Planet: Fatorum ruptor (Inquisitorial cruiser) -Year: 930.M34 -Location: Segmentum Obscurus, -POV: Anon

If one could combine all the different words for boredom in all of the human languages into a single word, he could describe the current mood of Anon in the briefing room.

The three men present in the room were William, Ishmael, and Anon himself, since William didn't trust anyone else with such sensitive information, he only called two of them for planning. He did trust Avina, Celliphus, and Isaac but they were not qualified for helping William come up with a plan. Avina was too much of a bloodthirsty psychopath with religious intent, Celliphus was too inexperienced and was still under watch due to the recent event, while Isaac...well... he is an idiot. So the only people who could advise William were Anon and Ishmael.

"I said it again and again Ishmael, we can't call for Imperial navy support, the current civil war within Segmentum Solar and Pacificus prevents all options of reinforcements" William explained

"Apologies my lord, but you are already shutting off most of our options, we can't just head into the system while their navy is present, not to mention our lack of manpower and soldiers to deal with the claws, I'm not even bringing the traitor PDF of the system into account Inquisitor." Ishmael argued

"I know that we are outnumbered but what other option do we have? take the local PDF off the planet and endanger the very thing we are trying to protect? we must do with what little we have" William countered

Anon sighed as the two continued to argue, his attention was became focused on his thoughts, as he pondered for a solution to their problems. The main problem was the civil war between the mechanicus heretecs and the rest of the imperium, both sides of the war could not afford to leash their men in order to defeat the Ashen Claws, as for the reason for the Civil war, it was the usual religious stuff, some mechanicus Magos has seen some vision by looking at the data coming from the astronomican, now he thinks the imperial cult and the machine cult should be united in an holy fusion.

This is why the whole idea of visions of the gods seemed ridiculous to him, just because someone has seen something, the entirety of imperium was at war, it was wasteful, truly wasteful. The main problem that bothered Anon was the fact that he knew this was coming, he knew all of it from the lore he had read in his previous life, but unfortunately, he didn't have any power to prevent it, he was still an interrogator and his oath kept him bound to Inquisitor William. Only if he was an inquisitor, only if he had left Thule earlier, maybe then he could have dealt with the problem before it truly ever began.

'Had I been an inquisitor, I would've been able to kill that tech priest and be done with this' Anon sighed, the lament in his mind took hold of him 'That single mad tech-priest has driven the imperium into a massive civil war and caused billions to die' he thought 'This is the problem with the damn zealots, those bastards who...'

Anon stopped his strain of thoughts, it was of no value to fret over what was, he had to focus on what will be, Yes! he had to somehow save this sector from the Ashen Claws and their chaotic masters.

His mind came back to the starting point, he tried to answer the same question, the other two were still arguing on what to do. Anon's eyes looked over a datapad when he saw what he was looking for, a grin formed on his face.

"I know Ishmael, we can't do tha-" William's words were interrupted by the masked man in the room

"We should take what we need from the noble houses" Anon announced, Ishmael looked at him with confusion while William raised his eyebrow "We are in need of battle capable ships and proper troops are we not? why not take it from the noble houses of the sector, it's not like they have a use for their small elite armies" Anon explained, he showed them a datapad with the names of a few imperial noble houses who had elite personal armies which numbered at least in tens of thousands, they were using these troops against their rival houses, so why shouldn't they take it and hit two birds with one stone?

"The incompetent houses of this sector are using their personal armies to wage war against one another, we should take them, this should give us the numbers we need and stabilize the sector for future imperial action" Anon explained, he saw Ishmael nodding in agreement but William was not satisfied.

"There is a reason I haven't done that Jermai, taking these troops forcefully from their houses will cause rebellion from the said houses, I can't afford to do that." William argued "This will only strengthen Ashen Claw's situation."

"You would be correct to think that way my lord but aren't you missing a small detail?" Anon's face was smug under the mask, William looked lost in his thought as he tried to find this missing detail, though he gave up when he couldn't find it.

"And that would be what? indulge me" the Inquisitor questioned

Anon tapped the forehead of his mask, where a navigator's third eye would be "They won't rebel if they held no memory of having an army in the first place" Anon revealed, he had a devilish grin "Do remember my talents when it comes to memories, my lord?" he asked

William smiled, a predatory smile at that "I knew I made the right decision when I picked you up from that backwater planet." he said then laughed

"As for the fleet, I heard that the house Telvani has managed to attain a sizeable fleet by looting the battlefields, it would be a shame if her fleet were to be lost in a warp storm." Anon said, both William and the masked man shared a burst of laughter while Ishmael slowly backed away from the evil manipulator of an Inquisitor and future evil manipulating Inquisitor.

"I should leave... I think, I'll let you two take it from here on" he slowly walked towards the door.

Craftworld Il-kaithe -Year: 930.M34 -Location: Segmentum Obscurus, -POV: Farseer Tathra

The farseer of Il-khaite stood docking station of the Craftworld, he looked to the empty void as if searching for something amongst the glowing gems that are stars, meanwhile, the bonesingers were repairing the Craftworld so it may travel again. Around him were two warriors tasked with moving the supplies from the ships.

The two were being punished for their thoughtless actions against the mon-keigh inquisition, their rashness has caused the unnecessary loss of several lives, but they were given light punishments, for their actions were caused by their youth and lack of experience, something unavoidable that plagued everyone.

"Enjoying the view Farseer Tathra?" a feminine voice asked from behind, it was Farseer Areta who called out his name, she glanced towards the Warlock and the Exarch as she passed by them, she stood by him as he observed the stars.

"I am, Areta, the emptiness of the universe is truly a sight to behold, don't you think?" Tathra asked.

"It is, but that is not the reason why I'm here." Areta said as she freed her red hair from her cloth "Why are you so interested in the nearsighted mon-keigh Tathra? I have heard that a masked being has caused a stir amongst our kin in several Craftworlds, but that's all it." She asked.

Tathra continued to observe the space for a few moments before answering "The answer is simple, one of the seers from Biel-tan has seen the death of several Craftworlds in his vision that was shared within their council" he answered casually as if the destruction of several Craftworlds were nothing.

"WHAT?" Areta yelled "Why were we not informed of such vision? this is not a matter of normalcy Tathra! it's not about the death of a maiden world or some large-scale loss of human lives that might endanger in the future, it's about the safety of two or more Craftworlds!"

Her words didn't seem to concern Tathra "Not all visions come to pass Farseer, you should know that by now. Besides, I believe there is something more to the Vision than was said." he answered before turning to face Areta "Say Areta, what do make of the nearsighted mon-keigh?" he asked.

The question caught her off guard, she remembered everything she have witnessed thus far "A human psyker with little talent, still incapable of matching any of our kin." she answered with a hint of pride in her voice.

"I'm afraid you are wrong in some parts" Tathra replied, Areta pondered which part of her words was wrong "The human is hiding something Areta, have you ever tried to see into his future?" he asked

Areta shook her head "No I haven't, I didn't have enough time to do so." she answered

Tathra nodded at the answer "Well I have, while the seer council was busy with the ritual, I had an opportunity to see into his fate" Tatrha revealed, Areta became more curious as he continued to explain "I tried to see through his fate but I was unable to, it was as if the path he walked on was a chaotic maelstrom, I saw one vision after another but none of those visions seem to reach its conclusion, instead, they stopped before they could reach their conclusions." Tathra explained

"That's..."

"Unheard of?" Tathra completed her sentence

"There is no being in the universe with such trait farseer."

"I wonder." Tathra glanced towards the Warlock before looking at the void of space again, the memories of a certain record came to life "There are, or... were beings like this Areta." he replied, Areta had an expression of confusion

"What could possibly cause such change through the threads of fate?" she asked, clearly wanting answers

Tathra remembered his meeting with a particular Harliquen seer, his body shuddered with fear as he remembered the effect around her, the same effect the nearsighted interrogator had "I don't know either, Areta, but I am certain that I had read such records, the records of long passed humans." he answered "I was but a young witch studying within the halls of Ulthwe at the time, so my memories are not certain"

"T-that's... worrying" was the only thing that came out of her mouth "Is this the cause behind your offer Tathra? what do our kind have to gain from such alliance?"

Tathra lost himself in his thought as he remembered the reasoning behind his actions on the human world. The message of destruction the seers of Biel-tan has brought them didn't sit well with him, he thought they were acting very rash by reaching such conclusions. Sadly, this was a known trait of Biel-tan Eldar, their martial nature has driven them to act like this.

Besides, just because a silver mask was present during a vision of death, doesn't mean that it was the mask that caused the death, this was one of the bad sides of divination.

"Truth Areta, I wish to learn the truth. By forming an alliance, we will acquire an ally within the mon-keigh inquisition and we will be able to keep a close eye on the nearsighted interrogator." Tathra explained, then his expression frowned "But the human is stubborn, he refuses my offer even though it is beneficial to both of us, we need to find a path through this problem."

Areta smiled after hearing this, Tathra raised an eyebrow at her expression "Then I think, I have taken our first steps towards this goal." Areta says with a hint of pride

"How so?"

"I neglected to inform you about this farseer since our hands were full and the information seemed so... trivial, but I see now that the hand of Morag-heg might've had a role to play in the recent events." Areta said "During our battle against the Ashen Claws, I saved a nearsighted human female from possession, out of goodwill, (and I didn't wish to deal with a portal to the Ocean but that is not the point here), I later realized, that the said human female was very important to the interrogator."

"Are you sure of it?" Tathra asked.

"I have seen him in a distressed state upon hearing the news of her possession, and he immediately retreated to their ship in order to tend her wounds, leaving his precious Inquisitor behind." Areta answered, a ghost of a smile touched Tathra's lips upon hearing this information "So yes, I do believe she holds a significant value for him"

"You have done well Areta, we may yet reach our goal" Tathra praised her, he looked towards the void again as he continued "Let us see what this human holds for our kind, depending on the outcome, we will eliminate or save him." Areta nodded at the conclusion as the two looked towards the stars.

Planet: Fatorum ruptor (Inquisitorial cruiser) -Year: 931.M34 -Location: Segmentum Obscurus, -POV: Anon

Its been a few months since the plan started to get in motion, so far, they have managed to attain 11 ships and 60000 soldiers(Not including the armsmen of the navy) from the noble houses. All the records of the armies and the ships were erased by the authority of William, and all the memories of such armies were erased from the nobles by Anon, though there are still a few remaining information that hinted at an army, they were too little to be of any use, the guardsmen of the households were now under Inquisitorial control, even if they didn't know that.

So far, they have traveled to 3 planets to "gather" soldiers for the upcoming assault on the Zarikin system, and they had another 7 planets to travel to, or at least, that was the plan.

Recently, it has come to William's attention that a Celebration for the noble houses was taking place within the sub Sector, a Celebration that took place every 20 years or so, which acted as a thanksgiving for the emperor, a celebration for the rich. This was a perfect opportunity to have access to all the nobles at the same place, an excellent opportunity to take some shortcuts in order to save time, and William wasn't going to miss it.

"You will attend to this feast in my stead Jermai" Anon heard William utter his cursed name, why did he have to go and mingle with some nobles with a stick up their asses?

It wasn't like he knew anything about the highborn lifestyle, he hated it in fact. Anon was an introvert who preferred solace and the company of only a few, he lived most of his life in a feudal world and in a humble cabin, he wasn't used to such expansive noble feasts, besides, what is he going to talk about with them? market prices on goods?

"May I ask why my lord?" Anon asked "Why me of all people?" it was the first time he didn't wish to take on a mission, except for that time in Tybron Prime with those Nurgle cultists, Anon shuddered when remembering the memory

"Can you suggest anyone else to take your place Jermai?" William answered his question with another one "Who else other than you? Ishmael? he is an old man who has more in common with guardsmen than nobles."

"I rather you keep me out of this my lord." Ishmael's voice rose in a protest.

"Isaac? he is an idiot who will cause even more problems by chasing after the womenfolk, just think what will happen if he chases after a high-ranking noblewoman." William said.

"I'm ain't that bad bos... I mean my lord!" Isaac protested.

"Avina and Celliphus both lack the title while I need to work on the data archives with the tech priests in order to remove and delete the information." Anon gritted his teeth in William's explanation, he couldn't find a flaw in his logic.

"But my lord! I lack the necessary knowledge of etiquette in order to participate in that event" Anon argued

William thought for a moment at Anon's words "Well, a breach of etiquettes can cause damage in noble society..."

'Yes, there is no longer a need for me to participate, I just need to bring up some other points to show myself as incompetent at such matters' Anon nodded to himself, his plan was going perfectly until someone voiced her opinion.

"I can help master, my Lord Inquisitor" Anon looked at the source of the voice, it was recently recovered Celliphus "I was born as a noble on Terra, I am far superior in etiquettes than some backwater nobles" Celliphus informed William, Anon turned his condemning glares up to eleven, his eyes could pierce any man or woman but apparently not Celliphus who just blushed after seeing her master's concentrated gaze.

'WHAT ARE YOU DOING CELLIPHUS! STOP!' Anon screamed in his mind, he hoped she could hear his inner turmoil.

"Oh, I see, that is perfect, you can accompany him during the event." William approved of Celliphus's suggestion "This should be more than enough, nobles of Terra know such customs more than nobles of the other planets, you are quite fortuned to have such student Jermai"

"Yes, I would be utterly lost without her help." Anon said looking towards his student 'NOOOOOOOOO! WHY DID YOU DO THIS CELLIPHUS!' his mind screamed though it didn't show anything from outside.

Hearing Anon's words, Celliphus's face turned slightly red, she felt pride for being of help to him, her lips took a shape of an embarrassed smile, even though Anon was condemning her.

'Why are you blushing? Stop this at once! tell him you forget how to be a noble, PLEASE!' Anon watched in horror as the decision was finalized and he was chosen for the task.

"Now that this matter is over, we ca-" William's words were cut short by Anon who finally find his way out.

"My lord wait!" Anon raised his voice "Our contract! have you forgotten? showing my face is not an option" the masked man reminded him of their contract 'I'm sorry for doing this William, but I really don't want to go there' Anon apologized in his thoughts, he looked towards Celliphus who seemed bummed for not being able to go there 'Sorry my student but I will rather deal with daemons that attend to that banquet'

"Hmm, oh well, might as well use the polymorphine in the storage unite." William said

"What?"

"Just go with sister Fatima, she should help you with that, don't worry, you can reshape your face again once your mission is completed." William reassures Anon before continuing to brief others about their missions.

For the rest of the mission briefing, Anon simply sat there without uttering a word in defeat while Celliphus's face lit up like a puppy.

(Five hours later)

Anon was sitting on his bed with a dose of injectable polymorphine in his hand, he was contemplating every life choice he had made this far that had led him to this point.

"Polymorphine huh?" he questioned as he looked at the green drug in his hand, he had read about these things, a drug only accessible to the people of the highest authority, a drug upon which an entire assassin temple was built. Assassins of the Callidus temple are trained their entire lives to use this drug so they wouldn't change into some abhorrent abomination while using it, and yet here he was, trying to use it without training, he was only given some top-secret text files on how to use them.

Anon was also tasked with shaping his own face, he needed a face to morph into, otherwise, without a face in mind to change into, he would just disfigure his face. He thought about his options for hours, as he tried to shape and reshape images in his mind until he could find the best one, and after another hour, he finally reached his conclusion, the face he chose was his own face.

When Anon came into this universe, his face was changed, it was no longer his own but rather Duran's, it never felt right for him to wear another man's face, so he decided that he would shape himself in his own previous image.

Anon removed his mask, a large mirror was located in front of him, showing all of his features, he pressed the injection tub against his neck and prepared.

'You can do this Anon, just shape it as if your shaping clay, you'll be fine' Anon reassured himself, he never liked the risks that came with polymorphine but he needed to get into the Banquet, besides, seeing himself with his own face would be nice.

It took him another minute of staring at his own reflation before he pressed the button. The drug quickly showed its effects as Anon started to feel pain, but he didn't allow it to distract him, he began to focus on his face, making sure that he didn't damage his brain while reshaping his face and relocating some of his bones.

The pain was intense, Anon felt as if his skull was shattered into many pieces and those pieces were scratching against each other, it felt as if his skin was melting then cooling down a few seconds later. If the drug didn't have the risk of terrible mutation, it would probably be a good way to torture someone.

Minutes passed as Anon continued to shape his face, though the pain was bad, it wasn't something new to him, he felt far worst pain when Greyfax interrogated him, resistance to pain was something that came with his Perpetual nature.

(A few hours later -POV: Celliphus)

Celliphus was waiting for her teacher to complete the reshaping process, she eagerly waited before his room with Ishmael, there were a few reasons behind doing this. One, because she wanted to be the first to see him without the mask, two, because she was entrusted with selecting proper attire for herself and Jermai for the Celebration, she would definitely repay Jermai for his help and this was the first step towards her goal.

Time passed as the duo waited before Anon's room's door, until they heard the sound of the door opening.

Jermai stepped out of his room, the duo closely observed his maskless face, in front of them was a young man with black hair which was long enough to reach his neck, his face was bereft of scars or effects of age, the young man's eyes were pitch black like his hair, even though his face looked young, it gave an aura of wisdom as if he had lived for thousands of years. Suffice to say, he will definitely gather the attention of many ladies and some men during the celebration, though the fact upset Celliphus a little bit.

Ishmael whistled at the sight while Celliphus just watched without saying anything.

"Are the two of you just going to stare?" the young man asked.

"I don't know which one is worse, a witch or a handsome witch" Ishmael was the first to answer with a chuckle "Tell me Jermai, how much did you change your face?" he asked.

"Enough to fulfill my purpose" Jermai replied he then turned his attention towards Celliphus "Should we head out?"

"E-em, Oh" Celliphus stammered for a moment before regaining her composure "Yes master, be at ease, I will make sure you look proper for the occasion" she responded with a smile.

"So now that this is over, I will go back to my duties, you two have fun" Ishmael said as he moved out to leave the two alone.

"Wait, why would you wait to begin with? do you have something to say?" Celliphus heard Jermai ask, Ishmael just waved his hand to dismiss his question "Well, it mustn't be important" Jermai said before looking back at Celliphus "Shall we?" he asked, Celliphus nods at the question.

Planet: Kelion III (Location of the Celebration) -Year: 931.M34 -Location: Segmentum Obscurus, -POV: Liara Bahar, 3rd daughter of house Bahar

Liara watched as the menials rushed to prepare for the night's banquet, even though everything was already prepared from the weeks before.

'Why is the palace in such a commotion?' Liara asked herself, she called out one of the servant girls "Hey you, maid, come here" the maid quickly obeyed her so not to anger the noblewomen, the maid seem to carry a bottle of amasac.

"Yes, my lady?" the maid stopped two meters away from her, Liara's guards seem to frighten her.

"Tell me, are we not prepared? so what is all this?" she pointed towards the menials carrying another few tables and other necessities.

"I'm afraid I don't know my lady, the mistress told us that we are expecting a special guest tonight and we should do our best to please him" the maid informed her.

'Special guest?' she processed the words in her mind, who is this special guest could be and why she hadn't been informed of it? it's not the subsector's governor, she was already attending, it couldn't be the sector's governer, the already prepared things were more than enough to welcome such guest. Liara continued to count the possibilities until she reached three options, the said guest is either part of the Segmentum command, a high ranking administratum or a ministorum member(or at least high enough to be considered important), an honored militant commander, or something even higher, though the last option was unlikely.

"You can go now" Liara dismissed the maid who bowed before leaving "Guards" she called out, one of her personal guards stood at attention "Inform my pilot to prepare the ship, I wish to speak with my mother, now" the guard immediately used his vox unit to relay the information.

'Let us see who is this special guest' she muttered, her curiosity was peaked.

It took less than an hour for Liara to reach the top of the Palace where her mother tended to the needs of the planet while her father was busy dealing with the Xenos in the neighboring system. If she wants to find a proper answer for the "Special guest's" Identity, she had to ask her mother about it.

She walked through the halls of the upper levels, the portraits of her ancestors decorated the walls of the hall, put together in such a manner that near the door of the governer's room, were two portraits of their oldest ancestors, the ones that lead their houses during the emperor's reign.

The house guards protecting the door, informed Liara's mother before opening it.

Within the room filled with exotic furniture sat a woman with crimson hair, the symbol of Bahar bloodline, the same hair color as Liara, the mistress of the household was in her 70is, yet looked ageless, a clear sign of rejuvenation treatments. The woman looked at her from behind her table, giving herself a rest from the paper works.

"What is it Liara? can you not see I'm busy?" the woman asked, clearly annoyed at the sudden intrusion.

"I came here to ask some questions mother" Liara said as she moved closer towards her mother, her mother nodded, signing her to continue "It has come to my attention that, this year's Celebration is taking extra effort" she explained.

"Ah that" her Mother interrupted her "We have a special guest tonight, a guest I sincerely hope you will not bother and bore with your words" she said with a fake smile.

"Oh please mother, when have I ever done such a thing?" Liara chuckled "Besides, whomever he or she may be, should be honored to have a beauty like me as a conversation partner" the arrogant pride filled her voice.

'Yes, they should be honored to have the esteemed daughter Bahar household in their presents' Liara affirmed herself, there wasn't single women and men in the world to deny her charms, she was after all, the gem of Kelion.

Many before have asked her hand in marriage, nobles of powerful houses across the sector and even beyond, but none of them were worthy of her, these pesky little nobles weren't enough for her, but perhaps this special guest would be different, after all, her mother wouldn't have put this much effort into the banquet if it was otherwise.

"I see your face Liara, you should stop thinking about that, our guest is not a husband for you" the old woman snarled "He is far too dangerous and YOU will not bother him tonight, understood?" she asked in a cold tone, her words irritated her.

"Oh come on mother, be it a militant commander or lord admiral, I have seen all of them" Liara beamed.

"You have indeed, but not an Inquisitor" her mother argued, the name of the title silenced the room as both women stared at each other before it was broken again by her mother "Well more like a future Inquisitor, he currently holds the interrogator title, he may yet lack the authority of a full inquisitor but he can indeed label us as heretics and execute us all" her mother let out a dry chuckle before facing her daughter again "That is why you will not bother our guest, you will not displease him nor will you bore him with your words, he IS NOT a candidate!" she declared "Do you understand?" she asked.

Liara gritted her teeth "Fine, I will keep it in mind, it's a waste of my time anyways" Liara left the room, leaving her mother alone again.

"She won't listen to me, I'm sure of it" she sighed as her daughter left the room "It's not like she listens to me nor her father, she will do as she wishes even if I lock her in her room" she muttered under her breath "We just have to pray, the interrogator doesn't get offended" she prayed as she returned to her duties.

(Meanwhile in the hall)

Liara smiled as she walked through the hall back to her room, it was a sigh, a sigh from the emperor "An Inquisitor" she weighted the title with her tongue "Yes, I deserve a man of no lesser authority" her grin grew as she began to brew her plans.

AN:

This chapter was originally supposed to have 13k words, until my retarded ass accidentally deleted the documents, and now I have to rewrite it. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing I lost, a new chapter of my new 2nd story (The soul claim) was also lost during the process.

So yeah, Pray for my stupid brain so I won't do this again.