Warhammer 60,000: Emperor's Thousandth Son
- Prologue -
During the Horus Heresy, Heka had fled Planet of Sorcerers just after he parted his ways with Ahriman, having once been a member of Coven that had casted their spells, seeing this as a disastrous end. Not only that.. the very Thousand Sons were changing and Heka knew he did not want a part in their corruption. In their change, so he fled.
For a time, Heka wandered aimlessly across all over the galaxy feeling everything was lost during the Heresy. He was just looking for any knowledge as he started, gaining a moniker "Wandering Sorcerer" or "Red Sorcerer" early on by people Heka had encountered yet Heka never mentioned his name nor his Legion. He witnessed Imperium of Man changing. Slowly, yes but he knew it would not be the same Empire he fought for during the Great Crusades. Then his mind turned towards to his Rubric Marines, and towards Thousand Sons legion. He then decided upon a goal then: To fight Chaos. To end their hold on Thousand Sons. If not, then annihilate them, so Tzeentch will not have his puppets. And to end the effects of the Rubric of Ahriman on the undead automata of Thousand Sons, without the effect of flesh-change, for he had long suspected Thousand Sons were being manipulated.
His suspicions proved correct when he was on Prospero years ago, trying to take all the scrolls to preserve knowledge after having slaughtered countless Space Wolves, with his spells, and using his bolter pistol to kill Sisters of Silence, as he fought with the remaining members of his group just before he was teleported out, finding himself on Planet of Sorcerers with other Thousand Sons. At that time, Heka had joined Ahriman's Coven as he thought Ahriman was verging on a discovery of a true cure for the flesh-change, as he was on the verge of being affected by that curse. The moment Heka felt himself free from flesh-change, he was elevated but for a moment, for he suddenly realized his Battle brothers that were nearby did not speak, were completely silent, constantly whispering "All is dust".
Horrified, Heka moved quickly to his old friend "Ukrit? ukrit?!" He shouted, but the warrior did not respond. He tried to pull off Ukrit's helmet, finding it impossibly hard to pull off. Psychically he looked into Ukrit and realized Ukrit's soul was trapped permanently in that armour, and through his Second Sight, he knew the body was turned to dust, and he looked into the now-glowing eyes. No will. No thought. He could not feel them at all in Ukrit's head at all. He was completely horrified and this is what prompted him to leave Sortiarus, taking with him a band of new Rubric Marines that followed his psychic commands. He had managed to get away, using what Alpha Legion had taught him, but at that time, he was unable to hide his now-bright psyker signature. Heka had considered himself fortunate that he was an Alpha plus psyker since birth, and his powers had grown thanks to Rubric of Ahriman, and he had suspected this is what allowed him to escape Warp, during the Horus Heresy, fending off Daemonic entities that attacked him.
Heka began to formulate long, long schemes, as he observed the future, watching for details. His plans came to live as he traveled between worlds, using the same ship he had ever used. Brilliance of Knowledge, a Cobra-class destroyer that was part of 28th Expeditionary Fleet during Great Crusade. On that fateful day, Heka was experimenting with incantations and spells, in order to restore the Rubric Marines back to normal, Heka continued, as he wrote runes and put in wards to ward off the Daemons.
In that moment, a bright flash occurred on the fateful day. Heka found himself falling through unknown space, and Heka was surprised to see many alternative realities flooding before his eyes. Alternate histories. He saw alternate heresies. Dornian Heresy, Gulliman Heresy and hundred others and there were even events where Heresies did not occur. Heka witnessed many different fates of Thousand Sons on alternate timelines as he continued falling. Heka formed a psychic bubbleshield, in order to defend himself. He saw hundred things, so many things that were impossible before his eyes.
And then Heka fell onto the world where the ground was literally white, as white as bone, and the fall momentarily disrupted his barriers. In that moment, Heka immediately felt something leap into him. Heka groaned as he stood up. He noted that he still had his crimson armour, which was an immediate relief but now he looked around, as soon as he summoned the energy barrier with warpfire burning around him.
Heka felt his mind immediately expand and in his head, he felt two presences come to live. They introduced themselves "I am the Mote of Deep Warp." The entity spoke psychically within Heka, and another voice introduced himself "And I am the remnant of the one you never had complete faith in, the one Magnus had given a part of himself to Tzeentch, and ended up here." Heka was displeased, but remained quiet as he looked up to the stars, and was surprised to see they were merely stars, though they had strange… dim quality and they were arranged in a very strange patterns. He noted the sky was inky black, just as black as void of space itself yet he had a strong feeling he was not in Materium at all. The Mote of Deep Warp warned him of that while the remnant of Magnus the Red filled his mind with knowledge, painfully expanding his mind.
Heka looked down and looked at the ragged broken horizon, of this world, as though as it was broken, remade and broken again. Not so soon, he saw the shadows, lithe shadows, in similar form to Eldar warriors he had fought, but they had something in them that disturbed Heka. His Second Sight revealed what he was horrified to see. Only thing he could mutter was "Neverborn… the souls that should have been born but were not born. So.. enraged at being Neverborn." before beginning his incantations, just as he defended himself with his staff.
Heka could only defend himself with his staff, fending off their strikes, parrying them as he destroyed the neverborn entities with his psychic abilities. All of sudden they melted into the ground, and Heka found himself alone. He felt he was being watched at all once from the stars.
The inky blackness flowed away in the sky, to Heka's surprise, and he saw countless faces, and he felt powerful sense of wrong in there, so much hate, so much.. darkness.
Nothing good could ever come out of this. Heka thought as he turned to look for a way out, a ship perhaps? but he sensed entire planet had nothing on it. It was just barren, and the remnant of Magnus warned him "Do not trust anything on this world, and out there. We are not in Materium at all" confirming Heka's suspicions. However before he could say anything.
"Emperor's Thousandth Son. Welcome, Good man of Prospero. Is it not what they called you these days before Horus Heresy?" The monstrous telepathic voice spoke within Heka's head, making Heka recoil in revulsion. Holding his staff, he immediately recognized the faces in the sky, with his enhanced sight. They were faces of every sociopaths and psychopaths he had killed in his entire life. He realized every faces, both human and xenos, were faces of sociopaths and psychopaths of every race. Countless of them.
"Welcome to the core of Deep Warp. I have a great interest in you, Heka the Red. You still remain a Good Man of Prospero, to this day, despite our attempts to bring you to our fold, like we had done with so many of your brethen" a figure slowly formed before Heka's eyes, like mounds of red flesh rising out of the ground, and forming into a man. A mound of flesh, which greatly disgusted Heka but at same time intrigued him.
"You have strong will. Will of iron and you are one of the most powerful psykers in the galaxy, are you not?" The figure finished forming before Heka, speaking in a voice of thousands but as one. The voice that was eternally demented. It formed a uniform a khaki colored uniform, clearly that of Terran official, ages ago. It had a symbol of swastika on a little cloth wrapped around his right arm. the figure was that of a human, clearly infamous for mass deaths early in human history. A middle-aged human, whose hair was combed to side, and had toothbrush mustache for a beard. A tyrant of Jermani in the Old Terra. "You resisted all our offers and it intrigues me greatly."
Heka began to see visions of his actions as a god, what he could do with the powers. To help people, to bring forth a new empire, to be worshipped and venerated, with new Thousand Sons following him, and the figure promised him riches and resources to do what he wanted and needed to. Heka saw Prospero being rebuilt, but this time by his own hands. He saw glittering cities of Prospero, and then he saw Magnus kneeling before him in that vision.
"This is what I offer you. An alliance. A power. You were classified as Alpha-plus psyker by Imperium of Man. Now.. imagine… To be made more powerful, beyond mere mortal limits, to exceed even Emperor's power." Heka saw all this, and he was tempted, but despite the temptations, he grew suspicious. The monster continued on "But forgive me! I have been so rude not to introduce myself! I am known by many names by other races. I am Nexusofeverfatedrisingmadnesshopeofallturnedblackdoomtoallthebeligerentsandtheirgodsallhaildoomnight"
Just hearing the rest of the name made the Mote of Deep Warp, and the Remnant of Magnus roar in pain, and it caused Heka visible pain, but despite the pain, Heka managed to focus, even though his brain was filled with fire. The NEX asked in a mocking tone "Are you alright, Thousandth Child of Anathema?" It was extremely confident. So cold and filled with confidence.
Heka replied softly but with strong voice, as he clutched his head. He knew this thing was trouble. Heka snarled, realizing it was the fount of all the troubles in the galaxy, a cause of downfall of Thousand Sons. He immediately saw faces of Chaos "Gods" that Magnus had called them, but now it was becoming clear to Heka that they ARE Chaos Abominations that sit on Four Thrones within the Great Ocean. To his horror, he realized then that he felt the links of Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch and Slaanesh to that monster. Faint but they were there, it was as if … these ones were but mere faces, like four fins of sharks breaking the surface of the water, the bodies were not shown. And now, he saw the body of that thing. Yet he could tell that was not it's true form. It was hiding it's true from through illusion that his Second Sight barely showed him the outline which was what horrified him.
And while the offers made by Primordial Annilator were tempting, Heka knew it meant giving up his will, as he sensed and theorized that these Abominations were once mortals but were formed and remade. He suspected these former mortals were on his level of psychic might.
"What.. is the catch?" was Heka's soft reply. "Nothing so difficult, so grand. It is something you already have." Heka immediately saw himself in third person, as though as he was looking at his own body. All you have to do is… hand over your free will, and soul. To bind yourself eternally to me. In return, I will ascend you beyond Primarch, beyond Emperor himself.. to join my Pantheon. To become a God. Do that and you will accomplish so many of your goals"
In that instant, after hearing the voice, Heka saw many images of what that Godhood entailed. The power. To make himself a God… to have adoring worshippers, to have many servants and command entire armies, to do what he saw fit. Yet Heka, in his humble and kind nature that once earnt him a reputation among the Astartes he fought alongside in Great Crusade as a "Good Man of Prospero", resisted the temptations.
To the surprise of the monster within Deep Warp, Heka replied "Thank you for your considerations… but I wholeheartedly refuse this offer." At same time, he began to look around the world, looking for a way out "I do not want power. I do not desire to be a god. I see nothing but ruins and hate. Your way is paved with deceptions and death" At that moment, the figure growled, and closed his fist, and stomped on the ground.
The sky grew red and Heka felt rage in the sky. It roared. The figure leapt at Heka, but as soon as that figure leapt at Heka, the Sorcerer turned the figure into ashes almost instantly. He felt himself wrestle with the Mote of Deep Warp, at the moment, influenced and linked to the monster, but that link was already weakening rapidly, due to Heka's inherent good nature. In that way, Heka was also influencing the Mote of Deep Warp. Because of that, Mote resisted NEX's order to annihilate or to mutate Heka. It assisted the Red Sorcerer as he sought out a way to escape.
Heka began to chant, focusing his will onto the Materium, into his previous location before he was pulled by that thing. He continued to chant his incantations, to escape, just as the ground shook, and the tendrils began to rise out of the newly created cracks on the surface of that world.. Paper-white tendrils solid and seemingly made of bones rushed at him. Heka moved, and he saw portals leading the way out. The Mote indicated these portals were the way out.
The monster struck where Heka was anticipating to be at, as it could see the future. Yet it failed to anticipate Heka's refusal. It intended to get what it wanted. No matter what. And sent countless Neverborn after the Red Sorcerer. They moved so rapidly that Heka, using what members of Corvidae taught him, had to shift some of his focus to precognitive abilities, managing to hold off their impossibly perfect strikes that would have otherwise grievously injured him to prevent him from moving or killing him.
Heka was weakening rapidly, his immense psyker might becoming exhausted. There were chinks, in his psychic shield, though the monster was not able to penetrate his mental defences. It roared and psychically yelled at his mind, in it's increasing frustrations at it's plan being delayed and potentially disrupted. Heka continued to fight on.
It was then that Heka was struck hard, but almost as sudden as first time, as Heka felt on his knees due to extensive injury from the strikes. The monster then coolly asked Heka "I am merciful. Again, will you accept this offer, Anathema's Thousandth' Son?" Heka roared i his defiant voice "I refuse to be your god, to be an abomination!" and he levitated as he declared. "I sacrifice my place in time, for it is better not to exist than to exist as a slave!" Heka roared and turned the building energies into himself.
For a moment, there was a bright flash, causing the monster to roar in pain, yet Heka was surprised that he was still there, despite using energies to destroy himself, to sacrifice his place in time itself. Yet he was there. He wondered until the Mote indicated both of them were responsible for his survival. Heka silently thanked the Mote, but realized he could not see the future anymore due to his sacrificing his place in time. Technically, he shouldn't exist anymore.
But Heka also saw the monster could not see him at all. As though as he was invisible to it. Yet it sensed his presence. It roared furiously filled. "I know you are there, insolent one! I will have a god, one way or another. you merely delayed my plans, Heka" The Neverborn could see Heka however and they lunged at him. "I will not cease." The monster roared. "You are rare, but I have time and you do not. and I will seek out another like you then, and give him my Mote. You will give it back to me" Heka ran, as he incinerated many of Neverborn, remaining protected by his barriers, but he began to slow down, for every Neverborn that was incinerated, a strike made it past his defences.
He saw a portal open up, and this time, Heka took control of it, sensing an opportunity, forced the portal to link to the one in Materium, to his ship. He leapt through it, just as portal closed however he found himself falling through the alternate timelines and realities.
Heka suddenly breached one branch of Webway into Materium, straight into the interior of the hangar deck of his ship. He saw the portal close immediately. He then stood up, feeling strange, "Well, we're out of Warp it seems. And the Mote is jubilant to be free." The remnant of Magnus remarked. The Mote indicated "Not fully free yet. I would need to be purified in order to be fully free, then you can fully use my resources fully without being corrupted, The one you just faced.. Primordial Annihilator… will not cease, will get what it wants."
Heka was surprised by this entity and the Remnant of Magnus and then he felt his body was drastically different. He walked towards to the mirror-like wall, and took off his helmet.
Heka was shocked. He found his skin to be reddened and found his once black hair had changed to red. As red as Magnus' famously red hair. Heka was surprised, but then the shadows spread out everywhere, and the eyes began to show through the darkness. He found himself unused to seeing so many things from different points of countless eyes. Heka then put on his helmet, and the shadows disappeared, returning everything to normal. Heka grimly noted he had a new goal: To fight Chaos, to prevent himself from turning into a god, and to purify the Mote of Deep Warp, in addition to his existing goals, to cure the Rubric Marines and to end the pains of Thousand Sons.
