Chapter Eleven: Sanctus Inferno
"The first flame doesn’t need to be a bonfire—just a spark brave enough to touch dry silence."
The video leaked at exactly 3:00 a.m.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCcETVfTIOA
The hour of mercy—how poetic.
Ella uploaded it on a ghost server routed through five countries, posted by a fake account named Tiberius_7.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW6w9rzPtpb
It was shaky footage, just under two minutes, showing a young boy inside the seminary laundry room. Crying. Back turned. And the blurry silhouette of a man in a cassock entering behind him.
The audio was corrupted.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0I7Dtctjhu
But silence… was louder.
Within six hours, it had 1.8 million views.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡimANPU8Eh5
By lunchtime, it was front page on Reddit, X, TikTok edits, and prayer forums exploding with comments:
“Please be fake. PLEASE.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6F2Gwl6NAH
“I studied in that university. I knew something was off.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡExAQUKgSDx
“Heard rumors in 2016. They silenced our guidance counselor.”
At the heart of it all, Ely and Ella watched in quiet rage.
“That’s just one,” Ella said. “How many more are we dropping?”
“Enough to shake the altar,” Ely replied. “But one every week. Slowly. Let them burn alive in public doubt.”
Ella bit her lip.
“You sure you can handle this, Father?”
“I’m not a priest anymore.”
By Thursday, the Order retaliated.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNbe8wPMO4
They issued a polished press statement:
“The video is under investigation. We urge the public not to spread unverified content that may damage the sanctity of the faith. The Augustinian University stands with the victims—if any—while preserving the dignity of the clergy.”
“If any.”10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07E3qouvYE
Those two words slapped like holy water laced with mockery.
But that was just the beginning.
Friday. 7:14 p.m.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmzh9empKe
Ella’s condo.
Her phone buzzed.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPhiBt5pVg
Unknown number.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAFAMILTDj4
Text only.
“Your parents' mortgage is under our name. Careful what you burn, girl.”
She paled.
Ely took her phone, stared at the message. Then deleted it.
“We expected this,” he said. “They’re afraid.”
“They’re monsters.”
“Yes,” he said. “But monsters only hide in churches when people keep singing.”
They were followed the next day.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1iHGopl714
Plain-looking men in plain-looking cars.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1xA50dGMRc
One of them dropped an envelope on Ella’s doorstep—inside was a rosary, a bullet, and a photo of her walking home from the grocery.
She didn’t cry.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR00h2N2V67
Not this time.
Instead, she whispered, “Do it. Let the whole world see what kind of priests you protect.”
The second video dropped ten days later.
This one showed a senior priest at the altar after Mass, ushering a female student into the sacristy, locking the door. The timestamp revealed the girl was sixteen. Her name was censored. But her uniform wasn’t.
The scream was faint but clear.
In response, the university filed a cyber libel complaint against “unidentified individuals.”
Anonymous donors funded a billboard just outside the campus gate:
“Where Confessions Are Recorded… but Only Sins of the Weak Are Punished.”
Social media turned into a warzone.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXDkSd0pWg
Ex-seminarians started speaking anonymously.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQFSUOhfdK
A few backed Ely.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pAVGwFr0b
Most stayed silent, afraid.
"How many voices must crack before a cathedral crumbles?"
At midnight, Ely sat in front of a candle-lit altar. No icons. No saints. Just truth.
Ella joined him, barefoot.
“They’ll come for us,” she said.
“Let them.”
“And if we die?”
“Then let every stone in their empire remember our names.”
The final shot:
Ella lights the third USB. Burns it.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2x5SvgtS9h
Its contents already scheduled to drop in 72 hours.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFotI5LPsuE
No one can stop it now.
Not even God.
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