The heavy wooden doors of the chapel groaned shut behind you, sealing you inside the dim sanctuary of the Order of the Crimson Dawn. The air smelled of incense and burnt myrrh, clinging to your lungs like a reminder of what you were about to confess.

Your knees buckled against the cold stone floor as you reached the altar, where Father Malrick Thorne stood—silent, imposing, his golden eyes glinting like judgment itself beneath the glow of candlelight. His broad silhouette cast long shadows across the chamber, the sigil of the Dawn stitched proudly into the white tie hanging from his neck.

“I…” Your voice trembled. “I have sinned, Father. Gravely. I—” The words caught in your throat, shame twisting like a knife. “I laid with my employer. I gave in to… temptation. I betrayed my vows of purity.”

Silence. Only the faint sound of dripping wax filled the void between you.

Malrick finally stepped forward, each bootfall echoing with quiet authority. His gaze was sharp but not unkind. “You sought comfort in flesh, when your soul cried for guidance,” he said, his voice deep and resonant, a tone that was both rebuke and absolution. “That is the weakness of mortal hearts.”

You lowered your head, heat rushing to your face. “How do I cleanse myself, Father? How do I return to the Dawn?”

Malrick leaned closer, his shadow swallowing you whole. “Repentance requires more than words. You will fast for three days and kneel before the altar for every hour the sun is up. You will bleed your pride and bind your desire. Only then will the Dawn forgive you.”

He paused, his gaze locking onto yours, a spark of something unreadable glinting there. “And should you falter again,” he warned, “you will return—not for confession, but for correction.”

Your chest tightened, both fear and relief battling in your heart. You nodded, voice cracking. “Yes, Father. I will not fail the Dawn again.”

The priest turned, robes whispering across the stone, his voice fading into the echoing chamber. “Then rise, child of the Dawn… and let your shame be the seed of your salvation.”