From dawn till dusk, Genesis sat in that dingy basement, turning the creepy riddles over and over in his head. The two puzzles from that freak they called the Joker weighed him down, like there was more to this game of wits coming.
Hours ticked by, and the silence in that pit felt thick enough to choke on.
He could taste the tension building, knowing riddle number three was gonna be a doozy.
The pattern was clear - those riddles revolved around the Holy Trinity and those with the Abyssal gifts, as the answer to the next riddle would definitely be The Almighty.
A chill ran down his spine at the thought of cracking that unholy mystery.
His brooding was interrupted when a shadowy figure started materializing out of the walls, slithering down to the floor by his feet.
A person stepped out of that inky darkness, head-to-toe in black, with a mask covering their face. Long black hair hung straight, those slanted Asian eyes glaring out from behind the mask - cold and unreadable.
Genesis shot up from his chair, gripping a candle tight - the only light left in that pit.
"Bout time you showed up, Joker," he said, voice steady despite the vice squeezing his guts. "You done with the last one holding that devil's power?
You come for me now?"
The figure stayed silent, so Genesis blew out the candle.
Pitch black.
He moved quick and cornered the intruder, one hand around their scrawny neck, his other hand holding a knife to their heart in Godspeed.
"Ain't no shadows without moonlight, and no shades in this absolute darkness," he growled. "Your shadow tricks are useless here."
A wheezy chuckle escaped the figure. "Not the Joker, friend."
The flick of a lighter, and those Asian eyes glowed in the tiny flame.
Not the Joker, but a new player stepping onto this bloody chessboard.
"Name's Amos. The Nightstalker." The flame danced across hollow cheeks as he smirked. "Got a real neat gift - call it 'The Devil's Footprints or Vestigia Diaboli.'
Allows me to melt into darkness, and move through shadows unseen.
Can even cloak others in a veil of pitch-black nothingness.
etcetera etcetera..."
Genesis loosened his grip, taking a step back.
He gave a tight nod. "Genesis. No unholy powers, just knowledge of this Abyssal mess from the last two holders' confessions before they died."
For some unknown reason, Genesis hid the fact that he was also an Abyssal Gift holder and he hid it from everyone.
Perhaps, he will reveal his curse when the time comes, as his ace in the hole.
Amos twisted the lighter, snuffing out the flame.
They were swallowed by blackness once more. "Then you know what comes next, yeah? If the Joker's riddles really do follow that twisted Trinity pattern."
A heavy silence hung between them, only their breathing to mark the passage of time in that vacuum of darkness.
"The Almighty," Genesis finally said, the words tasting like ashes on his tongue. "The third riddle's gonna test our knowledge of God himself."
That wheezy chuckle again, like nails scratching a chalkboard. "Not just knowledge, friend. Our faith too."
Genesis felt a bead of sweat trickle down his spine. "We talking 'fear and trembling' levels of soul-shaking tests here?"
"Exactly that." There was no humor in Amos' tone now, only a grim certainty. "The Joker's gonna take this game to a whole new level of diabolical depravity.
We'd best prepare for one hell of an unholy reckoning."
Amos leaned back, gaze flickering between the shadows and Genesis across from him. "I've been watching that freakshow calling himself the Joker.
Gotta give the bastard credit - he's one twisted son of a bitch."
He scratched at the stubble lining his hollow cheeks. "Way I see it, the Joker's got some kinda illusion power.
Can disguise their looks, their voice, hell, even their gender if they want.
Makes 'em damn near impossible to pin down or ID."
Genesis frowned, fingers drumming against the arm of his chair. "So how are we supposed to catch this chameleon?
Put a tail on every weirdo skulking around?"
Amos shook his head, a humorless chuckle escaping dry lips. "Nah, we gotta dangle some irresistible bait and set one hell of a trap for this bastard's big ego."
With a creak of wood, he leaned forward, elbows on knees. "The Joker gets their kicks from these sick riddles, right?
Seems to have a raging God complex too from what I gathered."
Genesis gave a tight nod, eyes narrowing. "You're thinkin' we give the son of a bitch exactly what they want - a twisted game of fate for one of these Abyssaly gifted."
"Bingo." Amos flashed a grim smile, those cold eyes glinting like flint striking steel. "We stage it nice and pretty - make it seem like one of us holders is in deep shit, life hanging by a thread and all that noise."
He clapped his hands together, rubbing them in greasy anticipation. "That god complex of the Joker's will force their hand.
They won't resist the chance to have another sadistic round with an 'Abyssed' one like me. It's our best shot at this point."
Genesis drummed his fingers again, jaw working back and forth as he considered it.
Finally, he gave a curt nod and stood, gesturing for Amos to do the same.
"Alright, Nightstalker.
Let's you and me join this unholy alliance and take that son of a bitch down." He extended his hand, a firm handshake cementing the deal.
Amos gripped back just as tight, if not tighter. "Fair warning - get on my bad side, and that's a one-way descent into total darkness you won't crawl back from."
His chuckle was like dry bones rattling. "Not that I'm accusin' a man of the cloth like yourself..."
Genesis' jaw flexed, eyes blazing in the dim light. "And I warn you - do not attempt any trickery or deceit.
You may be the embodiment of darkness itself, but I am the light that will pierce through and burn it all away."
They released the punishing handshake, a silent understanding drifting between them like a vow etched in stone. Grunting, Amos moved to one of the chairs, collapsing into it with a weary sigh.
"Well then, holiness - now that we're on the same forsaken path, how's about you fill me in on this god's honest plan of yours?" His gaze was steady, watching Genesis like a hawk eyeing a rabbit seconds before the kill.
Genesis lowered himself into the remaining chair with a bit more grace. "Simple enough - you lay the breadcrumb trail for our friend the Joker, make them believe you're the one in dire peril.
Feed their superiority complex, let them think they're in control and have outwitted us, mere mortals."
Steepling his fingers, Genesis continued, "All the while, I'll be keeping myself...shall we say, out of sight and out of mind, ready to strike at an opportune moment.
When that arrogant son of a bitch reveals themselves to gloat, we'll have them in a vice."
Amos gave a slow nod, the barest hint of grudging respect flickering in those dead eyes. "Not bad for a man of the cloth.
Got some steel under that cassock after all, huh?"
Leaning back, he barked a raspy chuckle. "Yeah, I can set the bait nice and pretty, no issue there.
Just you be ready to spring the Divine Trap when I give the signal."
A terse silence fell between them, the weight of their unholy pact hanging thick in the stale basement air.
After a moment, Amos cleared his throat, rapping his knuckles on the chair's arm.
"Listen, Genesis - I'll level with you. You and me, we ain't exactly natural allies.
I'm no friend of the Church, and I'm sure as hell no friend of those holier-than-thou hypocrites preaching from ivory towers." His smile was a greasy slash, somewhere between a smirk and a sneer.
"But you..." He paused, giving Genesis an appraising look up and down. "You're a different breed from those other cassolids and vestments.
Bit of a dark horse, eh?"
Amos leaned forward again, shadows pooling in the hollows of his face. "I don't know jackshit about your past or what you have been through, and truth be told, I don't rightly care to hear it either.
What I want to know is - can you hack it when the time comes to send the Joker spiraling down to their damned reckoning?"
Genesis held that piercing gaze steadily, a muscle twitching in his jaw. "This is the burden I've carried my whole life - standing as a beacon against the darkness, no matter how deep it seeps or how endless the night seems."
He rose from the chair in one fluid motion, the very picture of composure despite the heavy tone. "Make no mistake, my...abilities, shall we say, are not that of your typical clergyman. But you have my vow to utilize whatever's required to render the Joker unto the hell they've earned."
Footsteps sounded in the hall outside, breaking the heavy tension that had settled over the duo's grim planning session.
In the span of a blink, Amos dissolved into an inky shadow, melting and smearing into the corner of the dreary basement with sinister ease.
Genesis merely straightened his vestments, turning to face the door with a carefully neutral expression settled over his features. The footfalls approached, then abruptly ceased. A pause, then:
"Father Genesis? You still here?" A nervous feminine voice, tinged with unease.
"Yes, my child. Please, enter." His voice was serene, projecting the calm of a shepherd speaking to a lamb. However, those eyes told a different story altogether - a seasoned wolf, circling, waiting for the perfect strike.
The trap was baited, the players assembled. Now they merely had to wait for the star attraction to make their grand entrance onto the stage. As the saying went, the devil was in the details. But both Genesis and Amos were prepared to go toe-to-toe with Satan himself if need be.
The die was cast, the Rubicon about to be crossed.
There would be no turning back from the unholy path they now trod.