"Oh god, please shine your light upon this broken world," Arch Bishop Samson prays, bowing down to the floor. "Oh Lord, cleanse us from all the darkness with your soon-to-son—"

"Sir, there's a letter from—" Nel interrupts, striding past the open church. "Silence! Can't you see I am giving thanks?" Samson interrupts back, without making eye contact.

Nel apologizes for the intrusion but doesn't leave. "What is it?" Samson snaps. "The officials are requesting an update," Nel says. "A representative will come to hear the information in 2 hours." Samson's face becomes more tense.

"What in god's name do they need information about? How did a red-haired girl manage to destroy two of my power factories in less than a month?" Samson paces in circles, complaining to the sky as if pleading for mercy.

"Just tell them I don't have the information at the moment, but I will get back to them soon," Nel writes down Samson's command. "Oh," Samson adds, "also tell them that I need a new caster."

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Nel raises his eyebrows. Why does he need another caster? He already has four in his church, two at each of the power factories he owns, and a few more coming as refugees from the Death Fog. Why does he specifically want one from them?

Samson notices Nel's expression and asks, "Tell me, does a king control his people or do the people control the king?" Nel pretends to contemplate the answer, knowing that Samson prefers responses that align with his own beliefs. "It's the king who reigns supreme," Nel replies sarcastically, "but for the people to become kings themselves, they have to take pieces from the sovereign."

Nel finally understands. "So you really want to overthrow them?"

"Well, it's not much of a surprise. Almost all the major branches despise them," Samson continues, "They get the unruined part of the city, while we're left with the wasteland that is Time Square, filled with distorted buildings and no resources. We can't even use our phones because they have exclusive radio technology, and we rely on human labor to power our small settlement."

Samson finally locks eyes with Nel. "Of course, I will betray them."

Curious, Nel asks how. Samson simply gazes back at the statue of God he was praying to. "Very soon, a being will be born. A new light. A new savior. There I say...," he raises his arms to the sky as if to receive a divine gift from the sky.

"A new messiah!".