The Weight of Those Who Doubt

Chapter 2: "The Weight of Those Who Doubt"

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[Scene 1 – Tyberion Institute, Philosophy Classroom, 08:12 a.m.]
(Interior. A wide but gloomy classroom. The neon lights flicker faintly. The walls are a dull gray. Old posters of Greek philosophers hang torn on the walls. The air feels heavy, as if even the dust is listening.)
Professor Darien (voice-over):"And thus, polytheistic cultures were slowly replaced by monotheistic religions.Power was no longer in many... but in one. One who sees everything, judges everything, promises everything."
(24 students. Some with their heads resting on their desks. Others scroll through their phones under the table. Only Kael, in the second-to-last row, sits upright. The light falling on him seems dimmer, as if the world itself avoids him.)
Kael's Narration (first person):"Promises everything, demands everything... but who verifies it?""That's the problem with modern gods. They're no longer feared like lightning. They're feared like judgment."
(The camera lowers. On his notebook, in the middle of a blank page, a single phrase in black ink, straight and untarnished:"Truth ≠ Faith")

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[Scene 2 – School Hallway, Break Time]
(A long hallway, lit by tall windows. Students walk like shadows between worn metal lockers. The echo of their footsteps is louder than their voices.)
Gossipy Girl:"Did you hear? In the north, a statue of Amun-Ra cried blood. It was on the news last night."
Skeptical Boy:"Pfft, probably a trick or chemical stuff."
Gossipy Girl:"No. They say a kid with epilepsy touched it… and now he speaks Sanskrit. He’d never even heard it before."
(Kael walks past them, books under his arm. He doesn’t stop. The camera follows him from behind, the whispers fading with his steps.)
Kael's Narration:"First fire. Now, ancient miracles.""The world is losing its neutrality."

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[Scene 2.5 – Ethics Classroom, Unplanned Debate]
(A smaller room, with chairs arranged in a semicircle. A sign reads “Religious Debate Club – Optional Activity.” About 8 students. Kael sits in the corner, silent, until one phrase triggers him.)
Fanatic Student (firm voice):"The existence of so many false gods doesn’t make the true one any less real.God doesn’t need proof. Faith is the proof."
Kael (calm but sharp):"What if your faith is just an inherited echo?Faith without questioning isn’t strength… it’s soulless tradition."
Student:"So what do you suggest? Doubt everything?"
Kael:"Doubt doesn’t destroy truth.It separates it from fear."
(Silence. The moderator tries to intervene, but no one speaks.)
Kael (finishing):"If your god is offended by a question…then your god fears the answer."
(The camera focuses on the moderator. A bead of sweat slides down his temple. No one laughs. No one speaks. Kael gets up and leaves.)

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[Scene 3 – Convent Library, 5:44 p.m.]
(The place seems frozen in time. Tall, crooked shelves made of creaky wood. Dust falls like snow when Kael runs his hand over the books. The air smells of old paper, ancient incense... and something else. Something metallic.)
(Kael flips through thick tomes. He’s not doing homework. He’s searching for patterns. Diagrams. Symbols matching the language he’s started to see.)
(His fingers stop on an illustration:A circle divided into seven parts, each bearing an arcane symbol.Below, in old Gothic script:"The balance was fractured.")
Kael’s Narration:"I’ve seen it. That symbol was in my vision.""The circle with seven seals. If this is from the Codex… then it’s not new. It’s a cycle."

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[Scene 4 – Kael’s Room, Dusk]
(Square room. Austerely furnished. Books organized by theme:Philosophy, Psychology, Comparative Mythology, Theology, Atheism, Gnosticism.)
(The warm light from his desk contrasts with the creeping darkness on the walls. The outside world is already invisible; only his reflection remains in the glass.)
(Kael sits upright, eyes fixed on the void. His pen spins between his fingers, unwriting.)
Kael’s Narration:"When I questioned my first teacher, I was hit.""When I questioned my family, I was cast out.""Now I question the world… and the world has started to respond."
(The camera focuses on the window. Steam begins to form. A symbol appears, drawn by an invisible finger: the circle of seven.)
Kael (quietly):"You again…"

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[Scene 5 – Underground Metro Platform, 7:20 p.m.]
(Kael walks on a deserted platform. A train has just left. On old screen pillars, blurry news broadcasts play.)
Newscaster:"...local authorities remain without explanation for the sudden collapse of San Talem Church.""Witnesses say they heard a 'non-human' voice before the fall.""On the altar, a phrase burned into stone: 'The balance has been touched.'"
Kael’s Narration:"First, my certainties broke.""Now, the temples are breaking too."

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[Scene 6 – Kael’s Room, Late Night]
(He returns. Everything is silent. But his notebook is no longer blank. The symbol has appeared again—perfect, black, fresh.)
(A voice is heard. Not from outside. It’s internal. Ancient. Without gender or language. It speaks through what Kael already understands.)
Voice (whisper):"Seven marks.""Seven chosen.""One who does not believe. One who can see.""Balance does not wish to be restored… it wishes to be ruled."
Kael (low voice):"What if I don’t want to play?"
Voice:"You already did… by doubting."

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Codex Gnosis Dei – Fragment II
"Pure faith can move mountains.But pure doubt can bring down heavens."
"Balance is not kept by devotion,but by knowledge.He who ignores, serves.He who doubts… disturbs."