Cursed Gratitude

He certainly owed them for his existence, but he firmly believed that they did not own him. He was what he was due to their soul-bearing sacrifices, but he could no longer become what they wished at the expense of ritually sacrificing himself to show his gratitude. He was an empowered man, haunted by the psychological vestiges of being a colonized slave in a liberal and human rights era. He had to defy his own ethics to remain with what he possessed and had become, but would he still enjoy himself? If he stood by his principles, he would become a crucified and colonized slave at the hands of those he was supposed to show gratitude.