"I'm sorry, who?" Vulkan obliviously asked.
"Seriously?" the dumbfounded Ahriman inquired, "Look, I don't know how long it's been, but I get it if you don't remember me, but I literally just explained everything! I was the First Captain and Chief Librarian of the Thousand Sons under Magnus the Red, we got sucked into serving Tzeentch, but now that I'm here my connection with that too-clever-by-half-octopus-looking-asshole have been severed. Sure, I no longer have my connection to the Immaterium, but…"
"I'm sorry," Vulkan interrupted, "No longer connected to the Warp? How is this possible!"
"Yes!" Ahriman enthusiastically replied, "Exactly, that's what I wanted to tell…" Ahriman paused, looking down at his exposed chest, "I'm sorry, could I have a moment to put my tunic back on? I prefer to keep things modest."
"I suppose so." Vulkan relented, nonchalantly shrugging shoulders, "But I'd prefer the staff stay out of your hands. I came to you unarmed, and I expect the same courtesy."
"Of course." Ahriman politely replied. He put his tunic over his head and clasped his cloak over it. He then picked up his mask and stared at it for a moment, contemplating. He eventually decided on concealing his face once more.
"Apologies if this feels impersonal," Ahriman said, turning back towards Vulkan, "But if anyone should come through those doors, I'd prefer my little secret stay between us."
"Ah, yes." Vulkan said, "It would be quite unfortunate in anyone came in and saw you. Thankfully, now, there is no way this will happen!"
"Vulkan, who did you see come in?" Ahriman asked.
Amity's body tensed up from behind the large column. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for either a root of escape or better place to hide.
"What? Ahriman, how could you accuse me of such recklessness!" Vulkan nervously replied.
"You are a terrible liar, Vulkan." Ahriman pointed out, "Treachery and deceit never suited you. I'm not trying to hurt anyone, Vulkan. Please just tell me what you saw."
"No, stop!" Vulkan begged, "You know I cannot deny polite requests!"
"Pretty please?"
Amity saw a floor grate back towards the doors. She didn't know if it would lead to the sewers, a dungeon, or perhaps just the other side of the wall, but her anxieties about getting caught compelled her to try. She made a mad dash towards the grate and attempted to forcefully rip it from the ground, but it was tightly screwed in place.
"I'll never talk!" Vulkan resiliently replied.
"Okay, Vulkan, I can literally see someone trying to escape through the vent in the back of the room." Ahriman dryly pointed out.
"What? Haha, no!" Vulkan weakly attempted to deny Ahriman's claim, "That's… that's probably just… aurora borealis?"
Hearing this incredibly pathetic excuse, Amity began wildly trying to rip the grate from its screws. Then, remembering that magic is a thing, she stood back from the grate and cast a spell circle. The grate began to glow white with heat before the bars started to melt away.
"Ugh…" Ahriman sighed, "While your historical reference is both amusing and appreciated, I think this has gone on long enough."
Ahriman outstretched his right hand towards his staff, which soon flew into his grasp. As Amity prepared to jump into the opened vent, Ahriman pointed his staff at her. It's crystal head began to glow, and Amity founded herself suspended a few inches above the ground, surrounded by a pale, red aura. Vulkan turned around and saw the floating child, and then promptly turned back towards Ahriman.
"I SAID NONE UV DAT WEIRDBOY JUNK, YA GIT!"
A newfound rage was flickering from Vulkan's crimson eyes. He widened his stance and clenched his fists, then charged Ahriman with such force that his poots cracked the very tiles beneath them. Ahriman showed no signs of worry or fear, he simply stared at Vulkan and pulled his staff back towards him. Amity was zipped through the air, weaving between columns and shelves as her body was hurdled towards Ahriman. She stopped mere inches in front of him, blocking Vulkan rampaging warpath.
"ZOG!" Vulkan shouted. He attempted to stop himself, but the combination of his unnatural weight and speed left him with a momentum too great to slow down from. He instead hurled himself to the ground, landing with a loud crack and an explosion of debris. After the dust had settled, Amity and Ahriman saw Vulkan's body, still alive and conscious. Amity was then lowered to the ground as the aura surrounding her vanished. Ahriman then tossed his staff aside once again.
"Have you calmed down?" Ahriman asked in a condescending tone.
"Oof…" Vulkan grunted, slowly rising to his feet, "You promised no magic!"
"And you allowed an intruder to enter my chambers." Ahriman pointed out, "If you're going to betray my trust, you should expect this sort of arrangement. Now, child," Ahriman said, turning his attention towards Amity, "I will need to you tell me who you are and what you are doing here. And please, I implore you to be honest."
Amity sighed and turned to face Ahriman.
"My name is Amity Blight…" Amity nervously revealed, "I wanted to speak with your coven about Vulkan's whereabouts, but when I got here, they were all leaving. Kikimora had mentioned he was in here and…" Amity paused and bashfully rubbed her arm, "I guess my curiosity got the better of me."
"A Blight?" Ahriman asked, "Ugh, perfect. If Odalia hears anything about this, it will be an unending nightmare for… wait… why were you searching for Vulkan? How do you even know his name?"
"Well…" Amity began, "I ran into him with some friends when he was, uh, rampaging through Bonesborough. I sort of, um… killed him?"
"You?" Ahriman disbelievingly asked, "You, a child, killed… a Primarch? Are you serious?" Ahriman asks, suddenly turning his attention towards Vulkan, "Is she serious?"
"Well, you see," Vulkan started, "After the human girl had snapped me out of my murderous rampage with her friends, I wished to hug them all to show my gratitude!"
"He nearly crushed every bone in my leg." Amity dryly added, "Thankfully one of those weird guys that came through the portal after healed it. I was in so much pain when he was hugging us that I sort of blacked out, but apparently, I unintentionally summoned a huge abomination and it attacked Vulkan. I guess it sent him flying into a damaged building and he was impaled by some rebar."
"Rebar?" Ahriman asked, "I should send the head of the Construction Coven a gift…" he thought to himself, "Maybe a wine and cheese basket? Maybe I still have some of that Zinfandel Rosé leftover from my vineyard on Prospero! Some Havarti and Fontina would pair beautifully with that…"
"Um… Emperor?" Amity asked, confused by Ahriman's sudden silence.
"Oh!" Ahriman gasped, tearing his mask from his face, "My apologies Amity, but killing a Primarch? Incredible! Oh, where are my manners…" Ahriman paused as he ran to the corner of the room, grabbing a chair and gingerly setting it next to Vulkan, "Please, take a seat. Can I offer you any refreshments? My wine cellar is bountifully stocked."
"I'm 14."
"Oh," Ahriman responded, thinking for a moment, "Ugh, it's been millennia since I've dealt with children… maybe some, uh, mashed baby carrots?"
"Emperor, I'm 14."
"Oh, enough with the titles. Please, call me Ahzek! Goodness, a child killing a Primarch… I'll be watching your progress as a witch with great enthusiasm!" Ahriman suddenly paused, his cheery demeanor vanishing as a realization came to him, "Oh, and, um, would it be too much to ask that this information be kept a secret? Particularly from your bitch of a mother?"
"Ahzek!" Vulkan gasped, "Please refrain from using such language in front of a child!"
"No, no, he has a point." Amity interjected, her confidence boosted by Ahriman's praise, "I have no intention of sharing any of this with my family, Ahzek. But what about Eda and Luz? My other friends? They're all a part of this now. They've seen Vulkan and they know about the portal."
"Ugh." Ahriman sighed, "I suppose it was inevitable some extra parties would get involved along the way. Before we address that, let's go back to where I was with Vulkan. Once we all understand the situation, we can come to a decision on that. Vulkan, do I have your permission to use my staff?"
"Why would you need that?"
"Most for visual aid." Ahriman explained, "I wanted to make some projections for reference, and if I can't do that then we'll need to break out some posterboards and markers."
"Very well." Vulkan replied after pondering for a moment.
Ahriman once again summoned his staff. Its gem glowed once in his hand and a projection shot upwards. The visage was of a ring composed of white spheres, similar in appearance to the light spells used by Luz. At the center of this ring was a single dark circle, ominously absorbing the light surrounding it.
"This is the multiverse." Ahriman began, "Each of these white orbs represents a different universe. All of the universes are connected, however, by this." Ahriman paused and pointed to the dark orb in the center of the ring, "This is a dimension known by many names: the Immaterium, the Empyrean, the Realm of Souls; but for the sake of brevity, we shall call it the Warp. It is a place full of chaotic magic, terrible gods, and the destination for all souls after death – regardless of the universe from which they hail."
Ahriman's staff shimmered again, and a line extended from one of the white orbs. At the end of the line, another white orb manifested.
"This," Ahriman began, pointing towards that orb, "Is the realm Luz hails from. Vulkan and I are from that same world, but not the same time." Vulkan pointed towards the nearly repaired portal-door in his chambers, "This door – the one that brough Luz here, is set at a certain time, a time we know as the third millennium. Vulkan, and I, however, came from a different time."
Ahriman pointed back at Luz's dimension on the projection, and then traced his finger along the line next to it, before ending at the new orb he had summoned."
"This is Luz's world in the 41st millennium. Vulkan and I are from her world, but 38,000 years in the future. It is a galaxy that has been consumed by the forces of the Warp. The gods of that realm have sunk their teeth into our world, turning it into a bleak hellscape of endless warfare and despair. It is a place so grim and dark, I cannot even summon a word capable of describing it. This is the inevitable fate of all dimensions; the only variable is how long it takes these Chaos Gods to establish a foothold."
"You dare say such things!" Vulkan interrupted, "You and your brothers served those same gods!"
"Not by choice!" Ahriman shouted, "Did you expect me to watch my brothers die as they were consumed by the flesh change? As Leman Russ and his dogs tore us asunder while our Primarch wallowed in self-pity? I have no love for Tzeentch!"
"Guys!" Amity interrupted, "Cut it out! Ahzek, I think I understand. So the Warp will basically consume every dimension with chaos and darkness, right? That still doesn't explain why you are here."
Ahriman took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. The gem on his staff glowed again, and Ahriman opened his free hand. Another white orb slowly manifested in his palm, and Ahriman leaned forward and gave the orb to Amity.
"This is your dimension." Ahriman explained, pointing to the orb in Amity's hands "That is the Boiling Isles. Somehow, this one dimension is completely severed from the Warp. Remember how I said that I can only do magic with the assistance of my staff? The Warp is so alien to this place that, when I first arrived here, I had lost all of my sorcerous abilities. I had returned to being a bog-standard transhuman. The energies of the Warp that left me ageless had vanished, and I had to regularly consume palismans to refrain from becoming an ancient husk. I could only conduct magic through charging my staff with the innate energies of…"
Ahriman motioned towards the hemispheric device powering the halo that kept the mostly-repaired-portal-door together. He froze and suddenly stopped speaking, however, as a panicked look covered his face. Vulkan followed Ahriman's gesture, and his gaze shifted until he saw the device. He studied it for a moment, before his eyes widened with a shocked realization.
"Um… guys?" Amity said, breaking the silence, "Is everything cool? I'd really not be caught in the middle of another fight with… whatever you two are."
"Ahzek," Vulkan asked in a stunned, emotionless tone, "Why do you have the Engine of Woes?"