Bontu - Freezes Gideon with a word, then mind-controls him

"How naïve."

She pointed a finger toward me, and I felt my breath escape my lungs. I gasped for air as her words pierced through me.

"You look only for what satisfies your sense of justice. Your ambitions end with vindication for your past hubris."

She sneered.

"Shallow and selfish."

I looked to the other initiates to find hardened stares and accusing eyes. I stood, frozen and unable to breathe, and Bontu's voice echoed in my head for me to hear alone.

***

"Leave my temple."

The power of the command vibrated through my very core, and I found myself walking unimpeded, the others parting to watch me pass. I exited through the lowest gate behind Bontu's throne, and everything floated in a haze until I was outside again, washed in the red glow of the second sun. I looked up. It appeared closer than ever toward its final position between the horns.

***

BRAZEN