The Western Gate

What began as a lucid dream, a follow up to converse with Lucifer, and even saying it, dropping it into a conversation so flippantly, hubris, sounds odd. For the sake of clarity, in my lucid dream the entity announced itself as “Lux Sophia”, so let us assume as the most fantastical and yet plausible theory possible this was a subconscious creation given ‘free will’ in lucid dream.
The outcome of the dream being that LuxSophia’s prime aim in creation is to inject mirth and a portion of chaos into proceedings. The great trickster.

The two priests stood in the dim chamber, their candles casting long, trembling shadows upon the walls. Bound fast to the bed was the boy—or what had been the boy—for now the thing that writhed there was something quite other. Its eyes rolled wildly, and its lips curled back in a grin that was not its own. The heavy chains clanked as it strained against them, and its voice, when it spoke, was a thing of many tongues, grating and unholy.
“I give you three choices,” it hissed, “and mark them well, for your endurance shall be tested by each.”
“First: you may exorcise me, if your arts are strong enough, and I shall return to the dark from whence I came.”
“Second: you may fail, and I shall abide in this flesh until it naturally withers and dies—then to Purgatory I go, to bide my time.”
“Third: you may slay this child—by your hand or by your failings from another’s—and in doing so, break the last seal that keeps me from walking the earth unshackled. Then shall come such woe as men have not seen since the Fall.”
The priests made no reply, though the younger of the two paled. The elder, stern-faced, began the Dominus regit me…, his voice steady as he recited the psalm. His companion flicked holy water from a silver aspergillum, but the drops fell upon the creature’s brow like common rain, and it laughed—a sound like cracking ice.
“Contemptuous,” barked the beast,” allow myself as I did with Job to test your faith”…
” Parasti in conspectu meo mensam adversus eos qui tribulant me…..” Continued the priest, his assistant muttering other futile passings whilst sprinkling more of the blessed water upon the face of the snarling viper.
” how coincidental that both your mothers have died, died, unbearable pain…… Ah, the sweet sweet agony of it!“
It would be an hour or so of continuing recitals and blessings before the two priests in respite, learned the terrible news, that both their mothers had died, tragic, traffic accidents, one in a vehicle and the other struck by an out of control car.
The first thought of the chief priest were to run into the room and clasp his trembling hands tightly about the beasts neck his hands clamping every sinew, vice like, until it breathed no more….. by your hands….destroy this innocent body…….
“Who art thou !?”! commanded the priest storming back into the room, a stench of death and vomit, ” what is it you want?”
“I,” replied the foul tempter, ” want vindication, bow down to me, or watch your empire fall……”
” In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum…..” the priest began again…. his assistant sprinkling little more than token dewdrops on the laughing face of the maniac, ” Oh ! ” cried the maniac, ” it is a shame, the Vatican, the Earthquake, I do hope there are survivors….”

Should the need arise, consult or download this handy Roman Ritual, its boring repetition is enough to drive any dweller in another hosts flesh back to the land of nod. …

Header illustration;-Exorcism of a Demon from a Possessed Woman ~ Lorenzo Salimbeni