Part II — "The Truth Beneath Stone"
The Bishop's gentle hand reached for him—
And the Veil inside Evin screamed.
A blast of cold shot up his spine.
Shadows coiled around his ribs.
His breath vanished.
And then—
the memory hit.
Not a vision.
Not a whisper.
Not a fragment.
A full memory.
Unfiltered.
Raw.
Forced into him like a blade.
--- The Real Origin of the Statues ---
Evin wasn't himself.
He was inside someone else's eyes.
A young man kneeling in a circle of scripture, shaking violently.
Priests circled him, chanting.
The Bishop stood in front of him—
younger, colder, her eyes brighter with zeal.
He sobbed, "Please—please don't—please, I'll do anything—"
The Bishop placed a calm hand on his head.
"You already have."
His fingers stiffened.
His breath hitched.
His joints locked.
Not peacefully.
With agony.
His skin hardened, cracking like drying clay.
His bones stiffened.
His blood thickened.
He screamed.
The Bishop's voice dripped with serene authority:
"Be still."
His mouth froze mid-scream.
His eyes froze wide in horror.
His heart froze mid-beat.
He became stone.
The memory did not stop there.
The stone man—
who had screamed moments ago—
was carried to the Outer Ward, placed among others.
And the moment the priests were gone—
he moved.
Just a little.
Just enough.
His stone lips quivered.
His stone eyes wept dust.
His soul, trapped inside the petrified body, whispered:
"Please… someone… remember me…"
------
Evin was ripped violently out of the memory.
He collapsed to the floor, convulsing, choking on air. His fingers clawed the marble as his body shook with horror.
"No—no—NO—!"
The Bishop knelt beside him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder again.
Her voice was soft.
Sympathetic.
Deadly.
"Do you see now, Evin? Stillness is peace."
He looked up at her with wide, shaking eyes.
"You LIED!"
The Bishop's expression didn't change.
She simply tilted her head, her voice barely above a whisper:
"No, my dear.
I told you the truth the world can bear."
The statues around them—
every single one—
turned their heads toward Evin.
Stone eyes stared.
Stone mouths opened.
Silent screams.
The Bishop smiled slowly.
"They are what you will become—if you continue fighting what you are."
Evin's scream tore itself out of his throat.
The shadows surged.
The statues cracked.
And the Veil inside him roared.