Sanctum (Dark Aether)

The Sanctum is the final room in the Sky Temple. It appears in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and is the final new room left for Samus to explore.
==Description==
The Sanctum has a small platform overlooking a large rotunda surrounded by a ring of Phazon. From here, Samus can see the last bit of Aether's planetary energy, which is also the only thing keeping its dark counterpart in existence. A large puddle of darkness swarms underneath the planetary energy for a few moments before dissipating. Once Samus jumps down and approaches the ball of light, however, the Emperor Ing emerges from the floor and absorbs the ball of planetary energy, forcing Samus to fight the Ing's mighty leader. After taking enough damage, the Emperor retreats into an impenetrable shell, and poison gas slowly rises up from the Sanctum's floor. Once all of the tentacles sticking out of the shell have been destroyed, the Emperor Ing comes out of the shell, transformed. Once the Mutated Emperor Ing has been destroyed, Samus absorbs the planetary energy. With the last of Dark Aether's energy removed, pillars rise out of the ground, and an 8-minute Countdown begins. By jumping on each of the pillars until she reaches the top, Samus can use the Screw Attack to reach the exit.
The Light Aether version of this room is the Temple Sanctuary, but because the Sky Temple is an upside-down version of the Great Temple, it occupies the same space as the Main Energy Controller.
This is the only non-Energy Controller room to play the Sun Generator Dark theme, in this case before and after the Emperor Ing battle.
==Connecting rooms==
*Sanctum Access (via Blue Door)
==Inhabitants==
===First stage===
;Emperor Ing Body
:"Morphology: Emperor Ing BodyRuler of the Ing Horde.Target is drawing energy from the unstable Energy Controller. Eliminating target's connection to the energy may be an effective strategy."
;Emperor Ing Head
:"Morphology: Emperor Ing HeadRuler of the Ing Horde.Target will form numerous tentacles to defend itself. Eliminate them to weaken its defenses."
;Emperor Ing Eye
:"Morphology: Emperor Ing EyeUnstable Ing biomass.Central eye is protected by a potent barrier shield. Shield does not provide complete coverage, however."
===Second Stage===
;Emperor Ing Chrysalis
:"Morphology: Emperor Ing ChrysalisRegenerating Ing ruler.Target's regen-shell is magnetically charged. Eleven weak points have been detected; target them with concussive blasts to shatter the regen-shell."
;∞ Inglets
:"Morphology: IngletWorker drone of the Ing Horde.Wall-crawling, morphing bioform. Strongly dislikes bright light."
===Final stage===
;Mutated Emperor Ing
:"Morphology: Mutated Emperor IngAltered ruler of the Ing Horde.Further Phazon mutation of the Emperor Ing has occured. The creature seems to only take damage when its heart is Light or Dark. Find a way to change the heart to one of these colors."
;Nightbarbs (can be summoned by the Emperor Ing with a Dark heart)
:"Morphology: NightbarbFlying airborne hunters native to Dark Aether.Targets are small but travel in large numbers for safety. Avoid contact."
;lightSwarm (can be summoned by the Emperor Ing with a Light heart)
:Unscannable
==Scans==
;Energy Core
:"Object analysis complete.This is the core of the final Dark Energy Collector.The last collection of planetary energy lies within the core. When you place it within the Energy Transfer Module for return to Aether, this world will become heavily unstable."
==On-screen Message==
"Planetary condition critical! Escape at once!"
==Trivia==
*The very last Ing of the game is fought here, and the first Ing boss of Echoes is fought in the room's Light Aether counterpart.
*There is an invisible barrier blocking the entrance/exit towards the Blue Door during the Mutated Emperor Ing battle. This is likely to prevent Samus from possibly escaping from the Emperor's quick moving attacks.
*Because the Sky Temple floats higher than the Ing Hive, the Sanctum is the highest room on Dark Aether. This differs from Light Aether, where the Sanctuary Fortress stretches above the Great Temple, making the Aerie (whose Dark Aether equivalent is the Hive Summit) the highest room in that dimension.
==Gallery==
Sanctum (Sky Temple) Map.png|Room seen on the Map.
Sanctum (Sky Temple) Samus Varia.png|Samus enters the Sanctum with her Varia Suit (obtained via hacking or glitching).
ru:Святилище (Темный Эфир)
Category:Sky Temple
Category:Rooms
Category:Boss Rooms