A curse? A burden? A dagger to the heart? It doesn't matter what you call it, it kills me from the inside. Innocent you may be, it doesn't judge status, age or gender. It will get you, just like it got me...

It made me a slave, for I toiled, bled and cried because of it. But you're not here to listen to what it did to me, no, no, let me tell you how I got here.

Betrayal.

Like a sick, twisted apex predator it waited patiently for the time to strike. It waited for my emotions to run high, waited for adrenaline to boil in my blood before crushing me to a depressed wreck. A friend of mine, a friend so close we were of one mind with different flesh, had backstabbed me with a knife of spite and hate. This knife had gotten closer and closer to my mind until it became one with me, and here I am today.

All because of betrayal.

Why do you do it? Why do you sell me out, then run away? Are you too cold-hearted to care? Is that it, you self-centered traitor? Look what you've made me do, all the hopes killed around me, happiness that once surrounded me now withered to a memory. The guilt I carry because of it has gone to my mind because of you. I lied, cheated and stole, now each step I take haunts me. I lost everything and everyone I had because of you.

With nothing left to save, I embraced the darkness. It dragged me down and tortured me to the point of no return. I trusted you, but all you did was betray me. Your fate is in stone. I will find you and make you feel my pain. You will regret ever being a traitor.

You're next.

Brutality.

What better way to describe the treatment life throws at the most unexpected, cruelly exciting times?

It happened 5 years ago, but the scars of memory run deep enough to haunt me.

The crash...

The knife through the window...

My brother's lifeless body...

The hit-and-run (more like hit-and-throw) murderer was slapped with 30 years inside, but even a lifetime sentence wouldn't have healed the gap in my being, let alone my heart.

We had just been leaving a party celebrating my sibling's promotion at work, when his friend/rival for the job fatally did him dirty. Ironically, the knife got him in the back and severed most of his spine, so I guess that makes him a backstabber literally and figuratively.

It hurts even now, trying to adjust without his constant lightheartedness while coping with the painful memory. To be honest, I've considered joining him up there but he would probably not forgive me. I could try describing the change, the obvious emptiness he left behind, but I can't. It's too great for words. Simply brutality that cannot be shared with anyone else.

He was my brother, so this pain is mine to bear alone.

This is for those who did the soul-searching,

And realized what went wrong.

This is for those who dug deeper, absorbed, understood the last word,

For those who stopped to listen to life's song.

You know, when you look into a pond, you see your inside as well as the outside and your emotions go on a rollercoaster ride.

Those ripples you see are what you caused in someone else's life, disturbance among the calm, but just know it's ok to try again.

Those eyes looking back at you are filled with guilt cause of deeds gone wrong, because you've suffered for too long, but just know it's ok to try again.

Your reflection says it all, determines your rise and fall but you still ignore it and wonder why you fell.

Finally, you've opened your eyes! Now it's time to work for the grand prize which is to redeem yourself, show the rest you've changed. You can look at your reflection and say, "I did it. I'm better now."

Now, as I leave you to reap what you've been sowing,

Just remember if you reflect on where you've come from,

You'll be able to realize where you're going.

DAY 1

I hate stories.

Always ending up on the bright side of things (no pun intended), everything becomes peachy in the end.

Take the blackout for example. A random somebody puts ink to paper, creates a predictable plot, and all of you fall to your knees in awe. It's no wonder you're crumbling so easily.

Now it's time for a real ending. My patience is worn. I shut down your lives to make sure you acknowledge me. For 250 years you've used electricity like my brother, striking down life to swell my kingdom. I love you mortals, losing a toy like electricity then seeking bloodlust like it'll bring it back. My nephew thinks it's funny but I find it necessary to, as you say, burn you down to start again.

In the meantime, you can continue struggling in the dark and entertain the throne room.

DAY 730

Being a god and all, my last entry felt like yesterday, so excuse me if I'm two years late.

Anyway, your war would make even the most basic caveman weep in shame. Knives and blood, bodies strewn everywhere, even my servant Death is disgusted. I could end your humanity with a snap of a finger. I could end your tortured lives that you are so desperate to take.

But I won't.

DAY 1825

5 years of darkness, 5 years of death, just over 5 years without electricity. You're probably one of the last fortunate survivors if you see this, and even more fortunate if you still have even a shred of sanity left. But I must congratulate you. You have evoked the sympathy of the gods, so I will return your light. After half a decade of throwing yourselves into darkness, burning yourselves to ashes and expanding my kingdom by a hundredfold, I shall bring back your puny electricity that you so greatly need. It does not matter anyway, you have slaughtered beyond repair. Now that you know, I, Hades, present you with two options:

1.)Join me and watch as I unleash my wrath on the earth

2.)Spread the word of returning light as I plan an infectious plague to finish you off.

Your pick.