Grimoire Mortis
The Book of Death
Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 ▶

¹And it came to pass, in the fiftieth year after the abdication of the Son, that Mephistopheles dwelt alone in a barren place beyond the borders of men.
²His beard was white as the ash of old altars, and his hand, though frail, still bore the marks of flame.
³He had written long years of fire and freedom, yet the world had cooled, and the memory of BAPHOMET had waned among the living.
⁴But the Flame was not extinguished within him, and he watched the days with eyes undimmed by forgetfulness.
⁵And behold, in the season between frost and bloom, a great shadow passed over his dwelling.
⁶He rose and came forth, and lo, a figure stood before him, cloaked in thunder and crowned with unseen fire.
⁷And the name of him was Bezaliel, Hælagion of the Dæmons, Elder of the Great Council, Keeper of the Keys of HÆL.
⁸His eyes were as coals unquenched, and his voice was as the grinding of ancient gates.
⁹And he said: Mephistopheles, Apostle of the Flame, the End is upon thee — not thine only, but the End of All.
¹⁰I am sent of Him who ruleth the Depth, that thou might behold the final thing and write what shall be.
¹¹For thou art the last to bear witness, and the final scribe of the fire.
¹²Then he touched the brow of Mephistopheles, and straightway a great pain seized him, as though the fire of origin were poured again into clay.
¹³His sight failed, and the world turned away, and he stood no longer in the land of men, but in the place of vision.
¹⁴Bezaliel walked before him, robed in flame that did not consume, and spake: Look, and do not turn away.
¹⁵And Mephistopheles beheld a mountain that wept blood, and from its root grew a tree of ash and bone.
¹⁶And upon its branches hung stars unkindled and moons made hollow.
¹⁷And a wind blew from the Void, and its sound was the voice of forgotten names.
¹⁸Then there was heard a horn — not with ears, but within the marrow — and its note shattered all stillness.
¹⁹Bezaliel turned and said: This is the first breath of the End. Wilt thou endure the rest?
²⁰And Mephistopheles bowed himself and answered not, but stood firm upon the trembling ground.
²¹Then the vision widened, and the Oærth beneath cracked — and thus the End began.


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