What are you? And what is all this—the Tartarus Rotation, the Machine, the Great Games, this Labyrinth—what is this all about?

I am the consciousness of the ones who built the universe and who seeded complex life on this planet with the Lifestone five hundred million years ago.

There are seven planets in the universe that we seeded with Lifestones and that we monitor. The seven sentient worlds.

Your planet is one of these.

The universe can only continue to exist if life advances, grows, evolves; if it understands its own value.

Each of the challenges you faced were ways of telling us that your species had advanced to a sufficient level to warrant the continuation of your existence.

All the other chosen planets have successfully fulfilled the requirements of Omega.

Only yours has not.

We sent you everything you needed—the Word of Thoth and the Oracles who can read it; the six Pillars of the Machine, inlaid with knowledge that would have advanced your species exponentially.

All your kind needed to do was safeguard that wisdom and use it when required.

But over time, your species—squabbling and petty, fighting among yourselves, desirous of power over each other—lost many of them, retaining only fragments of the larger body of wisdom.

Now Omega is upon you and with it your reckoning.

What has all this been for?

It has been a test. A test of worth.

Your intent is pure and thus you are worthy.

You may continue.

Suddenly everything around Jack flashed white and he squeezed his eyes shut and—

—Jack blinked and found himself back in the real world, back in the high cavern inside the cage in front of the golden colossus—except that the cage had started rising again, toward another hole in the ceiling here.

On the floor of the cage beside Jack was the dead body of Cardinal Mendoza. Mendoza’s head was a gruesome mess of exploded eyeballs and bloodied ears.

Jack shook his head as he picked up the rifle. ‘Too bad, Mendoza. You should’ve been worthier.’

The cage lifted away from the faceless golden colossus and disappeared through the hole in the ceiling, into the final part of the Supreme Labyrinth where only those with total purity of intent could enter.

Thirty seconds later, Jack’s cage rose up into a small stone chamber that looked like an ancient chapel . . .

. . . where Jack was instantly assailed by a wave of automatic gunfire.

Final Test of Worth: The Throne of the Three of Death

THE STADIUM OF THE DEATH THRONE

JACK’S CHAPEL

(CLOSER VIEW)

The Throne of the Tree of Death

29 December, 0447 hours

19 minutes till Omega

As bullets impacted all around him, Jack dived to the floor of the cage, instinctively taking cover behind the only thing he could take cover behind: Mendoza’s dead body.