"Let them in"

The elder priestess whispered in her cracking voice.

The monks moved swiftly despite their excessive age opening the door to a tall man and his child.

"How long has it been, Verity of Forsenta?" She smirked teasingly at the Great Lord.

"I have come here to heal my son from the evils residing in him." he announced seriously in his deep voice as he had no time for pleasantries.

The child nodded shyly while looking down, he was a short boy, barely eight years old and shaking slightly.

"Well then you may wait outside, I'll talk to the boy."

Verity glanced at his son with stern eyes ordering him to behave and obey. With that, he walked outside leaving a terrified child in the company of what looked like a witch.

The room was dark, barely illuminated with candles that showed a dark figure crouched on the floor with a covered face.

"Sit." she requested in a kind shaking voice.

And he did so hesitantly, crouching awkwardly on the warm rug.

"What is your name?"

"Nate" he said proudly, as it seemed the only thing he was proud of.

"Tell me child, what is it that bothers your father so much?"

He looked up with suspicious eyes, as if unsure if he should trust her.

"I.. I h-hear things, in my m-mind" he said finally, deciding he had no other choice.

"What kind of things do you hear? Do you hear voices whispering in your ears?" she pressed on, knowing he wouldn't elaborate otherwise.

"No, no… they don't whisper.. th-they shout and yell. They're afraid… they keep asking where they are, and then they beg me to let them go. But I don't know how!" He spit out, trembling uncontrollably now.

"You said 'they', how many voices do you hear exactly?"

"S-seven. There are seven voices and they talk all at once sometimes."

"How long have you been hearing them?"

"Forever."

"Are they speaking now?" She inquired kindly, interested.

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"Yes." he had his arms to his head, clearly hurting.

"And what are they saying?"

"Some of them I don't understand, but one of them tells me you're a liar: a scam-artist… he says they had those where he came from." he was no longer stuttering.

"Can you communicate with them?"

"Yes, but they don't always listen… and they can see and hear everything…"

"Ask them where they come from."

He froze for a moment, staring down.

"Earth. They all said they came from earth"

"Earth… alright, bring Verity in."

At her signal a monk threw the doors open and his father stepped in a moment later.

"You can rest assured Great Lord, your son is not infested with demons or devils. His problem is something entirely different. As he told me, the voices he hears do not control or advise him in any ill way, on the contrary they seem to be confused by the state they are in. The only deduction I can make is that your son has absorbed several dead souls from another dimension: Earth. And history has witnessed a few people with similar situations… they are called Vessels. These souls cannot interfere with the body but they reside in him nevertheless, offering their opinions and experiences."

It took several moments for what she said to sink in, and once it did Verity frowned in disbelieve.

"What nonsense is this? Another dimension!? Such lies have never been uttered in a monastery before, I brought my son here to cure him from his madness not to indulge him further into these myths and legends!"

He took his son's hand forcibly and dragged him out, leaving the priestess with a sad smile on her face as she knew from that moment how difficult Nate's life would be when everyone was convinced he was crazy.

Meanwhile inside Nate's head you could hear several voices directing curses at Verity, and those were the only thing keeping him from snapping at this injustice.

For once, he felt that those voices were at his side.