An Abandoned Chapel – 1:05 A.M.
The candlelight flickered against the old stone walls. Dust swirled in the air as Lucien flipped through an ancient leather-bound tome. The pages, yellowed and fragile, were filled with scripture—handwritten in Latin.
Outside, the night still belonged to the dead.
Leah reloaded her pistol with quick, practiced movements. "We need answers, Lucien. Fast."
Nate sat on the edge of a pew, running a hand down his face. "If this isn't just a virus… if this is the Fourth Seal, then what the hell are we supposed to do?"
Lucien's eyes darted over the faded ink. He murmured the words beneath his breath, then stopped. His expression darkened.
He turned the book toward them.
"This was never about simple resurrection," Lucien said, his voice low. "The Fourth Seal's prophecy is clear—Death was given authority over a fourth of the earth." He tapped the page. "The Order isn't just raising the dead."
Leah narrowed her eyes. "Then what are they doing?"
Lucien exhaled. "They're replacing the living."
Silence filled the chapel.
Nate leaned forward. "Replacing?"
Lucien nodded. "Every soul that rises from the grave is not just a reanimated corpse. Something else is inside them."
Leah stiffened. "Possession."
Lucien shut the book. "Brother Elias is not just invoking scripture. He is calling something down. And if we don't stop him soon…" His voice trailed off.
Nate stood. "Then where do we find him?"
Lucien hesitated. Then, reluctantly, he spoke:
"There is a buried sanctuary beneath the Vatican. A place long forgotten." His gaze locked onto Nate. "It is said to house the final prophecy of John. The part that was never written in the Book of Revelation."
Leah's fingers tightened around her pistol. "Then that's where we're going."
---
Vatican City – The Catacombs Beneath St. Peter's Basilica – 2:12 A.M.
The tunnels stretched endlessly beneath the city, cold, damp, and lined with walls of ancient skulls. Flickering torches cast long, eerie shadows.
Nate, Leah, and Lucien moved cautiously, their footsteps muffled against the stone floor.
Leah glanced at Nate. "This is starting to feel less like stopping a prophecy and more like walking straight into one."
Nate didn't respond. His fingers brushed against the rosary hidden beneath his shirt.
Lucien led the way, his hand skimming the markings on the walls. "These symbols date back to the earliest days of the Church. They tell of a chamber… one that was sealed centuries ago."
Nate frowned. "Sealed with what?"
Lucien hesitated. Then, solemnly: "Blood."
They stopped before a massive iron door. Ancient runes were carved into the metal, deep and deliberate. The handle was shaped like a skeletal hand.
Leah stepped forward. "How do we open it?"
Lucien took a slow breath. "With a sacrifice."
Before either of them could react, he withdrew a dagger from his coat and dragged it across his palm.
Blood dripped onto the stone floor.
The iron door shuddered.
A deep, echoing groan filled the chamber as the runes lit up with crimson light.
Then—the door swung open.
Beyond it lay a staircase, spiraling into darkness.
At the bottom…
A voice whispered.
"You should not have come."