text: &#x200B; **“You should have known better than to meddle with the heretics. They want to destroy everything we’ve build in the name of the Almighty and you crawl to them like a beat up dog. Your deeds are unforgivable. You let me down, but most importantly, you let down our Lord. For that, you will be punished.”** **“Yes, father. I accept my punishment. I deserve it.”** &#x200B; *Pain. Pain is just a sign. Sign of the storm about to come. Pain has no power. Pain doesn’t cleanse. The stained flesh has to go. It needs to be ripped from the bone. And if the sin is rooted deep in the bones... The bones are just like dead branches in the wind. It's just a matter of time until they break and turn to dust.* &#x200B; **“Witness the machine of our Lord! This will purify you. I was hoping I could get rid of your past but I should’ve known better. There’s heretic’s blood in your veins. Bad blood. We need to get rid of it. There’s no other way.”** &#x200B; *Fear is an enemy. It attacks from the shadows. When the steel first burrows into the flesh. When the blood leaks out. When the bones start to crack. Fear is unavoidable. But you have to fight it. Screaming helps.* &#x200B; **“I’ll come back for you once all evil has left your body. When your soul is pure like when you first came to us.”** &#x200B; *Darkness is comforting. There’s no sunlight down here. I don’t deserve it. I’m not counting hours or days. I’m just waiting to be clean. I watch as the evil blood and flesh all disappear down the drains. I listen to the bones that cry under the weight. It’s just me in the darkness. Me and the weight I’ve brought on myself. I don’t need any company. I don’t deserve any company.* &#x200B; **“Down here, I’ve found them!”** **“There’s a lot of them. We need to get them out.”** &#x200B; *Clarity is freeing. I heard noise. I felt the heat of a fire. There’s a war. In my head and everywhere around. I feel the sinful life drip away from my body. I’m so close. He’s calling me. My soul. Pure, without a stain.* &#x200B; **“Oh my... What have they been doing to them?”** **“What the fuck... Look at this one.”** **“Holy shit... C’mon, let’s get him out of there.”** **“How? I can’t even tell where his head is...”** **“But he’s breathing. Look! It’s still... breathing.”** **“How is that even possible?”** **“We need to get him out.”** **“Even if we somehow get him out... what will be left of him?”** **“...”** **“I’ll just end it. It’s the most merciful thing we can do.”** **“...”** &#x200B; *The light is blinding. The pain is leaving me. Fear is back. I’m entering the unkown. My bent bones. Torn-apart flesh. All full of sin. I leave it all behind. Leave it all down there. Fear fades away. It’s been so long. I forgot how it feels like to not be in pain. Life is pain. The fog clears. I feel... warmth, but not heat. I see a house. I grew up there. And inside? The Almighty is waiting for me. He’s pulling me in. And when my eyes get used to the brightness I see...* &#x200B; **“... M-... Mother?”** \H. Any and all feedback appreciated.