An order.

"Absorb him."

Two words, a mere whisper of authority, yet Angel Breaker rose up to her feet, summoned her sleek black weapon from thin air, and shoved her blade down Prometheus' spine. An ugly, horrific scream erupted from Prometheus.

"W-what are you–" Prometheus' throat was stuck. He couldn't speak. He couldn't move. His body began to fade away into tiny particles of purple. First from his shoulders–

"You think I'm stupid? I know you. I know your psychological profile. You are a man who has no care for things like prophecies and magic, organizations and authority. You care for results. You're like Batman. Put simply, you saw what I could do with that machine of yours, learned what would happen when Manhunter and I joined together, and thought you could steal it for yourself."

–then his legs. Slow and excruciating, the flecks of purple were sucked by the sword like a black hole. Inch by inch, piece by piece, until the totality of his body dissolved into the Angel Breaker.

"Plus, I saw the mark on her face. You hurt Chloe. You're lucky I didn't kill you earlier."

The very essence of Prometheus was drawn into the ethereal depths of the Angel Breaker. The pulsating blade, infused with ancient and otherworldly power, bound the formidable human within the confines of the Nth metal.

As the glowing energy dissipated, leaving an eerie calm in its wake, the once-proud Prometheus appeared as a faint, incorporeal silhouette within the sleek black blade. His essence seemed trapped and confined to a spectral existence, forever at the mercy of Angel Breaker's will.

"Was that to your satisfaction, My Chosen One?" Angel Broke broke the temporary silence with a thrilled smile. His fury sated temporarily, he nodded.

The horrific gasps of desperation lingered in the sword for a second longer. Then…Prometheus was no more.

"Good work," Aaron praised. Oddly enough, there was no turmoil inside him. No regret over what happened. He knocked out Chloe. He hurt her. That was too great a crime to spare. "Maybe you do have a place beside me after all."

The woman glowed and instantly fell to one knee. "As you say, Chosen One."

There was one remaining tread left. This time, his heart pulsed with emotion. This man, this Manhunter, this spirit. He had sensed a connection with him on TV. So this was why…

"What will happen to you?" Aaron questioned. "After our…union?"

"Nothing." The Manhunter had remained rooted in his submission. "There is nothing for me to do but…disappear."

"Didn't you say you lived your life as a person? You had a family. Isn't there heaven for you?"

"Not for me, no."

Aaron thought he was seeing a reflection of himself. A version of himself who after working for decades died meaninglessly. No family, no friends, no love, and no hope. He was going to live alone and die alone.

"One last question: how was I born? Who are my parents?"

"I don't know. Perhaps you were merely shaped into the shape of a human, perhaps your female carrier was blessed. I could not say. In the hours before our arrival here, I had the heretic Prometheus do some research. Like with many orphans in Gotham, there was no connection. My apologies."

His loyalty was stout and true. His compassion was genuine. He cared for him in his own way.

Aaron stepped up. He extended an arm. "Give me a portion of your soul. Do not make me whole."

"A…a portion?" The Manhunter stared up at him, mask unable to hide his confusion. "Why?"

"If I absorb you, I will be omnipotent, right?"

"It would take time and discipline. However, at the end of your journey, yes. You would be infinitely close to omnipotence. You can be the greatest ruler of the cosmos. Every man and woman will worship the ground you stand on. I am sure of it."

Infinitely close to omnipotent…the Chosen One…

Aaron considered the implications. His new reality. His surroundings, his power, his life. He remembered his times with the Robins, his sessions with Hadiyah and Jaina, his relationship with Tanya and Tam, his university days…

Cassandra. Chloe.