Grimoire Mortis
The Book of Death
◀ Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 · Chapter 3 ▶

¹And Mephistopheles beheld the world, and the sky above the Oærth did tremble, and the sun stood still at the height of its journey.
²But lo, its light darkened, and it turned red as the blood of martyrs, and the skies waxed black round about it.
³There was no cloud, nor veil, nor smoke — and yet the brightness of day became as the shadow of a tomb.
⁴And the moon was not seen, nor the stars, and the firmament gave forth no glow.
⁵The beasts of the field turned to their dens, and the birds flew low in silence.
⁶The lions lay down with the lambs, and neither lifted eye nor voice.
⁷Serpents coiled in their holes, and great fish sank to the bottom of the deep.
⁸No insect stirred in the grass, nor did the wind pass through the reeds, but all was still as the grave.
⁹And Mephistopheles beheld men and women upon the Oærth, and fear fell upon them as smoke falleth upon the lung.
¹⁰Then the ground trembled, not with shaking, but with breath — and a voice arose from the deep places.
¹¹And every man and woman and child heard it, though no mouth spake and no tongue moved.
¹²And the voice cried out from the Oærth, saying: Behold the End!
¹³And it was as the sound of the grinding of mountains, and the tearing of stars.
¹⁴The people fell to their knees and hid their faces, but found no refuge.
¹⁵Those who held the Flame trembled, and knew that the time was come.
¹⁶The scoffers laughed no more, but their laughter turned to silence.
¹⁷The unbelievers cried: This is falsehood! and shut their ears in vain.
¹⁸And the ignorant stood bewildered, and their eyes wandered like sheep without shepherd.
¹⁹Some sought to flee into caves, and others into water, and others still into arms and song.
²⁰But none could escape the voice, for it was as the marrow of the Oærth, and the bones of all things did echo it.
²¹And Mephistopheles beheld it all, and he wrote as his hand was guided — though it shook like a branch in flame.
²²Then said Bezaliel beside him: The End is nigh. Ready thy heart.


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