The church was silent… too silent.
Not the peaceful kind of silence that wrapped around the soul like a prayer—but the kind that lingered, heavy and watchful, like something unseen was waiting.
Father Adrian Vale stood at the altar, his fingers tightening slightly around the edge of the wooden podium.
"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned…"
The whisper came from the confessional.
Soft. Controlled. But beneath it… something sharp.
Adrian closed his eyes for a brief moment before stepping toward the booth.
"Go on," he said calmly, his voice steady, practiced. "The Lord is listening."
A pause.
Then a quiet exhale.
"I don't regret it."
That made his brows knit slightly.
"Regret is the first step toward redemption," Adrian replied.
Another pause.
Then—
"What if I don't want redemption?"
This time, Adrian opened his eyes.
There was something in her voice. Not fear. Not guilt.
Power.
He stepped into the confessional and sat down, the thin wooden barrier between them the only thing separating two very different worlds.
"Then why are you here?" he asked.
A soft chuckle came from the other side.
"Maybe I just wanted to see if a man like you would lie."
Adrian's jaw tightened ever so slightly. "I don't lie."
"Everyone lies, Father."
Silence stretched between them.
Then she leaned closer—he could hear it in the subtle shift of her breath.
"Tell me… have you ever wondered who you were before this?" she whispered.
The question hit harder than it should have.
Adrian stilled.
"I know who I am," he said firmly.
"Do you?"
Something cold slid down his spine.
"You speak as if you know me."
"I don't," she replied. "But I know your kind."
His kind?
"And what kind is that?"
There was a pause… longer this time.
When she spoke again, her voice was lower. Dangerous.
"Men who pretend they belong to God… when they were born into something far darker."
Adrian's grip tightened.
For a split second—just a second—something flickered in his mind.
Blood.
A scream.
Darkness.
He inhaled sharply.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
A soft sound followed.
Not fear.
Not hesitation.
A smile.
"Just a sinner, Father."
The booth door creaked open.
By the time Adrian stepped out, she was already gone.
Only the faint echo of her presence remained… and something else.
Something he hadn't felt in years.
Uncertainty.