Faith

"I will not deny... I will not deny... I will not deny..."

He sat with his eyes closed, legs crossed, and palms together. The room sat barren around him, its cold walls lifting higher than the light of the candle could penetrate. Something about the darkness of the corners gave the sense of infinity within the enclosed space. The chanting continued.

"I know the truth... I know the truth... I know the truth..."

The nameless, robed in a fraying grey suit, remained motionless in the center of the room: arms before him in a closed oval, knees hovering next to the candle whose body never changed or dripped, face as serene as the limitless ceiling. His demeanor, aside from the persistence of his sayings, emitted power of sorts. Yet, the power was hampered by his will, clung near his body only and wound tightly to a specific purpose.

"There is only now... There is only now... There is only now..."

Powerful words sheered through the emptiness and the flame danced a little more wildly. The man pulled apart his hands and instantly the flame ceased its attempted flickering. The subdued light pierced cleanly to his face, brightening the pale features immune to time. He opened his eyes: pale grey rimmed with whitest white. The air grew colder.

"No one can stop life... No one can stop life... No one can stop life..."

The flame before him grew in intensity, illuminating every inch of the room from floor to ceiling. The depth of the darkness vanished in but a moment and the grey walls became yellow. A smile creased his gentle face.

"Love is the Ether... Love is the Ether... Love is the Ether..."

The light changed to red and the warmth of his truth spilled forth from his body. All the remaining chill from before vanished and the walls became transparent, revealing the endless expanses of the universe in twinkling eyes eons away from his fortitude of solitude. With his essence, he pushed the warmth into the vastness, the emptiness, the loneliness until all he mustered dissipated into the cold, dark, solid room again.

His smile waned with tiredness. The pressure of darkness closed in around him again. He closed his eyes. The flame came back to life with struggling breaths of its own.

"I will not deny... I will not deny... I will not deny..."