Stepping out of the room, Armen sees the fretful and teary eyes of several nuns peering around the corner from the end of the hall, Mariette among them.

  "Did I not command you to egress this place? What possessed you to linger within?" he asks to none of them in particular. Silently, the nuns quiver in unison; fear and worry baked into their eyes. After a moment, Mariette steps out of the gaggle of women and with her eyes fixated upon the floor in shame, tentatively steps toward Armen, stopping short as she notices the bloodied toe of his shoe and the sapped end of his tabard. "S-sir Armen. We... we went to vacate, but we heard such clatter that we were worried of what may have become of you, and of Mother."

  Armen looks upon Mariette with scrutiny, not believing that it was mere worry that bested the group's better judgment. He decides upon learning the nuns of things they have never once imagined, let alone witnessed, so that they might be more prudent in following any instruction in the future. "Mariette, I wish you had left when I told you. Alas you haven't, howe'er, since you all are here: I believe that you must see that which this world conjures in the shadows of life and bowels of the mind. Come hither, see what I do."

  Armen motions for the women to follow and steps through the doorway once more. The nuns begin to approach the door but stop before they cross the threshold and bear witness to the evil that burgeoned within their home. Some of them pinching their various snouts and covering their maws at the putrid stench that lingered just at the threshold. Armen beckons them further, "Come now. Your curiosity hath brought you here: make good on your inquiry. You learn nothing standing afar."

  Mariette is the first to enter. With a timid step, her eyes still engrossed by the floor, she crosses into the dim room where Armen waits. She scans the room, gasping at the sigils painted on the walls and the various fluids that stained the floor, until resting her gaze upon the disemboweled lower half of her dear matriarch that lay on the floor, and the mass of pulp and puddle that was her upper half nearby, she screams. A shrill and ghastly shriek that only worsened as it progressed into a crescendo when the other nuns abruptly entered and joined her.

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  Several of them vomit as the legs twitch, only adding to the foul smell and viscera that spotted the floor. Many of them quickly turn to leave before Armen blocks the door, trapping them all inside. "Bear witness! This is what comes of idolizing a false god. This is what awaits those who rebuke the Lord and spit upon his creation. This is the grisly fate of those who succumb to the vices of the world and allow devilry into their hearts. Look upon this putrid mess and weep for those that suffer the fate that your mother has embraced with open arms."

  Though, the nuns seem to not heed his words, for they clamber at his armor and tabard, begging to be let loose of the room with such gruesome rot inside. Armen steps aside and they rush out, nearly tripping and jumping over one another to escape. Mariette, however, stays. Now silent, she falls to her knees, her hands lifting palms full of gore. She begins weeping, her tears dripping into the viscera in her hands. "Mother..." she laments.

  Armen winces in sympathy for her. He knows how one would feel when bestowed news of someone so dear to yourself had become nothing like whom you once knew. It was jarring, and frightening, but more importantly; it would shake your faith deeply. In both your loved ones and the Lord. He steps near her as she weeps and places a hand upon her shoulder. She doesn't move, if even noticed his presence as she continues to sob, "Mother...Mother, why? What happened? What has been done to you? Mother..."

  Armen pats Mariette's shoulder lightly. "Mother is gone. This is not the woman you once knew. She was corrupted by the evils from this earth, and she boiled in her malice. She hasn't been the woman that raised you for some time now."

  "Silence, you!" Mariette barks. "She was here afore you arrived!"

  "Nay... she was not. She was perversed by demons and their ilk. She was lost, and she became of them." Armen grips her shoulder lightly, "I am sorry, sister. There was nothing to be done except what was necessary. It was too late for her." After a moment, Mariette shoves Armen off and away from herself, "Away with you! You've only brought misery unto us! I ache that I had aided thee!"

  Armen sighs, his chest hurt with guilt at her anguish, but he knew that some things are necessary. And still, there is more to be done to mother's remains and the room itself. It still needed cleansing of the evils within. Though he wished so desperately to hold and comfort Mariette in her distress, he knew that mourning could come at a later moment. Now is the necessity to purify the convent.