A.N.: And welcome one and all to your weekly dose of tyranid propaganda unbiased account of the story! I understand people wish the story would continue for a lot longer, and it is very nice to hear it! But I don't want to spend forever on this project; I want to give it a proper ending whilst I am still happy and motivated with it rather than slowly lose the passion. There's still more than a few chapters ahead though, don't worry!
To Pathreader: Anya doesn't actually know how to eat souls; She more or less hijacked that knowledge from the Doom of Malan'tai now that she is once again connected to the Hive Mind! And yes, there is a shield on the rok. But there is also a BIG missile on the Imperator.
With all that said, thank you all for your kind words, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
"FIRE AS ONE!" The unleashed streams of energy surged forth in the corridors of the Infinity Circuit, the target nimbly dodging them with unnatural speed. A grenade clattered against the ground, streams of atom-thin strings filling the air, lashing against the psychic shielding of the monster devouring the ancestral spirits of the eldar. Something distantly fired, the powerful attack of the Fire Prism crashing against the shielding, failing to so much as slow down the abomination. It had gorged on too many souls; And with but a flicker of will, the fire dragons were crushed to the ground, wet puddles of gore and broken armor. A ray of eldritch power struck back at the fire prism, burning a hole straight through its armor and detonating it.
Talvas watched in horror as everything they threw at the creature failed to stop it time and time again. Hundreds of aspect warriors were streaming around her, escorting a detachment of artillery platforms; They were limited in what they could deploy in the Infinity Circuit, and what they had been able to send so far had done nothing to so much as slow the enemy. It had been revealed too late. Powered by tens of thousands of eldar souls; Hundreds of thousands by now even. Still a small portion of the total population of the Infinity Circuit, but more than enough to make it an impossible monster to face in these conditions.
"We have no choice." A whisper came out of her mind. "I will do what is necessary."
"Exarch?" The banshee next to her asked.
"Prepare the ritual. The titans are too large to enter, and we cannot use our most powerful weaponry as they are too large or too cumbersome to deploy here. There is one however that will be able to travel the corridors and face the foe. One that might still be able to strike it down."
"...Do you feel the call?" The banshee asked, a mixture of fear and resignation tainting her voice. Talvas closed her eyes. At first, she felt nothing. Then...her blood felt hot. Her ears picked up strange whispers, then screams from below. Calls for war. Anger. Rage. Fury. The wailing of a scorned god. One that thirsted to fight this challenger in its domain.
"Yes." The exarch's opened once more, this time filled with purpose. "It is time to awaken the Avatar."
Anya was having a hard time staying herself.
She'd expected the sudden, massive increase in power to have side effects on her, but this...this was becoming a bit too much. Her mind was straining, even with the Synaptic Web's support, with the massive increase in psychic potency. It was as if she'd been training for months going from handling a cup to a pond, and suddenly was being hit with a tsunami. It was incredible, euphoric, and utterly overwhelming. Every now and then she was forced to stop consuming souls if only to catch a breath and wrestle her new power back under control. And yet she had to keep going; The Eldar were onto her now, and whilst they hadn't been able to stop her now, she'd seen first hand what they could do. The feeling of being rendered powerless once more gripped her to the core. She would never be brought back into a cage. Never.
She opened her hand and unleashed some of the power bubbling inside of her, watching with interest as the eldar host was broken and shattered once more. She stepped forth, her mind strangely appeased. She smiled down to one of the eldar crawling away from her with eyes wide with horror.
"Come on now." She spoke, her mouth full of static. "There's no need to be so afraid. I'm here for the souls...There is no need for the rest of you to die as well." The eldar did not answer, glaring at her before grabbing a grenade and holding it up towards her, detonating himself along with her. She sighed as the explosion passed over her. "Really, this again? What is it with people and killing themselves over talking to me..." She frowned. She needed to become better at...
Something white hot and burning was coming her way. Her head snapped to the end of the corridor, watching as a burning red glare illuminated as an immense source of power got closer and closer. A powerful scream of rage filled the air, the psychic backlash of it enough to make her wince. She took a step back. When had the eldar gotten so small? Had she changed her body without realizing, devouring both souls and eldar alike as she rampaged through the Circuit?
The thing was getting closer. She could feel every step it took in its mad charge towards her, its burning hatred for her very existence. For the first time in a very, very long while, she found herself apprehensive at fighting something. Whatever it was making its way towards her was...it was...
It finally came into view.
It stood at a dozen metres tall, as tall if not taller than a wraithlord. Its body was made of molten metal, burning eyes of lava glaring into her very soul. Its mouth was open in an unending scream of fury, its clawed hand holding a powerful sword. She took a step back as it came charging at her, the air turning burning hot by its very presence.
Its blade came crashing down towards her and she did not even bother trying to parry it, merely leaping back twenty metres. It simply moved closer and swung again, its speed matching her own to her utter shock.
As she formed her own weapon in her hands, she desperately searched the memories of the eldar she had consumed, looking for an answer, an explanation, anything.
The answer came, unanimous.
The Bloody Handed One.
The Wailing Doom.
The Burning Rage of the Eldar.
The God of War of the Asuryani.
Khaine.
Her stomach dropped as her halberd clashed with the sword of the shard of a god. The impact left no doubt which of the two wielded more strength. She had devoured hundreds of thousands of eldar, consumed their souls and turned it into pure power to fuel herself; Increasing her psychic might tenfold to the point she could crush an entire eldar warhost with little effort.
This thing was stronger than her.
She knew it instinctively. The feeling of prey facing its predator. It had treaded through this galaxy for longer than her original species had even existed and had been involved in wars she could scarcely comprehend. And though it was but a shard of this original being, nothing but an echo of power...its undivided attention was on her destruction. And she didn't think she could stop it if she stood her ground and fought.
She was outmatched.
Her eyes narrowed and she screamed right back at the shard, pushing all of her power into it; Enough to send it crashing backwards, the shockwave of power shattering most of the now empty spirit stones nearby. She was still strong enough to put up one hell of a fight. But fighting would get her nowhere. She wasn't strong enough to fight this thing yet.
Instead, she pushed her power away from her body, channeling as much as she could into mimicking the trick she had seen the wizard that had taken her to the demon. Teleportation, what a complicated thing. Thankfully, she had been in these tunnels long enough to know them well by now; She visualized a location far away from here, trying to push a hole into reality, running away from the burning monster as she did. She tried to push, and...
Reappeared only a dozen metres away from where she'd been.
Damnit.
She swung around, intercepting the blade of the broken god as it had been about to pierce her back, her arms shaking under the impact. She screamed, thrusting her blade forth. She was only a little smaller than the avatar in this form, her blow easily deflected away by the ancient warrior. She swung, thrust and did every move she could think of, and any that she could glean from the memory of the hive mind, of the eldar, anything. Nothing was getting past the god's guard. As she slashed down at him, he intercepted the blade of the halberd with his own and pulled his other fist back. Before she could react he slammed his hand forth, smashing her psychic barrier with contemptuous ease; The sound of shattered glass replaced by a bloody gasp as the fist lodged itself squarely in her stomach, breaking thick armor and crushing organs with the strength of the impact. She bent over as she channeled her power, trying desperately to teleport away only for the god to grab her by the head and smash it into the wall of the tunnel; Dust and crystalline particles flying in the air as the shock crushed the chitinous protection of her face. One of her eyes burst as the god smashed her head into the wall again and again, before raising his sword and thrusting it down at her neck.
She teleported as the blade pierced through, melting the flesh around the puncture wound, appearing a hundred metres away from the thing. She screamed in pain; Something that shouldn't have been possible, having removed the ability to even feel pain and replaced it with a different system of warning for her body. But nothing about this sword was normal. Her head held on to her body by a thread, her insane regenerative abilities the only thing that kept her from dying instantly from the massive wound. By the time the god had reached her once more she had fully regenerated, trembling arms holding out and sending a massive burst of power towards the god. The torrent of energy filled the tunnel, disintegrating all it came into contact with.
"DIE!" She screamed, redoubling the power she poured into the attack; Making it grow bright enough for her eyes to water. "DIE!" She gritted her teeth as a shadow got closer and closer to her, walking through the attack, arms held protectively it front of itself. Slowed down, but still moving. "WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!" The only answer she received was a flaming sword surging from the torrent of energy stabbing her in the chest, thrusting her back; Blood and sizzled flesh splattering the ground as she hissed in pain and anger. The avatar towered over her as she fell, crawling away from it as fast as she could, gathering her power for yet another attempt at teleporting away from this monster. This apex predator. This thing that was hurting her. Her mind buzzed with energy, her eyes glowing with a yellow glow as the air cracked and she disappeared from view.
She appeared once more, immediately trying to rise to her feet and wield her halberd; Only to fall once again on her knees. She spat out sizzling blood; It felt like her insides were on fire. Her wounds were taking a much longer time to heal than they should have.
The Avatar of Khaine. She giggled nervously. What a monster the Eldar had been hiding on their craftworld. The more she found out about the pointy eared xenos, the more she understood why the Imperium was so cautious around them. Outnumbered they might be, the sheer amount of pressure and power they could bring to the table on precise locations was almost unmatched.
The thing was already on its way towards her. It knew where she was; Would be here soon. She didn't have much time. She needed more power. Her eyes went to the walls, twinkling with spirit stones. She licked her lips, her eyes shining with hunger.
Consume.
She extended her mind to the Infinity Circuit, hunting a thousand thousand eldar souls at a time.
Consume.
She fought off the warp spiders that sought to stop her rampage.
Consume.
She broke the sections of the Infinity Circuit she had already eaten, reducing the psychic space the souls could hide in.
Consume.
The thing was here. She turned to face it. She frowned. Not strong enough yet. She would need a bit more time to prepare a teleportation. She had just started using this power, and even the Hive Mind found it strange and foreign.
She snarled at the wailing god as she braced herself. She didn't need to win. Just survive long enough to escape.
Survive.
Consume.
Overcome.
As she always had.
The sword slashed one of her arms off as she thrust the halberd towards the avatar.
Harrison nervously glanced around as they made their way through the wide empty avenue. Calling it an avenue felt like a disservice though; The street was hundreds of metres wide, surrounded by buildings that towered kilometres into the skyline. It was strange to see them so deserted after having witnessed the sheer bustle and masses of people as their shuttle descended down onto the Throne world, but seeing the cordons of palatine sentinels, one of the many imperial guard regiments assigned to Terra, it made sense that only those allowed were present.
Occ cast an intimidating figure next to him, and his very presence seemed to ward off any of the imperial guards or individuals present at the scene as they approached the building whose doors had seemingly been blasted open from the outside; None would dare question the presence of one of the Emperor's ten thousands. Harrison found himself growing increasingly nervous as they approached the building; For in front of its destroyed doors stood three more of the Emperor's golden guard.
Custodes.
Behind him, he could feel Ashley standing ramrod straight and staring straight ahead, her hand palming the heavy flamer she carried on her at all times. Vela was also looking fairly ashen; She had been like this since they arrived in the system, utterly paralyzed at the thought of stepping foot on the throneworld. Still to her credit she followed along now with her newly granted weaponry equipped, wearing the rosaria indicating her as a member of the Holy Inquisition.
"Occ." One of the custodes greeted as they approached. "It is good to see you. You have kept your quarry safe I see." The mentioned man bowed his head to his fully armored colleague.
"And you too, friend. I am glad to see the throneworld still stands despite having been left in your care." The other custodes chuckled at that, Harrison feeling a moment of disbelief at seeing the custodian guard show something as human as humor. He shouldn't be surprised, he told himself. Occ had a sense of humor as well after all. And yet...he'd simply assumed Occ was different. That the majority would be cold, calculating people. Perhaps this one was an exception as well. "We returned as fast as we could hearing the news."
"Yes, this matter is becoming troubling." The custodian gestured to the blasted doors. "This is the most recent, and by far the largest of the nests that we have purged. None of us have fallen so far thankfully, but the guard has been taking considerable casualties in ambushes, traps and even full scale battles in the lower levels. This is an unacceptable state of affairs. Terra cannot be left threatened." Harrison shuffled as the demigod's helmet swiveled towards him. "You are Harrison, correct?" He gulped but forced his anxiety down. He had work to do.
"Yes sir."
"Excellent. Then you have had contact with the entity that concerns us." Harrison glanced at Occ, who gave an encouraging nod.
"If you mean Anya...then yes. Although frankly Occ has had more of a contact with her than I have."
"Perhaps, but you have had an earlier contact. Occ has given us all the information he can, and so have you. Now we hope that with your assistance we can properly investigate whatever it is that these...things have planned." Harrison nodded.
"We will give it our all sir." The words felt poor in his mouth. The idea of sacrificing himself did not bother him. In fact, if his death would guarantee a better life for those under the Imperium, he'd do it in an instant.
It still felt wrong to present this idea when he had come to despise so much of the current regime. A regime he had to fight to preserve even as it made trillions suffer.
"Excellent. Follow us." The custodians entered through the blasted opening, descending the dark staircase that led further down the building. Harrison took a last breath of fresh air, glancing at Ashley and Vela. No words needed to be exchanged. They primed their weapon and followed in his step.
The stairs descended down, down, down into the darkness of Terra's guts. As they descended, corpses began littering the staircase. The stairs themselves were massive, wide enough for multiple tanks to go down; And Harrison even passed the carcass of a destroyed ramshackle vehicle. It was unthinkable that a battle could have taken place in a single staircase, abyss on each side in what he was starting to think was an otherwise hollow building. He was more and more agitated until they finally reached their destination. The density of corpses was incredible here; Thousands upon thousands of dead bodies piled at the bottom of the staircase. Cultists in various stages of genestealer assimilation; And far worse, a mural that was now painfully familiar.
Anya facing the Emperor.
Again.
Identical to the one they'd found on their own investigation.
"Well fuck." He couldn't help but say.
"Indeed." He blushed deeply at realizing he'd said that out loud. "This does not fit with the usual pattern for genestealer cults. They either present themselves as followers of a correct interpretation of the Four Armed Emperor, or present their accursed "Star gods." This...this is different."
"It's Anya." He stated the obvious. "But I don't understand why they show her just...facing the Emperor. Wouldn't they show her beating her, or triumphing in a manner at least if this is supposed to be propaganda?"
"Then it is likely not propaganda, but genuinely what they believe will happen." A custodes mentioned. "If this thing threatens the Emperor's sanctity, then she should be crushed with all prejudice."
"She can't be serious about attacking Terra, right?" Vela eventually gathered the courage to speak despite the presence of the golden guardians. "It would be suicide."
"...What are the odds of a child from the slums rising up against an entire world?" Harrison said softly. "What are the chances of her then crushing another world and a templar crusade? If she thinks she can do it, it doesn't matter if it's Terra for her. She'll try it."
"How serious of a threat do you judge this to be, Occ?" The lead custodian asked.
"...If this was the same tyranid that I met, I would say small. I would have vanquished her had the rest of her swarm not arrived. But her growth has been nothing short of monstrous, and from what I have been informed an entire tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan was spotted headed this way. Last I heard a crusade force was on the way to crush it, but no report has made it back due to warp storms interfering with communications."
"I would take it seriously." The whisper froze the entire group, the custodes immediately leaping into action as they brandished their weapons, deploying in a circle around the smaller humans. Harrison's hand flew to his plasma pistol as Ashley wielded her heavy flamer, Vela activating her power sword.
For a moment, silence reigned. Then, something dropped from above them, a dozen metres away from the group. Ashley immediately made to fire, Harrison slamming the butt of his pistol into her flamer and glaring at her.
"Hold dammit! We don't know what we're dealing with!"
"Listen to him, sororitas. There is much to discuss, and little time for me to perform a flame dance." The individual rose to their full height, revealing a peculiar appearance to Harrison. Their clothing was incredibly bright and colorful, shimmering with strange reflections that were weirdly hypnotic.
"Oh fuck no." One of the custodes bluntly said, firing their weapon. The strange thing, humanoid and wearing a mask, nimbly moved out of the way of the bolt shot. "No, no I am not dealing with you clowns today."
"Still sour over this misunderstanding? I admit our kin handled this...poorly last time. It is why I am here alone." The thing raised its arms in the air, wiggling its fingers. "See? No weapons. No tr...well maybe some tricks. But none aimed at deceiving you."
"I said no." The custodes went to fire again, but a gesture from the lead custodes stopped him.
"You have a lot of nerve coming here, eldar." Harrison blinked. That was an eldar?! It was so...so clownish looking! "But I am in a curious mood. Give us one reason we should not simply blast you apart where you stand."
"Besides the difficulty of such a task? Well, I believe we have some...mutual interest in cooperating right now. A common bug problem."
"You're talking about Anya." Harrison stated. The silence that followed made it clear no one, not even the clown eldar, had expected him to speak. He suddenly felt a wave of hot embarrassment wash over him.
"Correct. The thing you know as Anya is...causing some problems to my craftworld kin." The eldar paused. "And I fear that it will escalate beyond our ability to control it."
"Wait, a craftworld is now involved in this mess?" Occ asked.
"Yes. They took the child in the hopes of either finding a way to kill her permanently, or trap her forever. Unfortunately, some...intervention from a third party resulted in the child freed and devouring the Infinity Circuit. By the time this was discovered, it was too late. Even the Avatar of Khaine has been awakened last I have heard."
"And instead of helping out, you came here to...what, tell us?"
"It isn't so easy. The pathway to the craftworld has been breached; Demons lurk the halls and are slowing our progress towards the craftworld. By the time we get there, either she will be dead or it will have been too late. What is certain is that whether she is reborn in her hive fleet or wins the battle, she will wish to come here next. You know this. The Hive-Mind knows this." The eldar pointed to the gigantic mural. "And it is laying the foundations of the inevitable assault."
"Invading Terra..." Harrison whispered. "Emperor protect us..."
"Better you protect the Emperor in this case. He is what she wants after all."
"But why?! It doesn't make any sense! Why not build up her forces and come here when she has an overwhelming army?! She's been doing great so far!"
"We believe...she may be under some pressure. We are unsure of this yet."
"You are being awfully accommodating xenos."
"The visions we have seen are troubling, custodes. Enough so that we will even deal with the sheer boredom of discussing with you."
"Why you little..." The custodes growled, aiming his weapon once more.
"Enough. What is your suggestion?"
"Sir, you can't be seriously..." The lead custodes tilted his head.
"There is no harm in hearing the Harlequin out. Nothing forces us to actually act upon any of his words." The eldar gave a small bow. Harrison could honestly not have told you if it was meant to be mocking or grateful.
"Thank you. I would not dare suggest strategy or tactic to you; You are far more competent in directing your kind in such matters. However, I wished to impart upon you the seriousness of this threat. Should the Child come here, it will be with psychic potency like you have rarely seen, and a hive fleet vast enough to pause a serious threat do your defenses. Should you be unprepared, she may well make it to the Throne Room."
"You do not think you can stop her." Occ stated. The eldar paused.
"...We are not betting on it. Better safe than sorry." The harlequin stood straight. "I must depart now, though I thank you for your attempt at hospitality." Someone swore as they lunged at the eldar from behind, only to pass straight through.
"FUCKING HOLOGRAMS!" The individual raged as the harlequin disappeared from sight. "Sorry my lord, I was as quiet as I could."
"Your attempt was appreciated, guardsman. The Harlequins are painfully elusive I am afraid." The lead custodian sighed. "Well then. Contact the Fleet Solar. We have preparations to make."
"You are taking the words of the xenos seriously?" The trigger happy custodian spat.
"I am taking the resurgence of the xenos cults seriously. That, and the many signs that Terra might come under attack." He snorted. "Better safe than sorry."
As they departed from the building, setting the corpses aflame, Harrison risked one last look behind him at the mural.
The sight of the white haired child, staring up at the Emperor, sent shivers down his spine.
To think such a thing could have been born on the same world as he.
The Avatar thrust his sword against the abomination, feeling a burst of frustration as it vanished from sight yet again. It tried to deny it, to banish the witch, but again it slipped through his fingers. It was the fourth time now that it escaped him and it was causing him no end of frustration. Four times now it had beaten down and broken the thing that was preying on the Infinity Circuit, and four times it had gotten away before he could strike a killing blow. Each time he found it again it was faster, stronger, tougher. It was getting more powerful with every soul it consumed.
This was not working. The raging god was an entity of pure fury and wrath, but it was far from stupid. It recognized a failing strategy when it saw it. Its molten gaze turned to the Infinity Circuit. A vicious idea came to mind.
If he couldn't catch the creature...Then he only had to force it into a confrontation. The best way to catch an animal was to threaten its food source.
With that, he thrust his sword into the walls of the Infinity Circuit, sending waves of burning power through it in pulses, slowly growing stronger and stronger. These would burn the souls of the eldar without destroying them at first but before long the first souls would be consumed in the raging fire of the God of War.
Immediately, he felt the reaction. A burst of outrage, of anger and spite, and a grudging respect from his foe. The god felt no such respect for its opponent. It was a crawling thing, a parasite feeding off the power of others for its own gain, a coward that sought conflict yet fled the moment it involved true risk for itself.
It was coming for him now. He knew where it would come from. A fired a bolt of fire before it could even turn the corner, striking it in the face and sending it shrieking backwards. An obvious trap, a false opening. It should have been able to counter that with its psychic shielding; That it did not do so had to be intentional. Indeed, the fire was soon put out, the damage regenerated, and the creature glared at him with cunning in its eyes. The avatar was not intimidated.
Then, the thing began changing. It became smaller, its shape returning to a more human shape. It did not care to give it the time to transform; Firing another bolt of fire as it closed the distance, its sword poised to strike. To his surprise, the creature moved with incredible speed, having transformed into a small child-like form. Its eyes glowed with yellow power, its hands open. It screamed out:
"TYRANIC BOMBARDMENT!" A thousand bolts of eldritch power struck him at once; Enough to actually make him take a step back, raising an arm in defense. He growled in anger as he swung his sword, the creature again dodging out of the way. "TYRANIC..." He snapped his head to her, smashing his fist in the child as she jumped in the air, sending her crashing into the wall. "FUCK! Ok I get it already, not a goo..." He did not let her finish, pinning her to the ground with his sword, splattering her body on the floor. She disappeared in a crack of power, her broken body reappearing a few dozen metres away from him. It was already regenerating. What an annoying pest to put down she was proving to be.
"Alright then..." She said through broken teeth and bloody lips. "FUCK IT! TYRANIC..." He swung his sword, intent on striking her down as she opened her arms wide, the very air cracking with power around her. "ANNIHILATION!"
The craftworld shook with the sheer strength of the explosion that was initiated in the Infinity Circuit. Many eldar looked on in horror as a massive burst of psychic power sent a shockwave powerful enough to be felt throughout the entire craftworld; Millions falling on their knees screaming at the searing headache that struck them.
The Avatar was lying on its back in the ruins of the Infinity Circuit, the half shredded body of Anya standing above it with a manic grin on its melted face.
"HA! HAHA! I DON'T KNOW WHY I HAVEN'T DONE THAT BEFORE! WHO CARES ABOUT PSYCHIC BACKLASH WHEN YOU CAN OUTHEAL THE DAMAGE?!" As her body regenerated, she climbed on top of the Avatar's cooling corpse, stabbing her crystal halberd into its chest. "Serves you right, you big fiery ba..." The Avatar's fist rose suddenly, grabbing her and squeezing instantly. She screamed in pain as she used her powers to keep the grip from squishing her into pulp, feeling her bones crack and bend under the sheer strength of the Avatar. Its molten, fading eyes were stuck squarely on her; Such loathing and disgust she could see in them that she did not have to wonder what it was thinking. It was the same eyes she'd seen on those from the upper levels who'd seen her when visiting the underhive back on Secundus before the rebellion. Before the blockade.
Trash.
Irrelevant.
Cockroach.
Unbridled fury came to her as she snarled, pushing the avatar's grip away from her. Before it could reach out again she sent a massive bolt of power into its arm, shattering its cooled down form.
"DIE!" She screamed, slashing and cutting with the crystal halberd. "STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE THIS! DIE! DIE!" She continued stabbing long after the avatar stopped moving. Long after its body had started to turn to ashes to be reborn at the core of the craftworld, stabbing again and again in the same spot. "You don't...you don't get to look at me like that anymore." She said, her voice broken. "I'm strong. I'm strong!" She snarled, her eyes blazing with power as she turned them to what remained of the Infinity Circuit far away.
She left a trail of blood as she made her way towards it.
Ayna's crystal blade struck against the penitent engine's circular saw blade like weapon, breaking the engine mechanism that fuelled it. She wasted no time in psychically crushing the pilot, leaving the engine stuttering and prime prey for a massive carnifex to ram into as the rest of the swarm used the opportunity to rush the line of overwhelmed sororitas, getting set aflame by the many flamers wielded by the battle nuns. An ork killa kan crushed a group of repentia under its heel, allowing a squad of warriors to flank the firing line and blast holes into the formation with their venom cannons, hormagaunts slipping through and attacking the sororitas from the sides; Forcing them to either point their weapons away from the front line or rely on their sisters on the second line to deal with the gaunts. Ayna herself was creating a massive gap, wielding psychic might and crystal bone sword to weave death into the foe's ranks. Organ-like platforms fired artillery rounds into the tyranid horde, but even this was a futile effort. Whilst Ayna and her tyranid/ork contingent were forcing most of the defenses aboard the Imperial Battlecruiser towards them, the hybrid army was rushing in a frenzy towards the engines, the weapons platforms, the bridge. In a few minutes they would reach their destination and slaughter all in those departments, leaving the ship effectively crippled and a floating husk that could then be picked clean by tyranid bio ships. Ayna snarled as she ripped a screaming priest in half, throwing his corpse on a hysterical guardsmen.
"Jane, how are things?"
"Going well. We're pushing back the Imperials in orbit and forcing them to concede void supremacy. The titan legio is still causing issues on the ground though."
"Alright. And you Smith?"
"Found the one in charge of the ship. Tasty, if a little stringy."
"Excellent." Jane smirked aloud. Things were going according to plan. "Now sister...when will you be returning to us I wonder."
"Mama!" The wail echoed in the desolate landscape. "Mamaaaaa!" Naked feet, cut and bruised, slowly stumbled forward, carrying the crying child through the empty street. She hiccuped as her body shook with repressed tears, dust and blood caking her body. She took a deep, trembling breath before calling out once more with a warbling cry: "Mamaaaaaaa!". No one answered. Her path was cut by a fallen spire, its lower half having been pulverized by some impossible force. From below she could see an arm sticking out, blood pooling on the floor. She felt bile rise to her lips, turning her gaze away. She desperately tried to ignore the other bodies littering the street, their body torn apart from the impact. In the distance, smoke and flame consumed the once magnificent city.
It had all been so peaceful that day, before the alarms had rang through the city. She had been at school when it had happened; A bright flash from the Infinity Circuit, followed a few minutes later by a colossal shockwave of power. The next thing she knew, her school had collapsed, miraculously sparing her, and she had stumbled out in the devastated streets of the craftworld. She had yet to find anyone else that wasn't an unmoving body or body part.
"Mamaaaaaaaa!" She cried out. Her throat was raw. No answer. She rubbed at her eyes to clear the tears, looking for a way around the fallen spire.
The park. She just needed to get to the park. Her mother had taken to the path of the Gardner recently. She would be there. She tried to climb over the broken spire, but her arms were too weak; The spire's walls, too steep. She gave up after a few minutes of trying. Instead, she took a side alley; Side stepping the pieces of rubble and debris fallen from the damaged or destroyed buildings, coughing as she walked through a small cloud of dust. Her eyes stung as she emerged in a large open boulevard. Her heart started beating faster as she saw the park further ahead; A desperate hope and longing taking her as she began running faster and faster, ignoring the way small pieces of glass and debris were lodging themselves in her bare feet, how she was stumbling and tripping over herself and bruising herself all over. She ignored the dead aspect warriors littering the boulevard; The broken fire prism still smoking from a massive gaping hole at the front. She ignored the fallen wraithlord slammed into the side of a building, having caved in the external wall. She knew they were there. She couldn't acknowledge them. Had to hold onto hope. She had to know her mother would be there. Would be safe.
"MAMA!" She screamed as she entered the park. It was as devastated as the rest of the city. Pieces of rubble from nearby buildings littered the beautiful vegetation, trees and tall fungus having been ripped at the roots by the initial shockwave. "MAMA, WHERE ARE YOU MAMA!" She felt the grass beneath her feet, cried in pain as a piece of glass lodged itself too deep to be ignored. "MAMA! MA..." She froze as she reached the large rose bush her mother had been so tenderly caring for the past three months.
Her mother's face was pointed in her direction, twisted in an expression of surprise and pain. Her lower body was crushed underneath a large piece of rubble.
She took a step forward, her eyes tearing up once again.
"Ma...mama..." She sobbed, falling to her knees before the corpse of her mother. She held out her hands, gently holding the head of her mother, pushing her own forehead against it. "Mama...n...no, pl..." She sniffled, her words coming out muffled and stuffy. "Please...move...get up..."
"And what do we have here?" A soft voice echoed in the park. She instinctively tried to pull her mother's head closer, but it wouldn't budge. She looked up, fear and hope mixing in equal parts as she found herself staring at the source of the voice.
A young girl with white hair and yellow eyes, staring down at her with a neutral expression. Floating mid-air a metre or so off the ground, her arms behind her back.
"Ple...Please..." She sobbed, looking at the girl. "Please...help her...please..."
"I'm afraid it's too late for her." The child said, lowering herself to the ground. "Is this your mother?" She nodded. The child sighed softly. "I am sorry."
"She...she's going to be fine!" She said, a broken smile on her lips. "We just need...we just need to find a farseer, and they'll fix everything! The farseers can do anything!" The child stared at her, something flickering behind her eyes.
"...It'll be over soon." She eventually whispered, raising an arm towards her.
The last thing she saw was blinding white light.
Anya stared at the pile of ashes. All that was left of it was the spirit stone now gleaming softly in the light of the stars above. She turned away from it, walking once more in the direction of the military base where she knew her double to reside. She hadn't touched any spirit stones since she had finished consuming the Infinity Circuit.
She wasn't sure why she was feeling so...off. Was it the new increase of power? No, surely not. Then what? It couldn't be the murder. The killing. The slaughter of an entire civilian population. She knew she was a monster. Had accepted it.
And yet. The look in that girl's eyes...that desperate plee for her mother's life, uncaring of her own condition...the scared look of a child...She wondered. How many had she slaughtered back on Secundus? How many children had died desperately reaching out for their parents?
Why was she only thinking of it now?
Why was it bothering her?
Why...
"You have fulfilled your part of the bargain Child." She glanced at the massive creature that materialized next to her. "It is time for me to fulfill mine." The bird-like demon towered over her, crackling power in its every word.
"...I'm really not in the mood to deal with you." She softly stated.
"I am afraid your mood is the least of my considerations." The demon cackled. "My congratulations for what you have accomplished here. Few have sowed so much destruction upon a craftworld as you have."
"I'm not feeling celebratory." She blankly stated.
"Do you feel regrets over your actions?" The demon asked, curious. "It is far too late for that. Your hands are stained with the blood of hundreds of billions by now; A few more billion will not make them any dirtier."
"I am aware. But...it doesn't feel the same. And I don't know why. I don't understand." She admitted, some of her frustration leaking through her voice.
"I have to admit. You are truly a sickening creature, Anya." The demon chuckled. "I took you for many things, but a hypocrite?"
"...I used to think the galaxy was a miserable place. That there was no happiness to be found there. No hope. No joy. That it was better to end it all, to consume it all, and make it all united within the Tyranids. But these people were happy. Struggling, but happy." She looked down at her hands. "But would it be fair to everyone else to spare those, and give them the chance to take away the happiness of others?"
"You concern yourself an awful lot with the happiness of people for one who has spread so much misery. Had you accepted your death, all of these people would still be alive." The demon shook its head disapprovingly, walking side by side with her as she continued on her path. "How selfish of you."
"Selfish?" Anya tilted her head. "I suppose that's it, isn't it. I'm selfish. I feel bad for killing all of these people. But I don't want to die. But I don't want to feel bad. But I don't want to change who I am. It's all so...so very selfish." She hummed. "But I think...I'm okay with that. I'm selfish. It's what I am." She stopped. "And I accept that. I am a selfish monster that will do whatever she must to reach her goals...but if I can do it without bloodshed. If I can convince them to lay their arms down peacefully. If I can save some...I will do so."
"How noble of you." The demon mocked. "Perhaps I shall take you more seriously when not having this conversation in a city you just destroyed, the people of which's corpses are still warm."
"You won't get the chance." Anya smiled as she turned to the Demon, eyes glowing yellow. "Tyranic..."
"There it is." The demon sighed, raising its staff and the psychic shield that came with it.
"FLARE!" The massive burst of power that emerged from Anya was enough to almost crack the demon's shield instantly, making them grunt in exertion.
"Well definitely packing more of a punch than before...still, you seriously need to stop screaming your attacks every time you do them."
"Everyone that's told me that is either a tyranid or dead!" Anya declared. "And well...you know where you stand."
"Bold words child. But let us see if you can back them up." The demon raised its staff, Anya bracing herself...
And then.
Nothing.
"...What? My...My Lord?" The demon blustered. Anya didn't wait. She pounced on the demon, her halberd poised to strike. To her surprise, the shield of the demon collapsed almost instantly, and her blade struck true. The demon squawked in indignation and fear, trying to strike at her. But it was clearly no melee fighter, and as she struck down time and time again, the demon's struggle grew more feeble, more futile.
"You know...I really like your wings." She commented. "I would eat you, but I fear you'd give me an indigestion." The demon clawed and cried out at her. "Too bad. Try again in a thousand years or however long it takes for you to come back to the material plane." She struck the final blow at the demon, cleaving his head from his neck. As the body began to disintegrate, she turned away, and returned to her destination.
This had been odd.
Something had happened to the demon. Its powers had been cut. Something had helped her.
She wasn't sure what.
She didn't like it.
Still, those wings...dark blue didn't fit her. But she did really like the wings. It would also mean being able to fly without using her powers. A useful tool really. And she could always get rid of them if she wanted to.
Hm.
Still, the color had been all wrong. She needed something that would fit her better.
She gazed at her reflection in a massive shard of broken glass lodged into the ground of the street, splattered with blood after having fallen straight unto an unfortunate civilian.
Hm.
White to fit her hair.
Perfect.
Ylsen groaned as he blinked his eyes, the light too bright for his comfort.
"Hey, hey. Stop moving so much. I'm pretty sure you've got a concussion." Ylsen's eyes snapped open, rolling backwards and into a defensive crouch facing the kneeling clone of the tyranid Child. The later blinked at him. "Huh. Guess not. You hit your head pretty hard there too."
"What...what, by Isha's grace, was that?!" He demanded. The child shrugged.
"Hell if I know. I'm as stuck as you are here." The shockwave had sent them sprawling on the floor. The guards were crumpled on the floor, unmoving.
"How long have I been out of it?"
"About an hour, I'd say. Those guys have been like this since the shockwave. Psychic backlash if I had to guess. Or something else. Who knows. It's all a little unsettling." She shrugged.
"I thought you didn't have self-preservation."
"I'm a tyranid. I can adapt." The child mentioned. His eyes turned to the guards, a pang of worry. Then, he noticed the chests were still going up and down. Alive. Thank the gods.
"She's here." The child said, a mixture of excitement and fear in her voice.
A shadow cast down from the stairs appeared, growing larger and larger until finally what was creating it became visible.
The Child was identical in every aspect to the one in the psychic cage; White hair, yellow eyes...save for two key details. Her eyes glowed with power, bright enough to illuminate the dark chamber. The second was the pair of large, bright white wings deployed behind her. Feathers shivered as she opened them to their full wingspan of four metres, Making her look much larger than she really was. She had a small amused smile on her face as she looked at him, giving a small wave. Ylsen gulped as he took a step backwards.
It reminded him of that thing he had seen on a human world as he assisted from the shadows against an invasion from the Great Enemy. A living Saint. Except that one had been fuelled by the energy of the Human Emperor. Not some abominable amalgamation of tyranid power.
It stepped forward, standing before the glass of the prison.
Then, it tapped on the glass. He heard the child behind him whimper and crawl away from the wall. It unnerved him more than he liked to admit. She tapped the glass again. A crack formed. His eyes widened. This...this wasn't possible.
She tapped again.
The crack widened. Spider-webs began forming in the glass. He took another step back.
She tapped one last time. The glass shattered, falling to the ground in a shower of crystalline dust. He stood, frozen in shock as the winged Child stepped into the chamber, the sounds of wards getting overwhelmed and cracking distantly reaching his ears.
"Hello Ylsen." She closed her eyes. "Thank you for your memories little me." The other Anya whimpered louder, sobs wracking her. Anya opened her eyes once more, staring straight into Ylsen's. He could feel the immense power roiling just under the surface, contained for now but threatening to annihilate him with but a thought should she wish to. "Now. Asuryani. How would you like to save your people?"
"What...what are you?" He asked, terrified.
"Me? Isn't it obvious?" She opened a hand towards him, a warm smile on her face. "I'm Anya. Your Amica."
Anya: "Ha! An Avatar of Khaine?! I mean, how bad can it be?"
Avatar of Khaine: Slams Anya's head into the wall.
Anya: "...Oh. That bad huh."
Bonus!
Harrison: "Wait...do you hear that?!"
Occ: "...Oh Emperor no."
Distant honking noise.