“Hear ye, hear ye! Thou’rt all sinners, awaiting thy true Lord’s forgiveness!” 

The rambling priest stumbled down the street, waving his bell in the air and shouldering past any who stood in his way. He knocked sacks of grain out of people’s arms, spilled many a pail of water, and trod over one or two small children. The people called out in disgust and anger, hurling slurs and rotten food scraps at the priest’s head as he barrelled on through. 

“Repent for the true Lord, for he is all that is good and holy!” he screeched, wiping traces of rancid tomato off his face, finally pushing all the way through the crowd and reaching the church. He threw the doors open, falling onto the clean, carpeted ground of the hall, and being met with hundreds of wide-eyed churchgoers, all turned to face him. The priest at the altar had his arms up in the air, having stopped mid-way through his sermon. 

“Father Reece! Thy visit is ill-appreciated,” he boomed, lowering his arms and glaring at the dishevelled Reece, who slowly picked himself up off the ground. 

“All of ye must beg forgiveness! Ye must fall to thy knees and pray, lest ye be swallowed by the lightless void in the coming days! Thou’rt all sinners of the highest degree!” 

“We were praying, until thou didst barge in!” The other priest stepped down from the altar, walking down the aisle to meet him. Just as he finally stood on his shaking legs, the priest’s hand cracked across his jaw, knocking him back to the ground. “Thou wert excommunicated, Reece. Thou wert never to show thy face here again.” 

Reece reached up, tugging weakly on the priest’s robes. “Thou… Thou’rt in the gravest danger, father. Thou shalt no longer preach the gospel of thy false Lord! Cast away this book of sin and repent—oof!” His eyes bulged in their sockets and he tucked his knees up into his chin, screwing his eyes shut from the pain of the priest’s kick to his gut. 

“Dost thou presume to walk into God’s holy church and spew this heresy in His presence?” His foot flew forward again, savagely smashing into Reece’s ribs this time, and he howled in pain. “I shall exact God’s punishment upon thee. Look here, ye faithful!” he shouted, looking back to the congregation, each of their eyes trained diligently on Reece. “This is what happens to those who turn their backs on the Lord!” 

“Pray, listen to my words!” he shouted, just before the priest kicked him in the face, knocking out a few teeth. His head snapped backwards and he rolled across the ground, groaning, blood flowing from his split lip and lost teeth. “The sixth day of the sixth month! He cometh! Ye have been worshipping the wrong God!” 

The priest scoffed. “Even in thy pleas, the Devil infests thy words! Doest thou not see?” He stomped on Reece’s head, keeping his foot firmly planted on his temple while Reece struggled, clawing at the ground and trying to push him off, but to no avail. “The sixth of the sixth? On the sixth year of our Lord? The Devil’s number, in plain sight!” 

“Nay, I pray thee! ‘Tis but a coincidence! Thou must listen!” 

“Silence!” The priest put more of his weight onto his foot, and Reece’s movements became more and more frantic. “You should be grateful that God is merciful. If it were my decision, death would be your punishment. But God tells us to forgive! Gaze upon the mercy of our Lord and be thankful.” He finally removed his foot, allowing Reece to stand, his face covered in blood. He used his sleeve to try and wipe some off, only serving to spread it further across his face. The congregation all chanted in unison, praising God for his mercy like a monotone choir. 

“Thou’rt all doomed,” Reece said, spitting out blood and shuffling backwards out the door. 

“Thou art the doomed one, Reece. Thy new Lord will only serve to cast thee into the depths of hell.”