Parting

Griffith surfaces from the vision to hear Ubik confirm it was no trick but a window into his own mind, proof that he had always used the band to chase his dream heedless of the cost. The God Hand note that even now, with his body ruined, the Band of the Falcon remains devoted to him. Void stretches a long, thin arm toward the illusory castle glimmering far away and declares that if Griffith still longs to reach it, he must give up his comrades and shall be granted raven-black wings to fulfill his ambition.

At that instant Guts hauls himself onto the palm. Griffith turns to him and acknowledges that Guts is the one person who ever made him forget his dream. Then, with total sincerity, he gives the God Hand his answer: he sacrifices. The huge hand snaps shut around Griffith, sealing Guts out. Void conjures a burning sigil hovering above the fist and proclaims the arrival of the Promised Time. The marks streak through the air trailing fire and sear themselves into whatever flesh they meet first: the palm of Judeau's left hand, Corkus' forehead, Pippin's right forearm, the skin over Casca's heart, and the right side of the back of Guts' neck. With the branding complete, the transformed apostles charge to devour the marked, whose deaths will give rise to the new Child of Darkness.

Ubik reveals the vision was a true glimpse of Griffith's mind. Void offers Griffith raven-black wings in exchange for his comrades. Guts reaches the palm, but Griffith answers the God Hand with the words I sacrifice. The Brand of Sacrifice is burned onto Judeau, Corkus, Pippin, Casca, and Guts, and the apostles rush to feast on the branded members.

A Golden Age Arc chapter, this installment ran in Young Animal issue 9 on April 26, 1996, over twenty-three pages. It delivers the story's pivotal betrayal and the origin of the Brand of Sacrifice that will haunt Guts and Casca thereafter.