His fate could never be any crueler from the moment of his own conception.
His fate had set him apart from normal, mortal men. He was never meant to be one of their kind, no, not horrible ugly Erik. Erik, the maniacal, compassionate genius was never meant to be one of those swine. Those stupid insensitive pigs; like blinded sheep they immediately pounce on those who are not of their flock. Beauty was indeed a necessity in society. Genius and compassion were lovely qualities as well, but not so oft beguiled in the shadow of beauty's sheen. Erik, lacking this crucial quality had been paid recompense with his brilliant capacity for intelligence in all fields of learning; music being his forte. And his ugly, wretched heart that many humans had wished upon their lives to stop beating, so to spare Erik the burden of living with his cursed ugliness, had an enormous capacity for love and compassion. It was one of the things that made him, in his very essence, human. But these things are also what separated him from the rest of humankind.
These extraordinary features would have made him most desired amongst all men. But no, not Erik. He had been damned to live with a fate worse than death or physical pain and suffering. Why should he be so much as to be as well endowed as a god when he himself was a mere human mortal? No, he should be as wretched as a monstrous demon from hell. It simply would not do have him god or man, he must be a monster.
And what was he now? More than a nightmare. It seems that God had a perverse sense of humor. Torturing Erik's soul throughout the worthless years of his insignificant life and denying him the love he had fought so hard to deserve wasn't enough. There would be no release from the pain that dwelled within his heart. There was no hope for release through death. Never any release for Erik.
Erik watched the flames flicker, casting their amber reflections amongst the hearth bricks, and illuminating the walls of his study. How strange fire was, how it consumes all within its path without prejudice. How it enlightens its surroundings and burns its energy in frenetic, passionate flames, escaping into its own desiring heat. The flames consume all, as does love and hatred. They blacken the heart, mind, and soul, as do the flames blacken the logs in the fireplace. They ravish their victims violently, leaving behind scarred and ashen remains, lifeless, never to be perfect ever again. Erik silently reflected for a moment. He had always imagined that he would willingly go to a grave with anger in his heart, and vengeance in his soul for a love that refuses to die. Perhaps his soul would have been restless enough to be denied peace in the afterlife, and he would forever remain entrapped in this earth, this time as a true ghost. And he would haunt Christine with his soul, no longer with his body, forever, or at least until the day she consented to love him in death and share with him what Lucifer had condemned and God had forbidden during their lifetimes. Yes, then he would be at peace. He was looking forward to becoming a ghost.
But for one to become an entrapped, lifeless soul upon this earth, one must first die. And Erik could not. He must live forever damned with a curse. A curse fitting for a murderer and deceiver as him it seemed, Erik may as well welcome it as a blessing. For a moment Erik mused, if God so condemned murder, why did he create such creatures to wallow in blood? It all seemed ironically amusing, that god place eternity in the hands of those he damned for their pleasure in bloodthirst. But eternity could never sate him, unless he had Christine at his side. He admitted to himself that he never wanted a dead, ghostly Christine for a bride. He wanted Christine, all of her, especially her body. And if he couldn't have her in life, he would have her in her living death. Erik had all eternity to pursue his love; Christine did not have all eternity to live.
Yes, Erik had all eternity to seduce her back to his arms, to his bed. There was nothing left for him to lose. There was no hope for death; she could not hope to ever ward him off with frantic cries for mercy or expensive guards from her de Chagny estate. Yes, he would make her love him, and he would call her back to him. Erik would consume her soul and take her heart, just as she had involuntarily done to his own.
Fate no longer controlled Erik, for Eternity was now on his side. And Christine's destiny be damned. It was time for Erik to use his immortality to take things into his own hands for once. It was his turn to be wickedly cruel.