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Since day one, everyone in the Ministry knew — this newborn will destroy the Earth, and his reign will be bloody, full of fear, pain, agony, and death. The child of Satan and mortal woman, yes, he’s going to be the most powerful creature in the world. Even though Copia was just a child, no one dared to neither mess with him, approach him, or even talk to him. Every Sibling of Sin who accidentally got too close to him seemed to be wholly horrified and fled from the room they were in the second they noticed him. The only person who ever talked to him was Sister Imperator. Always strict and cold yet somewhat of a mother figure to him. But she often ended up being too busy to even acknowledge his presence. After all, running the whole church requires a lot of work and attention. Not to mention handling the ghouls along. Of course, there were other children around the abbey, still, they seemed to either ignore or avoid Copia. Grown-ups never told them to stay away from him, but, kids will be kids, they observed the way he was treated by those who they respected and admired and decided to act the same even without questioning if there was something wrong with him or what he did to deserve this treatment. So there he was: left all alone, not understanding why all the people around him collectively decided to steer clear of him, but still hearing them whispering behind his back.
And maybe one day, he will accidentally run into a rat pup somewhere in the abbey. He will nurse it, take care of it, and give it a name. It will be the first thing he will think about in the morning, and, with thoughts about it, he will go to sleep. He will cherish their time together. Finally, little Copia has found himself a friend. His first friend.
Quickly became fond of it, he felt like their friendship was going to last forever. Only death will separate them, he believed. He didn’t know just how accurate this statement was, because things changed when one day Sister Imperator walked in on him trying to teach his rat new tricks.
“Sister, look what she can do! Isn’t she cute?” Copia exclaimed, excited.
“What is this?” she grimaced.
“It’s a… rat?..” he answered, not sure about what was wrong with this situation.
“Get rid of it,” she said in disgust, “I will not tolerate this filthy rodent inside these walls.”
But how could he possibly get rid of the only person, well not really a person, but a living creature, who is willing to communicate with him, always happy to see him, and spend time together? His brain simply couldn’t process the thought of being left alone once again when it all was getting better. He won’t sustain it.
Understanding that his already domesticated rat won’t survive long in the wild, he realized that he has to act quickly if he wants to save the little one’s life. Copia spent the rest of the day preparing the necessary tools and materials he needed to fulfill his plan. He sneaked out at night and went straight to Primo’s garden, where he built a little paddock behind one of the large bushes he knew no one ever approached. Thankfully, the weather was warm enough for the rat’s comfortable being here, and Copia hid his dear friend in there, leaving it with some food and a promise that he would without fail come back. Of course, Primo didn’t know about it, and Copia tried his best not to act suspicious when coming here multiple times a day.
And yes, after a while, Sister Imperator said that she was “proud of him for doing what he had to do even if it was hurtful and unsettling”.
What she didn’t know is that after making sure Sister moved on, he secretly brought his friend back to his room, and they were enjoying their time together again. Having food together and sometimes even falling asleep in Copia’s bed. No doubt Copia became more cautious, always listening if someone’s footsteps were approaching his door. But he also was happy they’d reunited.
And maybe one day he overslept. Not a big deal, right? But he had chores to do, and he knew that Sister gets pissed when anyone tries to evade their duties. He got dressed as fast as he could and ran out of his room, still half asleep. But did he close the door? Oh no, what if he didn’t close the door? That was the only thought pivoting in his mind the whole day. And as ill luck would have it, he was busy barely getting his chores done by deadlines to check if the door was locked or at least closed. By the end of the day, he was like an exposed nerve. Anxious and trembling like a leaf in the wind, jolting with every sound he heard, scared that someone has found his little friend and was coming after him.
Once he was done, he almost ran to his room, sighing with relief at the sight of the closed door. What he didn’t expect is that, behind this door, there was Sister Imperator waiting for him, with a disappointed look on her face and a ghoul by her side.
“How did she know? Has someone told her? Was that Primo? Or some nosy Sibling of Sin? Or maybe I wasn't careful enough sneaking the rat back to my room?” thoughts rushed through Copia’s head. He was about to start explaining why he didn’t follow the order and begging for her to show some mercy to his friend but has found himself not being able to speak, as if someone just cut off his tongue, and everything that came out of his mouth was incoherent sounds .
“That will be a lesson to you. I want you to understand that disobedience causes consequences and requires punishment,” she said to him, emotionless, and added “Take care of it.” but addressing the ghoul this time.
And with that, she walked out of the room, leaving Copia to watch as his friend was being taken away. He tried to fight, he screamed and cried, desperately trying to reach for his familiar. But what can he oppose to a demonic creature with an order without his awoken abilities? Nothing but a plea and whining. Thus he was left sitting, almost laying, on the cold floor in the middle of an abbey corridor, choking on his hiccups and sobs, watching a receding figure of the ghoul that was carrying away the only piece of joy and happiness in his life, still hearing its terrified squeaking even after they were long gone.
Copia was sitting on his bed, staring blankly into the darkness of his room, overwhelmed by emotions, when an unfamiliar voice said, startling him:
“You should take revenge.”
“Who said that? Who's there?” Copia whispered, hectically looking around the room, his whole body was shivering with fear.
The voice repeated itself “You should take revenge. Show them how you have been suffering all these years, show them all the pain you have been through and let them feel it too.”
It took a moment before Copia realized that he was now standing in front of the mirror and his mouth was moving without his will.
The antichrist has begun to awake.