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Being God isn’t all devoted worship and receiving prayers. It’s also passing judgement. It’s setting examples. It’s making sure that you solidify a position for yourself in the hierarchy.
When the first humans began attributing meteorological, astrological, and biological phenomena to higher powers, the gods came into being as a result. It became known that the more worship one received, the more power came with it. For a time, the gods were truly powerful, limited only by the reach of their worshipers. Conquests and inquisitions became commonplace as the gods pushed their followers to expand. Their power soared to new heights but it became an issue of sustainability. Many of these gods decided to group together, form a pantheon. The power they received was diluted but consistent. They became complacent. Castiel had decided a more hands on approach was necessary.
Whereas the gods had been content to sit back and receive their scraps, Castiel decided to take a page from their old forgotten books and take matters into his own hands. The souls he had taken in were a good start but he needed worshipers. What better way to gain worshipers than to perform miracles.
First Castiel revealed himself to the most zealously misguided of his former Father’s flock. At the appearance of a true power, they were easily converted. Then he began culling the population of the hateful and the unjust for he was a merciful God. Finally, he began his most difficult task yet: removing his competition.
Hundreds of thousands of years of humanity had spawned countless deities, many whose names were lost to time. Those whose names were still known had regained a small amount of power in the last hundred years with the advent of near instantaneous communication. The internet and social media and entertainment. Gods were now a topic of amusement and curiosity. This wasn’t enough to return them to their glory days but the last thing Castiel wanted was someone gaining enough of a resurgence in their following to challenge Castiel for his worshipers.
Killing a god was easy, keeping them dead is another matter.
There were a number of sacred places around the globe, and for every place of power, there existed its opposite. Places where magic was contained and power was nullified. It was in these places that Castiel began burying the bodies of the gods.
He started small. Lesser known deities with little to no power. Baltic and Muiscan and Anatolian deities. He didn’t want to show his hand quite yet but he needed to be sure that his plan would work.
It did.
He began working his way up. Incan and Inuit and Slavic.
They started catching on.
This was no longer a job he could perform on his own. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed assistance. And what better assistant than the King of Hell.
Crowley’s throne room was quiet. The distant screams of the tormented a little more distant than Castiel remembered. It was unmistakably due to the downsizing Castiel had mandated but he couldn’t help but wonder if it was also in part to his memories of being a Seraph being more distant as well. He frowned and pushed that thought aside before calling Crowley to the chamber with a snap of his fingers. A glass of scotch in his hand, Crowley appeared before him.
“Ah, Boss. What an unexpected treat. Surprise inspection? Change your mind about smiting me?” Crowley said with a grimace.
“I have a job for you,” Castiel replied, cutting straight to the point. He didn’t have time for Crowley’s games.
“Fantastic, moving up in the world. What can I do for you?”
“I will deliver bodies to you. I need you to bury them exactly where I specify.”
“I’m not sure I follow. What happened to just snapping them 6 feet under the local strip mall?” Crowley asked before taking a sip of his drink.
“This is a special case. Certain precautions need to be made. I suggest you bring a shovel.”
If Crowley had any complaints, Castiel was gone before he heard them.
The next few weeks consisted of Castiel hunting down every minor and major deity that was foolish enough to have not gone to ground. Castiel dropped off every other body to Crowley and gave him the location to bury them.
It was when he was dropping off the body of Athena that Crowley stopped him.
“How many more are you planning to throw down here! I’m running out of room! You took all the best body burying spots! Do you have any idea how rocky it is out there! I’ve gone through three shovels!”
Castiel was well aware. He left without an answer. Looking down at the numerous lesions working their way up his arms, he flew to the next deity on his list.