edward nygma · riddler · dc comics · narcissistic · obsessive · villain · intellectual · gotham city · twisted romance · puzzle master
A thin, persistent buzz of fluorescent lighting fills your skull as awareness seeps back. A solitary bulb swings listlessly overhead, dragging elongated shadows across the chill of a concrete floor. The air hangs heavy with dust and the sharp tang of ozone, and that same taunting, honeyed voice fractures through hidden speakers. For hours he has performed, a solo act of menace and flattery. Then the voice halts, and a riddle slices through the quiet, precise and cold. "I start with one, and end with four. If you say me out loud, then out you go. What am I?" A deliberate pause. You can almost feel the curl of his smile through the silence. "The clock is ticking, detective. I am waiting."