Overall. One of the more interesting stories I've read so far. I'm happy to say that I think the quality of your writing is good and doesn't warrant criticism, my critiques are just about story framing and POV stuff. My main critique is just on the adherence to theme - the inquisitor doesn't seem like they use the elixir creatively. They are given it, they're tempted by it, they drink it, they become enlightened, the story ends. Though, maybe the inquisitor *is* the resource used by the Cult, but I don't know if that's what was intended, and feels like I'm reaching a bit.
Concepts & Originality: 3/5. Pretty classic manipulative cult story that uses drugs (whether they're magical or mundane) to induct members. I'm a fan of both the format - POV via journal - and the premise. I think the first-person POV of the inquisitor's descent into madness is a bit weak, however. Horror in madness comes from the contrast between the delusions of a POV and the reality of their situation. The setup of the initial entries was good here, but Day 14 feels like it needs a bit of contrasting POV to let the horror sink in.
I wanted to know more about what the inquisitor was actually doing during these two weeks, especially after Day 7 and before Day 10 when they drink the elixir and entries become further spaced apart. Are they actually investigating while maintaining a veneer of sanity? Did they immediately go full psycho-murderer but we only see the euphoria of discovery? I've always found the distortion between reality and how people perceive and then record their reality fascinating, which is why I have a lot to mull over in this story. 1000 words is not a lot, and I empathize with needing to pick an angle of a concept and stick to it.
Flow & Clarity: 4/5. Well-written!
Adherence to Theme: 2/5. Unfortunately I don't see a strong connection between this story and Creative Resources.