@Ozzyy 13 August 2020 edited more from that month

A Sacrifice

Death never knocks before entering. He was going to finish the ritual here and now without any interference. If completed, he would bridge the gap between his world and the afterlife, and he would be allowed to bring one soul back. He would get to see Marie again, and nothing else would even matter. "Dante, are you sure about this?" the Priest asked, looking uncomfortable. "Father, I had a dream about this. I know it's his will - it is the will of God". The Priest looked at him with an uneasy smile. He smiled crookedly within his heart. Just a few words about 'Embracing Christ' and 'Following the True Lamb', and these clergymen would be head over limbs, providing anything you'll need. Including a few relics he'd needed. Of course he hadn't told the Priest what the ritual was really for. He told him that according to the Saxon Christian beliefs of his ancestors (did he even know his ancestry?), he needed to perform this ritual to rededicate his soul to his Maker. A Priest who hardly ever visited the Church library and spent Sunday's Mass condemning the internet as a place of immoralities, distractions and temptations wouldn't bother to check such an outrageous claim. Of course, Death only believed in Barter Trade - a soul for a soul. *Sorry Priest, but you're going to be dead soon.* He sprinkled the blood of the white lamb he'd just killed into a cup, and filling it with Holy Water, he brought it to his lips. *Now or never.* He downed it all in one gulp. The taste was bitter, and he felt nauseatic. *Keep it in Dante. Only one thing left.* Opening the book the Priest had benevolently given him, he muttered the 16-verse Latin chant. Finishing the last word, he knelt and waited. A low rumble. He heard a slight laugh. It was the Priest. He turned. "Can I tell you a story, Dante?" *What is this?* "Sure, Father." "When I was 22, I had a girlfriend. Marcella was her name, and she was as fair as a bright spring day," the Priest mused. The Priests unwavering stare made him uneasy. "We were in love with each other. My day was never complete without seeing my dear Marcella!" The Priest exclaimed. *What was this about?* "And then one day, she commited suicide." The Priest muttered, making a sign of the cross. "Why?" Danye asked, oddly interested in the story. "You see, I was a poor boy from a poor home, and she was to be married to some rich Governor. Marcella wouldn't live without me, and neither would I live without her." "Oh! Sorry about that!" Dante said, wishing to end this 'tale' quickly. The rumbling increased in crescendo, and they had to shout to be audible. "Knowing that Marcela would be banished to hell for taking her own life, I performed a ritual and granted her passage to Heaven." His eyes widened. "But that's..." "Yes, there was a price. My own soul was to be damned to the Lake of Fire for such an act." He was shocked. "You know what it feels..." "I couldn't be without Marcella," the Priest said, ignoring his words "so I searched for a way to make sure I would also go to heaven..." The ground began to crack, as though an earthquake was happening. "...And you can imagine my joy when I found out that there was a way." The temperature of the room began to heat up. He took off his clothes, revealing the tattoos he'd gotten as part of the ritual. As he looked up, he was shocked. The Priest had taken off his own clothes, and there were tattoos on his upper body as well! "You see, for me to join Marcella in the Afterlife, I had to perform a ritual which is much like the one you wished to perform to bring back your girlfriend, eh..." "M-Marie," He said, unsure of where the discussion was going. "Yes, her. The only difference was that mine required a white lamb, because the place I was going to was holy, and required a pure sacrifice. Yours required a black goat, because it is an abominable thing to embark on a ritual to bring one back to life." He was confused. "What... What do you mean?" *But I used a white lamb!* A portal suddenly appeared right before the Priest, and a female hand came out of it. The Priest smiled, taking the hand. "I mean that you were my sacrifice, Dante." The Priest said coldly, stepping into the portal, without a backward glance. As the portal began to fade, the tattoos on his body began to glow red, and were very hot. "You b@stard! You lying, two-timing..." Thw ground broke open, and several pairs of skeletal arms grabbed his body, and began to drag him down to a burning abyss. A man may cheat death but once.