The year 2020 had been a terrible year for our world. Perhaps it was the long period of cabin fever together with the helplessness I felt as I read about one horrible news after another. There was a pandemic. There were anarchic movements. There were geopolitical disputes. There were fears of a world war. I desperately wanted to do something about it. But I am a nobody so the only thing I knew how to do that could possibly make a dent was to write. I was lucky enough to be able to work from home given my underlying medical condition that may make me susceptible to the novel coronavirus. So I wrote my views on the pandemic from the perspective of my country Philippines. But I found the subject incredibly dense the more I expanded the scope of what I was talking about. So I set it aside to read and read. But there is a theme that had been lurking in my head the more I explored the subject. And that theme was good and evil.It was something that was just running underneath me during the whole writing experience. It was something I kept thinking about every time I see the news. It was something I kept pondering about whenever I hear or read about different ideas being shared everywhere on how to improve our civilization. What is the most effective way to go about conflict? What is the most effective way to achieve goodness? Is it even possible to achieve a perfectly stable society? When do good intentions start to pave the path through hell?Yes, I am attracted to wondering about questions that may never be truly answered. I remember reading the Bible for the first time right when the lockdown began here in the Philippines. I do not consider myself religious at all but the questions that religion has attempted to answer for thousands of years is something that anyone will encounter at many points in their lives. The questions which only formerly passed by my mind have now all risen to the surface. And from those questions came this novella. And as an ode to the great religions of the world, I chose to write it in this biblical proportions and language. I felt that with this, I am building a bridge towards the ancient philosophers of the world and the prophets of the major religions. And so I went on to try to answer the unanswerable.I am still reading. I do not claim to be widely read in history and politics already to say that my belief right now could be treated like an educated theory. Any conclusions that may be implied in this novella are merely philosophical conjectures. I am hoping that with this book I could sort of influence, even in the slightest, the way we contemplate the systems that shape and run our world. And from these ponderings, I may give myself a better foundation on attempting to answer the subjects of contentions I am helplessly curious about.Venus, the Vessel of Evil follows the downfall of Venus, the goddess responsible for the balance of good and evil in the world. Sinners, in thought and not just in deed, pray for her powers to siphon the sins out of their souls and for her to carry it herself, hence her title as the Vessel of Evil. But as time goes by, her vessel crumbles and eventually shatters as Apolleon, the Punisher of Evil, arrives in the world to take over the role of Venus and enact the balance of good and evil with his punishments.A fair warning to prospective readers. There are sections in this book that are generally considered disturbing. It contains a catalog of evil and its punishments that could be compared to the works of Sade and Masoch. Reader discretion is advised. Proceed with caution.