The Piligrim
The Piligrim, or the Pi. is very exhausted. Their mouth dry. They would kill for anything to drink. Even if it was poison that would kill the Pi.. No, no... They scold themselves for such sinful thoughts. But finally. Here is the holy place. This piligrim took the harshest path - the paths of the saints. It is the original path of the prophet, or Pr.. The prophet led people, where the Pr.'s vision told Pr.'s to go. To Purity, Honor, Wisdom, Beauty... And this is the place where the Angel A. gave them food, and wisdom for the Pr., for the Pr. to retell it in a language comprehensible to them.
It is a dangerous journey. By far not everyone is brave enough to do it. Those who try are struck with overwhelming dread as soon as they come to the first place. That's why this place is called the Sieve. They return and experience nightmares for about a year. But those who choose to go further despite the dread are themselves chosen. They are the purest. Past that point, the journey is always hard, but successful. Those who returned (and seemingly all of them did) told of of wonderful things. The nourishing water, those who drink it experience a full rebirth and restoration of body, spirit, and mind. They see and hear the most supreme beauty, the most supreme wisdom... When they return, they live simple lives. Each may live somewhat differently, but everyone who return claim one thing - that they are very happy. Happier than they ever were. They never regret the journey.
And here the Pi. is. The fountain is dry. Why is the fountain dry? Maybe they told about water metaphorically? or maybe it is not really nessessarily here? After all, not every story even mentions the water. Maybe the thirst will get healed here directly, without water. And here is a statue of an angel. It is quite beautiful. Is it the idol of the same angel that gave the bread to the followers and wisdom to the prophet? A little disappointing, actually. Maybe the statue does not depict any specific angel? After all, it's not the appearance of that one Angel that matters, but the wisdom. The temple looks generally right. The hole in the one of the walls looks exactly how the legends describe. It is claimed that only this wall of this temple has a hole shaped like this. Pr. already had a general idea of how it would look like, because many temples have holes in walls that look similar, but not exactly like this one, because only for this temple such a hole with such a shape is permitted.
The pattern on the walls is described as "gentle, supremely beautiful". But... it is the opposite of beautiful. It is disgusting. Almost vomit-inducing. It looks like a thousand devil's grins, twisted in cruel mockery. Like of those fallen angels, called "the mocker". The stories tell that Mocker's "jokes" make people seek the quickest death, even a violent and painful one. "Did the devil lead me to a wrong paths? NO! How could it be? It's same path everyone took! What is happening? What is happening?" The slight beauty of the angel's statue switches to agonizing ugliness. Like from one's worst nightmare. This is one of the ugliest things they have ever seen. Just looking at it is a torture. They wish they have never seen this ever. No, how can anything can be THAT ugly?! Could it be a creation of the devil? A demon? Pi. is enraged. The Pi. hits the statue with their fists and feet. They scratch it. Try to spit on it. Fail, they are that dehydrated. Curse it with the most vile, vulgar curses. They take a stone, conveniently placed nearby, and hurl it onto the statue. "Die, devil!". Such energy, despite exhaustion. Pi. falls on their knees. Pi. weeps. Pi lies on the ground. "Please... Please... water... anything...". Terror replaces fury. Unimaginable and absurd, even compared to terror experienced in the Sieve. Pi. feels helpless and recites prayers in their mind. They can't move their lips, either due to exhaustion or paralyzed by terror. Pi. wonders if they are already in hell.
This hallucinatory agony lasted for several hours. The sun just set. The terror left, but the agonising thirst is still there. They still can't move. Nobody told poor Pi. of this. Why? Is Pi. the only one who experienced this? Do they forget about this and return? Or something different? Pi. does not know.
What will happen next? Pi. does not know.