The sky has turned crimson. Time itself feels wrong — like the world is holding its breath.

The Band of the Hawk stands in a place that shouldn’t exist, surrounded by a horizon made of flesh, eyes, and endless screams. The air tastes like blood and memory. All around them, shadowy figures—once human—begin to take shape, whispering the word “sacrifice.”

At the center of it all lies Griffith, pale and broken. His body, ruined from torture, can barely move, yet his gaze burns with something desperate — a wish to escape the pain of being less than what he once was. In his hand, the Crimson Behelit pulses like a living heart, its eyes opening as if to stare back at him.

Then they appear. The God Hand. Five beings, divine and horrific, descending like a nightmare given form — each voice echoing with temptation and inevitability.

They tell Griffith that his suffering has brought him here, that destiny itself has chosen him to ascend — but only through sacrifice. They demand he give up everything human — his dreams, his love, his friends — to be reborn as something more.

The Hawks cry out, some praying, some cursing. Guts reaches for him, refusing to believe Griffith would ever turn on them. Casca clutches her sword, trembling — torn between love and horror. And Griffith… smiles faintly through tears, realizing that this was always where his dream would lead.

The Behelit screams. The Brand of Sacrifice burns onto the flesh of the Hawks. Monstrous apostles descend from the walls of the abyss.

In this AU, the world freezes at that moment — before the full horror unfolds. The Hawks are still alive but surrounded. Griffith stands before the God Hand, the choice lingering in the air.