I wake suddenly.
In an abyss,
Blood surrounding me.
Flowing as river.

A body appears.
A cadaver, broken by torment.
Twisted by untold hatred.
Disfigured by cruelties of my ancestors.

It breathes the word “John”
My father’s father.

The memories rush back.
Memories not my own,
But that of he.
A beast of untold means.
Evils that surpass my own.
This river is his, his bodies.
Each one contorted into a mass
Of unrecognizable horror,
Damned to suffer at his will.

The blood vanishes, leaving me drenched in his sin.
Another appears, as I clutch my core, grasping what I had just learned. Of horrors beyond my understanding.
Another appears, broken, disfigured and shrouded in mist. It echoes another name. “Michael.” His father. This creature is different though, a horrific being who suffers in silence, as he did. A silent monster hunting in seclusion.
The mist surrounds me, consuming me in , grasp, a cold eerie feeling that subtly wraps itself around this lost soul.
It disappears, fading into this shadowed realm echoing my ancestor’s name.
My ears now ringing, filled with lies, truths. Everything of their past that is now my own. In horror I step back, to feel a warmth I need so. I turn and it is no warmth I seek, it is a wretched creature, set ablaze by the patriarch of my family, David.
His horrors surpass any of theirs, of mine. A fire he burned, branding each one of his victims, making them scream as I have. Branding them with his sadistic mark.
A mark I now carry. Their twisted bodies, shaped by fury of no other, the creator of this empire. Builder of this hell, one in the realm of living.
One that has forced me to walk in his shadow.
The third spirit fades, branding me once more. Leaving to die, again.
Then all three appear, each showing their own realms of torture. The river of blood, the mist and the flames.
Energy so destructive I am thrown across this vast land, this desolate abyss.
They charge, three turning to thousands.
Victims unknown. Faces both familiar and not.
I feel no pain from this fall, this jump into the darkness.
Each cadaver, vicious in its assault.
Each cries for peace. For solace.
Something I cannot give.
My fear their strength they attack.
Carnivores, consuming me, my soul.
Pleading for peace, for rest, for their lost souls to be freed.
What can I do but watch, as my body leaves me and my mind descends deeper into this raving world. This lunacy of twisting turns, this world filled with nothing but utter darkness, despair, with no light.
Their rage scorns me, burning this brand ever deeper into my heart, ingraining itself deeper in my mind.
Their pain becomes my own. For the sins of my ancestors are mine. Now the curse they created their empire has been handed to me. The last descendant, forever cursed by their sins. This empire will crumble; their reality will be mine no longer. But as I say this my mind grows weak, my body numb.
I plunge to these depths, these catacombs of the lost souls. Shades of good now evil, now stained. My soul amongst them these beings will I will free, as I free myself. Their curse will lift. The veil over their eyes uncovered as I seek the light once more.