Tier Story: Church On State -part 1- By Top

Young Abel laughs—warm, unbroken.

He slides a datapad across the table. The man’s hand trembles over the glowing red “CONSENT” button.

Cain draws a PISTOL. Black. Blessed steel. The barrel presses against Abel’s forehead.

(whispering) Then why are your hands shaking? Church On State -Part 1- By Top Tier Story

Silence. Rain drips through a broken gutter.

Lying to the State is a Class B sin, Cain. You might lose a merit badge.

Two boys, 15 and 13. CAIN (younger) and ABEL (older). They sit on a rusted fire escape. Below: a city that hasn’t yet become a church. Young Abel laughs—warm, unbroken

CLASSIFICATION: APOSTATE (LEVEL 5) CHARGES: Heresy, Sedition, Impersonation of Clergy, Unlicensed Miracles.

We are high above the city. The CHURCH ON STATE—a 200-story megastructure shaped like a twisted cross—pierces the clouds. Neon crosses pulse on every corner below. The city is silent. Curfew.

The file expands. A PHOTO: a man in his late 30s. Softer than Cain. Kind eyes. Wearing a stolen deacon’s vestments, preaching to a crowd in an underground parking garage. Cain draws a PISTOL

My daughter... she’s eight. She won’t—

In the beginning, there was the Word. Then the Word became law. And the law... became a gun.

The girl nods.