War.
War never changes.
It was Cain, the unloved son, who so consumed with rage slew his brother Abel. But the guilt could not be hidden- for beneath the soil wetted by Abel's red tears, the blood of the brother cried out to God. But not in a plea of mercy for his brother Cain.
No. It was a howl for vengeance.
Roots runneth deep. From that despoiled earth grew mankind, the great accuser. They heard not the voices of God, nor of angels, nor of saints. They went forth and multiplied and grew ever more sinful. Try as God might, tide nor wind nor storm would cleanse the earth of such a plague.
But as mankind defied God, ultimately, their own pride defied them. One bright morning, 2077 years after the son of God's failed sacrifice, four great hands of nuclear fire descended from heaven and immolated all life with a single touch. The seas dried in an instant, leaving only a salty lymph. The earth convulsed as long-sleeping volcanoes erupted, great chasms were torn open in the earth's skin, and towering mountain ranges rose up to pierce the clouds of soot.
God beheld the scorched earth, where the sand and stones still glowed a carnal red from the flames, shrouded in the silent darkness of a nuclear winter, and was sorrowful.
The black clouds parted, and a harsh sun gave light to the earth, showing a dead land no creature could live upon.
From the smoldering ashes, man raised itself up, bones standing stark against charred black flesh. It opened its blind white eyes, and from a lipless mouth, whispered unto a deaf sky.
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
And God was afraid.