Your consciousness is in a kind of delirium... Visions torment you...

Your consciousness is immersed in the twilight of delusional visions and a chaos of mental images, "woven" from a tangle of memories and strange, frightening fantasies.

It's as if you're falling into a bottomless abyss of unnatural, unrealistic darkness...

You try unsuccessfully to grasp at any support...

You scream in terror – but not even the slightest sound of your own voice can be heard...

Then, amidst the impenetrable darkness, one after another, tiny "sparks" of something meaningful flare up...

These visions are fleeting and quickly extinguished, like the flame of a miniature candle, mercilessly snuffed out by a strong, cold night wind...

Your descent into the abyss continues...

However, you manage to see and comprehend some of the images in these visions.

What did you notice?

Visual images of your past, calm and carefree life mingle with oppressive shadows and the suspicious expressions of people you had previously barely noticed.

Here you see yourself and your brother Anton during a celebratory feast in the banquet hall of the Hawk Hill estate.

It seems this celebration took place about a year ago, during the festivities of some religious holiday...

That day, you got quite drunk and vomited all over the silk tablecloth...

Now you see yourself and your brother as if from the outside...

Strange shadows are gathering almost imperceptibly in the corners of the banquet hall. The expressions on the faces of some of the servants (who obsequiously served you exquisite dishes and poured wine into your cup) now look like masks concealing some frightening "mixture" of savage sadism, contempt, and treachery, masked by feigned obedience.

The next vision shows you a conversation with your father, Baron Radu Monok. It seems this conversation (which took place about six months ago) was another disappointment for your father. You see him scolding you for your frivolity, weak will, and some crazy antics...

The confused expression on your face...

Your father's tired gaze...

And something else, extremely subtle...

Shadows swirling like smoke...

Shadows near an ordinary wall mirror, which is fixed in the far right corner of the room.

These shadows seem to emanate an aura of hatred directed toward your father...

Your descent into the abyss continues...

The next vision again shows you an image from the past: you and your brother Anton are participating in a hunt. You're both on horseback...

Accompanied by many servants...

You're chatting about something...

Suddenly, amidst the insignificant chatter, you hear Anton say: "By the way, on my last trip to the east, I managed to obtain several rather interesting 'souvenirs' in some ancient ruins... Perhaps some of these items will be useful to study for their magical potential..."

At the time, you didn't attach any significance to these words and simply continued your participation in the noble hunt, seeking entertainment...

Now you see that the looks of some of the accompanying servants expressed carefully concealed anxiety when Anton spoke to you about his finds...

Images of the past fade...

Your descent into the abyss continues...

You begin to feel a growing horror, a piercing coldness and pain in your heart...

An incredibly intense pain!

Pain that permeates your entire consciousness. It seems as if you simply won't be able to bear it all and will die in agony.

However, suddenly… you regain consciousness.

You scream and try to get to your feet.

You can't.

Your body is on a large bed.

You look around.

A small, sparsely furnished room.

You see that your body is tied to the bed with several strong leather straps that secure your legs, arms, and torso.

You look around the room in shock…

"What happened?! Why am I tied up?!" you think, terrified.

"Someone? Let me out of here!" you scream, hoping to attract the attention of one of the servants.

A drawn-out creaking of the door...

Someone enters the room – two tall males, unfamiliar to you, dressed in ascetic gray robes.

"I am the Baron's son! Release me immediately!" you shout.

The next moment, you realize your demand was presumptuous: after all, these two individuals are definitely not servants of the Hawk Hill estate...

These two males' gazes are completely calm.

One of them says, "We know who you are, sir Stefan. After the incident... You were **** for over a day... Your father has already returned to the estate. And, of course, he didn't return alone... After all, the Baron will clearly need help to solve his current problems..."

Your gaze takes in the impassive faces of these individuals, their clothes, their figures...

Suddenly, you notice one aspect of each of their appearances: red tattoos of a spiral symbol on their left wrists. "Only the pious will of the True Sun can burn away the taint from this estate..." the words of one of these males finally allow you to understand what's happening.

"Your father is aware of everything. The Priest Interrogator interrogated him, learned the essence of the problem, and laid out the necessary demands. In conclusion: Baron Radu Monok is aware of what must be done to cleanse the taint..."

Suddenly, your hearing is deafened by loud screams from the slightly open window: it sounds like someone is screaming hysterically outside the building.

And also: your sense of smell clearly detects the smell of burning from a nearby bonfire...

These individuals are not just ordinary priests...

They are representatives of the monastic order of the Eternal Flame.

This organization is the "punishing hand" of the True Sun cult.

Investigators, torturers, chasteners...

You're tied up now – and that doesn't bode well for your future...