"Painting, black dragon" [fiction] (Part one)

I dunno if someone is going to read this anyway. But the full translation is going to take me a while

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Sharian has been always a town with a big tourist attraction due to its beautiful Angra Lake. The legends of the past tells that within the depths of the lake inhabits a God who in turn commands an army of mens of the abyss. Half men, half fish. Well that is just a myth and nothing else. Not in vain, like all myths, these tend to fork at some point. There are those who believe that both, the god Angra, and his followers are neutral beings, sometimes friends of manking, but on the other hand, there are those who believes, and that there are many who proclaims that god needs human sacrifices to satisfy his appetite. What Sharian's story can not deny, even if we are ashamed, is that sacrifices were made to the god Angra for half a century. These were legal and legitimate, but thanks to the influence of the culture of Verona and other countries of the western , this quickly became acts of barbarism repudiated and punished by law. This resulted in the beginning of a gang war in the town that lasted several years between the religious fanatics and the government.

The government won the war, but that would not mean the end of the sacrifices due to the birth of an underground cult linked to the lake god, where its members would be important figures of the community. But as Sharian in those days became a much visited place, the official propaganda and the government could not allow these events to take place anyfurther, wich means that law will punish any cult activity.

In the past decades there have been at least 25 deaths in the waters of the Angra lake, 12 of them recorded as accidents, and the rest of them have not yet been clarified, and their bodies have not been found either. The truth of all this is that it is an intricate case for the police.

Now, returning to the worship of God Angra, much has been said over the years of who could have been its members. More than fifty years ago, it was said that it was the mayor of that time who was the master of the cult, along with the director of the Sharian hospital, who introduced several doctors and nurses. Some time later, it was also said that the police chief 20 years ago, Charles Conte was a member along with a good number of agents. The same has also been said of all the relatives of the Kark hotel, the most luxurious in the city. And of course, the owner of the art gallery of Sharian, Demian Vors and several other outstanding artists from the town, and even from outsiders to whom the cult caught their attention. The existence of the cult is a fact. Just a few months ago, an artist born here in this same town, a man of 60 years old named Barry Manson, confessed to being a member, but he did not give many interesting details. And how? If everyone was interested at that time in a painting that the good Barry painted here in Sharian but that was not sold here if not much further from this country, in Toluca which is 300 miles to the west, where it was quite a sensation because looking at the painting closely was at least uncomfortable, a feeling that only became more and more exacerbated as you found each and every one of its details, and while you were doing it you were feeling more and more uncomfortable.

The family that bought it, said that it was cursed, so they kept it in a basement and managed to sell it with several warnings, and so that painting would move from town. And in its new home, the same thing happened. But it was already in the third home, one that is not far from here, its third family claimed that having that painting hanging on the wall caused a sensation that was not only unnerving but also sad and heartbreaking, as if the desire to live slowly banished… until you become a hollow and empty being where only madness was deposited. From that third family, Sofia, a ten-year-old girl, is known to have died. The painting was removed to another site, and through a huge investigation it was announced that the artist was this Barry Manson.

I interviewed him by myself. Barry was always uncomfortable and annoyed, he wanted me to leave, he did not give more than a couple of details about his work. Then I bought the painting and put it in my house. Serious error I have some photos that you should see.

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