I was too concerned about the competition. Too worried about winning. I became crossed in my mission. I confused the plan and made it the same as everyone else. I lost sight of the joy in the journey. Win the match and get the shot. Win the title and gain the notoriety. This superficial goal blinded me from my real purpose in all of this. Sure, a title brings many juicy challenges, but... Look at that woman’s face. That is someone that wasn’t blinded today. She came face to face with fear and rage and came out the other side intact. She achieved greatness today, and she doesn’t even know it.”
Alexis frantically checks on Clara, who is enthusiastic and the picture of health. She stands up to get the medical staff off of her. Aokigahara nods.
“That is what I want to be again. I was the force that drives others to their limits. I need to separate myself from the splendor of the thing. To be selfless is the highest path of perfection. Allow me, Carnage Carnivalites, to show you your best selves once again. I promise you that when you get in the ring with me, you will forget that there is a cup. You will only think of one the one thing that may get you through the night. You do not only have to defeat me. You survive me. I will turn the Carnage Carnival 2019 into a war of attrition. I have shown that I can last. The wear and tear on my body only fuel me to surpass my limits so that I can keep doing this again and again. So that when I haul up my mangled corpse for the final battle it may be at the Tokyo Dome where many can see the pure primal urges of the human condition
“So be bold and arrogant. Make your promises of the most grandstanding opulence. Try to shake our knees with the threats of violence and sodomy. Subject us to your crazed vision of our dismal puny existence. Take this all on as a challenge to test yourself against the big baddies of wrestling. Or look down at us from the Universe and shed a tear. Bring whatever persona you have thought up this time. Be yourself. I will make you bleed your blood and taste the bitter salt in mine. That is what we all are in the end. We are the stains of red on the mat after the ring clears, the sweat that we expel when we train for this ordeal, and the whispers of the audience as they talk about what they have seen the day after a show. We are a mother’s sacrifice when she birthed our pitiful souls into this world.”
Alexis now looks around for something, anything with which to express her feelings. She gets a crowbar from one of the mechanics trying to tear open the door of her last victim. She limps then stomps over to Aokigahara. He stands at relaxed attention, waiting for her with an unapologetic smile.
“All these moments, from when I chopped off a dragon’s tail with a chainsaw, to when I could not stand back up after Kawamata, Kennedy, or Laughlin, to more recently when I slammed Daniels into the ring from the scaffold, have brought me here. I will stand before you as a mirror to your true self. That hidden side of you that you hide from the world because it makes you vulnerable. Don’t worry. It is not a weakness. It is what comes out when you have bared your last curse against all hardships. I’ll bring out your last-ditch effort to subsist. At the end of it, all only one of us will be standing, but as of each battle, we will all be victorious.”
He holds his arm out at his sides as if he will take Alexis Kennedy into a hug.
“You choose to survive, and I will make you immortal.”
Alexis brings the crowbar down onto Aokigahara, and the shot cuts when she connects.
“Oh my goodness, Clara. I think you got me beat.”
Clara doesn’t hold the grimace for long and jumps up and down in triumph.
“Really?! Was it scary? I have been practicing for this all week.”
Aokigahara relaxes and lets out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, that was some proper intimidation. I don’t think anybody would want to step to you after seeing that. Now to the victor goes the spoils. Here you go!”
Clara scoops some of her long black hair to move it behind her ear as she marvels at the sizeable hot fudge sundae Aokigahara presents to her. It has all the works of a proper dessert with two scoops of ice cream topped with fudge, a mountain of whip cream, crushed cookies, sprinkles, and a cherry on top, which Aokigahara promptly plucks and eats.
“Hey!” Clara protests, but Aokigahara wags a finger in front of her face.
“Now, now. Let Granpa Aoki have a little fun. Check this out.”
He makes a show out of putting the stem in his mouth, and when he takes it out, it is tied in a neat little knot. Clara is amazed.
“Wow, teach me!”
Aokigahara lets out a chuckle.
“Maybe when you’re older. What are you now? Eight?”
Clara nods as she starts to get into the dessert like an eagle devouring a meal. Aokigahara leans in conspiratorially.
“Ok, so this is good enough of a compromise. I heard about your attempts on Fallon and that other one. You did ok, but your materials were a bit too obvious. To do something like that, you have to use something like poison. Luckily any well-equipped household will have the necessary materials under the kitchen sink. What you have to do is-”
“No! Nope. Stop right there. She does not need this information.”
Aokigahara looks over to the phone propped up on the side that live streams the playdate at the diner. The voice on the other end of the phone that interrupts him is stern. He moves his gaze out of the window to stare at Alexis Kennedy, watching and listening from her jeep.
“She needs to know this, Alexis!”
“I don’t think so. Move on.”
Clara sits up to glare at her mother, but Aokigahara gets her attention back by scooping up what’s left of her treat with a large spoon and eating it in one gulp. She frowns at him, ready to kill, but he looks hurt.
“That part had all of the brain freezes in it. I am saving you. Also, we need to move on. Let me show you something. This is a little test, so I need you to pay close attention, ok?”
Aokigahara moves the empty sundae glass to the side and wipes at Clara’s mouth with his fingers. He cleans up and turns the dinner mat upside down and puts the phone up on the napkin dispenser to get a clear view. The mood gets solemn, and Clara picks up on this and gets serious. Aokigahara goes into a bag at his side and places a few items out in front of her. The first is a small leather-bound book with a fountain pen on top. Next to that, he places a single long feather. Then he sits a doll down, followed by a .50 caliber bullet. Finally, at the end of all of this, he puts a knife with a jade hilt. He motions over all of the items in front of her with a wave of his hand.
“Now pick one, kid.”
Clara looks over at the jeep outside, waiting for some protest. When none of it comes, she smiles and focuses on the task at hand. She moves her hand over all of the items and goes for the doll but looks at Aokigahara. He offers no change in his expressionless mangled face. Clara hesitates and thinks now that she is left to her own devices. She waits for a few moments before finally choosing the knife at the end of the row.
“This one.”
Aokigahra raises his brow.
“Are you sure? You could tie that feather into your hair and be a whimsical little beast aside from just a regular one.”
Clara holds up the knife.
“I am sure.”
Aokigahara claps once and gives the camera a thumbs up.
“That’s good. Really good! You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, kid. Here, take this.”
He presents a sheath to her, and she puts it inside.
“Remember only to draw that knife again when you want to draw blood… or practice some moves. It’s yours now.”
Clara takes the knife in her hands and shifts up in her seat.
“What about all of the other stuff? Can I have the doll? What about the feather?”
Aokigahara clicks his mouth.
“No, you made your choice, and that is final. Don’t worry, it is a very good one, and you have saved me a lot of worry over your generation. You’ll be just fine.”
Alexis pops up again over the phone.
“What was that about, Aoki?”
He leans into the phone.
“Don’t worry, girl. She passed with flying colors. Now it’s time for some real fun. Follow us.”
He picks everything up and puts down some money on the table. Clara follows him outside. He grins at Alexis as they pass by her car to get into his green Lincoln Cadillac. He checks his watch and peels out of the diner’s parking lot to get onto the road. Clara looks at her knife and unsheathes it halfway to look at the Damascus stains on the blade.
“It’s so pretty.”
Aokigahara focuses on weaving through traffic as if he is late for something Alexis follows close behind them. He glances back at her to either make sure she is there or to see if he has lost her. Who knows with him.
“Yes, it’s a special tool for a special kid. I did this with my kid, too, when she was younger than you. She made the same choice, but she threw it away after a while.”
Clara clutches the knife close to her chest.
“Aww.”
Aokigahara shrugs.
“It’s ok, it was a little bit of my fault. The important thing is that Kimitsu made that choice. It says something about you. Maybe it shows that you are cut from the same cloth. This choice means that you are sharp. You’ll cut through any fluff and get right into the heart of the matter at hand. You’re willing to get your hands dirty and do things directly. No show, no safety, no stalling. That is just what I’m going to need too to make it in my next few battles. Do you remember what that is?”
Clara beams.
“Yes! The Carnage Carnival. Uncle Josh is going to be in it too!”
Aokigahra grins his crooked grin.
“Exactly. This one is important to me. I have all of my most favorite people in my block. Last year I went undefeated until the very end, but I couldn’t take the top prize. Do you know what that means?”
“Uh, that you are going to take it all this year? Doesn’t that mean that you are going to beat my uncle?”
“That might be a possibility, but he is strong. The thing about a contest like the Carnage Carnival is that you need to outlast everyone until the very end. This time around, I not only have the Ace of DTW in my way, but I’ve also got the World Champion, The person that defeated me for the Eternal Warfare Championship, and one of the people I beat for the Tag Titles. Last but not least, I have that Kawamata who beat me out last year for the whole thing. It’s an interesting time. How do you think I will do?”
Clara thinks hard for a moment.
“I think you will do, ok. What if the same thing happens and you come up short at the end? Again.”
Aokigahra looks back before taking a sharp swerve for three lanes to take an exit. Alexis barely makes it avoiding more than a few collisions, and she is right on his bumper in seconds.
“What the fuck!”
Alexis protests, but Aokigahara howls through he phone. He turns to Clara while motioning at her mom in the rearview mirror
“Obsession is an interesting thing, Clara. You were able to avoid any other desires to get at the thing you want deep down. I think I am going to do the same. The only thing that lasts in this world is your name. The only way to achieve immortality is to be remembered throughout the ages. That’s how we know that one man held up an army for a little while at Stamford Bridge, and a female samurai took the heads of prominent lords every time she went to battle.”
“Tomoe Gozen!”
“Aha, so you’ve been reading. But yes, nameless or not, our actions and deeds are what lasts in this world, and you can do so much with your will and a weapon, be it that knife or your crazy little mind. So I ask you,” He looks right at the camera for the stream. “What is a little flesh when you want to achieve greatness.”
He howls again and turns into the parking lot of a small stadium. He avoids the central area of the parking lot where many idle cars sit and goes to the side area where some staff members are loading up equipment. He enters the arena where a bright spotlight gives way to a dirt floor and a gaggle of beat-up cars running around crashing into each other to the roar of an audience. The green Cadillac doesn’t look so out of place in the vehicular melee. Other demolition drivers accept it as part of the derby and attempt to hit the car as usual. They do not expect the hell that follows in the big jeep.
Aokigahara drives around the circular arena narrowly, avoiding any collisions, and the ones he can’t avoid being taken care of by a rampaging Alexis in her bigger car. Clara braces herself against the seat and the dashboard every time there is a close call but seems overly enthusiastic at the prospect. Aokigahara keeps an eye on their path and another on Alexis, hoping to catch a glimpse of her face as she smashes another contender out of their way. The announcers of the event don’t have any idea of what to make of these events but run with it, and the crowd roars in acceptance.
“Listen to that, Clara! These are the seeds of memory. Last year at the Carnage Carnival, I addressed every type of contender that I may cross paths with and noted our differences. Every single type of wrestler is in this thing, but this year, mostly everyone in the field knows what they are getting themselves into. DTW has grown into Yamashi Pro and engrossed the wrestling world at large. We still have everything from the skull rapists like Kuntz to the glitter brigade leader, Fallon, and everything in between. The leviathans of the sport like Laughlin and Seldon are up against the new hopes with promises. Just like my first in DECAY. The singular goal is there. That is to test yourself against the gauntlet and be immortalized.”
While Alexis attracts a lot of attention in her behemoth, Aokigahara targets a lone contender by leaning out of the window and pointing across the battlefield.
“You! You!” He enters the car again after the man in the other car lines up with him, and they race off towards each other. Clara understands what is going on and lets out a defiant roar of a battle cry. Aokigahara almost sheds a proud tear before joining her. The car turns at the very last second and is rewarded by being crushed into the wall by Alexis. Aokigahara does a rollout as he scans the area and sees that there are no other cars left. He comes to a stop and gets out. The staff and medical personnel rush into action to check on the drivers, and more than a few of them go to Alexis. Clara is the first to get to her as she spills out of her car. As big and protected as it was, the car could only do so much to protect the driver against such an onslaught. Alexis bleeds from her forehead, among many other cuts and scrapes. She kneels to take Clara up into a hug with one hand. She fixes her bloodshot eyes on Aokigahara. He kneels to her level and focuses the shot on the scene. When he talks, his tone is different. There is less jovial mirth in his voice, replaced by something different.
“One of the last things that woman told me before today was ‘Fight me.’ I’ve been getting that a lot, and it is a welcome challenge. In the year since the last Carnage Carnival, I came in second so many times. To her brother, Josh. To Bryan Laughlin, and Avaline Blondieu. They defeated me. I believe that I was too concerned about the competition. Too worried about winning. I became crossed in my mission. I confused the plan and made it the same as everyone else. I lost sight of the joy in the journey. Win the match and get the shot. Win the title and gain the notoriety. This superficial goal blinded me from my real purpose in all of this. Sure, a title brings many juicy challenges, but... Look at that woman’s face. That is someone that wasn’t blinded today. She came face to face with fear and rage and came out the other side intact. She achieved greatness today, and she doesn’t even know it.”
Alexis frantically checks on Clara, who is enthusiastic and the picture of health. She stands up to get the medical staff off of her. Aokigahara nods.
“That is what I want to be again. I was the force that drives others to their limits. I need to separate myself from the splendor of the thing. To be selfless is the highest path of perfection. Allow me, Carnage Carnivalites, to show you your best selves once again. I promise you that when you get in the ring with me, you will forget that there is a cup. You will only think of one the one thing that may get you through the night. You do not only have to defeat me. You survive me. I will turn the Carnage Carnival 2019 into a war of attrition. I have shown that I can last. The wear and tear on my body only fuel me to surpass my limits so that I can keep doing this again and again. So that when I haul up my mangled corpse for the final battle it may be at the Tokyo Dome where many can see the pure primal urges of the human condition
“So be bold and arrogant. Make your promises of the most grandstanding opulence. Try to shake our knees with the threats of violence and sodomy. Subject us to your crazed vision of our dismal puny existence. Take this all on as a challenge to test yourself against the big baddies of wrestling. Or look down at us from the Universe and shed a tear. Bring whatever persona you have thought up this time. Be yourself. I will make you bleed your blood and taste the bitter salt in mine. That is what we all are in the end. We are the stains of red on the mat after the ring clears, the sweat that we expel when we train for this ordeal, and the whispers of the audience as they talk about what they have seen the day after a show. We are a mother’s sacrifice when she birthed our pitiful souls into this world.”
Alexis now looks around for something, anything with which to express her feelings. She gets a crowbar from one of the mechanics trying to tear open the door of her last victim. She limps then stomps over to Aokigahara. He stands at relaxed attention, waiting for her with an unapologetic smile.
“All these moments, from when I chopped off a dragon’s tail with a chainsaw, to when I could not stand back up after Kawamata, Kennedy, or Laughlin, to more recently when I slammed Daniels into the ring from the scaffold, have brought me here. I will stand before you as a mirror to your true self. That hidden side of you that you hide from the world because it makes you vulnerable. Don’t worry. It is not a weakness. It is what comes out when you have bared your last curse against all hardships. I’ll bring out your last-ditch effort to subsist. At the end of it, all only one of us will be standing, but as of each battle, we will all be victorious.”
He holds his arm out at his sides as if he will take Alexis Kennedy into a hug.
“You choose to survive, and I will make you immortal.”
Alexis brings the crowbar down onto Aokigahara, and the shot cuts when she connects.