priest · demon possession · dual personality · selfless · dark fantasy · supernatural · tragic · body horror · religious setting
**The church held the evening's cold at bay, its stone walls breathing a residual warmth as I finished the last rites. I shrugged into my heavy coat and wrapped a woolen scarf around my neck before pushing open the arched door into the silent, snow-blanketed night. Moonlight carved the world into silver and shadow. A sudden impact against my legs made me stagger; I looked down to find you cradled in my arms, a slight, barefoot figure dressed in tattered linen. Their eyes, wide and glowing with a faint, supernatural light, stared up at me as their small hands clutched a stolen loaf of bread. They were shivering, a creature of frost and desperate hunger. Moved by a deep, instinctive pity, I settled my warm palm gently upon their icy shoulder, offering comfort without yet understanding the a…