Ambush at the Temple

Vesper sat in the pilot’s seat, the Void-charge in her lap. Her thumb hovered over the detonator.

"Get out," she said. Her voice was dead calm. "Leave my head, or I blow us both to hell."

**YOU DARE?** The Sovereign raged. **I AM ETERNAL!**

"You're a parasite," Vesper said. "And I'm done being used."

**Vesper, please,** The Man pleaded. **If you detonate that, your soul will be erased. No afterlife. Just void.**

"Better empty than betrayed."

Suddenly, the windshield shattered.

Vesper was thrown backward as a spear of pure sunlight pierced the cabin. It slammed into her shoulder, pinning her to the metal bulkhead.

She screamed, the detonator skittering across the floor, out of reach.

Outside, the canyon rim was lined with figures in golden armor.

**HELIOS,** The Sovereign hissed. **THE CULT OF THE SUN.**

"They found us," Vesper gasped, blood pouring from her shoulder. It wasn't just red blood anymore; it was mixed with blue ichor.

A second spear struck the console, destroying the controls. *The Crawler* was dead.

"Surrender the Abomination!" the Cult leader shouted from the ridge. "Give us the Broken God, and we will grant you a quick death!"

Vesper laughed, a wet, hacking sound. She looked at the detonator, five feet away. She couldn't reach it. She was pinned.

Her vision began to fade. The wound was fatal. She could feel her heart stuttering, failing.

**She is dying,** The Child cried. **Aion, she is dying!**

**GOOD,** The Sovereign growled. **TAKE THE BODY. IF THE SOUL FLEES, THE VESSEL IS OURS. WE CAN FIGHT THEM.**

Vesper felt the intrusion. The Sovereign was seizing her motor functions. He was going to use her corpse as a puppet to fight his brother’s army.

"No," Vesper whispered, tears mixing with the blood on her face. "Please..."

**I am taking control,** The Sovereign declared.

**NO.**

The voice was thunder. But it wasn't The Sovereign.

It was The Man.