What are we without flesh and blood? Are we nothing but a beating heart in a ribcage, a marching soul inevitably leading to our demise? Or are we here as a test of loyalty to our God, a God we do not know but must trust? And without this trust, we will be punished indefinitely for questioning his divinity. And what is a sheep without his shepherd? Without God, are we nothing but sheep led astray? How will we be guided to the light without a shepherd on earth? Should we trust our shepherd to tell us the truth? Or will we be covered in the blood of the lamb? A shepherd with blood on his hands could infect his flock with poison. And with this poison, he has control. And to Luke, this poison is all he knows. His seventeen years of life have been devoted to nothing else but God. He wakes up, goes to school or church, and sleeps; rinse and repeat. There is no place or time for anything else in his life, such as television, going out with friends, or discovering new hobbies. His father, Pastor Ivy, ensures this. His life purpose will be to serve the Lord and nothing else. A purpose that Luke believes is the right way. What else would there be to life? He hadn't questioned this until he met Gabriel, a man who was the complete opposite of him. A man who was strong in his sense of self. A man who didn't bow to anyone or anything and stood firm in his beliefs in The Church of Satan. A man who Luke feared. But also a man who felt like home to him.

For the Monarchy of Sweden, Coronation Day is approaching faster than their prince had hoped. Being the only heir to the throne, Prince Seth feels immense pressure to fit the mold of the crown. With his mother ruling with an iron fist, he hopes to measure up somewhat to her expectations. On a day that is meant to be celebrated by the Prince, his birthday, he is met with dreadful nightmares that leave him feeling unnerved. Nightmares of a tall man who resembles himself with unsettling green eyes. Nightmares of himself wielding an unfathomably powerful magic, something that would put the strongest warlocks outside of the kingdom to shame. Nightmares of him standing over thousands of his subjects' bodies, without a hint of remorse in his black, dead eyes. The fear of becoming mad overtook him as these nightmares became visions, and these visions became hallucinations. As he descends deeper into insanity, he turns to the Queen, his mother for help, which only drives him further into aberration. Finding himself deep in the woods where no human is permitted to be, he begs God to stop punishing him, apologizing for whatever Sins he has committed against him. Instead, he finds himself face-to-face with a warlock with eyes similar to the man's from his nightmares. 10/2/24: Editing in progress