"Keep reading!" Laibach screamed as an even greater quake rocked the structure.The church began to crumble.

The floor beneath his feet shifted and the Master lost his balance, fell to his knees. The scroll dropped from his hands and slid across the uneven floor. Bits of ceiling rained down as the tremors became more sustained, growing in intensity.

Laibach grew more frantic. "Damn your soulless hide!" The Old One screamed. "Pick up the scroll and finish what you started!"

The Master scrambled to snatch at the scroll as the floor bucked and heaved beneath him.

"It is too late," muttered Ereshkigal, his voice fading as he began to depart the earthly plane. "As was foretold, our time has not yet come. Another time, perhaps. Another time."

On his knees, the Master of the Order of Aurelius again held the scroll open before him. His eyes moved over the text, trying to find the point from which he had been interrupted.

"The barrier, it bends beneath my assault - but it does not yield!" Gigim-Kutu whined.

The Master read as the church fell down around him and his followers fled into the night. Some were crushed beneath the weight of falling mortar as the earth rebelled against them.