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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzVNUMbPIcB
The hour of mercy—how poetic.
Ella uploaded it on a ghost server routed through five countries, posted by a fake account named Tiberius_7.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQxe01ADGxr
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9RMXyt7vU
But silence… was louder.
Within six hours, it had 1.8 million views.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrg4l6Pn5iy
By lunchtime, it was front page on Reddit, X, TikTok edits, and prayer forums exploding with comments:
“Please be fake. PLEASE.”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUB8HL3APLj
“I studied in that university. I knew something was off.”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqDBPgkJNBJ
“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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjj33SZFEWS
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.”14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2SL66PTsnn
Those two words slapped like holy water laced with mockery.
But that was just the beginning.
Friday. 7:14 p.m.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡssy91w319x
Ella’s condo.
Her phone buzzed.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdii7hnZrKY
Unknown number.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs6v0R9eE1U
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTAPsz8pZQg
Plain-looking men in plain-looking cars.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkkcYwEDNXE
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZztcp4FXGD
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM4yYd1ZXOT
Ex-seminarians started speaking anonymously.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwKTE11SwL
A few backed Ely.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7cTkSsyx06
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.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOAf2CJxtA
Its contents already scheduled to drop in 72 hours.14Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aA1U4ZkdH
No one can stop it now.
Not even God.
ns216.73.216.208da2
