Blowing Up the Lake

All the humans, spirits, and creatures of the shelter were able to become a part of Saint Fan Emperor, reduced to a bulbous, fleshy mass whenever the wretched spirit desired the transformation.

Many of the elder people considered committing suicide to avoid such a ghastly fate. But they knew that if they tried, Saint Fan would have them resurrected and forced to endure a punishment far greater than any that a grueling death could deal them.

Rodman was more hopeless than ever, acknowledging the grizzly doom that might inevitably await him. Mustering the strength to march on as a slave, each and every day, with a wicked noose such as that above their heads was a monumental achievement; especially with the knowledge that not even the mercy of death could ever be obtained.