Hand of God

Hand of God is the only stage of the Giant's path that adds almost nothing of its own to the bearer. Its authority is called the Vicariate: the Hand acts on behalf of the deity, Uniqueness, or Ancient it serves, manifesting its power and its retribution.

The price for this is peculiar. Apart from the Vicariate, the Hand of God no longer receives any new authorities — all that remains for it is to strengthen what it had at previous Sequences. Yet in brief moments, without harming itself, it is able to reach the level of Sasrir, and if the bearer is ready to maim himself — to turn into a disposable half-Ancient. The right hand of such a Beyondian takes on the properties of the entity it serves, and its own strength it knows how to condense into a mark and lend to others.

The danger lies in the authority itself. One may manifest another's might only briefly and with restraint: the more often the Hand of God speaks and strikes in the name of its patron, the less of itself remains in it — the mind gradually fades, and the bearer becomes a true servant rather than a vicar.

Of the combat skills, it is Defense that has changed most noticeably here: the Cells are built from dense light with an orange tint, and another layer of unyielding radiance is laid over the protected area — through such a barrier neither the Observer nor the Spatial Shadow will pass.