"The stars dimmed, death drew near, and all organic life would return to Nihility..."
"Offer your devout faith to Chernobog, the Dark God. When the world returned to darkness, we would gain New Life within His body..."
"No longer would we rely on the fragile sun or need warmth to protect us. Behold! My achievements in battle today had already let me shed my ruined body and gain New Life!"
A middle-aged man in black robes, with insect mouthparts growing from his lower jaw, stood before a discarded human husk that looked almost exactly like him. He preached himself hoarse, as though this were some evil cult's recruitment pitch.
He had short brown hair, a scruffy beard, and a square face. The only differences were his serrated, insectlike mouthparts and the huge gash splitting the human corpse down the middle.
A dense crowd stood around the edge of the square, leaving the center empty. The sky was gray and dim, as though night had only just fallen, with a trace of light lingering on the horizon.
The buildings around the square looked like modern and medieval architecture stitched together. Steel structures stood alongside timber-and-stone lofts.
On a wooden Execution Platform, four hemp ropes hung above the heads of two men and two women. Some transparent crystal bound their hands behind their backs as they stood beneath the gallows.
"When we surrounded the heretics from beyond the heavens, the Underworld Guards captured experimental creations from Perun's own bloodline!"
"Those filthy, despicable false gods enslaved us when they ruled the land. Even now, they sought to destroy the dark home we were building and deny us the hope of survival in Chernobog's fertile soil!"
The black-robed, insect-mouthed man preached tirelessly. Cries for the execution gradually rose around him, and the onlookers' eyes