Post by Rick Majors on Jan 8, 2018 21:03:42 GMT -5
Though the weather is quite cold, Gabriel is standing outside the Pure Class Arena, ready to give a sermon. He has created a make-shift stage for himself out of several shipping pallets and is standing atop it, looking out at the congregation. Of course, in reality, no one is assembled outside the arena. Gabriel is alone. A few random cars are scattered around the parking lot, but not a person is in sight.
Nevertheless, Gabriel begins to speak. This tone of this sermon is different from many of those he has given. It is given with a quiet rage. There is a sneer on his face and anger in his voice as he speaks.
“The new year has arrived. This is a time for quiet reflection and for focusing on self-improvement. But most people do not treat it this way. They get drunk, they abuse their bodies, and then they spend the next few weeks lying to themselves about ‘resolutions.’ But no one actually takes the time to work on truly improving themselves.
When people make ‘resolutions,’ few decide to donate more to charity or give themselves to the Lord. No, most aren’t selfless enough. People are selfish. People are evil. They make resolutions only to serve themselves and stroke their own egos. They resolve to go to the gym, only so they can attract other equally egotistical people for random one-night stands. They watch what they eat so they have enough space in their stomachs to binge drink until they black out.
It’s disgraceful.”
Gabriel looks down for a moment before continuing.
“We live in a world that is being destroyed by ego and conceit. These negative attributes aren’t just tolerated in our world, they’re encouraged. People who are driven by ego like Kyle Shane and Justin Michaels and Johnny NewLastName are celebrated for their brashness. They’re told over and over again that they’re great, and why? For what? They don’t deserve any praise. All that applauding them does is feed their egos and cause their delusions to grow.
They shouldn’t be celebrated. They should be torn down. And they will be, one-by-one.”
Gabriel has fire in his eyes as he speaks.
“Consider Justin Michaels, who walked back into Pure Class Wrestling after pouting his way out of the company last time. He truly believes that he should have been given a crown just for walking back in here. For some reason he feels like it’s his right to be praised and worshiped. That’s blasphemous. And why does he believe it? Because society told him he was special and unique. Society praised him for being an ‘individual.’ Society is wrong.
But it’s okay. Eventually he’ll take his ball and go home again, as soon as the spotlight is focused on anyone but him. And the spotlight will not be on him for much longer. His luster is shining. His light is fading. His partner and ‘friend’ Johnny Matthews is more charismatic than him. Kyle Shane is a better professional wrestler. And Brenna Gordon has an awe about her that Mr. Stormm will never be able to achieve.
And Seromine is our Lord. The focus should always be on Him. His light will never fade.”
Gabriel pauses briefly.
“I have said it before and I will say it repeatedly until the day I die: It is disgraceful that heathens like Shane and Gordon and Matthews and Michaels are permitted to stand in the same ring as the Lord. It is shameful that there are some people out there who actually believe that these pathetic slobs are on the same level as Seromine. Seromine is just. Seromine is kind. Seromine is powerful. All others should bow in his presence. They should look up at Him with awe. They should give their lives over to Him, for He alone can save humankind.
But they don’t.
Their egos do not allow them to. They honestly believe that they deserve to challenge the Lord. They likely even believe that they are better than the Lord. How disgusting is that? And yet society feeds into their delusion. Any why? We do we allow this? Why do human beings insist on praising those who are filled with sin?
Because, deep down, we all know that we are also sinners.”
Again, Gabriel looks down. He waits a moment before continuing.
“But we can be saved. I was once a sinner as well. I once took pride in ‘rising up against authority’ the same way ‘Club V’ does. I once believed that I too was the anti-establishment force that was ‘too cool for school.’ I thought being ‘bad’ and ‘cool’ was more important than being pure and holy. And then the Lord came to me and I found salvation. I found my true place in life. He saved me.
He made my life complete. He rescued my soul. He salvaged my humanity. Every day I am grateful for His love.”
Another pause. And a deep breath.
“But most people do not want to change. They do not want to better themselves. They do not want to improve. They are lazy. They are weak. They would rather live in sin than take even a brief moment to seek real self-improvement. So, what do they do to make themselves feel better? They turn their fellow sinners into idols. They take those who smoke and drink and curse and they elevate them. They look at those who are egotistical and cocky and make them their idols. They believe that, by honouring their fellow sinners, they are making their own sins look good.
But sins can never look good.
The cool kids may get praise. They may have people chanting their names. They may get to do fun little talk shows where they drink and parade around the ring like they’re rock stars. And that might give them a bit of a rush. That might make them forget how empty their lives are for a few moments. But it doesn’t save their souls.
Only the Lord can save their souls.”
Very briefly, Gabriel smiles before continuing in his serious tone.
“Kyle Shane is our World Champion. Justin Michaels is our North American Champion. Once again, society has chosen to honour its most sinful members. At Collision Course Kyle Shane raised his hand in victory. Brenna Gordon made her return to wrestling. They both received cheers. They were both celebrated by an audience of heathens. They both took pleasure in spitting in the face of the Lord.
But their victories from that evening will be hollow. And their time in the sun will be brief. For generations, people believed that they would be judged by their maker when they reached the afterlife. But that is no longer the case. We are judging them now. And we are striking them down before they can inspire others to follow their sinful missions.
Whatever twisted reason Brenna Gordon had for returning, it does not matter. The last time she dared to challenge Seromine, she wasn’t seen for months afterwards. There is no reason to believe the same thing will not happen again. You do not get to take shots at the Lord, Brenna. Not again. You had your shot, one more shot than you deserved, and you missed. In fact, you didn’t even miss. You couldn’t even fire. You put your tail between your legs and ran before you even pulled the trigger. And, in doing so, all you did was place an even bigger target on your back. You knew the Lord was too powerful for you then and the same is true today. You got lucky at Collision Course. You attacked Seromine from behind after He had already been in a grueling match. You suddenly became brave enough to do something when all of the odds were in your favour. But you will not be so lucky again.
And, speaking of lucky, we have our friend Kyle. What a magical year 2017 was for you Kyle. In between getting your face kicked in, it was all sunshine and rainbows. You won and you won and you won. But your championships will not save your soul.
But Kyle, as a man of faith and kindness, let me say that what happened to you at Collision Course was wrong. Just because you are a godless sinner, it doesn’t mean that you should be subjected to the kind of treatment that ‘Club V’ inflicted on you. Of course, because you have also rejected the Lord, it means that you deserve anything bad that happens to you. So, it is quite a conundrum. But just because I recognize that what happened to you was wrong, it does not mean that I pity you. When you live a life of ego and sin, bad things happen.
And bad things will happen at Trauma.
Inside of a steel cage, we will eliminate all of you. You will all fall. You will all be wiped out. Evil may have won the battle at Collision Course, but it will not win the war. The Lord will triumph as He always does.”
Again, another smile. Now Gabriel seems to be enjoying the message of his sermon. The “congregation” probably is as well, but, considering that they are fictional, it is difficult to tell. Gabriel continues to speak.
“Of course, Brenna and Kyle are not the only heathens that we will be locked inside a cage with. No, we also have two wannabe celebrities to deal with as well. And it is going to be fun. We will have the pleasure of shutting up two men who are fabulously successful international superstars in their own minds. These are two men who personify sin. When you talk about ego, the conversation should start and end with ‘Club V.’ They simply cannot deal with anyone else being the center of attention even for a brief moment. That’s why they stole the World Championship at Collision Course. That’s why they attacked the Underground Champion at the Iceys. They would wither and die if the world wasn’t constantly looking at them.
Good news, boys, the entire world will be watching on Trauma. Unfortunately for you, all the world will see is your destruction. For we will ‘celebrate’ seven years of Trauma bringing sin to the airwaves by purging the company of such filth once and for all.
Justin, I know that you truly believe that you are the greatest thing on earth. You feel like everyone else is below you. But what have you actually done since returning? You lost the Deadly Rumble. You lost to Kyle Shane. Then you got lucky and, yes, you beat me fairly, but, to be honest, that was because I was unprepared. After all, I really didn’t think you would show up for the match. After all, you have a history of staying at home when you feel that a title is ‘below you.’”
Another pause. Gabriel shifts his weight slightly on the shipping pallets before continuing.
“Your victory doesn’t make you happy though, does it Justin? No, because you believe the North American Title isn’t important enough for someone like you. You’ve told us all repeatedly how you don’t even want it. It’s not big enough to keep your ego afloat, is it? No, an ego the size of yours needs something huge to keep it going. But that quest hasn’t worked out very well for you. You thought you would walk back into PCW and the world would be handed to you on a silver platter. But nothing is handed to sinners. Because you don’t deserve anything.
Since returned to this company, you haven’t been able to accomplish anything big enough to feed your sinful ego and I can tell that it burns you up. But the fires of hell burn much hotter, Justin.
Outside of your win against me, your only accomplishment since coming back was that you brought Johnny Vivacious back to PCW. And, because he’s much more interesting than you, he promptly went and stole your thunder. Oops, is that a pun on your ridiculous ‘storm’ gimmick? Or is the gimmick that you can’t spell words correctly? I’m never quite sure because I still haven’t been able to stomach the entirety of one of your ‘promos.’
Back to the topic at hand. You brought Johnny back to Pure Class Wrestling and that’s all you will be remembered for. But Little Johnny has a tendency to steal things, doesn’t he? He stole the World Title. He stole the Underground Title. And he even stole your spotlight. And, for anyone who knows you, that’s the biggest crime of all, isn’t it? You guys have been acting all buddy-buddy since you returned, but how long is that really going to last? You see, this is the downside of sin. This is the fatal flaw of ego. It’s never enough. When your heart is dark and your soul is corrupted, you are always craving more. You need more cheers. You need more championships. You need more fuel for your ego. And it is this quest to constantly prop up your self-worth that will drive the two of you apart. It will lead to your destruction. We’ll just be speeding up that process on Trauma. We’ll be putting you down before you kill yourself. In many ways, you should be thanking us.”
Gabriel clears his throat.
“Now we know how ‘Club V’ will respond. And we know that it will take about 20 minutes longer than it needs to. We know there will be music and lights and laughter and drinks and smokes and slogans and catchphrases. And we know that there will be no substance to any of it. Because the two of you are hollow inside. You think you can fill your souls with bravado, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are empty vessels in reality. Only the Lord can give your lives meaning. And, Justin, you have blown that opportunity. He will not save you. He will destroy you. And no one will miss you. Everyone will forget about you. And that eats you up inside because you know it’s true.
But the audience of sinners really does seem to enjoy that little show you have, don't they? To me, it's just a loud droning noise that takes up 20 or 30 minutes of airtime each week, but they really seem to like it. I do not understand its purpose, nor do I want to. Your filth should be removed from television. When I speak, I speak the words of the Lord. I share His message with the masses in hopes of educating them, in hopes of saving them. I offer messages of love and forgiveness. You offer loud music, juvenile humour, and sin. With this sort of depravity happening on a nightly basis, it’s no wonder Johnny is having an identity crisis right now.”
Gabriel clears his throat again. Perhaps the cold weather is getting to him.
“To be honest, I know what you are going through Johnny. I've been there. In my previous life, I too suffered loss. I too was hurt. I too was aimless. I tried in vein for so long to distract myself from my real issues. But I only found peace after accepting the Lord as my saviour.
Johnny, you have the same opportunity. You are not like your partner. I can see it. Yes, on the surface you are also arrogant and self-centred, but there may be something inside you that can be saved. There may be hope for you. But you need to abandon your past life and give yourself to the Lord if you wish to find salvation. If you fail to accept this opportunity, you will be sentencing yourself to continuing your life as it is now; a life of pain and sadness.
We would welcome you with open arms, Johnny. But you need to open your eyes to reality and open your heart to the Lord. You don't have to struggle with life any longer. You can be saved.
It’s a new year. Let auld acquaintance be forgot. Justin is holding you back from who you really should be. We’ve all seen the name change. We all know you’re going through some internal turmoil. You are begging to be reborn. You are begging to be saved.
You don't need to hide behind your bravado any longer, Johnny. You can find salvation. You can give yourself to the Lord. Or you can be destroyed. The choice is yours. Please choose wisely.”
Gabriel looks out at the congregation that has not changed in size since he started speaking. There is still no one there. And there are even fewer cars in the parking lot. He continues to speak.
“Kyle and Brenna and Justin and Johnny, all of you may truly believe that you know everything, but you have a lot to learn. You have lived your lives completely wrong. When you base your existence on championships or the roar of the crowd or being booked in a main event match, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and failure. You cannot feed your soul with trinkets or fame or money or titles. You can only feed it with the love of the Lord. He is the only true path to salvation. He is the only way to achieve immortality. Because, when you follow the Lord, you earn yourself a spot in His Kingdom for all eternity. Your soul will be full. Your life will be full. Your world will be full.”
Gabriel smiles now.
“That is why I can stand here, despite losing my championship to a sinner like Stormm, and address you with a smile on my face. Because I know I am loved. I am loved by the Lord. I pity everyone else in his cage match. Because, sadly, it looks as though they will never know that feeling. But, hey have no one to blame but themselves. Unfortunately, their actions in this life have put them into this position.
At Trauma, six individuals will stand in the ring. Four of them are ignorant fools who lack substance, spirit, and purpose. The other two are the Lord and His messenger. This is not a contest. This is a sacrifice.
I was wise enough to recognize my failings and seek forgiveness and salvation from the Lord. All of you have instead chosen to fight a battle against Seromine that you cannot win. And this battle will not last much longer. It ends on Trauma. It ends with all four of you being gutted alive. We will, once again, stand proudly above the broken bodies of the sinners.
The blood of the nonbelievers will paint the canvas. You will be ripped apart and your mangled corpses will be held up in front of the world as a warning. Do not cross the Lord. That road is filled with pain and humiliation and defeat. And I know that your egos cannot take that sort of treatment. I look forward to watching you die.
Praise Seromine
Praise.
The.
Lord.”
Gabriel nods briefly to the “assembled crowd” before turning and walking away. In the distance, an engine roars to life and another car leaves the parking lot.
Nevertheless, Gabriel begins to speak. This tone of this sermon is different from many of those he has given. It is given with a quiet rage. There is a sneer on his face and anger in his voice as he speaks.
“The new year has arrived. This is a time for quiet reflection and for focusing on self-improvement. But most people do not treat it this way. They get drunk, they abuse their bodies, and then they spend the next few weeks lying to themselves about ‘resolutions.’ But no one actually takes the time to work on truly improving themselves.
When people make ‘resolutions,’ few decide to donate more to charity or give themselves to the Lord. No, most aren’t selfless enough. People are selfish. People are evil. They make resolutions only to serve themselves and stroke their own egos. They resolve to go to the gym, only so they can attract other equally egotistical people for random one-night stands. They watch what they eat so they have enough space in their stomachs to binge drink until they black out.
It’s disgraceful.”
Gabriel looks down for a moment before continuing.
“We live in a world that is being destroyed by ego and conceit. These negative attributes aren’t just tolerated in our world, they’re encouraged. People who are driven by ego like Kyle Shane and Justin Michaels and Johnny NewLastName are celebrated for their brashness. They’re told over and over again that they’re great, and why? For what? They don’t deserve any praise. All that applauding them does is feed their egos and cause their delusions to grow.
They shouldn’t be celebrated. They should be torn down. And they will be, one-by-one.”
Gabriel has fire in his eyes as he speaks.
“Consider Justin Michaels, who walked back into Pure Class Wrestling after pouting his way out of the company last time. He truly believes that he should have been given a crown just for walking back in here. For some reason he feels like it’s his right to be praised and worshiped. That’s blasphemous. And why does he believe it? Because society told him he was special and unique. Society praised him for being an ‘individual.’ Society is wrong.
But it’s okay. Eventually he’ll take his ball and go home again, as soon as the spotlight is focused on anyone but him. And the spotlight will not be on him for much longer. His luster is shining. His light is fading. His partner and ‘friend’ Johnny Matthews is more charismatic than him. Kyle Shane is a better professional wrestler. And Brenna Gordon has an awe about her that Mr. Stormm will never be able to achieve.
And Seromine is our Lord. The focus should always be on Him. His light will never fade.”
Gabriel pauses briefly.
“I have said it before and I will say it repeatedly until the day I die: It is disgraceful that heathens like Shane and Gordon and Matthews and Michaels are permitted to stand in the same ring as the Lord. It is shameful that there are some people out there who actually believe that these pathetic slobs are on the same level as Seromine. Seromine is just. Seromine is kind. Seromine is powerful. All others should bow in his presence. They should look up at Him with awe. They should give their lives over to Him, for He alone can save humankind.
But they don’t.
Their egos do not allow them to. They honestly believe that they deserve to challenge the Lord. They likely even believe that they are better than the Lord. How disgusting is that? And yet society feeds into their delusion. Any why? We do we allow this? Why do human beings insist on praising those who are filled with sin?
Because, deep down, we all know that we are also sinners.”
Again, Gabriel looks down. He waits a moment before continuing.
“But we can be saved. I was once a sinner as well. I once took pride in ‘rising up against authority’ the same way ‘Club V’ does. I once believed that I too was the anti-establishment force that was ‘too cool for school.’ I thought being ‘bad’ and ‘cool’ was more important than being pure and holy. And then the Lord came to me and I found salvation. I found my true place in life. He saved me.
He made my life complete. He rescued my soul. He salvaged my humanity. Every day I am grateful for His love.”
Another pause. And a deep breath.
“But most people do not want to change. They do not want to better themselves. They do not want to improve. They are lazy. They are weak. They would rather live in sin than take even a brief moment to seek real self-improvement. So, what do they do to make themselves feel better? They turn their fellow sinners into idols. They take those who smoke and drink and curse and they elevate them. They look at those who are egotistical and cocky and make them their idols. They believe that, by honouring their fellow sinners, they are making their own sins look good.
But sins can never look good.
The cool kids may get praise. They may have people chanting their names. They may get to do fun little talk shows where they drink and parade around the ring like they’re rock stars. And that might give them a bit of a rush. That might make them forget how empty their lives are for a few moments. But it doesn’t save their souls.
Only the Lord can save their souls.”
Very briefly, Gabriel smiles before continuing in his serious tone.
“Kyle Shane is our World Champion. Justin Michaels is our North American Champion. Once again, society has chosen to honour its most sinful members. At Collision Course Kyle Shane raised his hand in victory. Brenna Gordon made her return to wrestling. They both received cheers. They were both celebrated by an audience of heathens. They both took pleasure in spitting in the face of the Lord.
But their victories from that evening will be hollow. And their time in the sun will be brief. For generations, people believed that they would be judged by their maker when they reached the afterlife. But that is no longer the case. We are judging them now. And we are striking them down before they can inspire others to follow their sinful missions.
Whatever twisted reason Brenna Gordon had for returning, it does not matter. The last time she dared to challenge Seromine, she wasn’t seen for months afterwards. There is no reason to believe the same thing will not happen again. You do not get to take shots at the Lord, Brenna. Not again. You had your shot, one more shot than you deserved, and you missed. In fact, you didn’t even miss. You couldn’t even fire. You put your tail between your legs and ran before you even pulled the trigger. And, in doing so, all you did was place an even bigger target on your back. You knew the Lord was too powerful for you then and the same is true today. You got lucky at Collision Course. You attacked Seromine from behind after He had already been in a grueling match. You suddenly became brave enough to do something when all of the odds were in your favour. But you will not be so lucky again.
And, speaking of lucky, we have our friend Kyle. What a magical year 2017 was for you Kyle. In between getting your face kicked in, it was all sunshine and rainbows. You won and you won and you won. But your championships will not save your soul.
But Kyle, as a man of faith and kindness, let me say that what happened to you at Collision Course was wrong. Just because you are a godless sinner, it doesn’t mean that you should be subjected to the kind of treatment that ‘Club V’ inflicted on you. Of course, because you have also rejected the Lord, it means that you deserve anything bad that happens to you. So, it is quite a conundrum. But just because I recognize that what happened to you was wrong, it does not mean that I pity you. When you live a life of ego and sin, bad things happen.
And bad things will happen at Trauma.
Inside of a steel cage, we will eliminate all of you. You will all fall. You will all be wiped out. Evil may have won the battle at Collision Course, but it will not win the war. The Lord will triumph as He always does.”
Again, another smile. Now Gabriel seems to be enjoying the message of his sermon. The “congregation” probably is as well, but, considering that they are fictional, it is difficult to tell. Gabriel continues to speak.
“Of course, Brenna and Kyle are not the only heathens that we will be locked inside a cage with. No, we also have two wannabe celebrities to deal with as well. And it is going to be fun. We will have the pleasure of shutting up two men who are fabulously successful international superstars in their own minds. These are two men who personify sin. When you talk about ego, the conversation should start and end with ‘Club V.’ They simply cannot deal with anyone else being the center of attention even for a brief moment. That’s why they stole the World Championship at Collision Course. That’s why they attacked the Underground Champion at the Iceys. They would wither and die if the world wasn’t constantly looking at them.
Good news, boys, the entire world will be watching on Trauma. Unfortunately for you, all the world will see is your destruction. For we will ‘celebrate’ seven years of Trauma bringing sin to the airwaves by purging the company of such filth once and for all.
Justin, I know that you truly believe that you are the greatest thing on earth. You feel like everyone else is below you. But what have you actually done since returning? You lost the Deadly Rumble. You lost to Kyle Shane. Then you got lucky and, yes, you beat me fairly, but, to be honest, that was because I was unprepared. After all, I really didn’t think you would show up for the match. After all, you have a history of staying at home when you feel that a title is ‘below you.’”
Another pause. Gabriel shifts his weight slightly on the shipping pallets before continuing.
“Your victory doesn’t make you happy though, does it Justin? No, because you believe the North American Title isn’t important enough for someone like you. You’ve told us all repeatedly how you don’t even want it. It’s not big enough to keep your ego afloat, is it? No, an ego the size of yours needs something huge to keep it going. But that quest hasn’t worked out very well for you. You thought you would walk back into PCW and the world would be handed to you on a silver platter. But nothing is handed to sinners. Because you don’t deserve anything.
Since returned to this company, you haven’t been able to accomplish anything big enough to feed your sinful ego and I can tell that it burns you up. But the fires of hell burn much hotter, Justin.
Outside of your win against me, your only accomplishment since coming back was that you brought Johnny Vivacious back to PCW. And, because he’s much more interesting than you, he promptly went and stole your thunder. Oops, is that a pun on your ridiculous ‘storm’ gimmick? Or is the gimmick that you can’t spell words correctly? I’m never quite sure because I still haven’t been able to stomach the entirety of one of your ‘promos.’
Back to the topic at hand. You brought Johnny back to Pure Class Wrestling and that’s all you will be remembered for. But Little Johnny has a tendency to steal things, doesn’t he? He stole the World Title. He stole the Underground Title. And he even stole your spotlight. And, for anyone who knows you, that’s the biggest crime of all, isn’t it? You guys have been acting all buddy-buddy since you returned, but how long is that really going to last? You see, this is the downside of sin. This is the fatal flaw of ego. It’s never enough. When your heart is dark and your soul is corrupted, you are always craving more. You need more cheers. You need more championships. You need more fuel for your ego. And it is this quest to constantly prop up your self-worth that will drive the two of you apart. It will lead to your destruction. We’ll just be speeding up that process on Trauma. We’ll be putting you down before you kill yourself. In many ways, you should be thanking us.”
Gabriel clears his throat.
“Now we know how ‘Club V’ will respond. And we know that it will take about 20 minutes longer than it needs to. We know there will be music and lights and laughter and drinks and smokes and slogans and catchphrases. And we know that there will be no substance to any of it. Because the two of you are hollow inside. You think you can fill your souls with bravado, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are empty vessels in reality. Only the Lord can give your lives meaning. And, Justin, you have blown that opportunity. He will not save you. He will destroy you. And no one will miss you. Everyone will forget about you. And that eats you up inside because you know it’s true.
But the audience of sinners really does seem to enjoy that little show you have, don't they? To me, it's just a loud droning noise that takes up 20 or 30 minutes of airtime each week, but they really seem to like it. I do not understand its purpose, nor do I want to. Your filth should be removed from television. When I speak, I speak the words of the Lord. I share His message with the masses in hopes of educating them, in hopes of saving them. I offer messages of love and forgiveness. You offer loud music, juvenile humour, and sin. With this sort of depravity happening on a nightly basis, it’s no wonder Johnny is having an identity crisis right now.”
Gabriel clears his throat again. Perhaps the cold weather is getting to him.
“To be honest, I know what you are going through Johnny. I've been there. In my previous life, I too suffered loss. I too was hurt. I too was aimless. I tried in vein for so long to distract myself from my real issues. But I only found peace after accepting the Lord as my saviour.
Johnny, you have the same opportunity. You are not like your partner. I can see it. Yes, on the surface you are also arrogant and self-centred, but there may be something inside you that can be saved. There may be hope for you. But you need to abandon your past life and give yourself to the Lord if you wish to find salvation. If you fail to accept this opportunity, you will be sentencing yourself to continuing your life as it is now; a life of pain and sadness.
We would welcome you with open arms, Johnny. But you need to open your eyes to reality and open your heart to the Lord. You don't have to struggle with life any longer. You can be saved.
It’s a new year. Let auld acquaintance be forgot. Justin is holding you back from who you really should be. We’ve all seen the name change. We all know you’re going through some internal turmoil. You are begging to be reborn. You are begging to be saved.
You don't need to hide behind your bravado any longer, Johnny. You can find salvation. You can give yourself to the Lord. Or you can be destroyed. The choice is yours. Please choose wisely.”
Gabriel looks out at the congregation that has not changed in size since he started speaking. There is still no one there. And there are even fewer cars in the parking lot. He continues to speak.
“Kyle and Brenna and Justin and Johnny, all of you may truly believe that you know everything, but you have a lot to learn. You have lived your lives completely wrong. When you base your existence on championships or the roar of the crowd or being booked in a main event match, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and failure. You cannot feed your soul with trinkets or fame or money or titles. You can only feed it with the love of the Lord. He is the only true path to salvation. He is the only way to achieve immortality. Because, when you follow the Lord, you earn yourself a spot in His Kingdom for all eternity. Your soul will be full. Your life will be full. Your world will be full.”
Gabriel smiles now.
“That is why I can stand here, despite losing my championship to a sinner like Stormm, and address you with a smile on my face. Because I know I am loved. I am loved by the Lord. I pity everyone else in his cage match. Because, sadly, it looks as though they will never know that feeling. But, hey have no one to blame but themselves. Unfortunately, their actions in this life have put them into this position.
At Trauma, six individuals will stand in the ring. Four of them are ignorant fools who lack substance, spirit, and purpose. The other two are the Lord and His messenger. This is not a contest. This is a sacrifice.
I was wise enough to recognize my failings and seek forgiveness and salvation from the Lord. All of you have instead chosen to fight a battle against Seromine that you cannot win. And this battle will not last much longer. It ends on Trauma. It ends with all four of you being gutted alive. We will, once again, stand proudly above the broken bodies of the sinners.
The blood of the nonbelievers will paint the canvas. You will be ripped apart and your mangled corpses will be held up in front of the world as a warning. Do not cross the Lord. That road is filled with pain and humiliation and defeat. And I know that your egos cannot take that sort of treatment. I look forward to watching you die.
Praise Seromine
Praise.
The.
Lord.”
Gabriel nods briefly to the “assembled crowd” before turning and walking away. In the distance, an engine roars to life and another car leaves the parking lot.