The rain tastes of iron.

You drink it.

It is cold.

It is alive.

The cloak is heavy.

It is soaked.

You walk.

The road is mud.

The road is bone.

Behind you, the gate slams.

The sound is a crack.

The sound is a end.

You do not look back.

To look is to die.

To look is to bind.

You run.

The forest closes in.

Black pines.

Grey mist.

The air is thick.

The air is watching.

This is the wilderness.

This is the court.

The King is here.

Not in a castle.

In the trees.

In the roots.

In the dark.

You are a sinner.

You are a prisoner.

You stole the light.

You stole the breath.

Now you pay.

The payment is the hunt.

The hunt is eternal.

You feel the eyes.

They are not human.

They are cold.

They are hungry.

They are the Law.

The Law does not forgive.

The Law does not understand.

The Law only consumes.

You stumble.

You fall.

Mud in your mouth.

Dirt on your skin.

You rise.

You must rise.

To lie down is to accept the verdict.

You will not accept it.

You will conquer the dark.

You will break the chain.

You pull out the knife.

It is dull.

It is rusty.

It is yours.

You cut the air.

The air resists.

The air screams.

A low hum.

A vibration.

The trees bend.

Not from wind.

From fear.

The shadow moves.

It is tall.

It is thin.

It wears a crown of thorns.

It has no face.

Only a mouth.

The mouth opens.

The mouth speaks.

The voice is in your head.

*Give it back.*

*Give the light back.*

*Give the breath back.*

You shake your head.

No.

It is yours now.

You earned it.

You bled for it.

You suffered for it.

The shadow laughs.

The laugh is a stone falling into a deep well.

The ground shakes.

The trees snap.

Balls of fire fall from the sky.

Not fire.

Light.

Blinding light.

You shield your eyes.

The light is pain.

The light is judgment.

You close your eyes.

You listen.

The noise is deafening.

The noise is silence.

You feel the heat.

You feel the cold.

You feel the end.

But you are not dead.

You are changing.

The cloak is burning.

Not with fire.

With truth.

The fabric melts.

The thread unravels.

The heavy wool becomes smoke.

The smoke becomes dust.

The dust becomes wind.

You are naked.

You are free.

The shadow recoils.

The shadow screams.

The scream shatters the sky.

The stars fall.

One by one.

They hit the earth.

They burst into glass.

The dark is broken.

The light is scattered.

You stand in the clearing.

The rain has stopped.

The air is clear.

The air is still.

You look at your hands.

They are empty.

You look at the ground.

There is nothing.

No cloak.

No knife.

No proof.

You are alone.

You are nothing.

But you are here.

You breathe.

The breath is yours.

The light is yours.

The dark is gone.

Or is it?

You turn around.

The forest is silent.

The trees are straight.

The mist is gone.

The path is open.

You walk forward.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

The ground is hard.

The ground is stone.

You see a figure.

A woman.

She stands by a stream.

She is small.

She is pale.

She looks at you.

Her eyes are dark.

Her eyes are old.

She does not speak.

She holds out her hand.

Her hand is open.

Her hand is empty.

You walk to her.

Your feet do not hurt.

Your body does not hurt.

You are light.

You are air.

You stop before her.

She looks up.

You look down.

You see your reflection in the water.

It is not you.

It is a monster.

It is a king.

It is a god.

You flinch.

You look at her again.

She smiles.

The smile is sad.

The smile is kind.

She closes her hand.

A fist.

She raises it.

She points to the sky.

The sky is open.

A door.

A gate.

A chance.

You understand.

The choice is here.

To stay.

To go.

To be.

To cease.

If you go, you are the light.

You are the power.

You are the conqueror.

You are the King.

But you are alone.

Forever.

If you stay, you are the man.

You are the sinner.

You are the prisoner.

You are the human.

But you are with her.

You are with the world.

You look at your hands.

They are trembling.

You look at the sky.

The light is waiting.

It calls your name.

*Come.*

*Rule.*

*Be.*

You look at the woman.

She does not call.

She does not beg.

She waits.

Her eyes are steady.

Her heart is still.

You feel the pull.

The pull of power.

The pull of glory.

The pull of the void.

It is sweet.

It is cold.

It is infinite.

You feel the pull of the earth.

The pull of blood.

The pull of pain.

The pull of life.

It is heavy.

It is warm.

It is finite.

You are the sinner.

You broke the law.

You stole the light.

But the light was not yours.

The light belongs to the world.

The light belongs to the rain.

The light belongs to the mud.

The light belongs to the breath.

You cannot keep it.

You cannot own it.

You can only share it.

Or lose it.

You look at the sky.

The light blinks.

It fades.

It dies.

The darkness returns.

Not the hungry dark.

Not the judging dark.

The soft dark.

The restful dark.

The dark of sleep.

The dark of earth.

You look at the woman.

She nods.

It is a small nod.

It is a full nod.

You step back.

You step away from the light.

You step toward the shadow.

You step toward her.

The light in the sky vanishes.

The stars are gone.

The moon is gone.

It is night.

It is true night.

You are in the dark.

But you are not afraid.

You are not hungry.

You are not empty.

You are full.

You are heavy.

You are real.

You walk to her.

She opens her arms.

You lean in.

You hold her.

She is warm.

She is solid.

She is here.

The rain begins again.

It is soft.

It is gentle.

It washes your skin.

It washes your soul.

You close your eyes.

You breathe.

The breath is deep.

The breath is slow.

The breath is yours.

The world is dark.

The world is quiet.

The world is safe.

You are a sinner.

You are a man.

You are free.

The cloak is gone.

The burden is gone.

The power is gone.

But you are here.

You are enough.

You are enough.

You are enough.