The first thing Gabriel noticed was the silence.

A hollow, unnatural absence of sound that pressed against his eardrums like a weight.

The chanting had stopped.

The wind outside had died.

Even the distant caws of carrion birds had vanished.

Something else had answered the call.

Something that did not belong in the realm of the living.

The stone beneath his hands pulsed, wet and warm.

Gabriel pulled back sharply his palms were stained red.

Not dust.

Not remnants of the ritual.

But blood.

The monastery shuddered, the walls exhaling a slow, death-rattled breath.

Cracks spiderwebbed across the towering archways, the once-holy murals now dripping crimson.

A deep groan rippled through the ruins, as if the foundation itself was shifting, realigning, waking.

And then

The first scream.

A priest stumbled back, hands clawing at his face. His hood fell, revealing empty eye sockets weeping black sludge.

He shrieked, a raw, animalistic sound that sent chills skittering across Gabriel’s spine.

The other priests turned sharply, confusion turning to horror.

More screams erupted 

Something was rising.

Something the Vatican had buried and forgotten.

Until now.

 

The Brotherhood’s Panic

 

"What have you done?" One of the priests snarled, whirling toward Gabriel, terror twisting his features.

Gabriel, still kneeling, still catching his breath, only let out a breathless chuckle.

"You tell me."

The Brotherhood scrambled back, their composure fracturing.

This was not the erasure they had planned.

This was not what their scriptures had prepared them for.

The monastery shook again, the walls splitting, stone raining down in fractured chunks.

Something moved in the darkness beyond the sigil.

A presence,  beneath the surface like a beast finally given breath.

The torches guttered and died.

For the first time since the ritual began

 

The Brotherhood prayed.

 

The Rising Horror

 

The first figure emerged from the fissure.

Not a demon.

Not something of flesh.

Something hollow.

Its body was twisted, wrong half-formed, like something trying to remember how to take shape. Its face was a stretched mockery of human features, skin peeling, eyes like blackened pits.

It moved with an unnatural grace, bones bending in ways that should have shattered.

Then, it spoke.

Not in a single voice.

But in hundreds.

"You were warned."

The Brotherhood stumbled back.

The first of them collapsed, clawing at his own throat, choking on nothing.

Gabriel watched, pulse hammering, as the figure stepped over the fallen priest without acknowledgment.

Then, its head tilted toward him.

And it smiled.

Not at the Brotherhood.

Not at the failing priests.

At him.

"We have been waiting for you, Gabriel."

The fissure behind it widened.

And more figures began to crawl through.

 

The Vatican’s Plan Collapses

 

"We have to contain it!" One of the priests shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of terror.

A figure lurched from the darkness, its skeletal fingers curling around his throat.

The priest barely had time to gasp before his body collapsed in on itself, skin withering like dried parchment.

The Brotherhood broke.

The ritual was forgotten.

The order, the hierarchy, the faith all of it unraveled in the face of something beyond their comprehension.

Gabriel felt the shackles snap away from his wrists, the metal peeling like rusted paper.

He stood.

For the first time since being dragged from the Vatican’s halls

He was free.

The figures continued their slow emergence, crawling from the cracked foundations of the monastery like something returning home.

Gabriel met their gaze, his breathing steady, his fingers deep in his fists.

The Vatican had sent him here to be erased.

Instead

They had unleashed something they could never put back.

And now

It was his move.

A sound slithered from the distance.

At first, it was no more than a tremor a whisper threading through the skeletal trees. But then, it swelled, a furious rattling, like bones grinding in the belly of the earth.

Something was coming.

Gabriel barely had time to react before the force crashed through the forest.

Branches snapped, trees groaned, and something huge and relentless tore through the undergrowth, rushing toward them with the gnarled snarl of a starving beast.

It carried the weight of something feral, ancient, hungry.

And it was not alone.

The ground split open near the sigil’s remains, coughing up a tide of bodies not living, not dead, but trapped in the grotesque limbo between.

 

 

Figures dragged themselves from the abyss, emerging in broken, unnatural movements.

Some were skeleton-thin, their flesh hanging in shreds, half-dissolved by time.

Others had no skin at all, their exposed muscles twitching as though flayed alive.

One crawled forward on inverted limbs, its spine arching so that its stomach faced the sky, yet its head snapped toward them with glassy, lidless eyes.

Another stood tall, its skull split in two like a halved fruit, leaking thick black rot down its chest.

And they were not mindless.

They knew who they had come for.

They knew Gabriel’s name.

A voice wept from the darkness.

"You let me die, Gabriel."

The sound was wrong.

Soft. Sweet. A child’s voice.

Gabriel’s breath caught. His vision tilted, memories slamming against his skull like a hammer.

A girl’s body, limp in his arms.

Her face frozen in fear.

His exorcism had failed.

And now her laughter echoed all around him, bubbling with something hollow, something no longer human.

A hand brushed his shoulder.

He  whipped around but nothing was there.

"You should have saved me."

Then, the first soldier died.

 

 

A Vatican knight let out a strangled scream as something unseen ripped into him, peeling flesh from his ribs like damp paper.

Another soldier staggered backward, his eyes rolling, his mouth stretching wider and wider—until his jaw unhinged with a wet crack and he collapsed in spasms.

The Brotherhood fled.

The guards dropped their weapons.

Even the High Inquisitor, the man who had sentenced Gabriel to this place, stepped away, clutching his rosary in shaking hands.

"Contain it!" one of the priests shrieked.

But the darkness did not belong to them anymore.

Because Malphas had arrived.

 

 

 

Between the Vatican’s forces and the horrors rising from the pit, a shape emerged.

It was not like the others.

Where they were grotesque, it was fluid.

Where they were twisted, it was perfect.

A tall, shifting mass of shadow and ink, wrapped in something that mimicked human form but never fully committed.

Eyes like black voids deep enough to fall into.

It did not move.

It simply was.

The creatures lurched back from Gabriel as Malphas raised a single hand.

The meaning was clear.

"Not yet."

These horrors had not come to destroy Gabriel.

Because Gabriel belonged to Malphas.

And Malphas had waited too long to lose him now.

The child’s laughter rose again, high and eerie.

"You can't run from me, Gabriel."

And the darkness poured forward.

 

 

Gabriel staggered back, his head pounding. The sigils carved into the stone were failing, their inscriptions dissolving under the weight of the abyss.

The Church had planned to erase him.

Instead, they had fed him to the dark.

His hand  slipped into his pocket his fingers closing around cold glass.

His pulse slowed.

Holy water.

A single, consecrated vial.

It was not much.

But it was enough.

Gabriel ripped the bottle free, tearing a strip from the robes of a fallen Brotherhood member. He drenched the cloth in holy water, wrapping it tight around his bruised fist.

The moment the damp fabric met his skin, it began to glow.

Symbols flared to life ancient runes, sigils of defiance, each one burning against his flesh.

Gabriel raised his fist, and the words came.

Latin, old and commanding. Not a plea. Not a prayer.

A command.

"Fiat lux. Fiat iudicium. Fiat exilium."

(Let there be light. Let there be judgment. Let there be exile.)

The .symbols surged outward a brilliant, searing flare of golden fire, bursting from his knuckles like the dying breath of a star.

The first spear of light ripped through the dark.

The second tore through the crawling horrors.

The third drove straight through Malphas' form piercing the abyss itself.

The darkness screamed.

Malphas lurched back, his form unraveling, his grip on the creatures below him severed.

The ground shook violently, the ruins collapsing inward as if trying to consume what had been unleashed.

The child’s laughter cut off.

The horrors staggered, breaking apart into dust.

Malphas’ form began to collapse folding into itself, retreating into the void.

And then

 

Everything was gone.

 

Silence crashed into the ruins like a tidal wave.

The monks who had not been slaughtered lay trembling, their robes drenched in sweat and filth.

The soldiers who had survived stood wide-eyed, their weapons forgotten at their feet.

The Brotherhood was broken.

And Gabriel Gabriel was still standing.

The sigils on his hand dimmed.

The vial of holy water lay shattered on the stone.

He was alive.

But he had not won.

Because Malphas had not died.

He had simply let go.

For now.

The Horror They Couldn’t Contain

 

Silence hung over the ruins of Saint Aurelian Monastery.

But it was not peace.

It was the silence of men standing on the edge of their own mortality, their minds failing to comprehend what had just transpired.

The air reeked of blood and death.

Flesh human flesh was strewn across the dusty stone, some pieces so horribly twisted and flayed they barely resembled the bodies they had once belonged to.

The walls of the cathedral were painted in arterial sprays, sacred murals now defiled with the torn remnants of those who had perished.

A priest let out a broken gasp as he stumbled back, his foot brushing against something soft a severed hand, its fingers still twitching.

A soldier dropped to his knees, muttering desperate prayers, his voice trembling.

"Sancta Maria… ora pro nobis…"

His words shook.

Because they all knew no prayer had saved them tonight.

They had called upon God.

But only Gabriel Cross had answered.

 

The Vatican’s Reckoning

 

The High Inquisitor stood rigid, his hands white-knuckled around his rosary, his once-commanding voice stolen by horror.

He had ordered Gabriel’s erasure.

Had sentenced him to death.

Had called him a heretic, an abomination.

And yet, when the darkness came Gabriel had stood where they could not.

The High Inquisitor’s lips parted, but no words came. His eyes swept over the ruins, the carnage, the undeniable proof of their own weakness.

He turned to Gabriel the man they had chained, beaten, and condemned.

The man who still stood.

Still breathing.

Still alive.

"We… we were wrong."

The confession escaped him like shattered glass, brittle and broken.

Gasps rippled through the clergy.

A Vatican priest an Inquisitor had never spoken those words before.

And yet, here they were.

Admitting defeat before the very man they had tried to erase.

 

Fear Becomes Faith

 

The surviving soldiers slowly stepped forward.

Not to seize Gabriel.

Not to restrain him.

But to stand behind him.

For the first time, their weapons were lowered, not as a sign of surrender but as a choice.

Because Gabriel had fought, and they had failed.

And now, there was no denying it Malphas was beyond them.

Gabriel Cross was the only man who had faced the abyss and walked away.

The Vatican no longer held authority here.

It was Gabriel’s war now.

"You stood against him," the High Inquisitor whispered, voice hollow.

Gabriel wiped the blood from his lips and smirked, but there was no humor in it.

"You were supposed to."

The Inquisitor swallowed, voice shaking.

"And now…?"

Gabriel rolled his shoulders, the weight of what was coming settling into his bones.

"Now, we do what should have been done long ago."

He turned toward the broken monastery, toward the war that was only beginning.

"We hunt a demon."

And this time the Church followed him.

 

A March into the Unknown

 

 

The Vatican's forces moved like men walking through the wreckage of their own faith.

They followed Gabriel not as leaders, but as those who had no other choice.

Some still trembled, gripping their rosaries like lifelines. Others stared at the blood-soaked ruins behind them, haunted by what they had seen.

Gabriel felt their gazes.

Not with hatred.

Not with trust.

But with fear.

They had once called him a heretic.

Now, they clung to him as their only salvation.

The irony was almost laughable.

But there was no time for laughter.

Because Malphas was still out there.

And the hunt had begun.

 

The Brotherhood’s Secrets

As they traveled from the ruins, the High Inquisitor walked beside Gabriel, his voice heavy with reluctant respect.

"Malphas should not have been able to walk this world so freely."

Gabriel kept his eyes ahead. "He’s been preparing for this moment longer than any of us realize."

The Inquisitor hesitated.

Then, he spoke the words Gabriel had long suspected.

"There is something we did not tell you."

Gabriel’s steps slowed.

The Inquisitor exhaled. "Malphas was never a demon that simply existed in Hell."

His voice dropped lower, as if afraid of the words themselves.

"He was invited here."

Gabriel’s spine stiffened.

"By whom?"

The Inquisitor swallowed hard.

"By the Church."

Silence.

The soldiers around them stopped, tension rippling through the ranks.

Gabriel turned slowly.

"Explain."

The Inquisitor looked away, shame pooling in his features.

"A long time ago, before the Vatican understood the nature of true evil, we sought to bind demons instead of banish them."

"We thought we could control them. Use them as weapons against greater threats."

Gabriel’s hands curled into fists.

"You let him in."

The Inquisitor nodded, his face pale.

"And now, he is coming for what was promised."

 

The Unfinished Ritual

 

Gabriel’s pulse hammered.

"If he was invited, then there must have been a binding ritual."

The Inquisitor’s jaw tightened.

"Yes."

"Where?"

The Inquisitor exhaled.

"The ruins beneath Saint Lazarus Cathedral. A place even we abandoned long ago."

Gabriel’s breath came slow.

"Then that’s where we go."

 

The wind howled through the trees as they moved.

The Vatican forces followed behind Gabriel, no longer as captors, but as soldiers in a war they barely understood.

Their faith had been broken.

And now, they clung to the one thing still standing in the storm.

Gabriel Cross.

The heretic.

The damned priest.

The only one left who knew how to fight.

 

How to Apply for a Harvard Law School Scholarship

This practical, research-driven guide shows you how to pursue scholarship and financial aid at Harvard Law School (HLS). It covers program differences (J.D., LL.M., S.J.D.), step-by-step application instructions, required documents, timing, appeal wording for special circumstances, recommended external funding sources by region, and a printable checklist. All critical claims link to official HLS pages or well-known sources so you can verify details.

Quick truths to start with

• Harvard Law’s J.D. institutional awards are primarily need-based. HLS does not run general merit scholarships for J.D. students. See HLS Financial Aid overview for current policy. HLS Financial Aid.
• LL.M. and S.J.D. applicants are considered for Harvard and program-specific grants; many LL.M. awards depend on demonstrated financial need or program funds. LL.M. tuition & aid.
• Harvard offers generous public-interest supports (summer grants, LRAP) that greatly reduce the long-term cost of attending for public service careers. SPIF and LRAP.

Step 1 — Identify your program and funding rules

Start by confirming whether you are applying to J.D., LL.M., or S.J.D. Funding rules differ:

• J.D. — Institutional grants are based on need. You must file financial documentation; merit-based J.D. scholarships are not standard practice at HLS. HLS Financial Aid.
• LL.M. — Grants and named scholarships are available through the Graduate Program; some awards are large but competitive and often tied to demonstrated need or country-specific funds. LL.M. Financial Aid.
• S.J.D. — Funding often depends on faculty sponsorship, fellowships and research grants; consult the Graduate Program office early. HLS Graduate Program.

Step 2 — Get admitted, then begin the aid process

Harvard generally requires admission before internal institutional aid can be awarded. That means:

1. Submit your application and secure an offer of admission.
2. After admission, follow the HLS Student Financial Services (SFS) instructions to complete financial aid application forms and upload required documentation. Application Overview.

Step 3 — Forms and documents you will need

Gather these common items in advance so you can upload them quickly once admitted:

• Recent tax returns and W-2s or international equivalent
• Bank statements and records of assets
• Household information (number in household, number in college)
• Documentation of special expenses (medical bills, eldercare, legal obligations)
• FAFSA for U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens (filed Oct 1 for the upcoming year) or alternative forms for international applicants as instructed by HLS. FAFSA.

Step 4 — How Harvard calculates need

Harvard calculates demonstrated need based on household income, assets, number in college and reasonable living expenses. The HLS SFS office uses detailed formulas and requires supporting documentation; accuracy and completeness speed up decisions. Read HLS’s policy on Determination of Financial Need. How need is determined.

Step 5 — Spell out your timeline and act early

Timing matters. After admission:

1. Check the financial aid deadlines included in your offer letter or the SFS application overview.
2. File the FAFSA (U.S. applicants) and any school-specific forms immediately when they open.
3. Submit complete documentation as early as possible. Institutional funds are finite and processing takes time.

Step 6 — Types of Harvard support and related programs

Think beyond a single "scholarship". HLS resources include:

• Need-based grants for tuition and living expenses.
• Federal student loans and campus employment for U.S. students.
• Summer Public Interest Funding (SPIF) that pays for unpaid public interest internships. SPIF.
• Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) to ease repayments for public interest careers. LRAP.
• Program-specific or named fellowships for LL.M. / S.J.D. students and enrolled students pursuing research abroad. International fellowships.

Step 7 — Apply for external scholarships in parallel

Many students combine Harvard grants with external awards. External funding reduces the amount Harvard must cover and improves your financial position. Common external sources include:

Region / Country	Examples of external scholarships	Notes
United States	Fulbright, private foundations, employer sponsorships	Apply early; many programs require admission first. Fulbright US.
UK & Commonwealth	Frank Knox, national scholarships, Chevening (where applicable)	Check country portals and deadlines; some awards require prior nomination.
India & South Asia	Government scholarships, Aga Khan Foundation, Fulbright	Often require official sponsorship letters from ministries or institutions.
Latin America	LASPAU, national ministries of education	LASPAU partners on exchange funding and fellowship opportunities. LASPAU.
Europe	Country foundations, Erasmus Mundus (for certain joint programs)	Foundation rules vary; some target specific fields such as human rights or public policy.

Harvard publishes a helpful PDF of outside funding sources that lists many national and international fellowships; check that list in the HLS Graduate Program resources. Outside Funding Sources (HLS).

Step 8 — What to do if the offer you receive is not enough (appeals)

If your financial circumstances change or the award does not reflect your needs, HLS allows appeals and budget adjustments. Use the official appeals route and provide documentation. Below is a practical template you can adapt.

Sample special circumstances appeal (copy and adapt)

Subject: Appeal for Reconsideration of Financial Aid Offer

Dear Student Financial Services,

I am [Full Name], accepted to the [Program, e.g., LL.M.] starting [Term]. I am grateful for the offer, but I respectfully request reconsideration of my financial aid package due to a significant change in family income. Since submitting my application, [briefly describe event: job loss, major medical expense, divorce, etc.].

I have attached supporting documents: [termination letter, medical bills, updated tax returns]. This change reduces my family's ability to contribute and creates a substantial funding gap for my attendance at HLS. I request a reevaluation under Harvard’s financial aid appeal policy and would be happy to provide further information.

Thank you for considering my request. Sincerely, [Your name, Application ID]

HLS appeal policies and guidance: Appeals & budget adjustments.

Step 9 — Practical tricks and evidence-based tips that help

• Be document-ready: Scan and label PDFs clearly (e.g., Parent_2023_Tax_Return.pdf). HLS processes complete packages much faster.
• Write a one-page cover note: Summarize extraordinary circumstances at the top of your appeal package for quick reviewer context.
• Apply external scholarships early: Some awards require you to show an HLS offer; others want pre-acceptance applications—check each funder’s rules.
• Use SPIF strategically: If you plan unpaid public interest work, documented plans for internships or placements can unlock summer funding that offsets living expenses.
• Compare net costs: When evaluating offers, compute net cost = tuition + living - scholarships/grants. Net cost matters more than sticker price.

Printable one-page checklist (copy, print, use)

1. Get admitted to HLS	[ ]
2. Read the HLS Financial Aid Application Overview	[ ]
3. File FAFSA (US applicants) or prepare international docs	[ ]
4. Gather tax returns, bank statements, household info	[ ]
5. Apply to external scholarships & fellowships	[ ]
6. Submit SFS forms promptly after admission	[ ]
7. Prepare appeal statement & docs (if needed)	[ ]
8. Apply for SPIF / LRAP / program-specific fellowships	[ ]

Final notes and common mistakes to avoid

• Do not assume merit scholarships will be available for J.D. candidates; Harvard focuses on need-based grants. If you expect merit support, plan with external awards in mind.
• Missing documents slows processing. Complete sets move faster through HLS SFS.
• File FAFSA on time if you are eligible; many federal and some institutional processes depend on it.
• Keep all correspondence and submission confirmations as proof of filing and deadlines met.

Key official links — start here

• Harvard Law School — Financial Aid overview
• Financial Aid Application Overview
• LL.M. tuition and financial aid
• Summer Public Interest Funding (SPIF)
• Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP)
• HLS Outside Funding Sources (PDF)
• Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

This guide synthesises HLS official pages, Harvard Graduate Program resources, and commonly used external scholarship sources. Policies, deadlines and funding pools change from year to year: always verify exact dates and requirements on the official HLS pages and with Harvard Student Financial Services before you submit applications.