Chapter 99

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A white dove can be seen on top of someone's rooftop, watching the angry Christians from below chant the death of Seth, their once beloved founder. Every man, woman, the elderly, and child called for his crucifixion, along with those who are either disciplined or not, for all see the prisoners as nothing more than outcasts.

"Make way!"

The armored knight on his horse said, shouting at the crowd to move back while the other soldiers prevented many of the people from entering their space for the impending prisoners who will soon be crucified in the glory of their empire, making everyone more excited of what is to come.

The scene was full of chaos, anger, and resentment, as well as excitement at seeing the heretical prophet die. Nonetheless, the soldiers were struggling to contain the growing population, for some of them were actually using force by pushing against each other and trying to enter the area where the entrance of the palace is.

Then the doors open behind the horseman. "Make way!" He said again, waving his hands to the crowd around them to give them some space, "Let them pass to the bridge!" Ordering them to move back while the other soldiers forced them to get out of the way.

Finally, Seth exited the palace before the rest followed suit from behind, where dozens of tortured and naked prisoners began walking slowly but surely through the furious mob with all their hatred, vitriol, and murderous intent aimed directly at them.

Bruno and the meditating Genno was close to the holy man, walking just behind him as the poet was full of sorrow and fear. "I don't want to die." He repeated over and over under his quiet voice, finding it difficult to look up as the angry faces around them shouted out their names.

Though the monk paid no mind, every miserable prisoner, whether they were righteous or wicked, was all forced to endure the crowd's cruelty as the horseman led them towards the bridge, with many knights trying to prevent anyone from getting too close and attacking them. To the people, this is their time to shine, their time to deliver a message that they have all kept within their minds, hearts, and souls. Each one of them was parading at their deaths.

"Death to the false prophet!"

They all shouted, spitting and throwing things at them to make them feel uncomfortable. The atmosphere became a mixture of anger, tension, and impatience, while Seth could only feel sympathy for these people, misguided into thinking he was evil.

"Death to the sinners!"

Some of the children in the crowd began to throw pebbles at the tortured prisoners, pelting them as if they were an enemy invading their lands. Others were spitting at them, calling them out for their crimes and praying for God to give them the worst imaginable death possible.

Seth led the prisoners like the promised Shepard. His eyes were drooping with many tears falling down, but he continued onward with a heavy heart. The pain all over his own body and mind were being amplified by his growing despair of what's happening.

The angry crowd were once his people, family of his own, who took up the cross and followed him. But now they all betrayed him, throwing away everything he had given them from their faith in his teachings and love for each other. Now they only wanted vengeance on him, on behalf of the Empire's authority and Queen Cinder, but their delight in his death.

As the horseman stopped, raising his arm as a signal to the prisoners behind him, Seth tripped and fell after having to endure the amount of pain he was experiencing, crying loudly on the ground while the crowd cheered on this humiliating display.

They pointed, laughed, and celebrated his pain. Screaming out vile words at him, they even threw trash and more objects at him in their ecstasy of seeing him suffer in such a way. He never knew how much more hurtful his heart and spirit could be, crying out loud at his own pitiful display.

Turning his eyes towards the murderous crowd, he was a crying infant covered in white cloth. The child's mother also shared the same expression, telling him that not everyone is satisfied with seeing him killed but is too afraid of what will happen if they stand out from the rest.

Whispering under his breath, "Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing," he gently begged, paying his heavenly father to show mercy to everyone involved with his execution regardless of what they have done, as he himself holds no contempt for his enemies.

"Get up!" A soldier went over to him and kicked the fallen man. "GET UP!" Yelling out, demanding he stop wallowing in self-pity, he kicked once more as the crowd cheered to see it, finding the action hilarious to see their sworn enemy crying like a lost child.

"Come on!" He kicked again, seeing this bothersome act of waiting any longer while wanting the others to see that the Queen's justice would be carried out in their eyes. "Come on! GET UP, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Raising his boot and stomping at the downed man's exposed back.

Frank exited the crowd after managing to sneak through the knights holding them back. "Why must you torment him?!" He yelled at the armored brute, reaching towards Seth, who couldn't stand back up due to his legs not working. "THIS IS MADNESS!" He cried out to the crowd.

But they all booed at him, telling him to get out of the way as they don't need a sympathizer, "Back off! The false prophet deserves to die!" A person in the front called out before the soldiers, then grabbed Frank and pulled him to the side.

"Seth! SETH!" Frank cried out to his friend, "No, this is all a mistake." Having been forced to watch this terrible spectacle while the soldier held him, " he said, "the kid hasn't done anything wrong!" He pleaded with the others, only for the crowd to ignore him, forced to be carried away by the soldiers.

With tears still falling from his melancholic eyes, he pitifully pushed himself back to his feet, looking up at the blue sky with sadness all over his dirty face, allowing him the opportunity to speak in his own mind despite how noisy everything is around him.

"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they keep my word, they will also keep yours. But they will do all these things to you for my name’s sake because they don’t know who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me, hates my Father also. If I hadn’t done among them the works that no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my father. But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled, which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.'"

He lifted his hands together in prayer and said, "In him we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace," speaking of himself while the shouts continued to fill the streets with a volume that shakes the air like thunder.

The horseman then moved aside after seeing Mathias with heat-resistant gloves as he held a small crown, engrossed with smoke that was recently crafted. One of the elderly priests also held a wooden sword and a scarlet robe for Seth to wear.

"Lord," Mathias said with a smirk, mocking in front of his founder. "We welcome you, king," he answered before turning his head to a nearby priest, "cover him the robe," signaling the elderly man to do so, having him approach the holy man and then put it on Seth while the rest helped.

Seth looked at his betrayer, feeling sorrow and pity for his own child. "I forgive you," were his words. Knowing that all of them involved in his death deserved forgiveness from God himself, Mathias only response was snickering in reply, finding it quite humorous.

After they put him on the robe, Mathias grinned at the sight. "Here is your crown, your majesty," he replied, slowly placing it over the holy man's head as the crowd watched in fascination and amusement at watching the Son of God suffer more than he should have.

When the scorching hot crown touched his scalp, Seth let out a loud, agonizing cry from the immense amount of searing pain coursing through his body. His mind became a cacophony of raw suffering that radiated from the back of his head down to his neck, spine, and all across his back while he continued to hold his hands together.

Many of the audience members screamed and jeered in glee, seeing the false prophet experience more pain than anyone could possibly imagine. Their shouts and cries of excitement echoed throughout the streets and even further. They celebrated, danced, and sang songs about how they're free from the clutches of their false founder.

"It hurts; it hurts! HURTS IT! IT HURTS SO MUCH! Mommy, make it stop, please. Please make it stop! mommy; help me, IT HURTS, mommy, MOMMY!"

Blood dropped down his scalp and onto his face where river of bloody tears on top as his whole body shook terribly; the immense physical anguish he experienced was enough to make any normal man scream for mercy. However, Seth gritted his teeth and endured it as he prayed to God to lessen it.

He can feel his entire scalp being melted by the hot crown entering his skin; the intense, searing pain made it hard for him to even breathe, as if someone had stabbed his chest repeatedly with a knife. Seth wanted nothing more than to die and escape this unending torture, but he did not fall.

Mathias's smile grew wider and more malevolent than it has ever been; his eyes sparkled with glee at seeing this traitorous pretender of Messiah burning and melting the flesh on his scalp as the rest of the people rejoiced at this glorious sight.

The mob grew louder, singing a song in Latin as they danced in merry before the crucifixions. Seth's pained screams of agony and sorrow mixed with the chorus of laughter and revelry echoing throughout the entire palace and city itself.

After feeling this is enough, Mathias slowly twists it to add more pain, hearing more screams coming from Seth's mouth and crying out loud in immense pain from both the amount of torture from his wounds and the pain on his scalp.

"Daddy!" Seth screamed for his heavenly father, tearfully and desperately afraid and hurt by everything around him: "Daddy, daddy! Why does it hurt? It's so painful?! Daddy, it's so hot; why does it hurt so much?!" He cried out for his father to take the agony away from it all, but he remained firm in his spot.

"His calling, Daddy!" Mathias mocked, causing everyone to laugh at this pitiful display as they found it entertaining. "Can't you all believe that?!" He turned his head to the crowd, who laughed and agreed, finding the situation to be delightful.

Having enough of this, the betrayer let go before ordering the elderly priest with the wooden sword to hand it over to Seth. "Give it to him," he told him before the man handed the practice sword to the holy man. "Hold this," he said while giving it to Seth.

Complying with fear all over his face, Seth watched as the mob prostrated themselves in front of him, adding another mockery to their suffering leader. He enjoyed every second of the suffering while tightly gripping the sword for his life, weeping in pain and sadness.

"Hail King Of The Christians!"

They all said this before standing up as Mathias picked up the wooden sword and began beating him with it while the other priests joined in the fun, punching and throwing insults while the mob threw items at him as well as spitting on him.

Seth fell down on his knees and hands as he covered himself from the onslaught of attacks, sobbing loudly while his back was then covered with many bruises, receiving punches from every direction by the elderly men of their religion while they kicked and hit him.

When all was said and done, Mathias ordered them to stop and allow him to stand up. "Let him stand; it's time for him to pay for his sins." He said this to the others, making them take a step back from the holy man, anticipating what was to come next.

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