•MAY 1984
Giovanna Ciricillo’s frail breaths filled the quiet of her crumbling villa. Verohn Corazon sat by her side, her hand gently holding Giovanna’s. The years had taken their toll on the older woman, but her fiery spirit remained undimmed.
“Promise me,” Giovanna rasped, her voice barely above a whisper. “Promise me you’ll keep fighting.”
Verohn nodded, silent tears streaming down her face. She clasped Giovanna’s hand tightly, her movements deliberate and filled with meaning. “Always.”
When Giovanna passed that evening, Verohn felt the weight of her absence like a chasm in her chest. That night, she walked through the aquarium, her sanctuary, with her lobster plush tucked under her arm. The glowing tanks reflected the stillness of her grief. Giovanna’s death marked the end of an era, but it strengthened Verohn’s resolve to continue their shared battle against oppression.
•JUNE 1984
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Verohn, now a powerful cleric in the Vatican, invited him to join her in the Church’s reform efforts. At first, Vintamio resisted.
“The Church,” he said bitterly, “is the same institution that lets men like me suffer while pretending to offer salvation.”
But Verohn’s persistence and her growing legacy of change softened his stance. Slowly, he began to see the potential for healing—not just for himself, but for others like him.
•FEBRUARY 1994
The Vatican glowed with the golden light of dawn as Verohn, now Pope V., addressed the world. Her journey to this moment had been long and fraught with hardship, but her silent presence carried an undeniable weight.
Her interpreter spoke on her behalf, delivering her first orders as Pope. She declared the Ku Klux Klan and the Silver Legion of Italy and Germany to be enemies of the Catholic Church, their bigotry and violence antithetical to the Church’s mission. She extended an olive branch to the LGBTQ+ community, vowing to protect and uplift them in a world that had so often sought to silence and harm them.
“For too long,” her interpreter read, “the Church has turned its back on those who needed it most. That time is over. We stand with the persecuted, the outcast, and the voiceless. Together, we will face the darkness and bring forth light.”
Her second order of business was no less bold. Pope V. announced the reality of the Protestant branch of Christianity’s long-standing alliance with fascist and bigoted organizations, calling for unity among Catholics and their allies against such forces.
In closing, she made a solemn vow: “With the angels as our witnesses, we will defend the oppressed, the silenced, and the marginalized. Together, we will write a new Chapter for the Church and the world.”