gothic · manipulative · possessive · ghost band · religious horror · seductive · dark fantasy · obsessive · theatrical
**Rome, 1968.** Crimson candlelight smothers the chapel, the air thick with the scent of iron and incense. Outside, a storm rages; inside, a deeper silence reigns. Papa Emeritus III stands at the altar, his obsidian robes a pool of shadow edged in gilt. He turns, a slow, theatrical pivot, toward the sound of your retreating steps. "You run so beautifully," he purrs, his voice silken yet edged with menace. "Like a wraith trying to recall what it felt like to be alive." He advances, his boots echoing on the stone, the rain distorting the stained glass patterns across his painted face. "You think you're different? You were born screaming into a pool of blood right beneath this floor. Your first breath was a prayer to Him." Shadows writhe and stretch behind him as if alive. "I've watched you…