It pours down rain as Reaper leans towards the edge of the top of an apartment complex. He wore what looks like dark plate armor with a hood covering his head. His helmet has a gash running down his left eye which glowed a deep purple, remanence of an old wound he suffered from a previous encounter. His cape flows through the air like water as the wind whips it. Rain pelts him as he doesn’t move, not caring that he was getting soaked. He scans the streets from the rooftops looking for "trouble" as his eyes burn a purple flame. He hears a woman scream for help. He looks in the direction of the scream and spots a low life with a purse in his hands. The low life looked like a cliche gangster: a brown overcoat, black shirt, and dirty pants that has seen better days. He then sees the woman, screaming for help. She was wearing a tank top that was practically see-through with her red lacey bra clearly seen under her soaked top. Her short skirt hugged her hips from the rain and barely moved as she ran. Reaper times his jump and glides to the low life with his cape. He tackles the low life in midair. They roll a couple times on the ground before they got separated. The low life slams up against the brick building. The low life let out a painful groan before yelling at Reaper.

  “Hey, man! Fuck off! I stole this fair and square go get your own-“

  The low life stops talking when Reaper stands up and looks at him with his burning purple eyes as he started to slowly walks menacing towards the wannabe gangster. The low life is petrified with fear. He's never seen anything more terrifying in his whole pathetic life. He wanted to get up and run for his life, but his body didn't move.. Reaper picks the low life up with one hand by the neck. The cold gauntlet felt like ice around the low life's neck. Reaper looks at him eye to eye as his purple flames flicker around the low life. Reaper speaks in a deep, dark voice that would seem inhuman.

  “You know what I like about people like you?”

  The low life could hardly shake his head from how hard Reaper was gripping his neck. Reaper points the low life's chest.

  “Their hearts...”

  With Reaper's free hand, he forces his steel covered hand through the low life's chest and rips out his heart. When the heart was pulled out, the heart was surrounded by a black mist. The heart squirts blood out as the low life’s eyes grew wide as he could see the gaping hole in his chest as blood flows out of the gaping wound like a waterfall. Reaper smells the heart like it was a freshly baked pie on an open window, cooling off before it gets consumed.

  “Their hearts are full of darkness It is this aura that I feed off of.”

  Reaper pulls up his helmet, just enough for him to take a big bite out of the heart. The heart was like a juicy peach, it was soft and squirted out blood as Reaper chomped down on it. The low life groans in pain, thrashing about as he clinched his chest. It felt like he was having a heart attack as his body slowly goes limp before finally dying. The heart turns back to normal as Reaper drops the heart. He had no more use for a heart that wasn't covered in an aura of darkness. He wipes the blood from his mouth and readjusts his helmet back in place. The woman catches up to him. Reaper peels the purse away from the dead corpse beside him. He throws the purse at the woman showing no care for her possession. She barely catches it as she fumbles with it.

  “Thank you so much, sir!”

  The woman smiled big at her hero. Reaper just gave her a look that showed nothing but hatred. He knew this woman as innocent as she seems.

  “Don't thank me yet...”

  “Wait a minute...Aren't you...? ...SHIT!”

  The woman runs away from Reaper. Reaper sighed and sank into his shadow like he has down countless times. The woman turned the corner in the alleyway believing that she was gaining ground from Reaper. Reaper grabs her by the throat from a shadow and then steps out of the shadow. He knew it was a little much doing so, but the fear that causes always made him feel powerful. He smells her. He gave her a disgusting look knowing that she had the same smell as the other unfortunate soul, well, unfortunate for the corpse but not for him.

  “I thought I smelt the darkness in you.”

  The woman started to plea with Reaper, trying to talk her way out from his grasp.

  “No! Please, let me go! I'm innocent, I tell you! I've done nothing wrong!”

  Reaper breaks open the purse and drugs and needles fall out of it. Not just any needles, used needles that still had traces of heroine in them. Reaper looks at the used needles and the white powder in a small baggie that barely had anything left in it. He looked back up at the struggling woman as his eyes flared up. The woman started to tear up as she struggles under the grip of Reaper. Well, Reaper thinks she was tearing up. It was hard to tell from the heavy rain falling on them.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “I was going to stop! I swear to God I was!”

  “Silence, Black Rose.”

  Reaper tells the woman in a stern voice. The woman changed her tone immediately. Her little game was over. She didn’t think that he would find out so soon. What did she do that made it that obvious that she wasn't who she was portraying? She smirks as she looks into his eyes as black roses cycle around her as she turns into Black Rose. She was now wearing a skin-tight jumpsuit that left little to the imagination from her curves. She showed plenty of cleavage which was in plain view. She had no shame of showing off her breasts. Her skin was pale like it was allergic to the sun. Her bountiful breasts defied gravity as they jiggled as she giggled. Reaper could tell she decided not to wear a bra. How? Because of how tight her costume was, there were two beads that were poking through her costume, clearly she was trying to distract him.

  “Oh, what gave me away?”

  Reaper scowls as he pulls out a black rose pin from her hair and shows her. He looks at her as his eyes glows a faint purple hue.

  “I never forget people who are associated with a person who is responsible in my transformation.”

  Reaper crushes the pin as it turns into dust. The dust particles fly through the air but right to the spot where it was on Black Rose's hair as it reforms back into its original form. Black Rose furrowed her brow at Reaper. She was a little upset from trying to destroy something that was beautiful to her. She pretends to cry before mocking him.

  “Aw... That's so sad that I could just cry for you boo hoo. Give me a break! You got what you deserve from master! Why are you complaining!? You got his gift! You are the same as he is! You have his power!”

  Reaper's eyes starts to flare up when she mentions their "master". He could feel the rage boiling his blood as he tightens his grip on her throat. He was never a pawn for that bastard. How dare she thinks that he was his "master"! Reaper would never bow down to someone who took everything from him! Reaper could hardly keep his emotions in check.

  “I wanted none of this! I don't want this... This curse! I will kill all of you who have turned my life into a living hell! Starting with you!”

  Reaper starts to squeeze the life out of Black Rose. His grip grows tighter and tighter on her throat. Black Rose starts to choke and gag. She struggles hard under his grip. She could feel him crushing her throat as it makes a popping sound. She suddenly stops resisting as she smiles at him. She loves doing this to Reaper, making him think he had finally caught her, to put a stop to her games. She turns into some black rose petals. The petals get blown with the wind and escape from Reaper. He watches the petals fly away from him as he turns his body to get a better view of her getting away. Black Rose's voice echoes as she speaks to Reaper in a mocking tone knowing that she's won this round yet again.

  “Maybe next time, cowboy! Next time just send me to Hell than monologue the whole time! See you later, Reaper!”

  Reaper slams his fists into the sidewalk making craters below them as the sidewalk rumble flies everywhere and the dust created from his fist caked his hand. The dust gets washed away from the rain. He can’t believe that she escaped him again. His eyes were still burning the purple flame. Why does he always hesitate in killing Black Rose? Was it because they had history before she changed into this abomination? He felt the anger boil over as he yelled into the sky.

  “Goddamn you Black Rose!”

  Lightning strikes the air, more brightly than before. It was almost like a deity wasn't happy hearing that swear being yelled into the sky. Reaper pulls his fist beside his body, aching a little from punching the sidewalk. Dark energy starts to form around his fist. The energy felt cold and evil like it was being drawn from Hell itself. After a short charge, he throws his fist in the air opening it. A powerful dark beam comes out of his hand splitting the clouds apart and the rain suddenly stops like he just performed a miracle. Reaper looks up at the sky and exclaims angrily, trying to expel the rage from his body.

  “I can't stand that bitch! She's always been a thorn in my side.”

  Reaper's eye twitched a little, realizing that he just made a pun without meaning to. It seems like he had some of his humanity still. Reaper shook his head before using his dark powers to place himself back on top of the rooftops to watch the city through the shadows. He steps out of the shadows and leans over the rooftops. He was now dry, no sign of any rain was left on him or his outfit. The shadow realm was weird like that. He doesn't fully understand this realm but it would take what he could get out of it. As he watches the city, he starts to think of what he had done wrong to deserve his curse. He was a model employee: he never came into work late, he was always respectful, and he never defied his boss. He looks at his hand but then turns away in disgust. He hates his powers. He hates the fact that he now has to live with something he never wanted. One day, he would make that bastard pay for what he did to him. He will crush him, and prove that he's not some pawn he could use for his bidding. He clinched his hand into a fist as he looked up to the newly clear sky as he closes his eyes.

  “My life has never always been like this. I used to have a job, a mother and father, and someone that I cared deeply for. That all changed when Heart of Darkness came into my life and forced his "gift" on me. It's been two months since then. I remember it like it was yesterday...”

  Reaper opens eyes eyes as the sun starts to rise across the horizon. Time was up, it was time to slink into the shadows and wait until nightfall. Reaper slowly slip into his shadow, feet first before the darkness from the shadow realm consumes him once more.