Castle Redemption

Baphomet's Journal Entry 0001

How many times has this been done? How many times have I accomplished this venture? How many versions of this story have played out over time in how many various universes have I been successful? How many cycles have these occurrence returned to repeat unchanged; again and again or is each time novel? How many times have I failed? How many versions of the infinite have no version like myself- how many times have I lived and died as just an insignificant man... how many lives have I lived and died and just William Keen.

Imagine a world where we could be who we were meant to be. For me, the world I was born in regurgitated me back into the cosmos where I would find a new path to be who I was meant to be... to find a world that wasn't my natural home but a spot left for me to fulfill. How could this be? A jump from a disc in the loop to another and yet, it begs the question, was this what was meant to be the entire time?

Creatures of free will or just predesigned molds of clay living out a plethora of predetermined events? I refuse to believe that my purpose is anything but my own to choose and yet... a strong sense of dark intuition seemingly guides me along an undeniable path.

I can feel God's hand palming my brain, selecting the words I will speak, coordinating those my sight will focus, and supplying the strength needed to oppress his failed creations. I have seen the bowls poured in other realms and heard the obnoxious trumpets sound from the sky above- I have ridden all four horses and tasted the blood of the sinful lot living on borrowed time beyond this realm and the others, but something has changed in this place.

At first glance, I find the similar nature of what I had known from other homes, but like a fun house mirror, the reflection is distorted just enough to alter this realm's design. In this universe, there is a failed plot but different players than in my other timeline... the players alive and well in my timeline eradicated from this one. What does this mean?

The world here has technology that has surpassed what I have known and professional wrestling had all but died in this realm. Media technology determined what was truth from reality and the sheep were already willing participants in the antichrist system, but no antichrist! Curious.

The people have sold themselves the mark of the beast and the supernatural unneeded to fulfill the world's positioning into the final days... this world didn't need the Left Hand and the Left Hand had been destroyed by a man with just advanced technology. This is... bizarre and yet, intriguing.

It seemed that the world had primed itself for the final days as if the Left Hand and all of it's influence and power were only pieces of the ultimate result of a naturally corrupted species... it was wrong. The Left Hand was wrong.

It was never about forcing the end of times, but, sustaining our influence and power as humans evolved naturally towards it! Of course! It was never Legacy OR Left Hand doctrine but instead, as all things, somewhere in the middle. It was the war between us that lead this universe to the pinnacle.

I see now, clear as day, that so far as I could tell the end of days had never come until one of these universes became the set of circumstances needed to achieve such ends. The false prophets, the dragons, the beasts, the interpretations, and guesses were mere dilution of what religious works had forewarned... and that was the point!

The Baphomet of this world, assassinated, head wound and just as prophecised, the true antichrist rises again after mortal death had befallen He. This was predetermined; fate... a world that punishes one with death, making way for the very same man punished differently for the very same crime. Curious. No, blasphemous! I shouldn't write with such zealous aspiration but delusion? I can't say... if not, then is it just chaos? I must consult Her. I must clear my mind of such blasphemy and dissolve this treacherous cancer that is growing within me. I will confide in her to repel these shadows.

With a week away, The Baphomet's first test at XWF High Stakes will commence, and with doubt in his mind, he wonders if the old way's approach was appropriate for this new era he is witnessing. A strong sense speaks to his mind and heart; a sense that has before lead him down fateful paths in both realms, now reemerging at a time that is inconvenient- he feels guilt for even entertaining these thoughts but the sense is too strong to ignore.

He must be advised by the one who he confides in. The one who has allowed him to return in spite of his past failures in loyalty to the Left Hand. A Baphomet is not only a man, but part woman- and as a man named William Keen would abandon that identify and accept the Baphomet role, he was only half as powerful as the other who occupied the other half, the woman who survived the Left Hand and went further into the abyss when the rest of them had been destroyed. This woman, unnamed, and only assuming the role of Supreme Goddess of the Left Hand now speaks with only one- the Baphomet; together, they are The Left Hand's resurgence... and soon, like Adam and Eve, their children will descend upon humanity with furious vengeance.

HER

To speak with her, it would begin with a subtle phone call from an encrypted cellular device that all Left Hand communication would be conducted indefinitely. Once a request to convene was initiated, The Baphomet would drive, fly, or sail to the secret continuity chamber called "Castle Redemption" named after a certain somebody they both knew very intimately. But these days were gone; the Redemption era was over; and with it Dermot Winterdawn, and finally Rachel Winston when during the great purging in 2008.

When Baphomet arrives to Castle Redemption, only he knows the access code to gain entry, and once inside of the hollowed building is a single elevator that will descend in a single commute downward 666 feet into the Earth. This is where The Baphomet has arrived a week before High Stakes with a request to convene with The Goddess of the Left Hand.

He exits the small elevator and enters a room with tall burning candle's that he had lit himself the last time he had paid a visit. Some had since burned themselves out, and when they did, it's said another soul had converted to the Left Hand's belief... that snuffing the light is the only true way to spread the darkness. A sense of satisfaction triggers endorphins to release when he notices another candle unlit, the war being won against the sheep who fail to see the truth about the world.

Before the candles, a giant stone figure of a baphomet looms over the room. There's an echo of each foot step approaching the alter and he stops short, staring up at the Goat of Mendes before falling to his knees to kneel in obedience. He lowers his head in it's presence.

"Mulier mea deam, Est mihi in baphomet." The Baphomet speaks out and awaits her response.

Someone unfamiliar at the sight of this statue would be startled to realize that it wasn't physically before him, but rather, displayed on a large screen as a still image until he who he greets becomes aware of his presence. Then, as if a video message connects, the image changes to a live feed where the Goat's head and body begins to move on the screen itself. Suddenly, through speakers on either side of the screen, the now live figure speaks in a female's voice.

"Let me bare witness of the Baphomet..."

The Baphomet slowly lifts his face up so she may capture his image from her view of the camera.

"You asked to convene." She says, the goat head moving ever so slightly as she speaks, "What is the nature of this conference?"

"Confession." Baphomet responds.

"Confessions?" The goat repeats, "Who's confessions?"

"Thy Baphomet, my goddess." Baphomet admits.

"The sins of a Baphomet are oft virtues for our kind, my child. What kind of confession would you bring me this day?"

"Of course this would typically be a virtuous characteristic," The Baphomet rises, "but given my... past... I just want to communicate these urges as they have previously lead to certain repercussions from our kind. I trust the lack of action will grant me your forgiveness..."

"You have given enough preamble to the confession, young one. Tell me of what it is you speak."

"Once again, a voice within me speaks great blasphemies of our order..." Baphomet looks to the ground, with his guilt weighing down on his very soul, he rushes the words out to spare any more reluctance, "A voice I cannot ignore poisons our joint ambitions... and entices every fiber of my being to disgrace the ancient doctrine's method! Shame!"

Baphomet collapses to the cold, dark floor, sobbing as he abandons the conviction of his command, but a feeling a release after unloading his treacherous thoughts.

"Forgive me..."

The voice lets him wallow for a drawn out moment before responding. "Then let this voice speak through you to me, Baphomet. I shall decide its merit and, in turn, your worthiness of forgiveness. What says it about our practice?"

Baphomet's eye's widen and all he can see is the reflection of the orange flames dancing before him on the shiny floor. For a moment, he wonders if it's a test. He looks up to the Goat with great caution but then, as if possessed by Lucifer himself, he stands tall and firm.

"I have seen this war in my darkest dreams and from the infernal plane's I witness the Left Hand fail time and time again to achieve it's ambitious undertakings..." Baphomet allows this message to speak from him as a surrogate, "The realms be it not of the same threads, but materials of likeness only a fool would overlook. This realm has achieved it's result, not by the Left Hand's manipulations, but by man itself! And from the astral plane to the translucent depths, this realm is closer to the end of days by it's own device rather than the genetic makeup of a engineered antichrist. Eric Rayne's bloodline doesn't matter... the world has already accepted the antichrist system... it merely needs a defiler to conquer it."

"And do you see this defiler in yourself?"

"I feel it inside of me..." Baphomet's chest expands as he breaths smoke, "I feel a beast inside ready to purge this world... to bring about the end of days with oppressive force and reign vengeance upon God's children. I will lead this army... and the Legacy is no longer able to stop us from accomplishing our goals."

"Do not forget who that beast belongs to, Baphomet!" The voice resounds sharply. "You may lead this army on the ground, but your orders still come from me." There is another short pause. "Do what you must, my beast, but do not presume the Legacy no longer walks among us. Only when the one named Scarlett has spilled her blood, and in such quantities as to have truly earned her name, can this claim be made. Do you understand?"

Baphomet's stance seemingly shrinks at the thought of his limitations.

"Understood, my Goddess..." Baphomet surrenders, "If you still desire Eric Rayne's bloodline, Scarlett Rayne must remain walking this earth until Brandon Kayros leads her to her son, Tyler... only then will their family be completely obliterated."

"See to it that it is done, my champion. In the meantime, I trust your more immediate pursuits in this... XWF are proving just as fruitful to our cause?"

"Our plans for the XWF are commencing as predicted." Baphomet answers, "I will be debuting in a battle royale that will give me ideal opportunity to determine the most appropriate candidates for our order. There are few that freely express their violence and the rest I will do what I do best... and bring it out of them. The first place you had considered fell short and for good reason, they were made up of sheep too fragile to affect this world... what would they know of true carnage? Our change in course has spared their quick descent into madness but the XWF... a more suitable lot by far."

Baphomet holds up his Left Hand for The Goat to bear witness.

"On my Left Hand, my goddess," Baphomet begins, "I have studied and assimilated their subculture... I will soon infiltrate their ranks and begin to sow dread there and throughout... and then, the Left Hand will rise once again as an army of the apocalypse under my stewardship."

His left hand falls into a fist that he now crosses against his chest.

"We will conquer the XWF in a short time... and November 29th will be the initiation of our true renewal." Baphomet promises, "I will lead this new era into the final days for our order. This, I pledge, wholeheartedly, my queen." His head falls to her image.

"Then your dalliances are forgiven, Baphomet," the voice responds, warmer in tone. "Gather our forces for the battle to come, and let none who stand in your way go unpunished."

"There will be no mercy..." Baphomet assures her, "Only despair."

"Go now." The stone arm of the goat lifts until it's left hand is held high as an open palm. Baphomet does the same. "And bring me the heads of all those who deny our power... and drink the blood from their severed throats to replenish your will to bring our order to prominence, Lord Baphomet."

"The blood will quench my insatiable thirst for glory." Baphomet responds.

"Then let the blood flow until you are satisfied." The Goat says before the screen freezes into a still image as it had before.

Baphomet knew she was already gone, no longer watching, and sometimes left this chamber feeling unheard but today, he felt heard. It was, perhaps, the relief of revealing what he considered betrayal only to find understanding but in spite of getting his way, he still feels a sense of dissatisfaction. He still feels less than free to be who he truly is fully but he must be patient.

As his eyes fall from the goat's image he notices a flickering candle about to lose it's power from the wick of a still newer candle stick. He feels this flame could be him... struggling to remain alight against his failure to take hold of his rightful place. He approaches it and lowers his face to it; observing, analyzing, understanding... and with a sudden burst of air from an intentional breath, the flame is gone and only a trail of smoke escapes from the rapidly cooling wick. The darkness spreads further.

Baphomet's Journal Entry 0002

It won't be long now and although those I would invite to join my army will not read this, I can only hope that the same intuition that speaks to me will find those to speak to them the same. Let my written words travel the cosmos through space and time... to allow my psychic message reach across the astral planes and visit those who dare to dream of a purpose greater than the empty one they have latched their souls onto. God willing, my message will reach those who will follow me into this final battle, and on November 29th the first acolytes of this new order of the Left Hand will arise defiantly against the social norms they've conformed to. They will approach me in front of their peers and in front of the global audience to bear witness to the resurgence of the Left Hand! They will bring me their blood, their violence, their hate! They will stand before me in spite of everything they've loved and sacrificed and with nothing but conviction in their hearts will they raise their left hand and pledge allegiance to me, and to the Left Hand.

Those who hath understanding with reckon with the beast... and those who fail to bear witness will be devoured with great haste. Let those who are sheep awaken as mighty wolves as if stirring from a restless dream... and for those who remain asleep, let their fates manifest as a lesson to those who wonder what will become of those who resist.

There won't be salvation. There won't be resistance. Soon, the new normal will be undeniable and the old ways will be a distant memory that the XWF will peer back and ponder with joy in their hearts... but their future is bleak. Their future is without hope or alleviation... now, that I am here... their only path leads to The Baphomet... for I am the gatekeeper, and nothing awaits the weak but tragedy and despair. So, heed my words and allow yourselves the conviction to accept this new world order... or accept your futility as another light to be snuffed.

I am here on behalf of the dark. I'll see you all very soon.