I used to keep it together,
holding onto the part of me that was sane.
An iron grip,
a perfect façade,
I had an impenetrable fortress.
No one could reach the walls of sanity
I had built.
I walk a path alone, forever forced
To guard my fortress.
But then a situation occurred.

An opposing force approached
At the only moment I ever let my guard down.
What it was? I don’t know.
What it did? It pains me to discuss.
I had a flawless plan, flawless
Protection.
I was impenetrable!
I, however, did not expect this surprise.

A blow to the head, a wall was down.
Another blow;
Another wall down.
I’m losing my grip.
I grit my teeth against the darkness growing.
Another wall gone.
A darkness emerges.
My sanity shrinks as the beast rises.
It steps out of my fortress and walks.
I feel myself weaken.
The black beast glides over the ruins.
Regaining breath and balance, I walk.
The beast looms over, shadowing me,
And I feel a chill.
I manage to muster a glare at it,
And the beast stares blankly back.
It moves on.
I stumble by.
The beast brushes the foliage near my fortress,
And I hold my hands to my head in pain.
It soon moves out of view.
I enter the ruins dejected, pained, and depressed.
Sitting in a corner next to a chain, I assume a fetal position,
And wait for the battle to begin.