Hearken the Final Bell: Chapter 1 – The End of Mercy

Chapter 1 – The End of Mercy

In an age where the Divine Flame of Cognizance no longer enlightens the minds of men to what is truly good and evil, they have to rely on the graces God has already given to their soul, and like always, they have sullied their graces, their souls, their black flames as there is no one good left on the earth. Not even one. To show humanity that the end times are coming and that they should take the salvation of their souls now more than ever, God takes away the entirety of the priesthood. There is no longer anyone who bestows the sacrament of confession upon the laity nor is there an archbishop or college of bishops to teach and lead the Church.

This results in some people hearing God’s message clearly while others do as they have always done, which was to be expected. One of many tyrants of this time tries to force people to submit to him by promising a share of his riches, a home, and other basic necessities in return. Many who hear this offer take it. Lewis and Carol are two parents who are trying to make a better life for their children and one of the many who submit to this tyrant for his benefits. In exchange, they would be his soldiers while their children would be his workers. Regrettably, the working conditions of the children were horrible and rumors circulated that some of the children were being taken advantage of by their superiors. Any parent who spoke up about the children’s treatment would be kicked out of the tyrant’s kingdom or executed. Lewis and Carol decide to begrudgingly not say anything despite what their children say. They assure them that everything will be okay even though they know this is a lie.

Their children are then killed in an accident much to their dismay and they blame themselves for this to this day. They pray for justice for their children and for forgiveness to God for being such uncaring parents and their prayers and the same prayers of many others are finally answered as the tyrant’s kingdom is raided by a righteous company of different kingdoms that bring down the tyrant at a high cost to both sides. By the end of the battle, the rulers of both kingdoms were dead, and by some miracle, the tyrant repented of his deeds before he was executed for them. Surely this would be a tale worth telling, and yet, we still follow Lewis and Carol. Their story starts now at the end of time as the final bell tolls.

All of humanity hears and senses God’s message. This is the end of time and the state of their souls is locked in place. There is no longer any mercy to give. Now, there is only justice to be given out to those who oppose God, goodness, and love. People all around the world panic and attempt to repent as tyrants try to be benevolent and criminals attempt to be saints. Since there is nothing left of their home, Lewis and Carol set out to do the same and do as much good as they can. They travel with a group of refugees like them from the tyrant’s kingdom until they are attacked by a huge skeletal monster that’s comprised of the bodies of the now risen dead.

The skeletal monster takes certain people while ignoring others as it says, “Claim your inheritance of death. It is time to burn for your sins.”

Lewis and Carol are able to evade the monster until they manage to reach the gates of a ruined city that’s said to have priests that can give the supposedly lost sacrament of confession. The city is crowded with the homeless and needy with decorations of old statues of forgotten heroes of legend, the old king who ruled over the city, and newer statues of the priests. Buildings in the city are mostly damaged by conflicts of the past and poorly repaired with scrap and other materials that clash with their original designs. People mostly live in the streets as those with guards and power take the few houses and buildings for themselves. Worried by the long lines and desperation and madness in the streets, Carol recoils at the sight of it.

“What should we do? Will we even receive absolution in time before the end?” Carol asks while beginning to cry.

Lewis embraces her and says, “We will. We’re alive now so God is still giving us a chance.”

“What about that monster?”

“We ran away from it. Besides, it didn’t go for us.”

“But what if it does next?”

“Come now. You’re worrying too much. I’m here for you. Just listen to the sound of my heart.”

Carol puts her head deeper into Lewis’ chest to better hear the sound of his heart. A sure reminder that someone cares for her and who won’t make a false promise.

“Thank you, but honestly, what should we do now? The lines are long to see the priests and I’m sure there are many fakes out there who are pretending to be priests for fame and fortune.”

“I’m sure we can find someone who can help us.”

Before they can look, they can hear the skeletal monster approach the city as the people that it was chasing lead it to them. Seeing more souls to take, the monster breaks down the walls of the city until a band of a hundred soldiers all clad in nearly spotless armor arrive on horseback and fight the monster. The monster then disappears into the ground leaving the soldiers victorious. Messengers run out from the city to spread the word about the soldier's arrival.

“Who are those people?” Lewis asks aloud.

“Those are heroes, angels sent from Heaven to lead us to salvation!” one person near them says before rambling on about who they are.

Who they are don’t matter to Lewis nor Carol as they approach the soldiers and ask to be enlisted into their group.

“We were soldiers before, and our swords can still be of use,” Lewis says to them.

“Of course you can join. We always need more help despite our recent flawless display of strength. Come, we are going to meet one of the priests here for a blessing before we rest and head back out,” one of the leaders say.

Their prayers have seemingly been answered without having said them to the soldiers as the couple goes to meet the priests. Because of their status, the soldiers can push their way through the crowds to meet a priest who appears to be like a monk with his shaved head and rags for clothes.

“Are we really allowed to cut through the line like this?” Carol asks one of the soldiers.

“Yes, our blessing is more important than the confessions of all these people. Control the crowds while the rest of us get our blessing. You will receive yours last since you just joined,” the soldier explains.

People among the crowds beg to be blessed and have their confessions heard. Some appear genuine, others appear as if they’re putting on an act, while all are anxious. A few manage to charge through the crowd and attempt to fight the soldiers. This results in their deaths and one sole man managing to reach the priest before he is taken down.

“Please hear my family’s and my confessions! We’ll-”

Before hearing the man’s offer, he is killed. More people start to break through, and Lewis and Carol are forced to fight them. They manage to take down a fair deal of them, but they don’t kill any.

“What are you two doing? Kill them for their lack of patience!” one of the soldiers say.

The hands the couple shake as they raise their swords to strike the finishing blows on the crowd. Their strength fails them as they back away from killing anyone. Seeing as there is an opportunity to use the madness to escape, they sheathe their sword, put on their hoods, and escape the scene by using the crowd as cover.

“What were we thinking? We weren’t ready to be soldiers. We didn’t even kill anyone when we soldiers for the tyrant,” Carol says.

“I don’t know. Hey, maybe the lines to see the other priests have shortened since the so-called heroes have the crowd’s attention,” Lewis suggests.

They do as Lewis suggests and find that the lines to see certain priests have shortened though they don’t find any priests that seem to be real ones. There are priests who are being bribed for favors, ones engaging in sexually degenerate behaviors, and others who are being idolized as a god.

“Are there any real priests here at all?!” Carol asks herself as she begins to panic.

Lewis holds her while saying, “It’s okay, it’s okay. We haven’t checked every corner of the city yet.” Groups of people arrive in the city asking to see the soldiers. Among the groups are what appear to be monks and priests. “Look! There are priests who can help us. Things are starting to look up now, aren’t they?”

As if to prove Lewis wrong, the skeletal monster from before rises from the ground where the priests, monks, and soldiers are gathered. Many are killed and taken away into the ground while several of the once brave soldiers retreat in vain as they’re picked off one by one. The buildings fall apart as the skeletal monster smacks them away and the debris from the buildings appear to purposefully fall on certain people since some barely manage to avoid the debris.

“Traitors to God, traitors to goodness, traitors to nature, traitors to self. It is time to pay the price of your desires,” the skeletal monster says as it continues its rampage.

In the chaos, orphaned children are trapped in the debris of the buildings. Seeing this, Carol rushes over to remove the debris to free them.

“Help me free the children!” Carol says to Lewis, “I am not letting more children die because of our inaction!”

Lewis can’t help but agree as he helps Carol lift the debris to free the children. Even when they’re free, some are taken by the skeletal monster and its minions. This enrages Carol who tries to fight them off while Lewis tries to hold her back.

“We can’t fight that thing! We have to run!” Lewis says.

“Why?! Why did you take them?!” Carol asks the monster.

“The wretched seed of sinners will not be spared because they are like the rotten tree they come from,” the skeletal monster says to Carol.

Carol frees herself from Lewis and slashes at the monster until her blade breaks. Lewis tries to carry her away only to be caught with her by the monster’s large hands.

It says to them, “Suffer your penance properly before you make it more difficult for yourselves.”

With its large hands, the skeletal monster throws the couple outside of the city where they land on a large bush that breaks their fall. The couple then watches the entire city sink into the ground with few managing to get away from it. Upset at what happened, Carol begins to cry while Lewis tries to comfort her.

“It’s okay. We saved those who we could. You were braver than those so-called heroes who ran and better than them since we were spared,” Lewis says.

What she sees and what has happened makes Carol begrudgingly accept what has happened and leave the site of the annihilation while Lewis holds her hand and guides her forward.