It’s too late to apologize. The ritual is already underway.

It will not take long. The ritual never does.

What should have ended here never did.

The ceremony continues, though no one remembers why.

The ruins do not ask for faith. They ask for repetition.

Push through silent devotion and carry the offering onward.

Carry the offering. Ignore the silence.

An offering must be made. The ruins remember how.

Do not ask what waits below.

Something beneath the ruins is still waiting for an answer.