They tossed me with a cloth bag on my head
Along the endless corridors for hours,
Until I fin'lly felt no strength to struggle
Or even stand and walk. They dragged me on -
Into some bright, resounding hall, where stagnant lights
Had almost blinded me when they removed the bag:
I stood kneeled down with my hands tied behind.
The mirror floors were showing well
My dreary wretchedness. And I was not alone
Who had been watching. 'Now you are here',
A weird voice rang nearby. 'You've roamed throughout
The depth and lows, but finally your searching
Is over as you've reached the very top.'

'As if I really did it on my own', I said,
And looked up... Gods, I'd rather never done!

A figure in a decorated robe stood by;
It had a frail, as though unfleshly, build,
And an inhuman stature, almost twice as tall.
A wicked double mask was hiding this one's face,
And when he spoke, it seemed he had two voices.

'Still you have come, to stand down on your knees.
Nobody comes here but by their own will,
Even if latent, unacknowledged aspiration,
But those who truly don't belong here, won't be here.
It is the pinnacle of everything your race
Is able to achieve. The pure manifestation
Of what you are, without husks and filth,
The mainstay of truth, where all the roads lead
Eventually. That's where the heresies
Those have already mostly taken over
The outer world, are losing their potence.
That's where the avalanche of purifying fire
Will soon originate. And when the time is right
Our banners will unroll, our arms will yearn for blood
We'll bring them back the long-forgotten fear of God'.

'That you don't have yourself, apparently', I said.

The creature laughed: 'Who is that one I am to fear, you say?
Do you believe an old man in a golden crown
Sits on the clouds and angrily looks down?
While sleazy typists with their o’ergrown pigeon wings
Stand by his side and log all mortals' sins?
If ever there has been that Radiant Throne,
At present it is occupied by none.
As of his temples lingering on Earth
We'll put them to good use - to monger fears and swords.
And trust me, you would never need a God
His ruthless, vengeful ire to promote.
It's down to a proper choice of scary words!
...And cities will be crumbling to the cinders,
And graveyards will be reuniting the horizons!'

'You're late' I said. 'Somebody has outrun you,
The armies striving to reverse the time, are out now
To massacre, and flames and smokes are rising
From the realms that you've been dreaming to war down'.

'You're lying', hissed the figure.
'No, I don’t’.

The creature ceased to move at all, as though
The ghost that had possessed it just withdrew.
I had to wait and slowly moments crawled,
Then all of sudden it resumed to live and said:

'You didn't lie indeed. Someone was first,
Although whoever it was they’d failed with their uprising.
For me that means a lot of labour is ahead,
A lot of soil to till, a lot of seeds to spread.

For starters I will let you go. I will unleash
You on the outer world, my future prophet,
And though for the remainder of your life
You will be cursing and denouncing me, my word
Will be delivered to the right ones - those who wait
For someone to relieve them from their burdens
Of the detested 'free will' and 'benevolence':
The beasts remain the beasts, the slaves remain the slaves,
They're waiting for a proper sign to conquer them,
With blood and fire, a privilege to obey,
Or, if they lose, to set the world ablaze.

Begone now', said the creature, as the hall
Began to swirl and twist around me rapidly;
And I had fallen through the mirror floor,
And plummeted into the pitch-black void
Until the last of me had silently dissolved...