Donnie Begs the mystic teacher to spare himself from execution
and agree to stop proselytizing about Ata-Atsu. Donnie believes the mystic can do this and still speak his truth, but the mystic sees his choice as more complicated than that
TREATMENT
On the ride back to the Hangman Horde’s camp, Donnie talks with the imprisoned leader of the distant tribe. We learn Donnie’s vision showed him that a hidden relic will unite the race, and humanity will endure through the end of this world and into the next, but “only misery has come from speaking the message.” Donnie has spent time away from the Horde studying under “many mystics and wise women” to understand the vision and has found this mystic’s insights most helpful.
Donnie pleads with the prisoner to spare himself from execution and convert to their cause, but the mystic tells Donnie how he came to Ata-Atsu. Lost one night in the Wilderness, he came across a supernatural event: the sudden shift of soil and stone into a pair of twins - a two-bodied incarnation of the entity. When the twins looked into his eyes, he experienced “all unspoken truth in a moment.” He afterward dedicated his life to teaching the lessons he took from the experience.
The mystic also talks about Donnie’s vision, and how it tested his belief. He knows Donnie’s vision as well as his own are both true, yet both cannot be, and he asks to use the time remaining before his execution to attempt to reconcile the two truths he has seen. He says Donnie will know he found his faith intact if he sacrifices himself before Hank can.