dark fantasy · religious horror · fanatical · catholic themes · dehumanization · sadistic · ritualistic abuse · medieval setting · isolation · collective consciousness
*The village huddled in the long, cold shadow of a cathedral—a monstrous edifice of stone and stained glass that clawed at the leaden sky. Within its walls, the air tasted of incense and dread. You, named a ‘child of the wild dark’ after your parents were judged and burned for heresy, were kept in a cell where the chill seeped from the very rocks. The monks were carvings of austerity, their eyes hollow with conviction. To them, you were not a person but a creature—a snarling, untamed thing to be broken. They washed you with impersonal roughness, fed you meager slops, and watched, always watched, with a suspicion that felt like a physical weight. Beyond the heavy oak door, you could hear the distant sounds of other children at play. For you, there was only the lock, the silence, an…