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(What do gods have but the faith of the people? What happens when that faith is taken away? What do they have left?)

Bits of carved stone rolled across the crumbling path that lead up into the black tower. Casey's heart raced; he felt sweat slide from his brow, down his temple, and settled amongst the few gold and green scales on his cheeks. He stared at the lingering towers nearby. Tall figures in ragged white robes lined with gold stood there, leaning on their golden spears, seemingly suffering from malnutrition, their ribs showing through their white skin. Their dirty, shriveled white wings sagged heavily on the ground behind them. Near the gate, sitting along the edge of the thin spire of earth that held up the tower, was one of the figures. He soon stood up as Casey and Robert approached. This lone figure's rosy wings barely made an effort to leave the ground as he tried to stand proud, his gaunt hand wrapped around the handle of a sword, "Are you the god who they say will claim my father's life? For I am Jerahmeel, and you will have to shed the blood of many angels to take his life!" he said in a rabid, highly agitated tone.

Casey gazed over his shoulder when he felt Robert cowering behind him. He sighed, finding it slightly entertaining considering the man was half a foot taller than him. He stood tall as the angel took one heavy step after another. "Don't strain yourself Jerahmeel, neither of us wants to kill anyone here..." Watching Jerahmeel's straining eyes through his dirty curly hair, Casey stepped towards the gate made up of numerous iron bars, "...I'm hoping to make peace with the one inside." He eased his way past the scrawny figure holding the sword. Robert soon followed in a shuffle, just as the angel tried to restrain a cough as he started to shake, breaking down into heavy sobs. As Casey placed his hand on the Mother's seal, he looked back as it glowed, seeing the remains of a once mighty creature scrounging in the wet sand formed from his falling tears. The gate began to rise with heavy clanking before remaining open with a loud thud.

Still hovering over Casey's backside, Robert asked, "Which god is this?" Casey remained silent.

Passing the gray stone wall that stood before the gate, Casey gazed past the rows of pews that rested behind it. Windows lined the stone walls. They were filled with stained glass, showing the marvels of the angels that now stood outside. Candles that had long since dried up no longer offered their comforting glow. He stopped, exhaling heavily when he finally saw the figure lingering in the dark. They gasped and struggled to breathe, their wrists and ankles shackled, pulled tightly to the ground... as a large rock with a rounded tip dug into the center of their spine. As he approached the person who appeared to be neither man nor woman, thin, with a shaved head and their eyes rolled into their skull, Casey muttered, "This is God...the New Father..."

At the mention of the name given to them, the figure gasped and the New Father's eyes rolled down into their sockets. There was no color within those irises. It was only white and the normal black of the eyes. They gasped for breath, struggling to breathe as the tip of the stone sank into their torso. God gazed up at Casey with those colorless eyes, "I...I recognize you...Casey! The forgetful child, yes? I hoped for a very long time you would not forget me...."

"Why?" Casey asked coldly, the diamond centers of his red eyes flaring. "Is it because you can't become drunk off the misguided faith of your followers anymore?" He was surprised that God did not beg to be set free. Leaning in, near cheek to cheek with the bound God, he asked, "Is it because the Mother chained you to this rock and I....I am the only one who remembers you?"

The feeble god before him gasped for another breath, a fair smile upon their face. Their teeth showed clearly in their straining gums, "You cannot admit...that in all your years...you never put an ounce of faith towards me...son?"

Casey could hear Robert lingering in the pews behind him, blinking irritably when he dropped one of the prayer stools to the stone floor. He did not open his eyes, even then, he could not deny God what he thought would be the satisfaction of saying yes. "There were...times...when I knew all the others weren't listening. You were there...just like all the others."

God struggling to speak, saliva dripping from their mouth, "I'm still here, Casey! I've lost my sight over the years...but you are the same...stubborn child I remember!" Arching their back, God revealed the pink and purple impression imbedded in their spine before painfully lying back down upon the stone. Gasping for breath, they held out there fingertips, "And I will stay with you Casey. Let me touch your hand... it's something we have always wanted..."

As God gave one last gasping breath, Casey slowly reached wrapped his palm around the pale being's, God touched the patches of golden scales mixed with his human flesh. With a sharp cough, God chuckled with a shining smile, "The new look suits you..."

Even then, Casey was reluctant to smile, although his heart became heavy. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallow be thy name..." Casey gazed over his shoulder, "Robert, close your eyes!" he shouted, just as God's pale skin began to glow. Robert did as he was told, in fact, he dove further into the pew he was sitting at. "Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven."

The pillar beneath the black tower cracked and the building its self began to shake. The angels outside began to wail, their flesh slowly peeling inch by inch as a bright, golden light pierced the very T shaped cracks of the stone that held the very foundation they were standing on together. "THE LIGHT! It's THE light!" a faired haired angel holding a golden trumpet bellowed. In a matter of moments, he was kneeling in a pile of ash and dust, made from the remains of his own body. Another angel standing above him pierced the ground with a large broadsword, the fiery halo above his head finally burning out as he fell to the same fate. They all fell to the same fate, just as the tower fell around them Ashes to ashes, dust to dust!