Seti stood beside the huge stone altar and marveled that he could see, even in the dark. He didn’t know how-and he didn’t care-but he did know that this presence, perhaps it was even Satan himself, inhabited this ancient place of blood and sacrifice.
He had seen this place before in his dreams. And in his nightmares. It was a place of power. A place where miracles could happen.
Tentatively, he reached his hand out and touched the highly-polished stone. Its surface was ice-cold to the touch and he wondered how many souls had perished on its smooth surface. Then, with a smile, he thought of how he would be adding to its history.
“Master, I have come,” he whispered. “I have answered your call and have traveled many miles to be with you.”
And the presence, which had shared his mind all along, seemed to come awake and find him, as if opening its eyes for the first time.
“Yes, you have,” it said in words that were not sounds, but patterns in his own mind. For a brief instant he wondered if he were going mad and carrying on an internal dialogue in his own brain. The outside world already considered him crazy. That idiot talk show host had actually called him a nut case on the air.
Then the presence began to show him things, things he could not possibly know, but which were true. He watched and he believed.
The mental slide show may have lasted for hours, or it may have flashed past in a matter of seconds. He had no way of knowing for sure.
But now he understood. For the first time in his miserable, tormented life, he truly understood. He accepted this presence as his god. If it were not Satan, it was the closest thing to him. And this master promised him rewards beyond his wildest dreams.
He dropped to his knees beside the magic stone altar and knew that this was real, that this was a god of power, a god that would take the world for its own, destroying the weak as if stepping on a worm. This god would give pleasure, not deny it. This god would take what it wanted, when it wanted, and he, Seti, would reap the rewards.
“I will serve you,” he said, still touching the stone. “Show me how.”
And, as the presence responded with unspoken instructions, Seti realized that his purpose in life was now fulfilled. He had found his home at last, had found meaning in his life. He would feed his next victim to his new god, to bring it strength, to help it resume its place in the world.
Now that he had met his god, the world would learn to fear his name.