"Tzeentch, what is happening?" Leman shouted.
"I'm re-engaging the quantum lock, that should prevent anything or anyone from escaping the simulation… unfortunately that includes you two." Tzeentch said. "I'm rolling back the system to its last stable state. Once I do, the… 'intruder' will be ejected back into the simulation."
"Is there anything we can do?" Admu said.
"Continue trying not to die." Tzeentch said.
"Thanks for the advice." Leman muttered.
Leman and Admu stumbled as the world around them jerked and dissolved, reality itself re-adjusting to new simulated conditions. The red terrain of Mars faded into darkness and was gradually replaced by the wreckage of starships and titans, and Leman found himself in the body of a Vindicare once again.
"I'm going to do everything I can to restrain the intruder by starving him of processing power, but I can't destroy him completely. You two need to find his physical body and destroy it within the simulation, that should delete it entirely." Tzeentch said. Leman heard the crack of thunder and saw a blazing green star arc across the sky. It crashed in a blaze of fire and lightning about a kilometer away, shearing away ship hulls and machine parts with a colossal explosion that bathed their surroundings in a baleful green light. Instead of dissipating, the green glow merely intensified as tendrils of energy shot out in all directions. Void ship parts, titan limbs, and countless other miscellaneous components were drawn into the singularity, assembling themselves into byzantine constructions unfathomable to even the most adept techpriest. The monstrous, shambling mass of rusted metal and coiled wires dragged itself out of the crater, raising something resembling a head and bellowing with a noise that sounded like a thousand forge worlds burning in nuclear fire.
"You expect us to destroy that?" Leman said.
"I can assure you; I am doing everything I can on my end!" Tzeentch said. "I'm currently running a number of active countermeasures that have restrained roughly 96.8% of its total processing capacity, you'll have to deal with the remaining 3.2% yourselves!" Leman did not even want to consider what it would look like at 100%. Resigning himself to the situation, he looked around, closed his eyes, and began devising a plan.
"Uh, mister Leman, how exactly are we supposed to destroy that thing?" Admu said.
"I have an idea, but it's a longshot." he said. "We're surrounded by void-capable Imperial ships, meaning that there is most likely a functioning warp drive in at least one of them. Provided the power supply is still intact, I may be able to rig the drive to activate when the beast approaches."
"What's a warp drive?" she said.
"In simple terms… it's a portal to hell." he said.
"Oh… that could work." she said, slightly concerned.
"I need you to distract the enemy while I look for a viable warp drive." he said.
"What!? How?" she said.
"You're an Aeldari farseer, one of the most powerful psykers in the galaxy. Use your head." he said. "Literally."
"Are… are you sure mister Russ?" she said.
"Admu, after everything we've been through, I trust you." he said. Her eyes lit up, and she smiled with a fiery determination.
"I won't let you down!" she said. Leman turned and began sprinting through the scrap heap with great speed, looking for the nearest intact void ship. The lean musculature of a trained Vindicare was far from what he was used to, but it was an interesting sensation to move with such agility.
"Wait, mister Russ! How will we stay in contact?" she said.
"You have telepathy!" he shouted, getting farther away.
Oh, you're right! Admu thought, which Leman heard in his own mind.
I'll let you know when and where the trap will be set, then it is up to you to lure in the target. Leman thought, leaping and sliding across the wreckage-strewn heap.
Admu turned to face the metallic colossus lumbering towards her and took a deep breath. She raised her singing spear, a psychically attuned polearm shaped by expert Aeldari bonesingers and embedded with all manner of enchanted runes and warpstones, and stared down the charging C'tan. The shambling amalgam of decaying machinery stampeded through the piles of rusted scrap, building-sized pylons and girders sent flying by the beastly figure's earth-shaking strides.
Insignificant specks… even a shard of a shard of my infinite power is more than enough to obliterate the likes of you with a mere thought! The shattered C'tan rumbled, its disembodied voice reverberating through Admu's entire being. Bolts of green energy shot out of the metal hulk's body and scoured the ground all around her, bouncing off of the psychic barrier generated by her singing spear.
So that's what psychic powers are like… Admu thought. It feels kind of like trying to wiggle my ears.
I've never heard them described quite like that… Leman thought.
She could feel the barrier redirecting the energy into the earth, like lightning passing through a metal cage. The Void Dragon charged at her with one of its metal limbs raised, then swung the appendage down on her like an immense club. She closed her eyes and focused all of her attention on the barrier, which began to emanate an iridescent glow. The C'tan struck the shield, creating a shockwave that shook the earth. Admu slid backwards, while the C'tan shard's arm flew backwards and took the rest of its body stumbling with it. Admu opened her eyes, blinking a few times before realizing what she had done. She let out a nervous laugh, surprised by her own abilities. Her eyebrows furrowed with newfound determination, and she stared down the fallen colossus.
"Is that all you've got, you overgrown… uh…"
As Admu struggled to remember a name for something large and made out of metal, the C'tan lifted itself up and shook its head. It swiveled its head in search of something, then plunged its arm into the hull of a nearby space cruiser. After emitting more of the green energy, it pulled out the ship's plasma engine which quickly assimilated into the C'tan's makeshift limb. The engine fired up, emitting a conical halo of superheated gas from its thruster. The Void Dragon raised its arm once again, resisting the force of the thruster before letting it loose and sending Admu and the psychic barrier flying through several metal hulls behind her. She collapsed to the ground, dazed, and her barrier dissipated.
"Looks… like I have to… try something else." she muttered.
Leman searched frantically through the wreckage of countless starships, looking for an intact warp drive. He had deduced that this was not a normal scrapyard, as far too many rare and valuable components such as gun batteries and plasma engines were left untouched by would-be scavengers. This was good, as it meant his chances of finding his goal were that much higher. He vaulted over an upturned voidfighter, sliding down its wing and coming to a stop with a somersault. The slight chemical stimulants injected into him by his stealth suit gave him a constant buzz of adrenaline, causing his lean muscle-fibers to twitch slightly in anticipation of further movement. He scaled the side of what looked like the wreckage of a small transport, likely a carrack-class freighter. His dexterous hands and feet found ample footing along the baroque exterior, fingers sliding along grand flourishes and engravings on the ship's hull. He climbed until he came across a large blast-hole in the ship's armor, using it as an entryway into the ship's innards. His padded soles made no sound within the slanted metal corridors, even as he sprinted at a breakneck speed. Following the faded signposts along the walls of the hallway, he made his way to the engineering deck towards the aft section of the ship. Not only did the majority of the ship seem to be still intact, but the flickering lights overhead indicated that the power generator was at least partially functional. This was a very encouraging sign. His path ended at an immense, hermetically sealed door lined with gargantuan metal locks and peppered with innumerable purity seals.
This has to be it. Leman thought.
He gripped the door's handwheel and began twisting, the accumulated rust and decay making a relatively simple task into a herculean effort. The mechanical locks and mechanisms holding the door closed made agonizing screeches, as if the machine spirits were being raised from the dead and fighting against the rust which imprisoned them. After several minutes of pushing and pulling, the wheel loosened slightly, and the immense door began to swing open.
The room within was lined with arcane, spike-shaped devices, like the inside of an animal trap. Coils and wires draped from the walls, leading to an enormous spherical device encircled by rings and dotted with small holes. Some of the enclosing rings were damaged, and the overall slant of the ship made accessing the controls tricky. Luckily, Leman was currently inhabiting the body of one of the deadliest acrobats in the Imperium.
It looks like the control shroud is partially damaged… luckily, we won't be needing that. Leman thought, maneuvering himself into the control bridge. Power levels are… less than ideal. Despite his primitive upbringing, Leman knew his way around technology… to a point. He wouldn't have been able to pass as a techpriest, but he knew just about as much as his brothers who weren't named Vulkan, Ferrus Manus, or Perturabo. Alright Leman, you can do this. Perturabo would have been able to get this machine operational in less time than a blood claw could down a cask Fenrisian ale. You can't let *Perturabo* be better than you. Leman got to work, tapping keys and flipping switches, using his basic knowledge of starship engineering to divert enough power into the warp drive to kickstart it. He deactivated all non-essential systems, reducing the power consumption to the bare minimum required to function. Void ships were generally not designed to operate on such limited conditions, but it seemed that the machine spirits of this vessel on some level sensed the dire consequences they were facing and so were being unusually cooperative. The rings of the control shroud began to rotate around the perforated core of the warp drive, and tendrils of pink and violet energy arced between the spikes lining the room and the central device.
Admu, I found a warp drive and managed to render it semi-functional. I'm going to rig the control shroud with explosives, so I can overload it from a distance. All I need is for you to lure the metal beast to my location. Leman thought.
Outside, the C'tan shard fired a beam of green light at Admu. Her psychic barrier refracted it into dozens of smaller arcs which twisted away from her, leaving burned scars wherever they touched the ground.
I need a little help! Admu responded. The Void Dragon swung at the half-destroyed cruiser she was standing on, reducing it to a pile of scrap and debris surrounded by clouds of choking black dust. Admu landed on a nearby platform, her Aeldari physiology and psychic abilities allowing her to leap out of danger just in the nick of time.
Alright, I'm on my way. Leman responded. He climbed back out of the marooned transport and saw the rusted behemoth of scrap tossing entire battleships and escorts like a Fenrisian mammoth felling trees in its rampage towards the Aeldari farseer. I've got to get its attention somehow… Leman thought. His visor analyzed his opponent, quickly identifying structural weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Then he noticed the plasma engine haphazardly adhered to its right arm, and its exposed fuel tank. He unslung the exitus rifle from his back, dropping to a kneeling position and resting the meter-long sniper rifle on his left arm. His muscles hardened like stone, moving only when absolutely necessary, making slight adjustments on the scale of micrometers. His visor calculated the bullet drop, wind resistance, and planetary rotation for him, giving him a shooting guide accurate to less than a millimeter at a distance of roughly 1.3 kilometers. Admu, brace yourself. Leman thought, and she quickly raised her psychic barrier. His lungs froze in place, and even his heartbeat slowed to a crawl on command, as his finger slowly squeezed the trigger.
The Void Dragon erupted in a fulmination of superheated plasma, the shockwave knocking both it and Admu off of their feet. Its entire right half was obliterated, large chunks of molten slag sloughing off as the C'tan shard struggled back to its feet.
You did it Mister Russ! Admu thought, raising her hands in the air.
Not quite… Leman thought. I just pissed it off.
The Void Dragon bellowed with rage and was enveloped in bright green lightning. Pieces of scrap and discarded technology assimilated into the C'tan's body, quickly rebuilding the portions which were blown off in the explosion. It lifted itself off of the ground and began charging towards Leman's location.
Pitiful children of the Old Ones, did you really think you could defeat me? A being who stands above even the gods? It howled, shaking the earth as it tore through the scrapyard on its colossal legs.
That's it… Leman thought, gripping the remote detonator. Just a bit closer…
The Void Dragon skid to a halt, and a rush of terror shot through Leman's body. The metallic construct began to glow with the same green energy, its body shifting and reconfiguring its parts for some unknown purpose.
Why did it stop? Admu thought.
I don't know! Leman thought.
Missile tubes and cannons emerged from the C'tan's metal shell like hundreds of quills, erupting in a hail of projectiles that filled the air with smoke and fire. Shells and missiles exploded all around Leman as he scrambled away from the ship, vaulting over and sliding underneath pieces of scrap in an attempt to evade. He fell dozens of meters through the air, tumbling through the air and just barely landing on his feet. He felt a sharp pain in his side and struggled to stand, looking up just in time to see the Void Dragon's maw open up and fire a monstrous beam of green energy directly towards him. He raised his arms in a knowingly futile act of self-preservation, only for a flash of light to appear before him and deflect the beam in all directions. Admu panted heavily, using her spear to keep herself upright.
"I didn't know farseers could telepor-" Leman was interrupted by Admu gagging loudly, then vomiting all over the floor.
"I… don't think… they're supposed to…" she said between labored breaths.
"...Do you think you could do it one more time?" He said.
"Maybe… one more… time." she said.
"Then I have a plan." he said, grabbing her hand and leading them back into the ship.
Leman and Admu ran through the halls and tunnels of the ship, quickly finding their way to the engineering deck while their assailant battered the derelict ship from the outside. They entered the familiar chamber which housed the active warp drive, Leman shielding his eyes from the intense light at its center. The device had become fully operational, the extreme buildup of energy at its core causing the air to vibrate with a nauseating hum. Then, the ship lurched suddenly sending the two reeling to the side as the Void Dragon pounded and lacerated the hull. Massive talons piercing the inner walls of the chamber, peeling apart the heavy void-shielding with shocking ease.
"Now!" Leman shouted.
Admu concentrated, as sparks of psychic energy filled the air around them. The C'tan shard let out a metallic howl, bearing its clawed gauntlet down upon the two just as they disappeared in a flash of light. They reappeared some distance away, falling on a slanted metal platform. Admu wretched, as Leman clutched his head while trying to regain his bearings. The Void Dragon, realizing their gambit, quickly located their new position and began charging another beam of energy in its maw as arcs of electricity ran up and down its makeshift body.
"Not… so… fast…" Leman said, pulling the detonator out of a pouch on his belt. He flipped the safety and pressed his thumb down, and the explosives he had planted around the warp drive filled the chamber with plumes of fire and smoke. The lumbering scrap construct turned to the commotion as the intensity of the device's light grew exponentially.
"Admu, hold onto something!" Leman said, anchoring himself to a nearby piece of rebar while Admu ducked behind a broken metal wall.
Without the control shroud to contain it, the warp drive went critical. Space folded in on itself, causing light to refract in unnatural ways. It unleashed a wave of destruction, sending hundreds of tons of debris hurtling through the air. The Void Dragon reeled; large pieces of its metal body sheared off by the explosion. The rebar Leman was using as an anchor was dislodged by the shockwave, sending him flying backwards into a ceramite wall.
"Leman!" Admu shouted.
The earth shook violently, and the explosive force reversed in an instant. The warp portal torn open by the explosion expanded like an abyssal foam, the void in the materium hungrily swallowing up everything in its vicinity. An extreme gale blew towards the mouth of the immaterium, consuming the debris and scrap with frightening speed. Leman, now unmoored, fell towards the vacuum-like hole. He tumbled through the air, stopping abruptly as Admu caught him in her psychic grip. She pulled him towards her against the immense winds, reaching out with her hand until at last she felt Leman's hand in her grasp. She pulled with all of her might, yanking him behind cover as a huge chunk of the platform they were standing on was torn off by the warp portal's pull. The C'tan shard thrashed and struggled against the immense gravity of the warp hole, pieces of its constructed body slowly disintegrating and falling into the abyss until all that remained was its original form.
Deluded fools…! I am Mag'ladroth! Greatest of the Star Gods! Lord of the material realm! I cannot be conquered! I cannot be subdued! I will lay waste to the galaxy until all worlds submit to my dominio-
Mechanical tendrils emerged from the immaterium, shooting towards the shattered C'tan. It was made of oily black metal, cables and byzantine mechanisms dripping with a gaseous darkness.
Wha-
They grasped the star god with their spidery hands, piercing its necrodermis skin with their spindle-like fingers as gangrenous green light poured out.
What is- No! I cannot be conquered! I am Mag'ladroth! The scourge of the Empyreans! Slayer of Gods!
The mechanical limbs dragged the C'tan shard towards the abyss as the Void Dragon roared and howled like a titanic, rusted tower in the moment of collapse. The hands tore its body into pieces, wrenching each screaming shard of the shattered Star God into the hellish chasm of the immaterium. Its hunger satiated, the foaming tear in reality slowly began to diminish until collapsing in on itself. All that remained were clouds of toxic dust and the faint, rasping laughter of cruel gods.
Admu exhaled and let out an exasperated laugh, as the euphoria of victory washed over her. Leman rose to his feet, took a deep breath, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is it done?" Leman said.
"All systems purged of malignant processes. Well done!" Tzeentch said, clapping.
"Then it's over." Leman said. "Say, Admu, what do y-" Leman stumbled, holding himself up on a piece of debris.
"Mister Russ are you alright?" she asked, rushing to his side. She touched his side, and realized her hand was coated in blood. "Y-you're bleeding heavily!"
Leman's head sagged to the side, as the edges of his vision became dark and blurry. Admu's desperate pleading grew deafened, replaced by a sharp ringing in his ears. Teetering on the edge of consciousness, he felt a now-familiar presence that made his skin crawl. Something stalked the darkness that clouded his sight, and he felt yellow eyes watching him through the back of his skull. Just before his vision darkened completely, as he slipped from the waking world, he heard a voice in his mind.
Rest now, Wolf-king… and we will meet on the Other Side.