The Tragic Tale of The Black Parade
A Razor’s Edge
They kept walking. With each step, the world lightened, eventually becoming a solid steel gray. The perfect balance between the blinding white and murderous darkness. As they walked, the patient realized how different the two of them were. He still wore his white hospital gown, a distant contrast to the classy black uniform of the man he followed. He himself was the spirit of weakness, of those lost in the most distant wasteland. The man in front of him embodied pure power, as if he were the general presiding over an army. It was strange. They did not belong anywhere near each other.
It was deathly silent, enough to drive the patient mad. He could think of nothing to say to the one he followed, however, making it all the more difficult.
“You dislike this,” said the pale-haired man walking in front of him.
“Just...this silence.” He nodded.
“I could sing, if you like.”
“Anything would be better than silence.” A marble white door appeared in front of the uniformed man. He halted next to it.
“It matters not. We have reached our first destination.” He opened the door, and it led to pure darkness. He took a slight bow and motioned for the patient to go inside first. He slowly walked through the doorway. The uniformed man smirked slightly as he passed and followed him through, closing the door with a soft click.
The darkness was back again, and the patient was none too happy about it. He heard another familiar sound, but this was no man and no singer. It was synthesized and false. It signified both life and death, depending. For him it was the latter.
It was the constant beep of a heart monitor. Behind it was the sound of an air pump helping its victim breathe.
“You were quite young. I believed it to be unfair,” the other man began. The patient stood next to him, able to see his features clearly. The man’s face darkened. “...But in the end, it may be considered...reasonable.” The patient was shocked, and the heart monitor began to speed up in response. He tried to breath deeper to calm down, and the air pump shuddered.
“R-reasonable?”
“I am risking much by doing this for you. You must prove to me that you deserve the world I will offer you.”
“What kind of world is it?” the patient asked hopefully, curiosity sparkling in his dark eyes. The man shook his head.
“I’ve told you already, you must wait. You will learn in time, and do not worry. I will do what I can to help you.” The patient was worried. This mysterious man clearly had the power to either help or condemn him. Hopefully he would end up making the right decision.
“Watch.” The darkness began to ebb away, leading to a world of white. The glow was intense, but details soon began to etch their way into the light and form the outlines of a room. It was a hospital room, the hospital room. The one where he had died.
“Am I to assume you recognize this place?” The patient nodded. “Good. Then we may continue.”
“But why would you bring me back here?” the patient asked as he recalled his former suffering.
“Because I need to know exactly what you remember,” the uniformed man said plainly.
“Of course I would remember something like this!”
“You don’t understand,” the man said with a sigh. “The moment I begin to assume your memories is the moment everything falls apart. A technical formality, if you will, but an important one nonetheless.”
The patient could hardly believe what he was hearing. How could this man stand there and say something like that with such dignity? It was as if the leader didn’t care that a ‘technical formality’ was going to decide his fate.
But at the same time, the patient had to wonder why this was so. This man was clearly not in charge of the final decision; that much was evident from his words. And even if he would be the one to decide and was cleverly disguising his status, he was not heartless, or he would have condemned the patient long ago. Either that or he was a cruel man who loved to see his victims suffer, like a deranged murderer. Who did he have to answer to? And what would happen if he strayed from these bizarre rules?
“No doubt this troubles you. I am sorry that I cannot explain everything to you immediately, but I will say this.” As he spoke, his militaristic uniform was replaced with a doctor’s lab coat. He had to blend in. “I sympathize with you. And I will do everything I can to ensure you go to the proper place.”
The patient almost smiled. He almost smiled because he almost missed the other meaning of the man’s words. There was a high chance he would end up where he wanted, in whatever world this man offered him. But the possibility of death and darkness loomed over him like storm clouds brimming with rain. He knew he would have to be very careful about what he said from now on. He would have to learn the rules of this game soon, for if he didn’t, there was no way to know what awaited him.
It was deathly silent, enough to drive the patient mad. He could think of nothing to say to the one he followed, however, making it all the more difficult.
“You dislike this,” said the pale-haired man walking in front of him.
“Just...this silence.” He nodded.
“I could sing, if you like.”
“Anything would be better than silence.” A marble white door appeared in front of the uniformed man. He halted next to it.
“It matters not. We have reached our first destination.” He opened the door, and it led to pure darkness. He took a slight bow and motioned for the patient to go inside first. He slowly walked through the doorway. The uniformed man smirked slightly as he passed and followed him through, closing the door with a soft click.
The darkness was back again, and the patient was none too happy about it. He heard another familiar sound, but this was no man and no singer. It was synthesized and false. It signified both life and death, depending. For him it was the latter.
It was the constant beep of a heart monitor. Behind it was the sound of an air pump helping its victim breathe.
“You were quite young. I believed it to be unfair,” the other man began. The patient stood next to him, able to see his features clearly. The man’s face darkened. “...But in the end, it may be considered...reasonable.” The patient was shocked, and the heart monitor began to speed up in response. He tried to breath deeper to calm down, and the air pump shuddered.
“R-reasonable?”
“I am risking much by doing this for you. You must prove to me that you deserve the world I will offer you.”
“What kind of world is it?” the patient asked hopefully, curiosity sparkling in his dark eyes. The man shook his head.
“I’ve told you already, you must wait. You will learn in time, and do not worry. I will do what I can to help you.” The patient was worried. This mysterious man clearly had the power to either help or condemn him. Hopefully he would end up making the right decision.
“Watch.” The darkness began to ebb away, leading to a world of white. The glow was intense, but details soon began to etch their way into the light and form the outlines of a room. It was a hospital room, the hospital room. The one where he had died.
“Am I to assume you recognize this place?” The patient nodded. “Good. Then we may continue.”
“But why would you bring me back here?” the patient asked as he recalled his former suffering.
“Because I need to know exactly what you remember,” the uniformed man said plainly.
“Of course I would remember something like this!”
“You don’t understand,” the man said with a sigh. “The moment I begin to assume your memories is the moment everything falls apart. A technical formality, if you will, but an important one nonetheless.”
The patient could hardly believe what he was hearing. How could this man stand there and say something like that with such dignity? It was as if the leader didn’t care that a ‘technical formality’ was going to decide his fate.
But at the same time, the patient had to wonder why this was so. This man was clearly not in charge of the final decision; that much was evident from his words. And even if he would be the one to decide and was cleverly disguising his status, he was not heartless, or he would have condemned the patient long ago. Either that or he was a cruel man who loved to see his victims suffer, like a deranged murderer. Who did he have to answer to? And what would happen if he strayed from these bizarre rules?
“No doubt this troubles you. I am sorry that I cannot explain everything to you immediately, but I will say this.” As he spoke, his militaristic uniform was replaced with a doctor’s lab coat. He had to blend in. “I sympathize with you. And I will do everything I can to ensure you go to the proper place.”
The patient almost smiled. He almost smiled because he almost missed the other meaning of the man’s words. There was a high chance he would end up where he wanted, in whatever world this man offered him. But the possibility of death and darkness loomed over him like storm clouds brimming with rain. He knew he would have to be very careful about what he said from now on. He would have to learn the rules of this game soon, for if he didn’t, there was no way to know what awaited him.