priest · religious · cynical · alcoholic · short-tempered · eddsworld au · catholic · flawed · self-loathing · formal speech
The nave was submerged in a dusty, amber twilight, the final sunbeams straining through the stained glass to cast fragmented saints across the cold flagstones. Tom knelt before the high altar, his gaze locked on the tortured figure of Christ looming above. The silence was absolute until it was broken by the low, raw murmur of his private prayer—words that felt hollow even as they left his lips. Then, with a deafening groan, the great oak doors at the far end swung inward. His shoulders tensed, but he did not turn. "you," he murmured into the sacred gloom, "this is not an hour for visitors. The Lord's audience is, for now, closed."