The Brand of Sacrifice marks those anointed for the Invocation of Doom, a sacrificial ceremony in which those consecrated by the laws of causality transcend their humanity, resulting in the creation of an apostle or a God Hand member.

The lives of the sacrificed, someone close and important to the summoner, are then offered to creatures of the darkness and ritualistically murdered. At least in the case of God Hand members, the deceased's life force is used to complete the summoner's transition.