"You cannot be serious about this," Felia said furiously. "Do you have even the slightest idea who they are, or is memory loss a common occurrence for the humans?"
Levantia sighed deeply. A few months ago and he would have regarded the concept of fighting alongside the Dark Eldar ludicrous at best, and unforgivably heretical at worst. However, time had passed, the settings changed and with it, the way of life. After living among the most sadistic slavers in the galaxy, he had also come to realize they were not as bad as he imagined, or at the very least, they did not look like they were going to flay him alive and wear his skin at any moment.
"Our goal is to survive, is it not?" he replied. He glanced at Darelyn who was also in deep conversation with one of her comrade. They seemed to be debating about something and judging by the way they hissed and lashed at one another, it was not something pretty. "With superior numbers, with more weapons, should that not be easier?"
"Not with them, it isn't," Felia persisted. "The words of the druchii must not be taken so easily, for their heart is as black as charred coal and their souls could only continue to exist through acts of cruelty. They burn your worlds to ashes. They enslave your people and treat them like pieces of garbage. They despoil and defile everything in everywhere they go. And yet, you have faith in them? I had expected much more from a loyal follower of the Emperor, but now..."
"If I were a loyal follower servant of the Emperor, I would shoot you right here and now," Levantia cut her off with a grim tone. Felia stopped in her track, slightly bewildered by what she just heard. "But not before I kill myself for allowing this taint to persist inside me for so long," Levantia lowered his voice. "None of that matters anymore. The Imperial Creed, the animosity and grudge against the aliens and the unclean, the Dark Eldar true nature. If we are going to make this one out alive, then we have to learn how to leave what is irrelevant and what is harmful behind so that we can move on with the most positive mind possible."
"Positive mind?" Felia hissed. Her amber eyes were glowing at him and for a moment, Levantia wondered if she was going to pound on him and rip his heart out for saying that word. "Is that your priority right now? Is that all your pathetically narrow mind could come up with at a time like this? Look to the future for once. Can't you see nothing except suffering and damnation awaits us along the path we share with them? Take your eyes to the past. Has there been any interaction between anyone and the Dark Eldar ever turned out well for both? My Craftworld only asked for help from the druchii because they failed to anticipate how quickly they could turn from friends into enemy, and you are making the same mistake here."
"I will test my luck with that," Levantia replied. The Craftworld Eldar always looked to the distant past and distant future to base their decision, a trait that had so far made them difficult to predict, if not unreliable and untrustworthy by factions who valued the present more. This was one of the many things he found annoying about them. The past had already come to pass and no reason to cry over spilled milk. The future could not be ascertain, not even by the most skilled Farseer. How could they, based on such dubious reasoning, expect other races to appreciate their motives?
"And what if Lileath is not supportive of you?" asked Felia.
"I am already damned anyway," Levantia replied after some thoughts. "Anything that would improve my position, even if it is only for a short while, is welcome in my book. I am in no place to argue for anything better, and neither do you."
Felia felt silent for a few seconds. Inhaling and exhaling deeply as if to purge the frustration from her mind, she finally said, "If this is the path you insistently choose, then I have no choice but to let it be and follow until either it ends or we are no longer on the same branch of fate. But be warned, trust cannot result in friendship or mutuality when it is one-sided."
"I will try to remember that," Levantia replied as he tried to keep up with the Dark Eldar which Felia followed suit while staying as close to him as possible. Darelyn was up ahead still arguing with the other Trueborn, their voices getting louder despite the danger they could pose. None of the other Dark Eldar interfered, and, as much as he felt the urge to tell them to tone down, Levantia thought it may be best to let them settle this themselves. Different culture required different approach.
The group was making their way across the dark corridors, flayed skins, decapitated heads in gruesomely preserved states and other grotesque war trophies lining up the hallway as usual. This was joined by organic matters attached to walls, floor and ceiling that Darelyn identified as not a design of the ship and Levantia, being a seasoned fighter, confirmed to be of Tyranid origin. Felia was particularly frightened by them, claiming them to be alive in a way and brimming with ravenous desires. No doubt within them contained weak synapse organs to improve combat performance of individual creatures despite not being enough to keep them in line should no synapse creature was nearby. In other words, the hive ship was attempting to infest this place, making it a more favorable battleground for its army.
So far, they had only encountered the Tyranids twice and in both times they were nothing but mindless scuttling creatures desperately searching for a synapse creature for guidance. Upon being attacked, these Tyranids barely fought back and mostly fled. The group killed what they can but did not pursuit; there were just too many to make a difference, not to mention doing so risked being lured into an unexpected ambush. Despite the Eternity of Torment being alien environment to them, despite the multitude of traps and protective mechanisms it possessed, the Tyranids seemed to have made a nest out of this place.
As always, the xenos' pace proved far too fast for him to keep up without running or walking in an awkward manner. Even Felia looked rather displeased having to keep pace with him. The more disturbing thing he suddenly found was the fact his footsteps were the only thing audible aside from the frequent conversations, something he failed to notice when travelling in group with other overseers. Felia was wearing just socks, so that was alright. However, the Dark Eldar must have been made of cotton or something, for how anyone could walk in those armored boots on metallic floor without making a single noise was beyond him.
The journey went uneventfully on for a few minutes until Darelyn suddenly broke from her conversation with the other Trueborn, rushed towards Levantia and buried her face into his chest, much to the shock of both him and the Farseer nearby. Though he was sweating like a pig from all the fighting and running, Levantia felt something wetting his shirt from the outside: tears. He returned the embrace as soon as he realized she was visible sobbing. Not a good place to display such kind of emotion, he thought.
"Darelyn, calm down," Levantia spoke to her. "What is going on?"
The Trueborn which Darelyn just had a debate with shouted at them as he banged his fist against the wall. Darelyn shot back with a stream of Eldar words which Levantia did not understand but the poisonous tone used by both was not a good indicator. If they showed any restraint before, all was going to hell now. Worse still, they were making too much noise and the group was not the only one hunting around here. As before, the remaining Dark Eldar stayed out of this.
"That bastard, that son of a bitch," Darelyn moaned. "He treats me like I am his toy, like I am a tool that can speak."
"Darelyn, I am begging you, you must stop shouting right now or we are all screwed," Levantia said as he held her tightly to his chest and brushed her dark hair with one of his hands. "We are in a warzone here, remember that. The noises you are making will only help to attract the Tyranids to our position."
"Alright," she replied sheepishly. "I will do what you say."
The other Trueborn continued his rasping voice. What he said clearly hurt Darelyn, as she pressed head face into Levantia and sobbed. Though filled with anger at his treatment of her, Levantia refrained himself from using overt force. This was a different culture after all, and different culture required different approach. Perhaps this was common among the Dark Eldar. Maybe they were masochists who liked to be physically and mentally hurt from time to time. It was not within his right to judge anyone based on his human values.
But one thing remained: the need for survival. It did not matter he was human or Dark Eldar, the noise he made was uncharacteristic and a threat to everyone. Pissed off or not, he had no right to put other people at risk.
"And tell him to calm down too," he told her.
Darelyn spoke something to the Trueborn who replied in Eldar language, this time addressing at Levantia. Though his knowledge of the xeno tongue was limited to mostly nothing, he found whatever message he received an important one and that it would be helpful if he were to know. Previously, the only Dark Eldar who ever spoke to him directly were the ones using Low Gothic: Darelyn, Crox, one of his Wracks and the Sybarite in charge of the overseers.
"What did he say about me?" Levantia asked.
"He told you to have a piece of swine shit and sprinkle it with Ork toe jam," Darelyn replied, her casual tone making it sound even more disturbing.
Wow, that was helpful!
"Damn it, is there any way this asshole can get more annoying?" asked Levantia, irritated. "Is he always this kind of prick even when not under life-or-death kind of pressure?"
"You have no idea," Darelyn replied.
"Is he not your boyfriend or anything?"
Darelyn cringed. "A friend of mine? Somewhat true somewhat the opposite. A boy? Absolutely not. More like a sullen child."
One of the Dark Eldar seemed to have gathered his common sense and realized the danger as well. He seized the Trueborn in the shoulder and attempted to talk to him. As he did so, the Trueborn snapped and drew his weapon at him, shouting maniacally. Instinctively, everyone else aimed their weapons at the enraged elite, except for Levantia and Darelyn who were occupied with one another and Felia who had no weapon to begin with. Outnumbered, the Trueborn looked clearly frightened at the prospect of fighting a battle he could not hope to win, but his pride got the better of him as he waved his shardcarbine about frantically like a dog bearing his teeth to protect its chewing bone.
Disappointed and fearful about how the situation was turning out, Levantia turned to the Farseer for some help. "Felia, can you neutralize him before he does something stupid, or before I do and shoot him the face?"
"I can surely try," Felia agreed. She stepped forward, the tip of her gloved fingers glowing, and prepared to cast a spell on the maddened Trueborn.
"No, you stay out of this, witch," Darelyn protested. "I may enjoy his presence as much as you do, but solving it with magic is the worse option ever. If he realizes he has been put under a spell, he would go berserk on all of us, and no one would be alright. That is if he does not succumb to daemonic thirst before that."
"So, any suggestion?" Levantia asked again.
Before anyone could respond, a shimmering green energy beam was fired at the group. One of the Dark Eldar, the one that tried to stop the Trueborn earlier, was hit dead-on. In a millisecond, he was atomized without anything left to indicate he had been something that ever existed in the first place. The shock of his macabre demise carried through the group and panicked shouts erupted, followed by weapons being raised in the direction where the beam came from. Even the haughty Trueborn turned his weapon at the most pressing threat.
A Tyranid appeared at the end of the corridor. It possessed no limbs and instead floated in midair like a freakish balloon. Such was the size of its synapse organ that it outgrew whatever little chitinous carapace it had and took up two-thirds of the dead.
"Tyranid psyker," Levantia called out, remembering the horror he faced during the cleansing of the planet Idareus. "Zoanthrope." Whether the Dark Eldar realized that he had no idea, for neither Felia nor Darelyn bothered to translate this time.
Another Zoanthrope appeared, its baleful presence sending waves of terror into the mind of Levantia as well as the Dark Eldar nearby. A swarm of Hormagaunts accompanied the two synapse creatures, rushing at the group who were at this point impaired by the psychic power of the Hive Mind. Only Felia managed to resist the effect. Focusing on her power, she blew the charging monstrosities with eldritch blasts.
Levantia fell to the floor. For a moment, he felt everything was lost and this hopeless charade could not go on any further. To fight against the Tyranid was to fight the behemoth that had devoured entire worlds and driven entire species into extinction. Destroying them was tantamount to drinking every single drop of water in an ocean. No matter how many times they are beaten, no matter how many times they are repelled, the Tyranids would always come back, more powerful and numerous than ever before. His fate and the fate of every sentient being in this galaxy were sealed the moment the Hive Fleets began to enter. It was all over.
But it was not. Years of training and mentality hardening kicked in and Levantia lashed out at the lies the Hive Mind was trying to make him believe. On Idareus, the Tyranids were effectively wiped out from the surface of the planet after two weeks of fighting. By destroying spawning pools and biomass stores with artillery and selective destruction of synapse creatures, the forces of the Imperium were able to secure a major victory against the swarm. Levantia was there to witnessed it all. As the Tyranids evolved and adapted, its enemies also grew stronger from conflicts, developing new weapons and tactics to counter everything they could possibly unleash. The Tyranids were far from invincible like they used be to when they first entered the galaxy and all the incumbent factions were too busy waging war against one another to notice them. Now was the time for them to be the hunted, the one driven into extinction. Now was time their hunger came to an end.
Murmuring "Emperor protect me!", Levantia managed to recollect himself from the Hive Mind's influence, though incessant scribbling continued to rang over his ears. His picked up his weapon and aimed it at the Zoanthropes. These psychic monstrosities had thick shield covering them, so the only way to defeat them without overwhelming firepower was to wait for them to exhaust their energy and strike them down before they could regenerate.
Another beam was fired, the not-so-Darelyn-boyfriend Trueborn its the intended target. Struck by the same horrifying effect as Levantia, the Dark Eldar was motionless in the face of imminent death. Then, he made an abrupt move and pulled the next Kabalite Warrior to him and used him as cover. The Warrior evaporated into thin air, leaving the Trueborn paralyzed, but unharmed.
Levantia took the opportunity as the Zoanthrope lowered its shield to fire the Warp Lance and opened up with his splinter rifle. Despite the Hive Mind clawing at his brain, his aim was firm. Hit multiple times, the Zoanthrope shuddered and went down. The backlash it caused was amplified by its psychic powers, blowing a dozen nearby Hormagaunts to chutney and knocking down even more. Those that survived immediately jumped to their feet and carried on, still under synapse from the other Zoanthrope.
Then, the second Zoanthrope exploded in a spectacular manner, gore and innards splattering in all directions. Those remaining Hormagaunts were not consumed by the psychic detonation that was its death were slain as their synapse connection was abruptly severed.
Levantia could sense the presence of the Hive Mind receding from his head. Picking up himself and Darelyn who was down the whole time but recovering now, he looked to the Farseer wearing a mischievous grin on her face.
"Its mind was not strong enough," she commented.
"Glad to have you with us," Levantia said back.
"Do not gloat, Craftworlder," Darelyn snarled. "You have not proven anything yet. If you think we would start showing you respect just because you blow up a Zoanthrope, plug that idea into your ass and sulk it."
"Your attitude is equivalent to a child," Felia said in a mocking tone. "No, that would be an insult to children. A toddler would be a more appropriate way to describe the way you act and speak."
"Why you...?" Darelyn shook herself from Levantia and approached to Farseer with murderous intent.
"Now is not the time," Levantia chimed in. The other Dark Eldar had also regained full consciousness from the foul mind trick of the Tyranids. The Trueborn which Darelyn argued earlier turned his back on the group, looking rather pissed with the fact his allies had turned against him though for the very least, he was no longer hostile.
"Indeed, this is not," Felia echoed. "A fresh wave of the Great Devourer minions is coming for us, seeking our flesh and blood. We are too exposed here. The corridors are small so they will not be able to come us in large number, but that limits our flexibility as well. We need to move to a better position to engage them."
"Let's do what she says," Levantia spoke briskly. It did not require all those training and combat experience for him to know that these corridors provided only a temporary advantage. As the Tyranids started to bring in range weapons, especially flamers and spraying types, there would be no room for them to avoid them.
"Whatever," Darelyn replied grudgingly. She talked to her comrades who nodded in approval. Her nose crinkled and her brows raised when she addressed the other Trueborn. He spoke nothing.
A throaty howl caught everyone's attention. It was coming from just around the corner at the next corridor intersection. The Tyranids had made attempts to be stealthy so far. It was uncharacteristic that they were to make their presence known in advance for their preys unless the Hive Mind considered them to be little more than sports and thought that this detachment of creatures would surely bring an end to them.
"My divination predicts a very small chance we can win this fight," Felia said, which pretty much confirmed Levantia's fear. Her voice was remarkably calm, which might have been as a result of her training as a Farseer to be able to handle the possible future, even direst ones, with a degree of sangfroid. Sometimes, Levantia found that really vexatious. The less she expressed, the more he needed to deduct. "We must flee."
Another deafening sound erupted. It was coming closer.
"Move, now!" Levantia shouted and sprinted towards the opposite direction. Felia and Darelyn followed suit as quickly as they were parts of his body. The remaining Dark Eldar did not need to be warned and were already on their feet the moment the first of the creatures stepped out.
Levantia was running for his life. Before, when the Dark Eldar joined forces with the overseers, they had kept their speed low despite their reluctance in order for the overseers to catch up so that the xenos would not be exposed to enemy attack without support. There were no "overseers" here now, just Levantia the only sluggish human around. If he could not keep pace with the rest of the xenos, he would be as good as dead.
Nine of them dashed through the corridor, avoiding the carcasses as they went. All the corridors in this level on this ship looked almost the same, probably intent on confusing whoever boarding it and luring them into deathtraps. The hallway was without light but the children of the Dark City had no problem navigating. Felia, guided by her foresight, moved through the obstacles easily though she still stayed as close to Levantia as possible. Even with his lantern, Levantia continued to bump into objects and other people against his will. Nevertheless, he was somewhat glad when he bumped into someone, for it meant he was not lagging behind.
One of the Dark Eldar barked something at him when he accidentally kicked him in the lower calf from behind. Levantia did not wish to know what that meant, no matter how important it was.
At the next junction where the path split into two, as argument broke out among the Dark Eldar over which route they would take. The debate would have lasted longer had the Tyranid pursuers not shown themselves, three Warriors, one of which clearly twice the size of others. Levantia recognized the leader was one of the Prime strain, the most powerful non-monstrous creature Tyranids there were. With the battle taking place inside a ship, this was undoubtedly the better synapse-commander choice than the hulking Hive Tyrant and Tervigon that would have a hard time moving through the narrow corridors.
The xenos finally made up their mind and headed left, Levantia having no choice but to follow; whichever way the same to him, as long as they got him further from these ravenous horrors, he was glad to take.
"Hold!" Darelyn shouted in Low Gothic and then in her own language as she came to a sudden halt. Levantia immediately stopped in his track and Felia did the same. The other Dark Eldar were a bit slower but managed in time. "A series booby trap is just ahead of us. I will try to disable it."
"Then you had better do it fast," Levantia urged. As he noticed, this segment of the ship, probably the equivalent of the Dark Eldar to the living quarter on board any Imperial ship, was less laden with traps compared to the mechanical areas near the place where the overseers dwelt. On the other hand, the traps here were also concentrated into one spot unlike the mechanical areas where they were more dispersed. Levantia did not know why there were patterns like this, but he could guess this served some kind of a barrier or a border between regions and the residence had no intent of letting others freely trespass into their own territory. "Because we have got company. And they are REALLY hungry."
"Don't rush me," Darelyn pouted. She pulled out a device not different from the one used by the Sybarite attached to the overseers earlier. As she clicked on its runes, the remaining members formed a protective parameter ready to repel the incoming assault.
"They are here, very close to us right now," Felia cautioned. "I can feel their hunger overwhelming all senses and driving them frenzy. It is our destruction and assimilation they are after, and they would not stop unless our fate is such."
The first strike came in the form of a staff-like projectile being hurled at them. It was much larger and slow-moving compared to other munitions being fired so far. Fully able-bodied this time, the Dark Eldar whom the target was slipped aside to avoid it, sneering in the process. His smile quickly faded when the projectile abruptly changed its course and penetrated through his body like a knife through paper before stopping just as its tip stabbed into the abdomen of another.
To Levantia's horror, that another was Darelyn. Her eyes opened in wide terror as she looked at the blood gushing out from her injury. Levantia caught her as she collapsed, coughing blood. As he looked back at what had just been shot at them, he saw a small creature was attached to the base of the projectile, the one that controlled its direction. It expired afterward.
More shots were fired but with less accuracy then before. The Tyranids responsible for the attack had expanded its element of surprise and the Dark Eldar, knowing the projectile would always tried to steer towards them, evaded at the eleven hour where it was too late for the steering creature to respond.
+Two steps to the left,+ a voice rang out inside Levantia's head which he immediately reckoned as Felia. Knowing the Farseer was forewarning him of imminent danger, he did as he was told without delay, carrying Darelyn with him. No sooner he got out of the way then the projectile flew pass where he once stood. Levantia sighed in relief at having escaped danger. +No time for slacking. Three steps to the right. Then duck. Then rollover to the left exactly eleven feet and three inches.+
Performing all these maneuvers was exhausting in its own right. Clutching Darelyn in his arms while doing so made it even more sapping. When Felia deducted these maneuvers, she did not mean them to be done while holding someone else. Levantia could hardly blame her for this.
Another Dark Eldar lost his head to the impaler munition and another was pulverized after struck three times in a row. The group was down to seven now, and one of them was not in a position to fight back, not that they could do anything against an enemy that was not within line of sight to begin with. Whoever firing these ordnance was using the advantage of their homing missiles to strike while remaining hidden from enemy view.
The shooting stopped, whether they had run out of ammo or the risk of friendly fire had become prevalent Levantia did not know, but immediately so, two Warriors led by the Prime from earlier burst into the corridor and made a beeline towards the group. They had no range weapons, bred entirely to slaughter their foe in close combat.
"We need to go, now," Felia said urgently.
"Some traps...have not been...deactivated," Darelyn gargled. Levantia tore open another piece of his garment to cover her abdomen and stem the bleeding. The wound was deep and serious, blood seeping through and wetting his gloved hand.
"Leave her," Felia cried desperately. "It's not worth risking your life for a druchii."
The Dark Eldar fired back at the Warriors with little success. Toxic grenades were tossed out but the mucus the Warriors were drenched in seemed to dissolve the acid and prevent damage to the carapace. The Warrior Prime crashed into them and trampled one beneath its feet. Its crackling bonesword hacked down two more before its two comrades joined the melee. The whole thing would have become a bloodbath had the Farseer not intervened.
Felia shot a beam from her hand which threw one of the Warriors flying twenty feet back. The creature only took slight injury and got back on its feet charging and grunting almost immediately. A shimmering force field was created by the Farseer to block the advance of the Tyranid Warrior trio who pounded on it furiously. As Levantia watched, it would not last long and Felia was growing weaker from expanding her power, blood dripping from her nose.
The Dark Eldar stood their ground for a while, but seeing how their weapon was completely ineffective against the Warrior Prime, they became despondent, turned tail and fled. Despite her anguish, Darelyn reached out with her hand at the Trueborn who she once had an argument with, begging him something which indicated they did have a relationship together. The Trueborn did not even looked back as he ran, leaving Darelyn teary and heart-broken as she seized and shook Levantia violently. Before shot, Darelyn had disabled enough of the traps that the Dark Eldar were able to move through without casualties despite a few trap doors to Emperor-knew-where being opened and hidden splinter rifles firing.
Felia cried at them in vain. She was holding for now, but the Warriors were pushing her back inch by inch. Eventually, they would break through the shield and there was nothing left to stop them. If the Dark Eldar had manned up, let go of their prejudice and assisted her, things might have been different, though that was a dubious conclusion at best. Now she was alone in this fight with no hope of winning.
While such cowardice was not tolerated among the Imperial Guards - not even Archon Feharuln would be happy if he found out his troops deserted from combat, Levantia felt hopeless at the situation. Carrying Darelyn to safety was out of the question at this point, for that would slow him down significantly and even without the extra weight, he doubted he could ever outrun a Tyranid Warrior. He could run away by himself. Felia might be able to buy him enough time for that. But what was the point in that? To continue his existence when the ones he cared and loved died because of his inadequacy was something he could not live with.
Felia was annoying and stubborn at times, but she reminded him of what was left of his humanity. He had emotionally invested in her to the point he could not simply abandon her. She lent her help to him against the Tyranid, and now she was the only person who stood between him and inescapable death.
Darelyn was a Dark Eldar and a villain. However, Levantia had seen her more tender, more human-like side. For all he cared, she was no less than any woman blessed by the Holy Emperor. At first, he wished to end her life so that her innocence could be untainted, but he changed his mind afterwards. Without her, many of tricks that had allowed him to survive so long would have gone unnoticed.
Wait a minute!
A spark of hope shot out of Levantia's mind. If he could not defeat the Warriors using conventional methods, he could always rely on tricks to do so.
"Darelyn, this device can deactivate traps, can it activate them instead?" he asked as he picked up the console and handed it to her.
"Yes," Darelyn replied weakly. Her dark eyes met him and they knew they were on the same wavelength.
"Is the Great Folly among them?"
Darelyn grinned with a bloodied mouth. "Of course." She got right into business after that.
The barrier finally collapsed. Exhausted from energy usage, the Farseer dropped to the ground as the three Warriors fell upon her. No more psychic power left to defend herself, Felia shut her eyes tight and accepted her fate.
"Over here, you sons of bitches," Levantia shouted, firing at the Warrior Prime. Splinter weapons were useless at this point. If penetrating its thick carapace was hard enough, the creature received further protection in the form a strange layer mucus that prevented corrosion against its hide. "Leave her alone and come to me instead."
One of the Warriors turned its attention to Levantia, poised to assault. Its charge was stopped when the Prime hissed at it as if to inform this was its personal prey and nobody was allowed to get the glory. Most Tyranids would not bother, but synapse creatures had more self-control and independence, being able to operate even without the Hive Mind guidance. As a result, not all of them were completely nonchalant to this kind of challenge. Levantia was ready for this.
Roaring, the Prime pounced at him while its two bodyguards stood and watched. Levantia was familiar with this pattern of attack. He had a brief second to make his move and he took it, diving underneath the creature as it leaped above him. Before the creature could turn around to renew its effort, something caught its attention.
The original design was a disgusting black mass of goo place on a tray, but from his perspective, Levantia saw a cake covered in chocolate cream, sprinkled and topped with a cherry the size of a bowling ball, which was the reason why the Great Folly was given the nicknamed by him as super-delicious cake with a poisonous twist. This was without a shadow of doubt the most iconic, most famous and most deadly trap across the entirety of the Eternity of Torment. The effect was both physical and psychological. It was meant for the victims to see their favorite food displayed in the most welcoming manner imaginable. Chemicals were released and buzzing holograms appeared to cause hallucination and entice the taste buds of the victims as much as possible. Psychic disruptors were employed to prevent a psyker from seeing the true nature of the wicked dish. Compared to other traps so far which were average, standard, mediocre, sometimes outright terrible, this was the epitome of creative cruelty.
The Great Folly was widely known by everyone including overseers who were taught the glorious history of the Kabal and why they should feel proud to be in its service as opposed to the corrupted, rundown, crumbling Imperium of Man. At least one Archon had succumbed to the Great Folly at some point. During the battle of Sharakraz, the Ork Warboss Gutkicka and his Meganobz boarded the Eternity of Torment and stormed through its corridors, unleashing utter carnage (the Dark Eldar never spared any gory detail, even if it was their own) before slewing to a halt by this very trap. Gutkicka murdered his bodyguards in gluttonous rage and then himself died to the poison.
The Warrior Prime removed itself from its original target and headed straight for the trap. As it did, Levantia wondered what it was seeing that made it so hungry for. Such information might be extremely helpful for the overall war effort against the Great Devourer - their favorite food.
Levantia resisted the influence. This was more arduous than the Zoanthrope psychic power earlier. The knowledge this was a trap was half the battle, but not enough. He needed some stimulant so powerful it would overwhelm, or at least lessen the part of his brain screaming for him to let his desire take over and eat that delicious chocolate cake that looked exactly the one his mother made for him using all the savings she gathered for a year for his eighth birthday. Ah, his eighth birthday. The first time he ever celebrated a birthday. How nostalgic. He could already feel as sweet cream melt inside his mo...
No, no, no, no, no!
I should now have those thoughts, he reminded himself. There was no other way. Levantia stabbed himself through the palm with his knife. The pain was blinding and with it, the hunger lessens. The sight of his own blood was enough to discourage him from adding anything to his stomach.
The other two Warriors, also affected by the Great Folly, shot forward, avoiding the sprawling human and Eldar in their wake. Not even the Hive Mind providing enough influence to make them refractory against the effect, the three creatures began battling one another for the illusive ultimate prize. Whoever did not die to the blades would meet its end by poisoning.
"Looks...so good," said Felia, rising up. To Levantia's horror, her amber eyes were blank as they fixed themselves onto the tray of chocolate cake, or whatever version of delicious food she was seeing right now. Though the Tyranids were fighting over it, there seemed to be plenty for everyone. There was even enough cake for...
NOOOO!
"Felia, don't!" Levantia cried as he tried to stop her. "This is not real. It is all an illusion, a trap. If you eat it, you will die."
Felia shot him back with her psychic power, saying in monotone, "Mother made it for me with all her love and care. I have the right to induce myself on it. You can't take it away from me."
Levantia found it pointless to argue with her. It had always been pointless to argue with someone from the Craftworld. Great Folly or not did not matter. The "noble" Eldar were too mulish to change their way, too recalcitrant to be convinced of anything, and lacking those common senses needed to see through situations like normal people.
The time for talking was over!
So he pulled her over and kissed her instead.
This was the first time he had done this, having his tongue inside somebody else's body. Maybe he should have given in to those prostitutes; who knew that kind of experience might have proven helpful in this kind of situation? Her mouth was wet and warm (not different from that of a human). The feeling as his tongue rubbed against hers could be described as engrossing as it immediately became the focal point of all of his sensations. As far as he was concerned, none of the substance inside her mouth was toxic to humans.
That moment lasted longer than it should. A part of Levantia was screaming for cessation on grounds of being outside wedlock which was not encouraged by the Imperial Creed and punishable by the Astra Militarum and the fact he was kissing someone who was not even human. Humans kissed when they felt passionate and in love, but no such passion or love existed, at least not yet, between Felia and Levantia. They were still two individuals clinging together for the purpose of survival. For him, she was the last barrier to maintain his humanity, his final hope for a decent life even as a lowly slave. How important he was to her remained a mystery to him as the Farseer had been rather discrete at some points and blatantly expressive in others. Nevertheless, if it was human instinct to consider this kind of mouth-to-mouth action that did not involve blowing air into someone's lung of exceptional significance, the same may hold for the Eldar as well. Felia's eyes remained emotionless for a while, and just when Levantia began to feel skeptical regarding his approach and thought about a more drastic measure such as biting her tongue, they flared up. Astonished, embarrassed, awkward, incandescent.
She slapped him in the face. Hard. Really hard, in fact. It made that Hormagaunt fight earlier in the cafeteria look like pillow bashing. Levantia fell back and put a hand on his ached cheek, blood trickling from his lips.
"Do you have any idea what you just did?" the Eldar screeched. She maddeningly waved her hand around. Apparently, the blow had been painful to her as well. "Do you filthy despicable human even have the slightest idea how insulting or how disgraceful it is for an Eldar to have that happen to them? Not even Archon Feharuln - mark this day as I put him on a positive note - has ever done that to me. Not even HIM! And you low-life mammal have the gut to!"
"What is there to get so messed up all of a sudden?" Levantia explained. "It's just a kiss. I had to snap you out of that trance otherwise you would have been dead."
"You creep!" Felia exclaimed accusingly. "Perverted creep! You are a slut, a whore!"
"Those are Low Gothic words used to describe women," Levantia retorted.
"I don't care! Such disgusting, sexist language for a bunch of perverted barbarians!"
"I will not have you insult my beautiful language."
"What does it matter? I am as good as dead anyway, but before I finally join my ancestors, I will make sure to inflict great pain to those who have wronged me. You are first!"
"You think I would have done that if I had another choice?" Levantia asked. "It was that or getting stabbed."
"You should have just killed me instead," Felia growled. "Instead, you molested me. You destroyed my virginity. You bring shame upon myself and my family bloodline. Who do you think you are anyway? Now I can never marry to anyone for the rest of my life, and my race needs more babies than ever."
Felia continued her harangue. Levantia felt awkward about this. To be fair, he never thought he would get away with it without some trouble, but this was more than what he had bargained for. Luckily, Darelyn had passed out from the injury. If she were still conscious, Emperor knew how she would react.
But on the bright side, all three Warriors including the Prime were dead. The tray was empty and the trap's effect worn off. The Great Folly had lived up to its name and worked its miracle once more. This was a huge blow to the Tyranid war effort, losing one of their sub-commanders and powerful synapse creatures. Killing a few hundred Hormagaunts and the Hive Fleet would simply spawn more. The loss of a Warrior Prime, on the other hand, was not to be replaced so easily. For the first time since this battle started, Levantia felt he had achieved a real, worthwhile victory. He felt elated and uplifted at the evidence to challenge the Tyranid invincibility.
Felia tried slapping him in the face again as his attention drifted away from her. This time, he managed to catch her hand. She struggled, but he held her with an unyielding grip. As their eyes locked together, Felia's amber orbs began to slacken, acknowledging the fact she was no match for this human in a contest of strength. Realizing he was seizing her wrist too hard and might be hurting her, Levantia softened his hand and allowed the Farseer to pull back hers. Felia slumped next to a wall, exhausted and looking as though she was going to faint any moment.
"Murder me," she pleaded. Tears flowed like two waterfalls on her hot red cheeks. "And make it quick, too. I can't handle the pain."
Levantia sighed deeply at her request.
Back to square one again.
Awesome.
Author's note: They finally did it. They finally did what other Eldar x human stories have never had them do before. If you are long time fans of the genre, it is time to rejoice. Other than that, I hope you are not feeling this is a bit slow. It is a romance, after all, so we need to establish and develop the relationships as naturally as possible. Some parts of a chapter might refer to a detail in a previous one, which you might want to read all chapters carefully to find out. For example, the Great Folly was not first mentioned in this chapter, but was hinted a long way back.
This is the longest story I have ever written so far. Thank you all for you support. I am always willing to make changes if anyone points out I did something wrong or could have done it better. I get really annoyed when people I review discard my criticism entirely and even more so when they try to defend their stories to the death. I have no time for such pointless debate.
Anyway, this might be a little late but Happy New Year. I wish you all a good year for writing and reading.
