How many had he killed? How many had he damned to hell, all for the sake of a God that was no longer with them? How many had he slain in the name of an absent God?
Could he remember the last time he'd done something for himself? When was the last time he did something for *his* sake, and not The Council's?
Was there ever a time?
Gabriel watched as the fire began to burn out, the sparks of red and orange embers slowly falling onto the ground below. The crackling sound of the warm flames slowly began to fade away, replaced with a deafening silence that not even he could break. As he sat there and pondered his past, his future, his entire purpose, he was beginning to realise..
God was gone— truly gone. There was no point in trying to deny it any longer. The Father had been absent for far too long, and The Council had grown far too comfortable in their corruption and inability to accept this truth.
God is dead. He was not coming back— nothing could change nor fix that.
Facing defeat at the hands of the Machine for a second time caused Gabriel's eyes to open- caused his worldview to change.
As he stood up from his seat, his gaze flickered down to his two twin blades— Justice and Splendor. He stared down at the swords for a long moment, and an idea began to form in his head.
Gabriel knew what he had to do— he knew he didn't have long left— only a few mere hours. He would make those hours count. His wings twitched with a newfound sense of justice, and he set off to confront The Council one last time.
Massive Bonfire
Embers of Anguish
Hunter 
Hunter