78 INT. SAFEHOUSE - TUNNELS - DAY

Solomon and Joseph are running at full speed. Solomon turns a corner, grabbing a Warpriest's head and slamming it into the floor. Gunfire breaks out from half a dozen more just up ahead, but he uses the uneven walls and the darkness as cover. Joseph doesn't even manage to take a single shot as Solomon crushes the enemy line.

PILATE (O.S.)

I never thought I'd see the day that two teams of Warpriests weren't enough.

Pilate walks down the tunnels, coming face to face with the pair.

JOSEPH

Pilate!

SOLOMON

So the traitor in the midst finally reveals himself.

PILATE

I haven't betrayed anyone. I'm here to do what I was supposed to have done from the start. The alternative is in Maria's hands now.

JOSEPH

Maria...

A dreadful realisation begins to dawn on Joseph.

JOSEPH

I have to go. Hold him off!

SOLOMON

I'll do better than that.

Joseph turns, sprinting back in the direction they came.

PILATE

Do you think he'll forgive you if you kill me?

SOLOMON

Who cares? I'm right.

Solomon rushes Pilate, swinging his fist. It strikes Pilate's rifle - Pilate has parried him with the exact same move Maria used.

PILATE

Just because you're correct, doesn't mean you're right.

Solomon's patterns shine, and he tears the gun in half, punching Pilate in the chest with enough force to send him flying.

79 INT. SAFEHOUSE - MAIN CHAMBER - DAY

Joseph runs into the room to see Maria standing over Aether, knife in hand. She grabs her, pressing the knife to her throat. Joseph points the gun at Maria.

AETHER

Joseph...!

JOSEPH

Maria!

MARIA

You've caught me at a bad time.

JOSEPH

What are you doing?!

MARIA

You know exactly what I'm doing. I wanted to persuade her to kill herself, but in the end, we didn't have that kind of time.

JOSEPH

Why?! If Aether dies, The End fails! We won't have a perfect world!

MARIA

What is "perfect", Joseph? Who told you what it means?

JOSEPH

I know what it means!

MARIA

Who told you?

(beat)

You pinned all your hopes on The End, and you made up what it means to you. The End isn't magic. It's just bodies.

JOSEPH

You can't know that!

MARIA

You've seen it with your own eyes.

JOSEPH

What happened last night was a mistake!

MARIA

Ten thousand years of work. You said it yourself. We both know there was no mistake. The Tower did exactly what it was supposed to do. You just assumed you understood it. And you were... incorrect.

Joseph doesn't lower the gun. He can't.

80 INT. SAFEHOUSE - TUNNELS - DAY

Solomon's patterns are magnifying his strength. Pilate can barely evade his blows as he punches through the rusting iron walls.

SOLOMON

Give up. You don't stand a chance.

PILATE

I'll keep striving towards the impossible. That's what it means to be human.

SOLOMON

To blindly charge into your grave? I pity your weaknesses. As a perfect being, all I can do is weep for your flaws.

PILATE

You keep saying that. Perfect for what, exactly?

The words have visibly struck a chord.

SOLOMON

Excuse you?

PILATE

"Perfect" implies you're an exact fit for your situation, doesn't it? Because you certainly aren't flawless. You fell for the same trick twice. You failed to keep your sister safe. You didn't even that Maria and I notice wanted her dead this whole time. Did you, in your arrogance, even consider it? Did we hit a blind spot? Are you keeping some specialty behind that bluster or not?

Solomon is visibly enraged at the challenge, and more enraged that he can't refute it.

SOLOMON

You'd best hope there's a miracle behind yours.

PILATE

Don't you worry about that, boy. My miracles were behind me years ago.

Solomon grabs Pilate by the throat, lifting him up to slam him into the ground.

81 INT. SAFEHOUSE - MAIN CHAMBER - DAY

The standoff continues.

JOSEPH

You knew it would be like this.

MARIA

Not exactly. But I had a hunch. It's healthy to be sceptical when materialising a nebulous thing like "good".

She presses the knife against Aether's throat, drawing a little blood. Aether gasps.

JOSEPH

Stop it!

MARIA

One way or another, I won't be a part of The End. I knew that from the beginning. You'll have to kill me.

Joseph's grip wavers slightly.

JOSEPH

Maria... Please.

MARIA

I'm sorry, Joseph.

JOSEPH

I can't do this without you. A perfect world has you in it.

MARIA

"Perfect" means nothing to me. Say it like I can understand.

BEAT. Joseph has accepted what happens next. Tears begin to flow down his cheeks.

JOSEPH

(weakly)

I love you.

Maria gives a warm, affectionate smile.

MARIA

I love you too.

Her grip on the knife tightens. The sound of gunshot, tinged in finality, echoes through the room.

82 INT. SAFEHOUSE - TUNNELS - DAY

Pilate's brains have been thoroughly beaten out. The back of his head has been reduced to a red smear as he lies lifeless against the floor. Solomon stands over him, panting heavily to catch his breath.

SOLOMON

There. I win.

His words are more to convince himself. It doesn't work. For the first time in his life, he has been tricked, and the doubt creeping into his mind makes the challenge to his self-proclaimed "perfection" ring true all the more. Then, footsteps. Someone is coming, looming in the dark. He already knows who it is.

SOLOMON

Show yourself.

Sophia's crown and gauntlet spark to life in the shadows.

83 INT. SAFEHOUSE - MAIN CHAMBER - DAY

Aether is on her knees, staring speechless at Maria's body. A rumbling explosion in the distance shakes her out of her stupor.

AETHER

Are you... okay?

JOSEPH

It was... That was the only thing I could... do, I... Can you still bring The End?

AETHER

I think they can fix my circuits, but... Are you still... I mean, you wanted a perfect world, and...

Joseph can only grit his teeth.

JOSEPH

It'll work out. She'll be there, right? She'll...

Maria's body twitches.

JOSEPH

Maria!

AETHER

Oh no.

JOSEPH

You get it, don't you? I'm not going to let you do that, even if you believe in it!

AETHER

Joseph. That's not...

Maria pulls herself to her feet, looking up with eyes like white embers.

JOSEPH

(weakly)

...Maria?

Her shambling has become identical to the corpses from before. Her flesh begins to sear itself into a coal-like colour and texture as her body begins to immolate right in front of his eyes.

FIRE

What... is... Maria?

Joseph screams, backing off immediately in horror as the last fragments of his faith come crashing down.

AETHER

Joseph! I know! I know, but we have to leave. We have to get out of here. If we don't, Sophia is going to catch us and... she's going... to...

Maria's corpse is slammed against the wall, held there by invisible force. Aether and Joseph look to the door in terror. A bloodied Solomon is tossed into the room. The worst possible person strikes a horrifying figure against the doorway, flanked by two Warpriests.

SOPHIA

Oh no, please continue. Give me some ideas.

The rage in her eyes borders on inhuman.