Exorcism of the Hollow: Like a Shadow: Chapter 1 – Limitless Power in a Nobody’s Hands

Chapter 1 – Limitless Power in a Nobody’s Hands

While working on the farm, what seems to be a young brother and sister approach me. They’re dirty and skinny, and their clothes are nothing but ripped rags.

“Could you please give us a few pieces of fruit?” the brother asks.

Without thinking about it much, I take a bunch of fruits from the trees, put them in a sack, and give them to the siblings.

“Now, head off before you’re caught,” I tell them.

They smile at me and run away as fast as they can. Before I know it, my boss approaches me with a scowl on her face.

“I was watching you give those two fruit from a distance. You know you’re not supposed to give out food for free,” she says.

“I know, but they were poor and starving,” I say.

“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t have given anything to them. The stuff grown on this farm is worth a fortune to those in the inner city and I intend to make every piece of gold that I can with it, especially with the stiff competition during this dry season. If you run over and bring back that fruit, I’ll cut your pay in half for the day, but you’ll get to keep your job.”

“No.”

“What? You’re not even going to think about it for a second?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Then get out of my sight before I have my guards kill you. It’s no wonder why people call you Ruin.”

I run away and sit down in a secluded alley. It’s a good thing that she didn’t check my pockets since I already took part of my pay. I eat apple after apple until I notice the poor in the alley with me. Feeling guilty, I give them everything else I have in my pockets before walking away. Now I have to find another job before going hungry again. Heading to my favorite place outside of the city, I take in the view as I think of what to do next.

Under the shade of a tree, I look at the majesty of this city where heroes and legends reside. The castles seem to reach past the clouds and look like they’re designed by angels. This sight never gets old and allows me to reset my mind every time. It’s also a personal place for me to pray to God. In the city, various gods are accepted besides mine. From here, I can even see the many statues and churches they’ve built for their gods, but nothing for my God. Other versions of Him are worshipped, but all of them are perversions. The only other people that I know that worship the same God were either forcefully converted or are building some kind of boat that they say is for a flood.

“Mar,” I hear a familiar voice say.

“Yes, my God,” I say as I pick myself up and get on both knees while not daring to look into the eyes of God.

“It is time for you to do more than odd jobs around the city just to survive. I have a new purpose for you.”

In an instant, I feel a surge of power enter into me. My dirty rags turn into a long black coat, pants, and boots and a mask covers my face. Fire then bursts from one of my hands while my other hand has metal spikes coming out of it all of which I don’t feel at all as if they were natural to my body.

“Woah! What is all this?”

“A blessing of power I have bestowed upon you so that you may accomplish My will.” Finally! A reward that legends get because of my years of service and good deeds. “That power of yours is subject to My will and changes accordingly.”

“As all things do, my God. What do you wish me to do?”

“To be a conduit of My will. First, I will have you go into the city to bring certain so-called heroes to justice. I will allow you the choice in terms of approach. Do you want to fly or should I bring you there in an instant?”

“Since it’s my choice, I choose to fly!”

“So be it.”

Before I can prepare myself, I am instantly thrown into the air. Despite not having any control over where I’m going, this still feels exhilarating and amazing at the same time. I fly through the city and spin myself in midair as I have the time of my life. Somehow, no one seems to notice me despite how close I am to the biggest buildings and how I stick out. My flight ends at the gates of the uppermost building at the top of the city. Guarding the gates is a single man, a legend, Uthman the Unyielding.

Uthman spent his entire life training his body in training and battle and spirit in long nights dedicated to his god. His training has allowed him to conquer many in battle and to defend every place he’s been hired to defend. It is well known that no one has been able to get passed him no matter how much political or physical power they wield. He is wielding two large hammers and is clothed in silver armor that shines in the sun. Just like everyone else, he doesn’t take note of me until I approach him.

“Small shadow man with hands of steel and flame, you are not expected to be here. Leave,” Uthman says as he glares down at me.

As I stumble backward at the surprise of Uthman seeing me, I hear my God say from behind me, “Do not back down. I will help you defeat him.”

“What? How?” I ask.

“Trust in Me.”

“Oh. Just like always then.”

My next movements are not my own as I let my God take control. The arm that I have that's on fire thrusts forward in Uthman’s direction before he burns to death from inside his armor. Everyone around the gates sees this and wonders how this could’ve happened despite me being here.

“Do people not see me?” I wonder out loud.

“No, they don’t. You’re an Ombra, a shadow. You walk in the spiritual realm,” my God says.

Oh, I see now why Uthman was able to see me and others couldn’t. Heroes like him are gifted with the ability to see both realms.

“Okay, now what?” I ask before I am flown inside the palace temple.

Inside the palace, I stand before another hero of legend who sits in silent adoration of her goddess with her defender. Zyaire is the defender who is said to have suffered the blows from many weapons to protect his wife and somehow lived. His wife, Ysolda, is known to calm the hearts and minds of many with only the words that she’s learned from her goddess. Ysolda’s words are how she managed to tame the bestial heart of her husband and sway him to become the city and her goddess’ defender. Seeing me, Zyaire stands up, puts on his golden helmet that still has cuts and bits broken off it, picks up his spear and shield, and stands in front of his wife like an imposing wall. I know that I’m supposed to allow God to act through me so I don’t do anything as my arms and legs move on their own as they ready themselves to fight.

Ysolda stops her adoration, stands up, and steps in front of her defender. She hardly has the chance to open her eyes as my one arm jolts forward with lightning flowing through it and now into Ysolda and blows her up. Both Zyarie and I are at a loss for words for a few moments that feel longer than they should have. He then yells out in anger before dropping his spear and shield and charging at me with his hands reaching out to me. My body sidesteps his charge, grabs his arms, and blows it up before my hand which has metal spikes jutting out of it touches his chest and blows that up as well.

The people from the outside are now in and are appalled to see their two heroes reduced to nothing more than bone, flesh, and pools of blood. Now, of all times, my appearance changes back to what it once was and everyone notices me.

Thinking on my feet, I say, “I defeated Uthman, Zyarie, and Ysolda! The gifts given to them by their god were no match for the gift given to me by mine.”

This situation reminds me of the stories where one hero would overcome another figurehead and be praised as the best of them all and their god would be worshipped instead of the other, but that doesn’t happen. Instead, insults are hurled at me before the chairs in the palace are thrown at me. My mask and black outfit return and the things thrown at me go through me as I disappear in the eyes of the crowd. I am then flown out of the city and put back under the tree where I was.

“If I may ask, what was the point of that?” I ask while not expecting an answer.

“You’ll see. I know what you were expecting to happen, but that was never going to happen. These people are stuck to their gods of gold, stone, and worldly pleasures. More will have to be done for their dead hearts to be converted,” my God says.

“I get it.”

Still, I expected some kind of reward not just from the events of today, but from everything I’ve done in my life. Despite how nice these powers are, they’re a bit bittersweet to have since I don’t have much control over them. Speaking of which, one of my arms moves on its own and touches the nearby tree to make apples, oranges, strawberries, and fruits of all kinds sprout and fall from it. Now that’s what I’m talking about!

My latest book is out today!

Download for free on Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1485581

In the unwritten history of the Protestant Reformation, Braxton, the king of the Anglican British Empire, overtakes Vatican City, and hangs the Pope and clergy. During his celebration, mysterious creatures kill those closest to him and in a moment of desperation, he calls out for God's help but is met only with scorn, however, he is also blessed by becoming the first of a new kind of exorcist. 

Exorcism of the Hollow: The Good Traitor: Chapter 3 – Exorcising False Gods

Chapter 3 – Exorcising False Gods

The statue brings me back inside the basilica and to the front of the altar. With a single wave of its hand, a hidden door on the floor moves aside to reveal a staircase that leads into the darkness. It then points down and I follow its instructions. As I descend further and further down the seemingly never-ending staircase, I think that it actually won’t end until I reach the bottom where there’s nothing but dead grass and dirt. There doesn’t seem to be anything here to build a legacy on other than it being a secret place.

A light suddenly appears in the dark and approaches me and I’m surprised to see that the source of the light is the statue of Christ with a lion and unicorn behind him. My legs can’t help but feel weak as I fall to my knees at this glorious sight.

“My Lord,” I say.

“It is, I, Braxton. I am glad that you recognize Me after serving that false version of Myself,” the statue says.

Hearing this makes me unsure of what to say or do. Is this a false Christ in front of me or were my original assumptions about the living broken statue, correct?

The statue continues by saying, “I understand and I will not rub your face into your failures like that false Christ did. Instead, I will only allow you to save your empire and serve me as the king you are meant to be.”

“So…I was never wrong? Going back and forth between thinking I was and was not is too jarring for me.”

“I know it is, but I know that you’ll come through. Remove all traces of falsehood from your mind and come back to Me, King Braxton. The fact that you’re constantly fought over by me and demonic forces is proof of your infinite worth. Bring the world under the grasp of the British Empire and make it holy.”

I’m at the crossroads again and don’t know what to do. Do I go back to the Christ that affirms everything I believe or do I stay with the one that seems to be correcting me for my mistakes? You know what? Today’s events have reminded me that I should rely on God more than myself, so while on my knees, I pray to God to give me the right answer and direct my actions and thoughts according to His will. This action sends a shockwave of light from me that lights up the entire area and reveals the Christ in front of me as an imposter. It now has only half of Christ’s face and its feeble, hollow body is only half covered by a golden cape. The rest of it wears a black crown on its head and its back has only one set of shriveled wings on it.

“You traitor! How dare you distrust your god!” the pathetic-looking thing says, “I’ll give you one more opportunity. Accept my help and your legacy will be great.”

“It’s funny that you mention that I’m a traitor. So far, in the span of a day, I’ve fundamentally betrayed everything I’ve stood for, everyone who’s helped me, and even the ‘god’ I worshipped, but if God says to do so, then I’ll gladly take the title of traitor.”

Enraged by my answer, the false Christ yells while flying at me. Taking out my spear, I pierce its hollow heart and can feel a hole that I didn’t know I had in my chest fill as the false Christ is banished along with its unicorn and lion and the area around me comes to life with green grass. Behind me, the once-broken statue of Christ appears in a restored state to me and takes off its veil to reveal the gentle, merciful, and smiling face of my Lord.

I kneel on both knees and say, “My Lord. What are Your orders?”

“Use the land before you to grow the community of exorcists to cleanse the world of demons. I will change this world according to your needs to have farmlands, rivers, lakes, mountains, and expand its lengths if need be,” the Lord says.

“How will I go about growing the community?”

“Besides you, I have blessed many people with the abilities of an exorcist who will be drawn to coming here, some of whom are almost here. Also, a child of an exorcist will inherit their parent’s blessing, so your ranks will grow in that way as well.”

“I understand. Thank You for everything.”

“As for the final order that I have for you, for now, continue growing closer to Me, My good servant.”

The statue of Christ disappears into the sun of this underground sky leaving me with a feeling of hopefulness in his heart. In the same sky, I see five people walking down the many stairs from the entrance. One is a priest, a farmer with a cow and dog, a soldier, a nun, and a woman all of whom wear the garbs and masks of an exorcist like me. They are all surprised to see that I, of all people, have been chosen as an exorcist and the leader of them and have many questions all of which I am glad to answer. In this new beginning given to me by God, my past is buried and gone, but my future is bright and looking to be a hopeful one because a traitor to his God like me was able to be brought back and called a good servant.

The End

Exorcism of the Hollow: The Good Traitor: Chapter 2 – Exorcising Others

Chapter 2 – Exorcising Others

The morning sun is now in the sky rather unexpectedly. I guess the party and everything else that happened took longer than I expected. People start to come out of their houses and go about their daily business. Despite my appearance and many knowing who I am, none of them acknowledge me and are even able to walk through me as if I’m some kind of spirit. Looking into my reflection in a nearby shop window, I see myself and the grinning gold and white mask that I’m wearing that appears to have a crown of gold and a sharp red crown on it. The mask stays on my head no matter what I try to do and returns to its original position. Behind me, I see the broken statue of Christ float in the window’s reflection and no one takes any note of it either.

“That mask is a penitential mask of shame that exposes the sin that you struggle with the most,” the statue says.

“And that sin would be what? Being royalty?” I ask.

“The sin of pride.”

I look back in the reflection and can kind of see how the mask reflects the sin of pride. Now I can’t help but feel that the mask is mocking me and accusing me of my deeds without saying a word.

“What of our invisibility? Why can’t anyone see or touch us?”

“They see and touch what I allow. Your descendants will be able to shift between being invisible and being visible, but you will stay invisible to them for the rest of your life. You have no use of it anyway.”

“Why’s that? I’m still the king of the British Empire and I have a kingdom to rule.”

“You are a king no longer and are only a new exorcist.”

What the statue says gives me pause as it feels like my entire world has fallen out from under me.

“…what? No, that can’t be. I am a king-”

The sound of yelling and screaming coming from nearby startles me as it reminds me of the events of last night.

“Go save your servants, ‘king’.”

Running towards the sound, I don’t find any demons, but I do find my own people killing each other. My feelings of betrayal force me to strike down the traitors with my own hands, but the fists merely go through them. The traitors get away and there’s nothing I can do about it.

“That’s right,” the statue says as it phases through the wall, “You can’t do anything.”

I fall to my knees and say, “Then please do something! For their sake, not mine.”

“And not My own sake?”

“No, they’ll glorify You even more if you save them.”

“They’ll end up killing each other and following the example you set for them, which is an example that needs to be erased. Watch and observe.” As I am teleported from scene to scene of violence and betrayal, the statue continues saying, “You thought that you led an invincible army and rooted out all traitors and had people in place to get rid of them, but you are wrong. Men who are not entirely loyal to Me are never completely loyal to the lords they serve. Thus, I allowed you and your allies to be blind to the traitors in your mist. Look also at this. The Catholics that you thought you purged from Vatican City are using this opportunity to take back what is theirs.”

I had the entire country of Italy under my control and was eating at Vatican City bit by bit, month after month. This city was going to be my home away from home, the property of the British Empire, and a staging place to reclaim the Holy Land. Now, all those years of preparation are gone in an instant. I’ve stopped moving from place to place in the city and am now on the roof of a church unsure what to do.

“You rise, Braxton,” the statue says.

“What?”

“You rise from your sins. You will no longer be the hollow man you once were and I will make you a new man, the man you were always meant to be.”

The statue holds out its bleeding nail-pierced hand for me.

“How are You going to do that?”

“By giving you this opportunity to make up for it. You will hunt down the demons who are corrupting humanity and have been clouding your judgments as an exorcist. Take out your spear.”

“How do I do that? Why does it even come out of my head and why a spear?”

“It comes out of your head because that’s the center of your virtue and it’s a spear because it’s representative of your personality. Remember who gives you the strength to do what needs to be done. Put your faith in Me and you will accomplish wonders.”

With nothing left to lose, I do as the statue says as I pull my spear out of my head and ready myself.

“What are your orders, Lord?” I say with one knee down.

“I will teleport you to various parts of Italy that require your particular kind of exorcism. Banish the demons and you will help bring peace to this country and save innocents,” the statue says.

“I accept. Send me in.”

I am sent to scenes of violence and conflict in parts of Italy where I find the white hollow demons influencing people’s actions. One after the other, I exorcise each location by banishing the demons by trusting in God as my strength. It’s rather easy as long as I concentrate on my silent prayers to God and not listen to the temptations to give in to the despair of my lifelong plans being no longer relevant. The demons also talk to me and say how I’ve been abandoned by God, that I’m a slave to a false Christ and that they’re actually angels, and that I deserve better. All these temptations I drown out by continuously fighting and holding out the hope that I’m doing what’s right.

There’s no reason that this isn’t, as far as I know. The only doubt in my mind is the suddenness of it all and the fact that God allowed me to do the things I did for as long as I did without any kind of correction. It is possible that I ignored the warning signs or thought they were temptations by the devil. In fact, I think that’s probably the case at this point if demons are tempting me to go back to my original thinking. There’s no way that these hollow spirits are actually angels since they killed those close to me and are inspiring people to gratuitous acts of violence and slaughter. After a while, I am teleported to the roof of the basilica where everything started, and am expecting more demons, but nothing appears except for the broken statue of Christ.

“What? Are there no more demons for me to exorcise?” I ask.

“You’ve done your part. Well done,” the statue says.

Hearing sounds of violence and seeing fires in the distance brings doubt into my mind again.

“Even though the city still burns?”

“Yes. There are demons that I am not allowing you to see and fires that don’t need putting out because I am allowing certain evils to happen for a greater good that I have planned. I know you’re still concerned about your legacy, but do not be. Even though the legacy you wanted to happen will be erased tonight, what you leave behind will be greater than that.”

“I…I figured I couldn’t save my legacy. It doesn’t help that you had to point it out and what You’re saying doesn’t help much.”

“Then let us plant the final seeds of your legacy so that it will begin to grow.”

Exorcism of the Hollow: The Good Traitor: Chapter 1 – Exorcising the Self

Chapter 1 – Exorcising the Self

After hanging the noose around the heretic, I throw him over the balcony to hang him with his cardinals and archbishops. Now, the pope of the false Christianity is dead and the followers of his sham of a gospel will follow as well if they don’t submit to the true faith that is being captained by the good people of the British Empire and I, her king. My subjects and the true servants of Our Lord Jesus Christ cheer for me below and my three wives stand around me with their heads on my shoulders.

“Cheer, not only for me but for yourselves, loyal servants of Christ! Today we celebrate the downfall of the anti-Chrit’s Christianity and the next big achievement in establishing Christ’s true Church on earth and dominating it for His sake, so drink, eat, be merry, and enjoy yourselves to your heart’s desires! You’ve earned it,” I say as the crowd grows louder with fervor and zeal.

Downstairs in the basilica, I watch and enjoy the fruits of my labor. First, I look at my wives. One is the daughter of a royal family that I’ve known since childhood, another was a nun until she was…convinced to abandon her vow of chastity and marry me, and the last is a slave woman who previously helped clean my castle. Second, I look over to my family and friends who made this possible. Without their influence and resources, we wouldn’t have been able to overthrow the pope and his armies. Third and lastly, I look at my servants who I also appreciate for playing their part.

Everyone is happy and nothing could make me happier than seeing this. While the party is going on, a few of the drunks break the cross that’s at the very back of the basilica. This stops the party for some as they go to see the broken crucifix and statue of Christ that was attached to it and even condemn the drunks for this desecration of a holy object. To avoid the party being spoiled, I clang my wine glass to get everyone’s attention.

“Let us not make this spoil enjoying our just rewards,” I say. “As for these drunks, they have done nothing wrong. In fact, I was going to destroy that cross myself since it depicts the false Christ of the Catholics. Our Christ is risen and not perpetually crucified because all our sins of the past, present, and future are wiped away forever and with our vow of faith in Christ we are saved no matter what mistakes and sins we may make.”

The crowd agrees with me and calms down.

“Now, bring in the statue of the true Christ and put Him where the false Christ fell.”

Ten of my servants bring in the statue I’ve brought over from Britain, place Him at the back of the Church, and carry away the broken trash of the cross and false Christ. This statue of Christ depicts Him with the armor of a king with a lion and unicorn behind Him. In His hands are the flag of the British Empire and a sword.

“This is a proper and true depiction of Christ. Don’t you all agree?”

Again, the crowd agrees with me before clapping and going back to enjoying the party. Many hours pass and guests go home one after the other until around twenty remain, most of whom are my relatives and close associates. They’re staying since we still have to divide the riches of the Vatican and explore its vaults for valuables. Before we can do that, the doors of the basilica close and the candles go out. A deep darkness surrounds us that we can hardly see each other in.

We all take out our weapons and call out whoever is pulling this trick on us and no one answers. I then see bits of a creature that has a white body and a black hole in its chest. It starts cutting down everyone I know one after the other and kills them in various ways such as making them fly in the air before dropping them down or just plain tearing their head off or in two. For some reason, it seems like no one else can see them even when I see them look at the creatures point blank and tell them about it. Taking matters into my own hands, I hunt the creature in the dark and eventually find it, but when I strike it, the blade of my sword shatters into pieces. Both of my wrists are then restrained by invisible chains and I am forced to stay in place as I watch everyone close to me die.

With no other option, I call out to God with all my strength for the opportunity to obtain justice and am only met with the floating destroyed statue of Christ whose face is covered by a black veil. Its chest and last remaining hand that has a nail through it bleeds and tears seem to be on its veil.

“Lord? Is that You?” I ask.

“Do not call Me Lord for I do not know you,” the statue says.

“What are you talking about?”

“You have persecuted Me by persecuting My Church, My people, My both faithful and unfaithful servants.”

“Was I not supposed to bring Your justice to the unfaithful? To the Catholics and the traitors among the British Empire and those who call themselves Christians but are nothing but heretics?”

“You speak of heretics and you are chief among them and chief among today’s sinners for killing so many and indulging in sin and your own desires.”

“I’ve never done anything wrong! You’re right. You don’t know me.”

“You ask Me for help, I bring you the truth, and you decide to argue with Me. Know that My mercy outweighs My justice by your continued breathing despite your countless blasphemies and by giving you penance. This penance is to be the first among a new league of exorcists that operate invisibly and can see demons.”

My royal blue, red, white, and gold clothes change to a dull brown and black priest-like set of clothes that look like a combination of priest and guard. Half a mask covers my face and I can feel and see a long spear coming out of my head.

“You will use this spear as your primary weapon and the first demons you must banish are your own. You must crucify yourself first if you want to serve Me and save yourself,” the statue continues.

“How do I know that you’re not an anti-Christ?” I ask.

“A divided kingdom cannot stand against itself. I want you to take this second chance and be the faithful servant you claim to be.”

I try to take the spear from my head, but the chains on my wrists prevent me from doing so. Turning my head to look at them, I now see a white creature on both sides, one has a chain coming out of its head while the other has a chain coming out of its heart, and both of which appear to have a mockery of my face as theirs.

“I can’t do anything!” I say.

“That’s right. You can’t do anything without My help. Crucify your ego. Give Me your vow of humility by saying, ‘Ego me primum crucifigo’.”

Doing as the statue says, I swallow my pride and say in the accursed Catholic language, “Ego me primum crucifigo.”

My chains break and the two creatures behind me are blown away allowing me to take the spear out of my head and wield it. I’m not too accustomed to using spears, but I should be able to banish the creatures if God truly wants me to succeed. The creatures come at me and attack me with their blade-like claws and no matter how much I stab them with my spear, I can’t manage to do anything. What am I doing wrong?

“You’ve already forgotten so easily. You cannot do anything without My help,” the statue says.

Fine then. Somehow believing God is the source of my strength makes the spear do damage and allows me to fight better. Soon after, I manage to banish the creatures, and the candles in the basilica are all relit at once. With a clearer view of the bodies of everyone I cared about, I’m unsure of who to go to first to see if they’re still alive.

“None of them are,” the statue says.

“What?” I say.

“None of them are alive. They died after they were struck down by their demons and judged soon after.”

“Can You at least tell me if they went to Heaven or Hell?”

“I can tell you that those who appear faithful will suffer Hellfire because of the decay in their soul and those who appear wretched obtain the highest seat in Heaven because of their repentance and trust in Me.”

“That’s not much of an answer.”

“Their fate is not your concern. You need to worry about your own and those you’ll lead. Now, go! Free your people of their demons.”

I am lifted into the air by an invisible force and thrown out of the basilica. Before I can get up, the basilica’s doors close. Was that really God and was I really banishing demons? I guess I have no choice but to accept it and hope that I’m doing the right thing at this point. If I truly lived an evil life, please God forgive me and help me to do the right thing.

My 250th book is out today!

Download for free on Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1482039

Everyone wants to be loved and remembered, but after trying to do so, Josephine dies and is brought back to life by the Servant. As one of the many Dead and Conduits of the Servant's will, she'll do her best to do penance for her past life of sin and banish the not-so-virtuous Lights of the World although she's a nobody with seemingly nothing special about her.

Unremembered and Unimportant: Chapter 5 - Ending and Beginning Again

Chapter 5 – Ending and Beginning Again

Unknown to the inhabitants of the city, Josephine and Memphis are moving from shadow to shadow to avoid detection and the notice of the Light of the World they are tasked with banishing. The two manifest themselves out of the shadows in a dirty alleyway as they plan their next move.

“How are we going to get to the castle from here? I didn't see any more shadows for us to travel to,” Josephine says.

“We can hijack someone’s shadow assuming they’re going there or maybe go into several shadows like we were doing as we move forward,” Memphis suggests.

“We were doing that, but it’s a bit too risky since shadows don’t last long here except for this alleyway, I guess. Isn’t it strange that this is one of the few places that isn’t lit up?”

“Every light casts a shadow. Besides, it makes sense that they wouldn’t want a trashy area of their golden paradise to be lit up. They want it hidden like their sins.”

“You’re right. I think we should go with your plan seeing as how it’s the only thing we can do. We’ll just have to deal with any difficulties from there-”

A sudden loud thud sound scares Josephine. She looks around for the source and can’t seem to find what it was or what happened. Turning to ask if Memphis saw anything, her words are caught in her throat by how still he is. A realization of what happened freezes her in place as Memphis turns around to reveal the gaping hole in his chest.

“Memphis!” Josephine says as she runs to catch him as he falls to the ground. “Memphis! Memphis!”

There are no signs of life in Memphis at all. The only thing that remains is a faint smile as if he were going to say something reassuring to Josephine. An overwhelming light fills the once-dark alleyway while Josephine cries and holds Memphis’ body. Three arms come out of the lights and surround Josephine with their embrace. In the sky, a black light forms, and now the entire sky looks like a singular eye.

“Josephine, don’t fight us. You see the result of our power. The Servant isn’t doing anything to save you. You will finally get what you deserve,” a feminine voice from the sky says.

All three hands point at Josephine and slowly change her back to what she looked like. As this is happening, she doesn’t do anything except continue to cry as any fight in her is gone and is now replaced with surrender and despair. Now back to normal, Josephine feels a faint numbness block out her sadness and bits of anger. The hands then move to make Memphis’ body disappear into nothing, which spikes her feelings before the numbness takes away the pain. She is taken by the hands out of the alley and put on a pedestal in the streets to be seen by everyone.

“Behold, a true selfless servant. You are to do everything she says. Shower her with praise. Make sure she is loved. Protect her from hatred. If she wants you to be her lover, then you are to do so without a second thought,” the feminine voice says.

From the crowd, Josephine’s family and friends emerge. They seem to have a halo around their heads and a white light shining from their eyes.

“What? Am I being put into a dream again?” Josephine asks.

“This is no dream. This is reality. I got them here and influenced your loved ones to always love you as they should. I knew you were coming. I know your every desire and wish to fulfill it.”

“You don’t know anything about me!”

“I knew you were coming. I know about the feelings that you had for the boy and the feelings he had for you. Both of you yearned for love and fell for each other so easily because of it. One wanted to be loved because she thought she would be useless and depressed without someone showing any love to her. The other wanted love because he wanted to think he was worth loving.”

“So, why did you kill him and leave me alive?”

“From what we’ve seen and heard, you seem like the one who would be easier to convince to stop when given everything you wanted and we appear to be correct. Live in peace and harmony with us and convince the other Dead and Conduits who come here to do so as well and you’ll get everything that you want and keep the people here happy. It’s everything that you wanted, isn’t it?”

Knowing that she can’t disagree, Josephine doesn’t say anything. The three arms disappear and the sky goes back to normal. Everyone whom the Light has given to Josephine begins fawning over her and asking her what they want her to do.

“Leave me alone!” Josephine says as she runs back to the alley where Memphis died. She sits on the dirty floor and starts crying again. “I’m back where I started…but in a worse condition…”

Appearing from the shadows, the Servant says, “I am still here for you.”

“Are you?! Where were you when they killed Memphis?!”

“Here.”

“And you had to let him die.”

“I did.”

“For what reason? Tell me!”

“It was his time to go so that you would know the value of feeling alone.”

“I don’t see the value that you’re talking about.”

“I do know that you at least see that there’s no value in getting everything you wanted.”

“I kind of learned that the first time it happened.”

“But you had to be reminded of it so that you would come back to Me.”

“Come back to You? For what reason? I have nothing to give You.”

“You still have your life.”

“My life is worth less than nothing.”

“I can still make that into something.”

“Why put me through this? Do you hate me? Do you like seeing me suffer? Why not give these tasks to someone who can do them better than I can?”

“I do this to make you into the person you were meant to be because I love you more than you love yourself. This process is painful, but I bear the pain with you and give you the strength to make it through it.”

“Then why allow me to fail so many times when I’m trying to do what You want?”

“Your failures and losses bring you closer to Me. In victory or defeat, I can make you into something greater. Only trust Me a little and you will be able to move mountains and overthrow false gods.”

“Okay then. I did trust You a little before. Maybe it’s time that I trust You more.”

The Servant reaches out His hand to Josephine who takes it. A deep and yet somehow bright darkness enters her that dispels the light around her. Seeing her newfound power, she walks out into the streets towards the castle where her target is. As she is walking toward it, those who are under this Light of the World’s influence are freed from it once her darkness touches them. Most are confused and unsure what to do or where they are while others remember that they are Conduits and use the abilities given to them by the Servant to dispel more of the light and destroy the angel apparitions of light that this Light of the World has conjured.

Again, the eye in the sky reveals itself and attempts to strike down Josephine with lightning from above, but none of the strikes can manage to pierce her darkness. Every servant that the Light sends against her is blinded by the dark or runs away in fear because of it. Now at the castle, the other Conduits make their way inside while Josephine sits on the steps of the entrance.

From above, the same feminine voice from before says, “I can give you whatever you want. Just get rid of that accursed darkness you radiate!”

“It’s not my darkness and I don’t need anything,” Josephine says.

“You know that’s not true. I know how you truly feel! You want what I just gave you and more! I can bring Memphis back to life if you help me. Watch and see.”

An apparition of Memphis appears in front of Josephine who appears more handsome and well-dressed than he was before. Knowing that this isn’t him, Josephine turns her head and the apparition is consumed by the dark.

“Stop denying your emotions and desires!” the Light says.

“It’s better that I do because following my feelings and getting what I want has only left me miserable. It is the right thing to do after all,” Josephine says.

No further words are said by the Light and the rest of its false light is dispelled from the city. Presuming it to be banished, Josephine leaves the city. People in the streets are either celebrating their freedom, hurling insults at Josephine, or running away from her. Looking into her reflection in one of the store windows, she sees that she’s changed.

Her clothes, hair, and eyes are all different though the scars and stitching on her body remain the same. She smiles at her new appearance and because of the satisfaction she has from learning something new but old. For the rest of her life, she’ll continue to learn this lesson, fall and rise, and grow in wisdom. Though she may be hated, forgotten by the world, and mostly alone for the rest of her life, she’ll be remembered in the heart of the Servant, the only place worth being remembered in.

The End