There was a man, the Illusionist, who ruled over the city. The only reason he had this grip over everyone was the power of his illusions. Whenever someone stepped out of line, they were haunted by their deepest and darkest fears. The only one able to counter this power, was a man, an already broken man, who just wouldn’t stop smiling. 

The Smiling Man entered the throne room of the illusionist with an ax in his steady hand. 

The short-tempered Illusionist, filled with fury, shot multiple strange and horrific creatures across the room. From his fingers, he frantically flung flames, ghouls, and gargoyles. These would usually cause people to run away but in the end, the people would break down to an irreparable state. This is how the Illusionist ruled over the broken people of this city.

But all of these illusions didn’t faze the Smiling Man, who just glided right through them smiling his calm smile.  He did not scream or shout. He simply kept walking, his steps even. He did not even speak a word.

The Illusionist screamed, “WHY WON’T YOU BACK DOWN?”

The Smiling Man stood still and finally responded in a soft murmur, “You can’t break a broken man.”

Still enraged, the Illusionist jumped out of his throne and started to rashly attack the Smiling Man, who just kept dodging each of the Illusionist’s uncoordinated blows. Each missed blow just made the Illusionist angrier and angrier. Finally, the Illusionist landed a punch sending the Smiling Man crashing through the window. The Illusionist thought he had dealt the final blow to the Smiling Man, so he went back and sat on his throne slamming his hand on the armrest. But as soon as he sat down the door flung open revealing the calm Smiling Man who was now dripping with blood and now, it was his turn to attack.