It has been a week since the funerals and a mass of children and teenagers from across No Man's Land gathered around the vandalized mosque. Abandoned shops surrounded the mosque, and one of them still had a pizza hologram flickering.

"They've got some balls being in there like this," Farouq said.

Joaquim and Gabe met Farouq years ago. He was the reason they started their pilgrimage; he was a trusted influx user under Prophet Ameen. He was sent on a mission by Prophet Ameen to find them and bring them to the messiah, or at least that is what he said.

He was also the reason why the brothers only had their laundry day clothes, and he would also leave them with no food or water. The times when Farouq did leave them with food and water, he said he needed them alive to rob them the next time. He was the main reason Joaquim only had the improvised mixed-fabric dress and the broken biker helmet Gabe gave him.

Joaquim was grateful for the helmet that gave him a bit of separation from the dress which felt like a shapeshifting octopus was on top of him. He used to compare it to a squid, but at least squids were beautiful.

While Gabe waited for the messiah, Farouq walked right up to him. They were both gifted by their recent growth spurt in height. Farouq had healed gashes instead of eyes, and he had a sturdy grin that could not be chiselled from circumstances. Visard, the drone that served as Farouq's eyes, was already above the crowd floating gently.

Farouq then walked behind Joaquim. He wondered if Farouq believed that he snuck past him. Joaquim took two steps closer to the mosque, and he sensed that Farouq did the same. When Joaquim stopped, Farouq also stopped.

"Hey Naomi, are you sure you're not a guy? I could punch you and not feel bad at all," Farouq said.

"Can you just leave me alone for one sermon?" Joaquim said.

"Ah, you didn't include Alkrezian Odyssey studies. Alright, I'll leave you alone until then," Farouq jeered, then dashed off with his kameez flapping. He ran until pocketfuls of storm clouds gathered on the ground, and the boisterous youth that saw the peculiarity walked closer.

The yelling and chatting simmered as the tiny clouds shot up and morphed into Prophet Ameen's silhouette. The smoky silhouette settled into his flesh and white robes.

The crowd bent a knee except for Farouq.

"The kids told me that there is a gang occupying the mosque. Prophet Ameen, will we get to hear them plead for forgiveness?" Farouq asked.

Joaquim could imagine his excited eyes on his gashes.

"There is no need. There is no mercy in this defilement," Prophet Ameen said.

The wooden planks changed to magnolia branches, and the severed heads of gang members flew out of the windows towards Prophet Ameen's golden sphere. A deer and a boar was summoned out of a naked pine tree on the mosque's front lawn. They crawled out as wooden statues as they split off from the bark, then they shifted to flesh and bone.

The mosque doors popped open, a staggering suited man walking out with goods, a block of marijuana the size of a 21st century laptop sticking out. Joaquim saw a TEIS unit as well. Its two handles, monitor, and influxtrode pads stuck out of his right forearm.

"You're just in time Ameen, I got hooked up with those powers of yours," the man said, putting effort into each step.

"Even if that were true, I am guessing you cannot do much with your current state," Prophet Ameen said. "I am sure you are hooked up on more than just powers."

The man grinned.

"Ah, you found your sense of humor. I am guessing you won't be sparing me today, especially with how fast you killed my men," the man said. "Watch this."

The man focused influx into his feet and sprang towards Prophet Ameen. Joaquim speculated that the man used the TEIS unit recently to awaken his influx.

Prophet Ameen's armored boar plopped in between him and the charging man, causing the charging man to trip into the incoming deer. The deer impaled the man, and he let out a scream before his demise. His lifeless body slid up and down the deer's horns while she carried him behind the mosque.

Farouq laughed from the center of the crowd while Joaquim and Gabe winced.

"That was fast," Farouq said.

"Alright, follow me," Prophet Ameen said, his glowing doves flying into the blood on the concrete to vaporize it, and into the dead man's belongings to turn them into daffodils. Radiant doves flew towards the mosque, the youth chasing them ahead of Prophet Ameen.

The youth, Visard, and glowing doves spilled into the mosque. The doves turned graffiti to fresh lime paint, decomposing human bodies to lily flowers, meth into dandelion puffs, marijuana into lobelias, and automatic guns into obsidian rocks. The youth ran past the tiny lobby and busted through the next set of doors and poured into the area where the minbar and mihrab stood, the doves fixing and polishing them from the damage they have received from the Byza gang. Glowing wings blew away lines of cocaine on the minbar, transforming into floating sparkles that danced around the excited children and teens.

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The cold white marble floor in the mosque chilled Joaquim's thin flats, and then stabbed into his soles. A hint of freshness was in the air, along with the smell of thin grade paper that alienated the polluted air outside. The inside of the mosque was majestic in size, and once the doves got to them, the religious artwork and texts reassembled and adorned the walls and columns, but they were too archaic to hold Joaquim's attention. The cold was now poking different parts of his body.

It seemed the chaos was only escalating as Prophet Ameen climbed the minbar, but he seemed to be embracing the ruckus with a smile on his face. Every sermon prior in the mosque had malnourished and tired attendees, but with Prophet Ameen's powers to create food out of nothing, the worshippers were reinvigorated. Past religious figures would come in to preach, and non-imams were not desperate for precise locations in desperate times. Those that managed to stay alive in No Man's Land to come and speak would have scolded the youth for minor deviances, but Prophet Ameen could not help but smile.

"Let me guess, past missionaries would bore you to tears here every morning," Prophet Ameen said into the crowd.

Joaquim and Gabe shuffled through some running toddlers, and came close enough to chime into any conversation Prophet Ameen would be in.

"I only come here for the food to be honest," Farouq said.

Prophet Ameen chuckled. "I am honored that you are so forthright with me, I am sure with past preachers you would not be so unhinged."

Prophet Ameen raised his chin and turned himself to the center of the youth.

"Preachers, rabbis, imams, missionaries, and all those that practice religion, only practice religion if they do not speak of my name or my teachings," Prophet Ameen said. "Practicing religion is not good enough, you must build a relationship with God."

"Religion is showing up to a church with your wife and posting pictures on your Memoryfeed profile of your seemingly perfect relationship, but having a mistress on the side."

The mention of the plexussite Memoryfeed come out of a booming spiritual man made most of the playing children hesitate to continue. A large group of boys in the right corner stopped wrestling with each other, Prophet Ameen's warm and authoritative voice luring them to come closer to heed his words. Some of them sat on the rust brown carpet and some stood while listening.

"Religion is hacking a bank to take all its money, then giving it all to your place of worship.

"Religion is about putting on a show, but to be a true spiritual person for God, you must act the same way outside like you would do in a synagogue. The kind of people that were in my examples put on a false identity. They come to worship God out of obligation, struggling to get up on Sunday morning, maybe even dreading getting up early on the next day while they try to sleep on Saturday night.

"I already see some of you falling asleep or getting distracted, how many of you didn't feel like waking up today? Or maybe even would have not showed up if it was not for the food and company? Please be honest with me, it is important to know yourself and own up to it."

A few hands were raised, while others were coming up one by one. Joaquim's hand was one of them. More hands were about to be lifted, but Farouq's snore interrupted the crescendo of reassurance that came with each hand.

"How about you Farouq?" Prophet Ameen asked.

Farouq perked up. "What?"

The youth laughed.

"Did you feel like coming today Farouq?" Prophet Ameen asked.

"Of course not," Farouq retorted.

"Very well young man, raise your hand," Prophet Ameen said.

Prophet Ameen waited until more hands were raised.

"Thank you, feel free to put your hands down now," Prophet Ameen said as the conductor of the youth's attention. He clasped his hands together and cleared his throat.

"Your trips to this mosque on Sunday mornings are still part of your spiritual journey, and I know it's hard to do this when most of your time will be preoccupied with survival, but you must work your way to make each trip be one where you genuinely want to come. There is no use deceiving the Lord, he knows your heart, your mind, and your soul. I understand that most of you came here to feed and clothe yourselves, but once you have these things taken care of, there is no use being here if you do not want to listen to me. Please feel free to walk out if you wish."

Prophet Ameen looked away to give leavers some semblance of privacy, but no one showed signs. Joaquim wondered if he could truly be honest with the prophet.

"Alright. Farouq, would you need coffee by any chance? I see Naomi is daydreaming as well," Prophet Ameen said, causing a few giggles.

"I will be okay, thank you prophet," Farouq said.

"I am paying attention," Joaquim said.

"Very well. As survival is the thing that motivates you all the most naturally, understand that God will always watch out for you. He will make sure you are fed, clothed, and safe. Give your love towards him and he shall return it. Be glad for your situation as well, as having too much of a good thing can stray you away from God, like the citizens of the Ember Tree conglomerate."

"Where is Ember Tree city?" Farouq asked.

"It should be in the east coast now. It is not just a city or a metropolis, but a gigacity," Prophet Ameen said.

Joaquim heard rumors that Ember Tree Finance's conglomerate had its own gigacity.

"I'm not sure if the stories you hear of Ember Tree city are romanticized or the truth is actually told around here, but the truth is that they are gluttonous and sinful human beings," Prophet Ameen said. "They do not do it mindlessly either, they are aware of their sin and they are prideful about it. They float above you with unimaginable abundance, yet they do not spare a lending hand. With how little you all have, I have seen more generosity from you children than I had seen from the lifetime of the oldest citizens of Ember Tree, and they are capable of living for more than a century."

"There is a reason why I am here instead of New Earth, I am here to fulfill a prophecy. Have any of you read anything from the Alkrezian Odyssey?" Prophet Ameen asked.

"I have," Gabe said, picking up the Odyssey that was on his lap. "I'm pretty sure I know which prophecy you are talking about."

"Please, give me your best guess," Prophet Ameen said.

Gabe stood up, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly. "I am just confused on a few things though - uhm - the Book of New Earth has already happened right, and the Bible and the Quran had passages that prophesized about the end times and New Earth, right? I just want to make sure I am on the right track."

Prophet Ameen nodded. "Yes."

"So we are the descendants of the unbelievers during the end times," Gabe said. "Which is why we are not on New Earth. Therefore, we are on the second book of the Odyssey, the Book of Calamity. I'm sure you are fulfilling the first prophecy in that book, especially how you are on the topic of Ember Tree's gigacity."

"Well done Gabriel," Prophet Ameen said. "I am only the prophet in those prophecies. What is important is cultivating the inquisitors that will be on my side, they will be the ones to lay judgement on the unbelievers. I already have my three official inquisitors that will fight on my behalf, but it is always good to have more following the cause."

Prophet Ameen took a pause, and paced across the front of the mihrab. The children and teens were now in a semicircle around him, and their eyes were on his lips.

During the pause, Prophet Ameen glanced at three children specifically.

"Naomi, Gabriel, and Farouq please come up," Prophet Ameen said.

The three teenagers made their way to the prophet, Joaquim and Gabe getting up first as they were sitting together. The brothers walked in the same cadence, then they turned to the young attendees once they got close to Prophet Ameen.

"I have spent time with all the individuals you see with me. Naomi and Gabriel are new," Prophet Ameen said. "The reason I gave them special attention is because these three have the capacity to tap into influx."

The youth bustled. There were wows, cheers, and some kissed their teeth. Joaquim turned to the prophet in worried anticipation, but he had his usual smile.

"Wow, so lucky."

"No fucking way!"

"Why could it not have been me? There is so much I could do if I was as strong as Farouq."

"Alright, are we done?" Prophet Ameen asked. He placed an index finger against his lips. The children that glanced at his face stopped talking, then they encouraged their peers to shut their mouths as well until it was quiet.

"These three - and I of course - we will set up a plan that will take a span of two months to complete. These three will be part of an operation to destroy the shield generator of Ember Tree, so I will be able to come into the city and send their entire population to be judged by Jehovah," Prophet Ameen said.

The youth cheered as bloodlust came over most of them. While the three teens went back to sit somewhere in the crowd, Joaquim wandered back into the mist of his thoughts. Joaquim honed his hatred for the flying cities while scavenging underneath Fornia. Even the people from the northernmost area of No Man's Land would have to travel south to the gigacity if there was a scarcity of a necessity. It used to be that way until Fornia stopped dumping garbage for some reason. The struggle to survive while seeing a city prosper would embitter anyone with time, but Joaquim had delayed the full extent of that resentment until now. He imagined the desensitized faces on the Fornian citizens, and it eclipsed every other excuse and explanation he made for them. Or did it?

Joaquim noticed not everyone was overcome with bloodlust. He saw hesitation in some of the youth.

However, if anyone seemed to have the most bloodlust, even more than Farouq, it was Gabe. He cheered so hard that he could break his own jaw.