THE ARCHITECT'S KEEPER ⇾ s. rollins

001. calamity

calamity (ca•lam•i•ty)
noun
an event causing great - and often sudden - damage or distress

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Everyone is allowed one calamity in their lifetime.

Whether it be a death in the family, a car crash, a break-up; everyone is given one test in their life that determines how the rest of their years will go.

Some people are given their test during their childhood, others during their teenage years, and others in adulthood. Although the content of the test differs from person to person, they all must face the insurmountable truth.

If they are able to overcome the collateral sadness that stemmed from their calamity, they, like the phoenix, are reborn from the ashes and are given a second, improved life. This new life will be full of clarity and purpose. The phoenix will never cry for its past life because the new one before it will shine so beautifully.

But, if the student allows himself to be overcome and devoured by his challenge, he will have undoubtedly failed. The pupil will be defeated. They will become a shell of their former self, forever clinging to the fleeting memories of what was and what could have been.

Seth Rollins was failing to overcome his calamity.

God, he wasn't even close to passing.

Seth Rollins wasn't like most people. The hand he was dealt was stacked with triumphs and tragedy. For every up, there was a down. For every action, an equal and opposite reaction. Seth wasn't given just one calamity; he was given two.

His first had occurred on November fourth in Dublin, Ireland. It had been like any other day for the Architect. The match was rather boring, really. Something that had been so simple - something he had done hundreds of times - was suddenly made into a calamity. His knee was deconstructed from the inside out, putting him on the shelf for seven months. Yet, Seth had overcome it all by working with unmatchable ferocity to rehabilitate himself, and he had been beyond successful. He had turned his anger and disdain into results, and he even earned himself a (brief) title run. The Man had taken his place at the helm of his universe once again.

And that's how it stayed for the next eight months.

Then, his second calamity struck. It was swift and cruel, and like a clubbing blow to the ribs, it knocked the air from his lungs and stopped him dead in his tracks.

A second injury. It was almost as if fate had been mocking him. Seth had been oh-so-close to exacting his revenge on The King of Kings. Just a few more hurdles, and he would have been there at the gates, ready to slay the king. The fans would have sung his praise when he stood tall over the fallen.

Kingslayer, they would have called him.

Hero.

But, now, they called him different names.

Injured.

Broken.

Fragile.

When Seth had gotten his diagnosis, he should have been relieved. Only eight weeks out - that was all he would have to serve - and he could shorten it if he really hauled ass in rehab. Except, that spark wasn't there. During his first injury, the doctor's prognosis had lit a fire inside the Architect's stomach, pushing him farther and harder every single day. He tooks bounds when he should have taken steps; he took every milestone his trainer gave him and shattered it with a vengeance. He had been ready to fight the odds.