Chapter 107: A Brush with Madness

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"The thing called Justice changes its shape... depending on where you stand."

- Kuzan Aokiji, (One Piece)

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<(Omniscient POV)> 

'Strange. Why am I feeling like someone has been following me for some time?' The young female psychologist thought to herself with a frown as she turned her head around to see if someone was following her through the empty streets. 

But much to her relief, there was no one there behind her with the only thing that was moving on the streets being shadows. The roads were mostly empty with no one visible as far as her eyes could see. She had almost reached her apartment building which was in the quieter part of Gotham, and she knew that cars were a rarity in her area at this time of night. So, she was actually rather glad to see that the streets behind her were empty than be scared or suspicious.

"Perhaps I am just overthinking things. After all, Gotham is not as bad as so many people on the news make it out to be." The woman lightly chuckled at the stupid thoughts that she previously had as she stopped in front of a small, shabby building. She had finally reached her destination safely.

But even though the residential building itself looked old and worn down, most of its residents on the other hand actually preferred it over the other buildings in the area, primarily because of the new electronic pin-based digital lock and fingerprint system that was installed recently to secure the entrance from break-ins. In a city like Gotham, security was given much more importance when compared to luxury and convenience, and the fact that this building was one of the few affordable buildings that used digital locking systems and had CCTV coverage, as well as all the required permissions, and legal documents, was more than enough for someone like her to choose this building despite its old appearance. 

The young woman didn't continue to dwell on her thoughts and approached the door before typing in the six-digit pin that she remembered but strangely, the entrance refused to budge. "Wait... they were supposed to change the pin today. I did receive the letter about the change. Umm, what was it again...? Oh yeah, I remembered now." She snapped her fingers in realization after a few seconds of deep thinking. 

Unfortunately for the young shrink, however, her hands were never able to reach the digital padlock to re-enter the pin. Because, before she could type in her PIN code, a pair of hands suddenly cupped her mouth from behind and locked in her hands. Then she was quickly dragged away towards a dark alley. It all happened so quickly that she wasn't even able to process everything in her mind, much less respond and resist. 

When she did start to give her all to resist the strength of the figure holding her, it was already too late. They were already in a dark secluded alley, away from the sight of normal people who could be walking by at this time, people who could have rescued her. 

"Shhh baby doll. Don't resist, I am here to help you. I noticed how bored you have been with your life recently. You too have realized that this life of ours is meaningless, haven't you? That we are just robots sleepwalking from one distraction to another? Don't worry, I too was similar to you, a slave of the unseen forces... But I have broken away from its control. I am free now, and I will free you as well. I will liberate you from this pointless existence and make a true human out of your zombie-like reality. Trust me, miss, from today onwards, you will be free in every sense of the word... Oh, and love your shoes by the way." The figure behind her spoke in an unhinged yet respectful manner as the coldness of a thin metal blade touched the center of her throat.

She didn't have any idea of who this person was but one thing was clear for her. She had already understood from her knowledge as a criminal psychologist that the kind of person who was currently holding her at knife point wasn't some sort of criminal who was committing a crime out of need or necessity. No, she quite unfortunately wasn't getting robbed. 

This was a person who seemed to enjoy doing what he did. It was clear from his voice that he was enjoying the thrill of holding her life under his thumb, he was even enjoying the very thought of killing her whenever he wanted. This was not an ordinary mugger or thief. He was a serial killer through and through and he was the worst kind too. He was a delusional serial killer who believed every word that had come out of his mouth till now, a maniac who truly believed that he would be helping her free herself by killing her. 

She knew that even if she could speak right now, there wouldn't be any hope of changing his thought process or convincing him to let her go. He was determined to kill her, and he would do it no matter what. Unless she could somehow overpower him and escape, this was probably not going to end well for her.

"Now, let's get you into a good position ma'am. I want you to be as beautiful and lively as possible after I free you, so I need you to get into a good pose. By the way, which side of your face is your photo face? I normally prefer the left side, but I think your right can be just as beautiful too... Maybe, if you lose those glasses, we can truly bring out that inner beauty of yours." The male behind him again said without any hint of a joke before turning her around to make her face towards him.

After being allowed to turn around, the woman was finally able to see the appearance of the person who was trying to kill her. The man looked like a middle-aged bald guy, wearing a pair of work boots, tight jeans, a white tank top, suspenders, and a leather jacket with an open zip. She could also see countless thin scars on the visible parts of his chest that were carefully made with some sort of small blade. They were most probably the 'Trophy's' that he liked to give himself every time he successfully killed a target. Every serial killer liked to remember his victims in some sort of unique way, perhaps making scars on himself was his preferred choice of doing exactly that.

"Ah, I was right. Such a beautiful and young face. Just using one side of your face would be a waste. Wait, maybe..." The killer looked like he was going through a light bulb moment. "How would you like to be suspended from the wall in a ballet dance position? It would be beautiful, my best work yet." He thoughtfully said, looking like some kind of artist who was mapping out his canvas. "I'll call it the dance of freedom... Just make sure not to move around too much. If I mistakenly cut too many wrong veins or arteries, it can make a mess and ruin the final product." He warned with a huge grin on his face as he pressed her knife harder onto the young woman's throat.

"Mmmmm Mmm MMMMM Mm" The woman tried to speak to somehow convince her captor to release her, even though she knew that pleading and begging from victims only encouraged bloodthirsty people like him to further continue their work but as a woman who was currently staring straight at death's face, she didn't really have an option here. She couldn't help herself but do exactly everything any normal woman would do in her place to somehow have a chance to live through today. No one truly ever wanted to die and she was the same.

"Stop moving around, woman. I am working here. Oh yeah, that's the sweet spot, the blade would cut perfectly through there. Now, now, stop squirming. God, I hate it when all the women suddenly start thinking to themselves that they can beat a man who has abs as thick as the woman's entire body. This ain't Hollywood lady. You aren't kicking ass of a man five times your weight." He mocked as he tightened his hold on her face with his left hand and got ready to deliver the killing blow with his right. 

The young woman quickly closed her eyes in absolute dread and fear for her life while she hopelessly waited for everything to be over. She had dozens of regrets in her mind, regret of never finding love, never having a family of her own, never having her first kiss, never going to the new WayneLand theme park, never being able to completely cure the mental health of a criminal, and most of all, never coming across a mind that she could truly call utterly captivating. She couldn't achieve anything that she had wanted to achieve.

But as she waited for her demise burdened by a torrent of regrets in her mind with two thin streams of tears tracing delicate paths down her cheeks, an unexpected sensation enveloped her—nothingness. The end she was waiting for never came.

Instead, she heard something else, something terrifying... almost demonic. It was the voice of another person, someone who would change her life through this encounter, someone who would show her just how deep a rabbit hole could go. 

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