BACK TO GOLGOTHA
Chapter Sixty-Two: The Standard of Worth
The distortions did not disappear.
They multiplied.
What had begun as faint ripples across Ikare had now spread into thin fractures—barely visible lines that shimmered in the air like cracks in glass. They hovered above streets, near rooftops, across doorways… everywhere.
Watching.
Measuring.
Deciding.
Stephen Dagunduro stood at the center of the town once more, his eyes moving slowly from one distortion to another. The Veil within him pulsed in quiet awareness, no longer reacting with urgency, but observing—learning how to exist within a world that was no longer stable.
Favour stood beside him, her voice tight with restrained fear.
"They're increasing."
Stephen nodded.
"Yes."
Her grip tightened around her Bible.
"They're not attacking… but they're not stopping either."
Stephen's gaze hardened.
"Because this isn't an attack."
He looked at her.
"It's a process."
The Process Begins
A low hum filled the air.
Not loud.
Not overwhelming.
But constant.
Like a frequency that had always been there… but only now becoming audible.
The people of Ikare felt it.
Some covered their ears instinctively.
Others dropped to their knees.
Children began to cry softly, not from pain—but from something deeper they could not explain.
Stephen felt it too.
But for him…
It translated.
The Veil pulsed.
And the hum became meaning.
The Declaration
The air bent slightly.
And then—
A voice spoke.
Not from one place.
Not from one being.
But from everywhere.
"Evaluation Phase: Initiated."
Favour gasped.
Stephen's expression remained still.
But inside—
Everything tightened.
The voice continued.
"All structures, entities, and influences will be measured against the Standard."
The distortions flickered.
Brighter now.
More defined.
Favour's voice trembled.
"Standard… of what?"
Stephen answered quietly.
"Worth."
The First Measurement
A man stepped forward from the crowd.
Slowly.
As if pulled.
Stephen recognized him—one of the traders who had survived the earlier attacks.
His face was pale.
His eyes distant.
"I hear it…" the man whispered.
Favour stepped forward.
"Come back—don't—"
But Stephen raised a hand.
"Wait."
The distortion nearest the man brightened.
Then—
It expanded.
Just slightly.
Enough to envelop him.
The air around him shimmered violently.
Stephen's fists clenched.
"Stay focused," he muttered.
The man's body trembled.
His voice broke.
"I… I don't want to disappear…"
The Veil pulsed sharply.
Reacting.
Stephen stepped forward.
"You won't."
But even as he spoke—
He wasn't sure.
The Weighing
The distortion intensified.
Light—strange, colorless light—wrapped around the man.
Not warm.
Not cold.
Just… absolute.
The voice returned.
"Subject: Incomplete."
Favour gasped.
"What does that mean?!"
Stephen didn't answer.
Because the next moment—
The man screamed.
Not from pain.
From realization.
His body flickered.
Fragments of him—memories, emotions, moments—seemed to peel away, rising into the distortion like smoke being drawn upward.
Stephen felt it through the Veil.
The extraction.
Not of life.
But of essence.
The man collapsed.
Breathing.
Alive.
But—
Hollow.
The Aftermath of Judgment
Favour rushed to him.
"Sir! Can you hear me?!"
The man looked up slowly.
His eyes were empty.
Not lifeless.
But stripped.
"I… feel nothing…" he whispered.
Stephen's chest tightened.
"They didn't remove him."
Favour looked at him, horrified.
"Then what did they do?!"
Stephen's voice dropped.
"They removed what they deemed unnecessary."
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Terrifying.
The Standard Revealed
The voice spoke again.
Clearer this time.
Closer.
"Deviation from Standard will be corrected."
The distortions pulsed in unison.
Stephen stepped forward.
"Who defines the Standard?"
For a moment—
Nothing.
Then—
"The Standard is absolute."
Stephen's eyes narrowed.
"That's not an answer."
The air shifted.
And one of the entities from before—
The faceless one—
Reappeared.
Standing before him.
Silent.
Unmoving.
Confrontation
Favour stepped back instinctively.
Stephen didn't move.
The entity tilted its head.
"The Standard is not defined."
A pause.
Then—
"It is."
Stephen felt the weight of that statement.
Not created.
Not chosen.
But inherent.
Unchanging.
Unquestionable.
"That means nothing without context," Stephen said firmly.
The entity remained still.
Then responded:
"Context is irrelevant."
The Veil pulsed sharply.
This—
Was a problem.
The Challenge
Stephen stepped closer.
"If your Standard removes what makes people human…"
His voice hardened.
"Then your Standard is flawed."
For the first time—
The entity reacted.
Not physically.
But perceptibly.
A shift.
A pause.
"Flaw does not exist within the Standard."
Stephen's jaw tightened.
"It does if it destroys what it measures."
The distortion behind the entity flared slightly.
Favour whispered,
"Stephen… be careful…"
But Stephen didn't step back.
He couldn't.
Not now.
The Line Drawn
The entity spoke again.
"You challenge the Standard."
Stephen nodded.
"Yes."
A long pause.
Then—
"Demonstrate correction."
The words landed heavily.
Favour's eyes widened.
"What does that mean?"
Stephen exhaled slowly.
"It means…"
He looked at the man on the ground.
"…they want me to prove a better alternative."
The Keeper's Response
Stephen stepped toward the man.
The Veil pulsed.
Softly.
Steadily.
He knelt beside him.
"You're still here," Stephen said quietly.
The man's empty eyes shifted slightly.
"I don't feel… anything…"
Stephen nodded.
"I know."
He placed his hand on the man's shoulder.
The Veil responded instantly.
Not violently.
Not forcefully.
But gently.
It spread.
Not as power.
But as presence.
As something…
Restorative.
The First Restoration
The air shifted.
The distortions flickered.
The entity watched closely.
Stephen closed his eyes.
"Lord… what they have taken…"
His voice steadied.
"…restore."
The Veil pulsed deeper.
Something moved.
Not within the Gate.
Not within the distortions.
But within the man.
A flicker.
Faint.
Fragile.
But real.
The man gasped.
His chest heaved.
"I… I feel…"
Tears formed in his eyes.
"…something…"
Favour's breath caught.
"It's working…"
The entity remained still.
But the distortion behind it flickered more intensely.
The Response
The voice returned.
"Partial restoration detected."
Stephen opened his eyes.
"That's enough."
The voice paused.
Then—
"Insufficient."
The Veil pulsed sharply.
Stephen's expression hardened.
"It's human."
The entity tilted its head.
"Humanity is not the Standard."
Stephen stood.
"Then your Standard is incomplete."
The Escalation
The distortions flared.
All of them.
Across the town.
Simultaneously.
The pressure returned.
Stronger.
Heavier.
Favour staggered slightly.
"Stephen—!"
The voice echoed louder.
"Reevaluation required."
The sky above darkened further.
The spiral tightened.
The Gate pulsed violently beneath the earth.
Everything—
Was accelerating.
The Real War Revealed
Stephen looked up.
His eyes steady.
His voice quiet.
"This isn't just about survival anymore."
Favour looked at him.
"What is it about?"
Stephen's answer came without hesitation.
"Definition."
The wind roared suddenly.
The distortions spread.
The entity remained.
Watching.
Waiting.
Judging.
And Stephen realized—
This war would not be won by strength.
Or endurance.
Or even sacrifice.
It would be won by proving something far more difficult.
What it means to be worth saving.
"The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him."
— Lamentations 3:25