Deimos walked slowly along the London streets. People rushed by, engulfed in their busy lives. Towering over the Londoners that parted at his approach, like water parting at the prow of a boat, his eyes followed the cracks of the sidewalk. Step after step he continued, lost in his heavy thoughts. His mind wandered to Monday night when he would take part in the main event of Meltdown. In a ring, at the Earl’s Court here in London, he would stand alongside the current WWA World Champion, Grunge, to take on both Wes Sanders and the current WWA US Champion, Leviathan. He stopped in the middle of the rushing crowd. They continued passing him, oblivious to his presence.

He raised his eyes toward the sky, seeing that rarity of England, the sun, bearing down. With a deep breath, he produced a stack of large white cards from behind his back. The first card, held at his chest, facing forward for all to see, showed its thick black lettering.

Grunge

He waited for a moment, allowing the word, and all of its meanings to sink in. He then tossed it aside, letting it fall casually to the ground, to reveal the next card.

Champion

Again, he waited, letting that word’s prestige linger. He then casually dropped it as well, revealing the next card.

Respected

His face remained impassive, holding the card. Then, it too fell to the sidewalk, giving way to the next.

Friend?

He blinked and held the card for a moment. He moved the card and let it drop to join the pile at his feet, revealing the next card.

Wes Sanders

He held the card quietly, with the throngs still passing by, taking no notice of him. He dropped that one as well, bringing a new card to view.

Friend?

His eyes narrowed as he let this card fall to reveal another.

Or Betrayer?

His jaw clenched as he held this one. For a long moment, he let the gravity of the question hang in the air before dropping the card.

Leviathan.

His hand trembled as he held the card, causing the name to move rapidly from side to side. Quickly, he removed this card to reveal the one beneath it.

Monster.

He held it there, punctuating the word with a silent passage of time. After a long wait, he dropped that one as well to reveal yet another.

Champion.

Then, he held the card against the others with one hand while the other hand reached up to grip the card at the top. With a swift movement, he tore the card in half and let both pieces fall to the ground. This revealed the next card.

Am I a god?

His eyes wandered away, lost in hushed contemplation. The waves of humanity continued their busy lives, unmindful of his question. Finally, after a seeming eternity, he let that card fall to show the final card.

Who am I?

His shoulders dropped and the card slid from his hand to fall unceremoniously into the pile that lay on the sidewalk. He turned away, and walked back through the crowd to whom this man, once called a god, was invisible.