The days that followed were unlike anything most people had imagined, even after talking for years about prophecy.

At first, the changes seemed selective. Certain religious groups lost public standing. Some institutions were investigated. Others were publicly condemned. Commentators spoke about religion as a source of division, instability, and historical violence.

Then the movement accelerated.

Places of worship were closed. Assets were seized. Public expressions of religion were mocked, restricted, then erased. Buildings once considered permanent were stripped of purpose and reopened as something else. Museums. Offices. Storage spaces. Community centers emptied of everything sacred and then called progress.

News footage showed crowds in some places cheering, in others weeping, in many simply staring.

Nathan watched one report from the hallway before Samuel quietly turned the television off.