Blood

The instructions were clear. You can't stand to look at them, you don't want to see, you don't want to hear, but nonetheless you remember. The instructions were clear. They're burned into your mind and you can't escape them. The instructions were clear. You've followed them to the letter up to this point, gathered everything they asked of you. The instructions were clear. You knew this was coming. You ignored it, you put it off, you prepared everything else first, telling yourself you would think of a way around it. Nonetheless, the instructions were clear. No amount of begging and bargaining will change it. The instructions were clear. She's here now, she's on the slab, she won't move, she won't resist, there's nothing to do aside from what you know you must. The instructions were clear. The next step can only be blood, no matter how much you wish to avoid it. The instructions were clear. The dagger held in your quivering hand gleams in the candlelight. The instructions were clear. You shouldn't have embarked on this journey if you didn't want it to end here. The instructions were clear. To turn back now is death. It's you or her. The instructions were clear. You plunge the dagger into her chest, because the instructions were clear.