Eschaton

Chapter 8: Michael

Michael started the morning feeling uneasy. He hadn't been sleeping well since he performed his first exorcism a couple weeks ago, in which life among the town had been relatively quiet. His sleep was often interrupted with him awaking suddenly in the middle of the night covered in his own sweat. He always shook it off and managed to get back to sleep however, not wanting the unpleasant memory to win over him. He rose off his bed and stretched out his arms. The small room he had in the back of the church started to feel smaller and smaller by the day. The mundane look of the room did nothing to relieve them of the shakes that showed up in the night. Michael was always quick to get ready, but now he found himself working his way through his morning routine much quicker than he used too, with no desire to stay any longer than he had to.

He dawned his robes over the rest of his attire and walked out the door. He was met with a small hallway with similar doors lining the walls. A single candle adorned in a solitary sconce as it glowed faintly in the middle of the wall. He walked up to the candle and blew on it gently, snuffing the flame out. He rounded the corner, seeing Zeke preparing for his sermon at the head of the podium, thumbing through pages of his bible.

"Good morning Zeke." Michael said. If he knew Zeke like he thought he did, he would already have a read on him. His gaze always seemed to be in a constant state of judgment, whether it be a person walking up to him, or the smallest sound from a mouse.

"Every day is a blessing." Zeke said back with a smile. "Is there something weighing on you?"

"You don't miss a thing, do you?" Michael folded his arms. "I was wondering... if you had any advice to help me sleep." Michael said as he looked down at the floorboards and slowly looked back up to meet Zeke's gaze. "I kept dreaming about the exorcism I performed... maybe more of a nightmare if I'm being honest. I believe the act itself went rather smooth, but somethings not sitting right with me."

Zeke closed his bible and leaned against the podium with his elbow. "These memories will be with you for the rest of your life." Zeke's smile had completely faded. "This won't be the first time you will be put into a position like that. You need to be prepared to take on more, for if you succumb to your thoughts now, it's all over."

"I'm no stranger to demons... but isn't there something I can do to make it feel less... real?" Michael asked.

"No." Zeke said flatly. "Everything that you go through on this matter will weigh on your mind. You will have to learn to live with it and to learn from it." Zeke said with a seriousness in his eye. "You may be a natural at what you do, that doesn't mean it doesn't affect you like it would a normal person. You know why you joined the priesthood I assume?" Zeke asked changing the subject.

"Well I was actually inspired by you... I heard about you at the academy and I changed my class." Michael said with a grin. "And of course, to help those in need."

"What class did you switch out of?" The head priest asked, raising a brow.

"I studied conjuration... trying to follow my older brother."

"A hard class indeed, so many elements to remember. Why not conjuration though? Or any other class for that matter?"

"Well ice priests... come on how hard is it to freeze water?" Michael let off a chuckle, which Zeke didn't return. "Conjuration wasn't my thing, never had the imagination I guess." Michael cleared his throat. "If I'm being honest, I believe being a life priest was beyond me. Besides, once I heard what you could do while wielding fire." Michael smiled.

"An over exaggeration." Zeke turned back to his podium, opened his bible back up and used his finger to find his place. "I was going to check on the sword at the smithy today, but instead I would send you instead." Zeke looked back at Michael. "Go down and attend to anything he may need then take the day off to reflect."