Brief Summary
This video tells the story of Leo Tapel's Badis, the newly elected Pope, who experiences a series of mysterious events that challenge his faith and leadership. These events include a kneeling shadow, cryptic messages, a burning ring, and encounters with a reclusive bishop and an exorcist. The Pope's journey leads him to confront a hidden presence within the Vatican and ultimately understand his unique role.
- Mysterious events challenge the new Pope's faith.
- Encounters with a reclusive bishop and an exorcist provide guidance.
- The Pope confronts a hidden presence within the Vatican.
- The story explores themes of faith, silence, and destiny.
The Silent Pope
In the days following Leo Tapel's Badis's election, the Vatican is adjusting to his quiet presence. Unlike expected, there are no immediate changes or grand gestures. Ten days into his papacy, Leo begins a habit of solitary, early morning walks through the Vatican corridors, starting on May 18th.
The Kneeling Shadow
During one of these walks, Vatican security monitors record Leo standing by a window. The footage reveals his shadow kneeling independently. The security chief informs Leo about the anomaly, showing him the recorded images. Leo instructs him to move the carriage to the chapel, keep the recording secret, and reveals he felt a breath on his shoulder, sensing he is not alone.
The Parchment Note
Leo discovers a piece of parchment in his quarters with the message: "The shadow knelt down as the light died down." He keeps the note secret and continues his duties, but the message weighs on him. He requests a visit to the Vatican Mosaic studio, specifically the passage where the shadows moved.
The Hidden Wall
At the Mosaic studio, Leo investigates a section of the wall where he suspects something was removed. The archivist reveals that a bronze lantern stand was removed in 2003 under Cardinal Ratsinger's orders due to being "too close to release before the load was applied. Engel". Leo feels a tension near the wall, sensing something leaning against it from the other side.
The Golden Mark
Back in the private chapel, Leo places the note in his breviary. While praying, a golden mark appears on the back cover, revealing a name: Anelmo Duarte, a retired bishop known for investigating Marian apparitions. The mark disappears by morning.
The Forgotten Bishop
Leo learns that Bishop Duarte has been living in seclusion in a Carmelite monastery in Portugal. He sends someone to investigate and discovers Duarte hasn't spoken in over a year. Leo decides to visit him alone.
The Meeting in Koimbra
Leo travels to the monastery and meets Bishop Duarte, who reveals he knew Leo would come and that he had also "seen the wall." Duarte explains that the corridor was not a passage but a membrane, and something was trying to pass through it. He gives Leo a wooden rosary with a unique cross and tells him, "Your shadow does not move because you are already on the other side."
The Hallway of Shadows
Upon returning to the Vatican, Leo experiences his shadow moving independently in a hallway he had been avoiding. He recognizes the hallway as a veil with something watching from the other side.
The Wooden Rosary
Leo begins praying nightly with the wooden rosary from Bishop Duarte. The crucifix on the rosary becomes warm, and on the sixth night, a shadow appears on the wall behind the crucifix, taller and slimmer than his own. The shadow writhes and disappears, leaving a thin crack on the wall.
The Sealed Letter
Leo opens a sealed letter from his predecessor, Cleminbalsen, which warns of a voice that "cuts through the silence itself" and advises him to endure and not ask questions. The letter reveals that Leo's name was known before his election and that the shadow moves when "he comes".
The Crypt and Psalm 39
Leo prays in the crypt and finds another note at Cleminbalsen's grave: "They will never understand the silence you must endure." Back in his residence, the breviary is opened to Psalm 39, with a message written in ink: "Silence is not the absence of God. Silence is his waiting to be recognized."
The Black Feather
Leo awakens to find his shadow standing while he is seated. A black feather appears on the windowsill, remaining for three days before disappearing. Leo understands that the presence making his shadow move is not coming but is already there.
The Fisherman's Ring
Cardinal Stogen visits Leo, noticing the absence of the Fisherman's Ring. Leo reveals a blackened ring marked by fire, with the inscription: "The silence you protect will one day speak louder than the voices that condemn you." The ring disappears, replaced by a note: "He didn't leave you. He just walked away."
Mass in a Prison
Leo celebrates mass in a prison, where an inmate sees the host shining like fire. After mass, Leo tells the man, "You shouldn't have seen me."
The Shadow Points
In the chapel, the shadow points to the writing above the cross. Leo finds the black ring, kneels, and declares, "If you are still here, then I will not move."
The Cracks on the Cross
Leo leaves the chapel windows open for three nights. Cracks appear on the cross above the altar, and dark brown paint chips fall, smelling of oil and ash.
Father Luis Dampos
Leo consults Father Luis Dampos, an exorcist, who tells him he is being watched, not tempted, by someone who knew this was going to happen. During their prayer, dark oil flows from the corner of Christ's right eye on the cross.
The Holy House of Loreto
Luis advises Leo to go to Loreto because the house has already moved once and is now waiting again. In the Holy House, Leo sees his reflection walking on the wall and finds a ring engraved with the words: "You don't bring fire. You channel it."
The Scales of Sanctification
Back in Rome, Leo dreams of the scales of sanctification and a voice saying, "Now look back." He calls Pastor Luis and prepares Sylvestre's sound chapel.
The Resignation Letter
In the chapel, Leo writes a resignation letter and places it under the crystal ring. The candles extinguish one by one, and a word appears on the altar stone: "Still."
The Shadow Has Reached Us
Leo receives a letter from a nun in Poland stating, "The shadow has reached us," pointing towards Jerusalem. Leo organizes a private pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Golgotha
At Golgotha, a guard witnesses Leo's shadow not matching his body, standing with arms outstretched as if crucified. Back at the hotel, Leo finds a note: "Not yet."
The Ancient Monastery
In Lebanon, Abbot Elias Barakot reads an ancient manuscript foretelling that "the one who walked in the shadows will go to the place of the skull."
The Walls Sighed
Upon returning to the Vatican, Leo finds a note: "When its shadow touched the stone, the walls sighed." He consults Sister Beatris, who shows him a 300-year-old text stating that the walls were still closed.
The Crystal Ring Shatters
Sister Beatris reveals that the crystal ring is made of an unknown substance. She shows Leo a photograph of him in the Vatican gardens, with a shadow that is not his. At that moment, the ring shatters, leaving a line of ash.
The Prophecy Fulfilled
Leo leaves a note: "I was not chosen to lead with signs. I was chosen to stand where the signs stopped." An ancient page in the Vatican Archives changes, fulfilling a prophecy: "He has been. That." In the Vatican Gardens, Leo's shadow follows him without hesitation, with no other presence between them.
