An original novel set in the Halo universe - based on the New York Times best-selling video game series Stripped of armor and might, the Forerunner warrior known as the Didact was torn free from the physical world following his epic confrontation with the Master Chief, and sent reeling into the mysterious depths of a seemingly endless desert wasteland. His mind ravaged, he has no recollection of who he is or where he came from. This once powerful and terrifying figure is now a shadow of his former self-gaunt, broken, desiccated, and alone. But this wasteland is not as barren as it seems, as a blue light glints from the apex of a thin spire in the far distance?  Thus begins the tale of the Didact's final fate-the untold story of one of the most enigmatic and popular characters in all of HALO lore.