At the demon’s ball. Gothic

“Damn you, Emily,” he hissed, “damn your witchcraft beauty. You betrayed your heart, you became a human, and with this you ruined your immortal love. You are cursed forever with me. Unless your daughter Maerlin saves you, she can’t. She bears the same curse, she is half human, half her soul belongs to the call of the blood. Only she can become my death, but this will not happen, she will die today the same night as you.””

She shuddered involuntarily. Her death stood before her in the face of a nightmarish demon. She will die like the fiery witch Madeleine, like thousands of other victims of the demon, like the one she loved.

“Emily,” he said gently and passionately, and the claws of a terrible hand with a lightning movement passed along the snow-white neck of the young girl, and as if from a sharp dagger, a long bloody trail remained on her.

A wild cry of unbearable pain pierced the silence of the lonely cemetery. He became a prophecy and a curse, condemning a bloody demon to torment, who invented new tortures for people, but was not used to suffering himself.

This cry promised that the prophecy would come true, and the cruel demon himself would finally die at the hands of a beautiful dream.

The beauty fell to the ground at the stone cross. Her blond hair scattered over the cold earth, illuminating her with some kind of magical radiance, the eyelids of her beautiful eyes closed, one snow-white hand covered with blood stretched out at the crucifix, like the only ray of pure beauty in the darkness of night and evil.

“It’s your fault, Emily,” the demon said quietly.

“I will find your daughter, the call of the blood will lead me to her, and then I will know if your prophecy is true,” he whispered. It was his oath, an oath of eternal vengeance from evil to beauty itself.

“I’ll find you, Maerlin,” echoed mysteriously in the darkness of the night cemetery. The body of the beauty barely stirred in death throes, the wind of the cold sea brought ominous words to her, and this was much more terrible than any death. The demon’s eyes were bloodshot when he saw this subtle movement, but then from the side of the sea there was the sound of steps and a loud cry came:

“Emily.”

The sound of footsteps came closer and closer. Behind the bend in the rocks, footsteps were already clearly audible, and the stately figure of a young man became visible. The cruciform hilt of his sword embodied the very struggle for life and immortal faith. The wary gaze of the demon turned into the gaze of a wild beast, and in a moment the dark figure soared upward like a black bird, a hawk of death, which flew towards the gloomy castle.

In the old cemetery, a handsome young man knelt in front of a dying girl. Pain at that moment overwhelmed his heart.

“Emily,” he whispered, squeezing an ice-cold, snow-white hand in his hand. At that moment, the beauty’s eyelids, closed in death throes, slowly opened.

“It’s you,” she whispered, barely audible, moving her dead lips with difficulty.

“It’s me, Emily,” he said anxiously, “you shouldn’t have come here, the dead still remain dead, and there is no need to ruin your own life because of it.

“No,” she cut him off, “that was my destiny, and there was no escape from it, no escape. The only thing I beg from you, save my daughter. Now all the forces of darkness are up in arms against her. She’s at my house, just off the coast. Take her out of there, take her away from these rocks. They contain the terrible power of all the blood that is spilled on the earth, a bloody demon dwells in them, death itself lurks in them. Take my daughter away from here, save her, please. Call her Maerlin, her destiny is to be the finest dream in the world.”

The gaze penetrated the very depths of his blue eyes.

“Please,” she whispered.

“Yes,” he replied, “I’ll call her Maerlin.

– Never a bloody demon, not another of the devils of hell can harm her.”

She nodded. He did not want to leave, and she knew this, she knew that there was love in his heart, to which she could not answer. Now she was dying and prayed to the God long forgotten by her, and yet who was her last hope, to help her. She fervently believed that her prayer would help her save the beautiful Maerlin, who could kill all evil on earth.

“Please, take Maerlin away from here as soon as possible,” she said, “I pray to God that he will help you and that he will forgive my soul. If my daughter survives, if she destroys evil, give her this symbol that her heart should always remain with faith in God forgiving me.”

With a trembling, cold hand, she held out a small golden cross to him.

– May she never part with him.

Her cold hand for a moment squeezed the hand outstretched to her. The eyes of the beauty closed in endless sleep, but her soul remained with God, who forgave, and this hope burning in his heart helped him overcome the unbearable pain, because he knew that his own heart had sunk with her into the darkness of endless death forever.

The winds of the sea returned to her face the freshness of life and the purity of true faith, which managed to save her soul from the power of darkness and make her here, among the rocks of sorcery, the only symbol of light. He gently ran his hand over his cheek, where a tear had frozen before, and gently touched his cold lips with his lips. She was beautiful, and he would have been looking at her forever if he had not suddenly heard some strange sound. A black bird flew over the sea with a melancholy cry, but it was not an ordinary bird, in the rustle of its wings was the ominous whisper of death itself. She was black as night itself, and her wings concealed a destructive power that no human could possess. The flames of hell itself seemed to be lurking in her evil eyes. Roderick realized that he heard the sound of the wings of death itself, and he realized that bloody death, indeed, has lightning wings. His heart also knew that he shouldn’t die now, no matter how much he wanted to. He had to stay alive at all costs, find and save Emily’s daughter.

The bird of death has already rushed at him. Its sharp claws flashed like ominous lightning in the darkness, its eyes glowed with blood, and a shrill cry erupted from its steel beak. Rows of claws like sharp swords flashed once more in the darkness and dug into his left shoulder as deep as they could. Roderick almost screamed in pain himself.

He had to win, although it was impossible, but for Emily’s sake, he was ready to do anything. Pain ripped through his body, and red blood gushed from the pierced flesh.

“Emily,” he whispered with gritted teeth, “help me, Emily, my love, God help me.”

With force, he tore from himself the winged demon who was drinking his blood and drew a glittering sword from its sheath.

Reflections of the silvery light of its point fell on the black plumage of the gloomy bird, and it, soaring high into the sky, began headlong downward to inflict a wound in Roderick’s back.

Another moment, and he would have been dead, but he, despite the bird’s evil designs, managed to dodge, and he himself struck her so strong that he pierced his wounded body with pain. Now Roderick felt his victory. The rustle of wings subsided, the fiery lightning of bloody eyes no longer tormented him with their deadly gaze, something shot up in the darkness, and a wild deafening cry echoed over the cemetery, but in the next moment everything disappeared. Calm reigned here again, but it was an oppressive silence that foreshadowed danger. Somewhere behind him there was a noise, and Roderick turned sharply, holding the sword tightly in his hands and always ready to fight. But there was nothing to be seen anywhere. Then, as if out of the darkness itself, a tall and sombre figure in black clothing emerged.

“And you are still true to your dream, young prince,” the black monster whispered with malicious mockery, and his bloody eyes flashed with fierce fire. Only now Roderick saw that the grim demon’s left shoulder was covered with hot blood. Before him stood his worst enemy, who killed Emily. Roderick hated him as he never did.

“You are brave, since you could come here, right behind her, for your sad love,” the bloody demon said in the same mocking voice, “but now you are in my possession. The same fate awaits you as your beautiful Emily. Because of her, two hearts are already dead: her unfortunate lover and yours. I will not allow her daughter to ruin many more lives with her beautiful face of the dream itself. She is my death, but remember, Roderick, I am stronger than God who blessed her.

“No,” Roderick whispered, “no, I know who you are, you are darkness, you are evil, but you are not stronger than good, my love is stronger than darkness, and the forces of light are even more powerful, like my God. After all, contrary to your black desires, the world has faith in it, there are dreams, there is love, and I believe that a dream given by God can prevail over you.”

“No,” the fire demon laughed, “you must die with her today, and her daughter will die with you.”

He looked at Emily’s body lying at the stone cross, and his gaze burned with blood. Roderick, looking at Emily’s beautiful face, gained new strength.

“You will never defeat me, demon,” he protested.

“So come on, try to save your dream,” an ominous smile reflected in the eyes of the bloody demon.

“I’ll save her,” Roderick shouted, running away from this devilish place to where he wanted to find salvation for his last hope, but for a long time behind him sounded the laughter of a bloody demon.

“Run,” the demon whispered, “try to catch and save your dreams, but I will still win.”

He walked over to Emily’s corpse and stood next to it. He was given to command the world of shadows, but it was not in his power to kill eternal love. She was lying on the cold ground, beautiful, pure, light, as before in her life, and even more beautiful than then. But he did not want to succumb to the charm of her beauty.

“You are beautiful, Emily,” he whispered, “but you are dead, as will your daughter. I hate love and I despise people’s dreams. I am stronger than fate, and by killing her, I will prove to you that I am the strongest of all, This is my oath, and let all the forces of evil come to my aid.”

His gaze flashed with fire again, and he extended his black arms as a sign of his strength.

“I will destroy anyone who gets in my way, even my own heart,” he shouted. “I will kill you, a human dream, you are dead, Maerlin.

This mad scream echoed along the entire coast, and the magic rocks themselves seemed to shudder from the hatred and anger that filled it.

Meanwhile, Roderick quickly ran along the coast to a lonely house. He was supposed to fulfill his vow, but still behind him he heard the dreadful and blood-curdling laugh of the demon. Roderick fled with a drawn sword in his hand, he was ready to fend off any danger, he knew that now all the forces of evil rose up against him. He was helped by a sincere love for the beautiful Emily. Even if she herself died, love for her will live in his soul, in his heart and in himself. He had to keep his vow to Emily, a vow to defeat the forces of darkness at all costs and save her daughter Maerlin. Roderick was ready to keep his oath even at the cost of his life in memory of his love. One thought drove him forward along the sandy coast, past the magical rocks, the witch’s castle and the forces of evil embodied in them. In spite of everything and in spite of all the forces of evil that want to destroy him, he had to win, he had to get to a lonely house by the sea before the demon descended there. A black-bloody fog lay on the ground, and before the eyes of the tired Roderick appeared the grim victims of the vampire devil, who after their death became his voluntary followers. Seeing their crazy and terrible face, Roderick was glad that this did not happen to Emily. A bloody ghost of a fire witch stood in his way at the witch’s rocks. Her wild eyes glared directly at Roderick. Her deathly pale face was like a snow-white mask, shining in the darkness with a predatory grin.

“Come to me,” she called to Roderick, holding out her long arms to him.

Her call made the prince run even faster. He gathered all his last strength and tried not to notice either bloody visions or witchcraft fog. At the same time, he did not notice his own fatigue.

Finally, the ring of rocks ended, and with it their magic power ended.

Just a little, and he will get there. Roderick saw a fork in three roads, one leading to the sea, one to the rocks, and the third to Emily’s house.

Where the roads diverged in different directions, there was a stone cross.

Roderick stopped involuntarily to see what was written on him in small letters that cut deep into the stone. For a moment it seemed to Roderick that a black bird was sitting on the cross, thirsting, as before, for his blood. However, instead of a bird from the darkness creeping on the ground, a huge black wolf appeared with the same bloody eyes glowing in the darkness with magical fire.

Roderick managed to dodge his jump and found himself on another road. He boldly moved forward along the mysterious road, and nothing could stop him. Now the road turned into a viscous quagmire, then the branches of forest trees clung to him and tore his clothes, then someone reached out to him from the very darkness of the forest.

A gap had already appeared behind the trees, there, by a small lake, was Emily’s house.

The root of the tree wrapped itself around Roderick’s feet and, involuntarily falling, he dropped his sword. The earth opened up, and against the background of fire and darkness, the silhouette of a bloody devil clearly loomed. At the very last moment, he managed to jump up from the ground before it fell into the depths of hell. As soon as he raised his sword, everything was quiet again.

“My God,” Roderick said, gripping the sword tightly in his hands. Only now did he realize that the ground around him was soaked in human blood, rivers of blood had spilled here, but Roderick knew that Emily’s daughter was still alive.

Suddenly, some strange darkness again enveloped everything around, and in its misty veil on a huge stone near the house there appeared the clear outlines of a slender figure sitting on it in a beautiful dark red dress.

Or an obsession, or in front of Roderick, Emily was resurrected on a stone. Roderick, bewitched, froze in place. Life and death did not matter anymore. Now only one vision of a blonde beauty existed for him all over the world.

He did not move, but he could not close his amazed eyes, and only his numb lips, barely obeying him, could whisper:

“Emily.”

She sighed heavily, as if bitter sobs were about to burst from her pain-pierced chest, but she did not raise her eyes to look at him, she knew that he was there.

“Roderick,” she said, and although it was her beautiful, sonorous voice, it seemed now that it didn’t come from her at all, and it didn’t have the same life at all.

“Roderick,” she repeated with a start, and her pale lips moved strangely in a faint semblance of supplication, but her beautiful face remained the face of a marble statue.

She shook her head as if in a dream. Her eyes flashed for a moment with a bright dazzling light from under lowered black eyelashes.

“There is a kingdom of darkness, and a humans’ love cannot disturb it,’ Emily said quietly. ‘How could you leave me there, how could you get out of there at the first onslaught of witchcraft, from which you swore to protect Maerlin, but the dream does not need anyone’s help.

Perhaps, to the surprised Roderick, it only seemed that in the last words of Emily there slipped some kind of malevolent note that he had heard somewhere before, but could not remember where.

“I don’t understand,” the prince whispered, but Emily cut him off with a slight movement.

“Come to me,” she whispered, “forget about everything, don’t leave me. Roderick, not knowing how, but against his will and common sense, involuntarily approached her.

“Come,” it sounded again in the silence, “don’t leave me”.

A snow-white hand, still lying motionless on the stone, reached out to him. Roderick almost took the hand outstretched to him, almost touched her shoulder, wanting to calm her.

“Emily,” he said, already reaching out his hand to her.

As soon as he touched her shoulder, a shining lightning ran down her and with a sharp blade of a knife struck his palm, forcing him to withdraw his hand, along which blood flowed from a huge wound.

Roderick stared at Emily in dismay, but it was no longer her, but a monster created by a bloody demon.

Roderick lifted the fallen sword from the ground with lightning speed and dashed away from the monster. He ran into the house and found himself in a completely different world that kept the memory of Emily. The prince found himself in a long corridor with many doors. Roderick thought Emily was calling him to one of them. Roderick barely touched the handle of this door, and it immediately opened slowly, as if from a gust of witchcraft wind. Roderick froze in amazement on the threshold of the great dark hall. The first thing the prince saw in the hall was a beautiful portrait over an old fireplace. Roderick would recognize him anywhere. Emily’s beautiful face looked at him as if alive from the depths of the picture. If Roderick didn’t know that she was dead, he probably would have thought that she herself was now standing in front of him.

Roderick involuntarily came very close to the portrait and peered into her face. It hid some kind of secret that no longer remained with the real Emily in the cemetery. This mystery, as if by magic, is now completely transferred to the portrait, giving the beauty’s face a half mysterious, half ominous expression.

The shadows of evil that had left the repentant soul still continued to live in the portrait and cast their ominous reflection on her beautiful face. Suddenly, Emily’s lips slowly parted into an ominous, secret smile. A tremor ran through Roderick’s entire body in a quivering wave, and perhaps it was fright at the thought that the devil might again take possession of Emily’s soul. A sudden call came from behind him.

– Roderick.

He turned quickly. Once again, the beautiful Emily stood in front of him and smiled mysteriously. Roderick turned his eyes to the portrait, and a smile filled with hellish evil burned his gaze. Suddenly, from the depths of the gloomy hall, Roderick heard the quiet cry of a child, which brought him back to real life. Emily’s vision, a devilish smile – everything disappeared, and there was only this salutary cry calling him to her.

Roderick involuntarily flinched from crying, now that the devilish vision had disappeared, he could remember who he was and why he had come here.

Roderick walked swiftly to where the body of a crying child shone like a bright star in the darkness of the great hall. Roderick took the baby in his arms. The child was as beautiful as the dream itself.

Suddenly a wave of terror swept through Roderick’s body and made him turn around. Shrouded in a mist of darkness, a bloody demon stood before him, emerging from the very darkness, and his fiery eyes shone with a fierce triumphant fire.

“Give her to me,” he ordered, “give me Maerlin.

“No,” Roderick said firmly, boldly looking the bloody demon in the eye. “No way in the world,” he repeated boldly, squeezing the child tightly in his arms.

Courage and fearlessness gave him his vow Emily.

The demon chuckled.

“You think you defeated me,” he said, “but you are wrong, I needed you, so you are still alive. It was you who brought me here, to Maerlin, you let me in here, you opened the way for me to her. Now I can kill both of you, but you can still be saved. I will let you go, just give me Maerlin.

He held out his clawed hands, covered in the blood of many people, towards him, but Roderick did not hesitate for a moment.

“Give it to me,” the demon repeated.

“And forget your love,” Roderick looked straight into the monster’s eyes.

“I’m not afraid of you,” he whispered, “no matter what, I will keep my oath, and in the end your fate will find you.

– Your love was also just a dream teasing you, and in gratitude for the torment you are faithful to it,” the tempting voice of the devil sounded in the darkness.

– Now take revenge on this dream that gave you not love, but eternal suffering and sorrow, help me kill her, give us both liberation.”

He persuaded, but his speech could not suppress Roderick’s will. The prince gripped Emily’s child tightly in his arms, like the last spark of life.

“No,” he said firmly, “I’m not afraid of you, demon. Let the whole world shudder at the mere sound of your name, but it will not inspire fear in me, I loved Emily and I still love, so may my hatred for you help fate kill you.

“Give her to me,” the devil almost cried out, slowly approaching Roderick.

“No,” the prince said even more firmly.

“Well, then try to save her,” the bloody demon said with the same cruel mockery, “prove your immortal love.

Roderick no longer looked into inhuman eyes, clouded with bloodlust, but tightly squeezed the child in his arms and quickly rushed away from the mysterious house, where darkness of evil and mysteries prevailed over the light.

He ran out of the hall without even looking at the beautiful portrait of Emily, whose wonderful face at that moment was distorted by an ominous smile.

Roderick quickly ran down the narrow steps of the stairs, but suddenly at the very end, at the behest of something incomprehensible, he looked up and again saw her, Emily.

“Emily,” Roderick blurted out. He was ready to forget that it was the spirit of darkness, the ghost of a bloody demon. The only thing he wanted now was to stay with her with Emily forever.

“Give it to me,” in a voice similar to a mournful moan, whispered Emily, holding out her hands to him, “give me my daughter.”

Only a few steps separated him from her, and at that moment Roderick noticed that Emily’s hands were covered with streams of blood.

“No,” Roderick said.

The silhouette of a bloody demon flashed in Emily’s beautiful eyes, but Roderick managed to run past her and rushed out of the house.

Roderick leaned against the wall and hugged the small child tightly to him. Already, he loved her as much as he loved anyone else, a beautiful dream with Emily’s face and soul.

“Roderick,” suddenly it was heard not far from him. Again the silhouette of the beautiful Emily appeared in front of him.

“Come to me.”

Then another hateful voice sounded:

“You belong to her forever, and she will destroy you, because now her beauty is born of darkness.”

“No,” Roderick could only whisper back, although Emily’s beautiful image was already obscuring all his thoughts with a veil of unrestrained fog. He no longer controlled himself, all his feelings, all his actions, prayers, all his dreams were already subordinated to the darkness in this beautiful image. He was ready to rush to her, forgetting about everything, to surrender himself into the arms of death itself, if only the bloody death had her face.

“Emily,” he whispered.

He was already ready to completely and completely surrender to the forces of evil, but suddenly it was heard behind him:

“Roderick.”

The sound of this voice suddenly brought him back from the world of dark dreams to ordinary human life.

The prince turned involuntarily quickly.

Before him stood a beautiful girl, as beautiful as the ghosts of the rocks of sorcery, but, unlike them, kind, sympathetic and open.

“Clara,” Roderick said, hiding his weariness.

He was looking at a cute face, similar to Emily’s, but so implacably different from it. One was the embodiment of purity, the second was a seductive sorceress, a siren who stole his soul forever. The black-haired Clara was a kindness, Emily was an eternal darkness. One was innocence, the other evil. One was a beauty with golden blond hair, a symbol of a clean day, although her soul was covered with an eternal darkness of mystery. The flame of the night itself burned in the black hair of the other, but in her heart there was not even a drop of mysterious evil that overwhelmed Emily’s soul, which had been completely sold to darkness. Nevertheless, they have always been real sisters, although the soul of one of them was open and pure, and the other was hidden by the eternal darkness.

Roderick, in the throes of despair and unwillingness to believe that Emily is no longer alive, closed his eyes for a moment, and only Clara’s soft voice woke him up again, forcing him to wake up from his dreams.

“I don’t know why I came here,” Clara said quietly, “but I feel like Emily needs help.

“That’s right,” Roderick whispered.

He knew that this was his only hope to save Maerlin, until a vision of Emily made him give his soul to the darkness, and he was already close to it. The bloody demon knew he could hurt him, and he was about to deliver his final crushing blow, which Roderick could no longer resist.

He approached Clara, and now they stood together against the background of the old house, the tomb of ghosts.

“Take Emily’s baby,” Roderick said, “get her out of here as far as you can. Evil and death reign here, which will lie in wait for you if you appear here at least once. You can handle it, can you save her?

He looked hopefully into Clara’s clear and open eyes.

“Yes,” she replied, “I’ll take her as far away from the damned rocks of sorgery as possible. This is what Emily wanted, and that means I must do it, I must give her the name of the dream itself.

She looked at Roderick with pain in her eyes.

“I know that Emily died,” said Clara, “after all, not only your heart died with her, but part of my soul as well. I know you loved Emily and never loved me, but I don’t blame you for that. I loved her myself, even though she ruined my own life. It was impossible not to love such a beauty as her.

“You look so much like her,” said Roderick, already peering into the beautiful face covered with the shadow of sadness, “but you are not her.

“I know,” Clara whispered with the same sadness, “I know everything.

“Will you save Emily’s daughter?” Promise me.

“I promise,” she said slowly, “I will love her as much as I can. I’ll call it Maerlin, a dream.

“But will there be happiness in your life?” Roderick looked at Clara for the last time, some distant pain flashed in his eyes.

“Go away,” he asked, “the sooner the better, and no matter where, it’s important that you leave here as soon as possible.

He slowly held out the child to her, and she took it.

“Go away,” Roderick repeated, and shouted again, “go, go, Clara, save Maerlin. Just thinking that you will take her away from here will allow me to find peace. I must die, Clara, I cannot live without Emily, and you still have a whole life ahead of you, like the life of the one who will give you light in this fog of time, and now leave.

Clara knew that she needed to leave now, once and for all. She loved, but her love was unrequited. Beautiful Emily forever killed her happiness with her beauty, but she loved her and her child with all her heart. She had to save Maerlin, had to get her out of here. However, in the depths of her heart, not wanting to admit even to herself, she knew that the memory of the past would forever remain in her soul.

Now Roderick was left alone, he tightly gripped the hilt of his sword, but could this time ordinary human steel defeat the merciless power of witchcraft.

Roderick became alert, a black bird flew past with a wild, soul-tearing cry in the dark sky. Suddenly there was a rustle behind Roderick’s back that made him instantly turn around. Again, Emily was standing in front of him not far away.

Life and death have now lost their meaning for him, and only it, alluring and beautiful, the image of Emily remains.

“Roderick,” she whispered, “may death unite us forever, may she not deny us what life has denied. It is a wonderful world, my love, a world of blood, a world of death, but it can give you a precious moment of selected happiness.

The hilt of the sword involuntarily slipped out of Roderick’s hand as he approached Emily. He was no longer able to resist, only the vision created by the demon of the night now completely commanded him, all his thoughts, feelings, dreams.

“You’re mine now,” came the demon’s triumphant voice.

The prince did not hear him.

“Yes,” Roderick said. “Yes. Emily. In spite of everything, I forever love you alone. Even if I did not give it away with a single word, now I appeal to your immortal soul, hear me, Emily. The Lord has forgiven you, so let him send this forgiveness to me too. I will always pray to him about this, as now I pray you to hear the request of my heart.

For a moment, something frank, pure and innocent shone in Emily’s eyes. Her face was cleared of evil. Maybe it really was Emily’s very soul for a moment, driving out the spirit of the nightmare demon from its image.

“Emily,” Roderick whispered.

This very image Roderick loved all his life, with it he was ready to die, so beautiful, secretly, and selflessly loved by him. Emily for a wonderful and dazzling moment of happiness returned to life from death, and now remorse shone in her eyes, almost tears of bitter joy with which she looked at Roderick stood in them.

“Be with me forever,” she whispered.

Suddenly the ominous cry of a hellish bird echoed over the desolate space.

Pity and sympathy flashed across Emily’s beautiful face before she disappeared into the darkness again, just as suddenly. as it had appeared, but the kingdom of death could not for a moment do without evil, and Roderick knew it.

Before he even had time to recover, the bloody demon appeared in the darkness of the night again.

“You sought your death,” he hissed, “and you will get it.

Roderick barely had time to grab his sword before the rays of some strange glow almost pierced him with the point of his lightning. There was a wound on his shoulder.

He knew that in this fight he would not survive, but he did not want to give up.

“I’ll kill you, demon,” he whispered, “and now nothing can stop me.