Glorious(2022) -

As Wes turned to leave, the door handle turned to liquid in his hand. The bathroom walls began to stretch, the ceiling rising into a dark, swirling void where stars should be.

Wes paused, his hand hovering over the rusted paper towel dispenser. "How do you know my name?"

"I know the weight of the phone in your pocket that you keep checking for a text. I know the shape of the regret sitting in your chest like a stone," Ghat said. A faint, magenta light began to bleed from beneath the stall door. "But more importantly, I know what is coming. My father is hungry, Wes. Not for bread, but for the light of every star you’ve ever looked at." Glorious(2022)

The voice was deep, resonant, and impossibly calm. It came from the only occupied stall—one covered in strange, pulsing graffiti that seemed to shift when Wes blinked.

"Just leave me alone," Wes muttered, splashing cold water on his face. As Wes turned to leave, the door handle

Through a small hole in the partition, Wes saw not a man, but an eye—vast, ancient, and filled with a terrifying, beautiful intelligence. He realized then that he wasn't just in a bathroom; he was in a waiting room for the end of time. "Step closer, Wes," the God whispered. "Be glorious."

"You were chosen because you have nothing left to lose," the voice vibrated through the floorboards now, shaking Wes to his marrow. "To save everything, you must give the one thing you’ve been trying to throw away. Your soul isn't just yours anymore, Wes. It’s a key." "How do you know my name

The air in the rest stop bathroom tasted like copper and old bleach. Wes slumped against the grout-stained wall, his eyes stinging from a night spent drinking away the memory of a woman who wasn't coming back. He just wanted to wash his face and disappear into the asphalt of the highway. "A little early for a breakdown, isn't it?"