Warning: This story doesn't exactly follow the suit of grimdark because of the way the story may develop. If you still enjoy what you are reading then go ahead.
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Chapter 13
Twilight's Longest Twilight
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Underhive, Hive Sector 12, Hive City Vespera, Twilight.
Having regathered themselves once more after the large-scale assault led by the Genestealer Magus before. They know for sure that the Genestealer Cult is reeling from the loss they just suffered. So for now, their enemy won't be on the offensive until they somehow assembles another army larger than the previous that was just to properly crush them this time. Having already getting accustomed to the thought that they're going to always come across more dangerous opponents in this Crusade, the Luminaries remain undaunted of the path they have taken.
"So... Time to get back to the train track. I think we have already spend enough time trying to forge Mika a new sword, aren't we?" Kang said as he is the first to stand up and starts to leave the premise.
"Everything until now was all but just to complete her arsenal. At least for here and the Lower Hive that we will reach. We have left our allies waiting long enough, time to reunite again". Alphric said as he also follows suit even if the aftereffect of Spirit Arm still lingers.
Mika followed as they continue the path that the map which Alphric made using the sum of numerous Genestealers' knowledge of this gigantic train station. By calculation and approximation, they figure out where the train of theirs will likely exit tunnel next. The previous battle took like an hour out of their time and that was the only noteworthy cost to them.
With haste, they quickly path their return.
Back to the Luminaries' train. Yang woke up again out of the telepathic connection once more. As he continues to tutor the Luminaries and seeing their combat performance for himself, the more he couldn't help but feel fascinated. What was the last time he sees such generational talents during when he still lives in Wuxia? Yet as he continues to teach them from the backline, the smothered ember of hope that he thought extinguished long ago starts to flare up again as the hope that everything he learned in his life won't go in vain after all.
That his legacy simply didn't end at him.
"The train is exiting the collapsed section! Brace for Genestealer assault if you must!" One of the Lightbearers announced through the train's sound system.
Mentally preparing himself again and taking his Twilight Lasgun with him. Awaiting threats at the train's sideview windows, he made his patient waiting for the oncoming onslaught. Although Martial Arts were his reason to stay living, the Imperium's technology was ultimately his reason of survival against the threat beyond the boundary of his world. Much as he hate to have admit it but he came to rely on it more than his martial arts by this point.
The train has exited the collapsed section once again as the pitch black outside the window illuminated by the light inside the train. His heart beats in palpation, a lot of the remaining Inquisitorial Retinue could say the same as they stay alert with the premonition that this peace of theirs will be shattered in the next second.
From the distance, they noticed the trio once again. This time with nothing chasing after their backs. As the Luminaries made their runs toward the train at speed beyond the peak of human limit, the Lightbringers preemptively opened one of the caboose's door for them to get on. With no further words needed to describe, the Luminaries made on board right before another collapsed section is on the train's route toward the center of this station again.
"Welcome back onboard, our Lords and Lady". The Lightbearer who opened the door made his salutation.
"No need for praise or anything similar. We're comrades sharing a belief thus there should be no functional difference between us". Alphric said politely, partly just to prevent the unnecessary salutation that may happen later on. He is no saint or savior. Just a man who wished to make a difference in this bleak reality even if it's such an impossible dream that he is striving toward.
The Luminaries departed toward their personal quarter. Not even for rest since they won't know when would be the next time the Genestealer Cult mounts another assault. If their Emotion Level reset when it happens then it would be disastrous beyond words of description.
However, they intend to turn this entire train into a war machine. One that is armed to the teeth with every arsenal that they scrapped and learned about. If they can just create a tunnel borer out of Lights alone because Kang happens to remember how one's internal mechanism works then they can create even more train wagons to arm them with heavy weapons. They were completely done with everything here in this den of Xenos and all they wanted is to leave this wretched Underhive as soon as possible.
Who would believe that it was just like... 4 days since the Collapse and their fall into the Underhive yet they are about to leave already.
Perhaps, not immediately when the train is still running at full speed. But they intend to take a stop at some point so that they can modify the train. Whatever threats they come across, they're destined to meet the big bad who is running the entire thing behind. It's the obvious outcome at this point thus they would do better to prepare for it more than making any complaint.
As they discuss to keep themselves awake against the fatigue. Someone knocked on the door, Alphric takes action as obvious courtesy as this was his cabin that they were in. And the person behind was Yang who looks like he has a lot to speak his mind about. Both at the matters at hand and what they needed to do.
"Sorry for intruding. And for taking your precious time and stamina along with it". Yang said as he tries to be at most courteous as he could. He didn't even display this side of him like this to the Inquisitor that he was assigned to.
"Don't worry, you're the most knowledgeable when it comes to matters like this. We couldn't try to ask the Inquisitor any question since trying to talk to him is as productive as watching paint dries". Kang said although his wakefulness is being pushed to its current limit right now.
"Okay, then. What I'm talking about here is about the likely next assault that the Genestealer Cult is going to unleash upon us. From the battle that I've seen through the telepathic link between, I've seen that the Genestealer Magus has joined already before ultimately retreated. If that's what I saw then the next will be led by both the Genestealer Magus and the Primus." Yang said as he also has his own access to Inquisition's hoard of knowledge on his own, being by the right hand of an Inquisitor and all.
A Primus, also called a Genestealer Primus, is a Genestealer hybrid of the third or fourth generation who serves as the primary war leader and tactician of a Genestealer Cult or one of its gene-sects. A Primus only emerges from hiding when the cult is ready to openly act. He is a battlefield commander whose natural ferocity is paired with the best stolen weapons and wargear the cult has to offer.
If the previous encounter with the Magus is anything to offer then the next would be where everything they will fight for will be pushed to the utter limit. Their bodies will work beyond its own scream for reprieve, against the fatigue that came as a natural result of such extended combat, against the overwhelming odds where no one else can guarantee their own chance of survival.
Because if a Primus took action then it is likely that the Genestealer Cult knew they will thoroughly defeat their oppositions.
"So we will likely face their commander head-on, huh? So if we defeat the Primus then it would all end? Would the cult collapses on its own when they lose their figurehead? No, that is a bit too wishful and convenient". Alphric said as his logical and inquisitive reasoning takes place.
"You're correct. Because while a Primus is powerful and still something that the Genestealer Cult will take its care upon, they can still recover from such loss if given enough time. It will only end truly if you slain their Patriarch, once and for all". Yang explained as he answers any question that the Luminaries may ask involving the Genestealers.
A Genestealer Patriarch is the massive Tyranid Genestealer bioform who is the original vector that created a Genestealer Cult on an infested world and becomes its leader and the ultimate controller of its Broodmind.
Lurking at the centre of a Genestealer Cult's web of lies is the Patriarch, father of a hidden dynasty. Twice the height of a Space Marine and with strength enough to slice an Ogryn into bloody chunks, this creature is a leering nightmare of tooth and claw. In a flurry of whipping limbs and diamond-hard talons the Patriarch can tear through platoons of heavily armoured warriors and even light vehicles.
Yet it is the hypnotic psychic spell with which it binds its chosen hosts that mark it out as perhaps the most dangerous Tyranid yet encountered by the Imperium.
The uncanny powers of the Patriarch make it a fearsome puppet master, a threat so pervasive it has an Imperial xenocode threat designation unto itself. By spreading the Genestealer Curse, this creature is capable of destroying not just warriors and war machines, but entire worlds.
It is unknown what relationship, if any, there exists between a Patriarch and the highly similar Genestealer organism known as a Broodlord.
"So... It's not something different that what we're already doing. No matter how many gargantuan foes that stood in our way, we will simply defy them like we already did". Alphric said as while what Yang recalls as his knowledge and tales involving them. The fear and horrifying aspects that while he can't deny won't be able to stop them from what they have already shown their intents on. No matter how overwhelming his confrontation might be, he simply won't hesitate to assert his conviction as he steps forward.
They have already been threatened, they have been beset by foes greater than them multiple times already. Feeling like specks of dust in the uncaring void by looking at the Patriarch's eyes? Sorry, but he didn't need to witness its abhorrent existence to learn that lesson . The Imperium did that better already and his acceptance of it didn't save his previous life before becoming Luminary. Thus the logical conclusion that he must defy the status quo no matter what or whom he must confront.
"That's already what we're doing. No matter how overwhelming our later battles might be, we will simply overcome them like we always did." Alphric asserts his resolve as he spoke his words.
"I see... Then may your woes be few and your future auspicious in your future battle". Yang made his small prayer toward the Luminary, that was the most little that he could do to assist them right now.
He and the Luminaries continue to discuss of their battle plans and tactics. And what they will do with their eventual resurface to the Lower Hive.
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Plaything of the Body
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Cross-Height Transit Tunnel 44, Middle Hive, Hive Sector 12, Hive City Vespera, Twilight
How did it turn out to be this bad? What is the length that their interlopers were willing to go just to stop them from transporting this utterly mundane wooden crate? Just what is the cost for them to consider that causing destruction in such wide scale in critical transportation route and infrastructure is a better alternative?
Reinhardt thought that the worst that could come across his way in this request would just be off-the-mill Gangers, not literal specialized assassins armed with destructive weaponries. If it was once, he would have just considered it but fluke of misfortune. Three times in a row this far basically screams that someone or a group is deliberately targeting them for whatever they're transporting.
Just what is it that his Guild Master dealt with that this treacherous journey was devised for them and this insurmountable bunker of a transporting truck they drove on was used just for them? There was too much that he didn't given to know and the immense pressure that is weighing on the group as a whole as they are plowing through this collapsing tunnel where everything else would have been crushed or crashed by the fallen debris. There was only one priority, escape now and at once.
It withstood the Imperial Guard's military hardware and outlast them even. At this point, to consider it as anything but Twilight Upper Hive's technology is just outright denial if their destination in the Upper Hive wasn't enough to say it out loud.
Reinhardt has been at the steering wheel for a while since the moment things gone wrong and he felt like he is going to pop a vein in his brain trying to maneuver out of this collapsing hell.
"Sophia! You're the most knowledgeable of the group right now. My knowledge is limited to the Middle Hive and its surroundings, this is your moment to show your wisdom!" Reinhardt yelled at the scribe herself as anxiety is bleeding into his composure. He has never left the Guild's sphere of influence thus once he leave the Middle Hive, everything that he knew would become irrelevant. His street-smart would be even more worthless than a human's life to the Imperium.
"Yes! Most Cross-height transit tunnels used for transportation between Middle Hive and Upper Hive has an average length of about 700km and we're already 2 hours in before another intervention happened. Even if we drove this moving bunker's at max speed, it will still gonna take us another 4 hour before we leave the premise. Given the obstacles in our way, we may have to add another half of our planned journey's time to the end calculation." Sophia said as she is as her disparate knowledges of all subjects helped in this critical moment.
They have no idea how to maintain this ironclad truck they're driving right now, nor do they know anyone that could do such thing at all. If this thing bust, so too is their life. It's a war of attrition they're going at and they're the one at receiving end. Even giants get overwhelmed by the ants beneath eventually and this truck will only accumulate more damage as their journey goes on.
Stannum even give it the nickname 'Tombstone' because the Guild Master didn't name it originally and everyone here's life and death hinged on it. It's their protection and their grave that they will die on.
'Painfully ill-prepared' are the words they used. They couldn't have brace themselves for the escalating danger that they are facing, let alone handle one at all.
"Leon, take the damn wheel! I could sense that another explosive rig is going to occur!". Reinhardt said before Leonhardt replaces his role as a driver.
The first encounter is always sudden, and the second explosion is when he knew it is going to be something reoccurring. Reaching for the top hatch that lead to outside as the failing structures rain down debris is relentlessly pursuing them from behind. They can't stop, none of them could. It was as if their whole route was compromised since long ago or, they really prepared to rig every single cross-height routes that they're going to take.
Adapt, that was what Reinhardt did to survive his job as a night-delivery merchant. Moving the hatch slightly upward as the weight now felt much more impactful than before. Aiming the Twilight Longlas outside, he noticed the breaching charge ahead placed at critical points of the tunnel which will ensure collapse if all of them detonated. Considering they haven't yet outright demolish the entire tunnel, the perpetrator probably didn't want to cause too much damage yet going along with such excessively collateral plan either way. At this point, it was a mess of contradictions that Reinhardt has none of the time to think about.
With pinpoint precision granted by the Twilight Longlas which was superior to every variant that exist in Imperium's circulation. He managed to shoot down all of the charges before they could detonate. But he couldn't keep doing it for every instance they come across them.
"Can we change route? I mean there's different tunnels heading toward different locations of the same Hive Sector and the hub area that connects the checkpoint between them. How do you not know this at all when you're someone trusted to lead this team at all?!" Leonhardt yelled as the incapability of everyone in necessary department also infuriated him. He was an ex-Ganger who joined them, and how on Twilight was he the one having to mention this information at all?
"We're likely going to be ambushed there too if they have already gone such length already. We have to take an entirely different path than the one we originally path out. Or anything we originally figured as such." Stannum said as he is veteran's instinct gets to the point. He has seen too many good warriors die due to overconfidence and not acting properly for it.
The collapse stopped since there was nothing to sustain it. It wasn't like it pursued them for long at all but the damage they envisioned for some reason was greater than what actually is within the Hierarchy's capability.
"You know, now that I think about it. When was the last time we actually ate? I mean we purchased wholesale rations at a checkpoint so that we can forgo the need to go outside until we reach our destination. Yet... I didn't feel anything after a day in total has passed". Sophia in the back seat said to herself as she noticed that they were so engorged in their duty that they forgot to take care of themselves.
Decided that she can excuse herself now that there's nothing that she can contribute here, Sophia takes her refuge. That's what she intended until she heard something... That something that she can't trace the source or direction from. A faint calling that she could identify somehow yet it was utterly alien. No one but her could hear it at all as if it was something that transcend of natural existences.
There was nothing in her wisdom could have saved her from the oncoming fate.
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Warpath of Steel
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Underhive, Hive Sector 12, Hive City Vespera, Twilight.
"They really did pick their moment, huh? Right when we decided to stop to upgrade our train properly, those Genestealer bastards take their chance immediately. Are we sure that we didn't have a mole in our ranks?" Kang said as he gazed down the holowatch on his wrist briefly as it show its interface on the Light cost to build an artillery wagon.
40 million Lights was the cost. If it weren't for the fact that their Light gain is explosive right now in this operation with their emotion heightened, that cost would have certainly cost them a literal arm and leg. The Genestealer horde this time is far greater in both size and ferocity as a group of 60 is confronting literal hundred thousands of these monstrosities that each individual alone can kill an entire city block worth of people before taken down. It was painfully lopsided indeed if it weren't for the Luminaries right now being the one tipping the scale against such impossible odds.
With no hesitation did Kang made his confirmation and in the gap between each passenger wagon, a train wagon with an 132mm artillery gun placed on it appears in their place. With its own self-loading system and ammunition storage, it could unleash its powerful payload in quick succession and ensure that whatever targets caught in its throw won't remain as anything but a bloody mist. Design repurposed from the Imperial Knight's Rapid-fire Battle Cannon. The moment its existence was confirmed, it immediately went into action as its large gun fired upon the horde with great force and speed.
Mika is now hard-carry the frontline from collapsing while both him and Alphric is setting the upgrade for the train and about from the rear. Along with her is also additional 15 Lightbearers who managed to perform their first form of Heavenly Demonic Divine Arts which is a massive and necessary step to stood a chance against them in close-quarter combat. As the swords that bear their pain of starvation swung, their individual sword-path become unstoppable to those who never once taste hunger.
The Brilliant Scarlet Steel Sword that the group went through great pain to craft for her made its real difference as it managed to draw out her true power that her usual scalpel failed to deliver. The fact that she managed to go this far with such handicap already tells of how brilliant she was. Combined with the fact that it resonated with her power with perfection thus it won't immediately get destroyed just because she used it as its functionality should.
But even then, once the train's length extend, the frontline as of right now won't be enough to cover its defense entirely. Decided that a close-quarter defense installation is required, Kang sorts out the blueprints of everything they obtained/destroyed so far that is he can recreate.
Clearance Incinerator, a massive, multi-chambered Imperial Heavy Flamer that is able to turn a landslide of rock to molten slurry. Though originally designed to be used to assist mining guild operations, the Clearance Incinerator has been repurposed as a potent weapon by the hybrids of the Genestealer Cults. It is usually deployed as a primary weapon on Goliath Rockgrinders. Now they're also in the production list that Kang has as a result of destroying one of those Rockgrinders in a single punching motion.
"Didn't even scan the thing for there's nothing left of it to do so afterward, yet still appears in the Manufactorium's production list. I won't ask you anything as to why or how, as long as you won't betray my expectation". Kang said as he also promptly design another train wagon for it in mind.
"Hope you like the taste of your own medicine"
The armored wagon with its array of Clearance Incinerators appeared in the space he designated. The machine spirits within them activated as the fractions of the horde that bypassed the battleground to approach them get incinerated with the same thing they used as their brand of weaponries. Streams of literal earth-scorching flame unleashed across as not even their physiology can help withstanding.
Not even a few wagons in and yet they are already start to get overwhelmed by sheer amount of enemies. Staying here any longer is just asking is a death wish. Seeing that they have to prematurely end the upgrading session, Kang manually connects the train wagons to one another with his immense strength before Alphric who has been giving fire support with his Assault Cannon starts to get into the driver cabin and get the train going.
Scar of Sorrow
Something just hit him at the side of his temple while his focus is wholly at the front of him. He figured out that one of the Genestealers outside was sniping him from the distance that Alphric couldn't notice at all. If it weren't for his Psykic Passive right now, it would have been a gruesome end for him but with no hesitation spent lingering, he sets the train into motion as the Lightbringers and the Inquisitorial Retinue is retreating properly with haste.
The weapon wagons right now worked in perfect syncs as it repels the oncoming force from approaching them carelessly. As it speeds up, the train met another collapsed section as the tunnel borer placed on its front about to meet again. Yet...
All the firepower previously met against the armored hull of the train was directed completely toward the tunnel borer. They knew already that it is their only method of traversing this broken station. The Genestealer learned but they won't be able to replicate what the Luminaries can do with their power of Light.
"Expending 40 million Lights to armor the tunnel borer?" The system notification displayed in Kang's holowatch in which he accepts the price with no delay.
And immediately afterward, a luminescence aura covers the tunnel borer before a piece of vulnerable machinery turned into an indestructible siege engine. Its frame endured everything that its predecessor couldn't before. Ballistics, flames, explosions, none of it could longer harm their mechanism. Kang could feel himself laughing at the frustration that the Genestealer Magus and Primus are feeling to see that their prey slipping away from their grasp once again. Even if it wasn't the brightest move and the cost of repair for it is now dirt-cheap by comparison.
But to make those Xenos parasite bastards reeling is always priceless by comparison for all the pain he endured because of them.
Even as they train is carving a path through the tunnel, the Genestealer Horde is still following behind. The Luminaries are running on fume supposedly yet with determination, they continue to fight undaunted of their own fatigue. Each one of them easily dissect and butchers the horde of them in this death trap of a tunnel that they're still rushing in without preservation. Notifications of their slaughtering rang yet drowned out entirely but the cacophony of conflict that they're engaging in.
Ears deafened by the tunnel borer, smells clogged by stench of corrupted blood that overwhelms even the light's filtering, eyes perceiving nothing but the brief flashing of blades clashed. Teeth gritting in both weariness and defiance against this ever corrupting filth that they must not allow to reach the surface above. In complete synchronization, the trio rotates their bouts of combat to preserve as much of their strength as possible. Not even using Psykic Passive to assist them but their sheer skills against the relentless attrition.
100 Genestealers of all variants killed in nearly 10 seconds alone. And the count reached 1,000 in the minutes that followed. The escalation only goes further with each second of time passed. The three works in perfect sync as their own respective combat skills developed on its own, and so too is their martial arts applied to maintain this test of endurance.
The train broke out of the collapsed section once again and now moving at its full speed. The Luminaries seeing the light at the end of the tunnel once more made their timely retreat. Once their escape is certain-
Heavenly Demonic Divine Arts - First Form
Sword of Starvation
Her scarlet force sword ignited again as she unleashed a singular swing to collapse the tunnel that they bored before entirely. They spent half of an hour in there thus the detour will be immense for the Genestealer or they could force the tunnel open again but they can certainly try while Mika is here to keep vigil of what they will do. From behind the caved-in tunnel, the Luminaries could hear the cacophony of frustration and anger resonated by numerous of those vile Xenos.
Upgrading the tunnel borer with such a cost isn't the most brilliant move that Kang could have made but to hear the Genestealer Magus and Primus reeling was priceless to him for all the pain they have inflicted onto him and his friends.
Alphric checked the Lights they gained from the blind gauntlet against the Genestealer through the holowatch. Once again, they have return to the 120 million benchmark and all of it will instantly go to purchase even more of those railway artillery for the train. The distance is still long and they will take everything they needed for the inevitable confrontation with the Genestealer Patriarch at the end of the line.
The Genestealer maybe numerous beyond counts but like mountains which can be dismantled with enough efforts. That advantage of number which is omnipresent to their dismay, can't be replenish out of thin air as the Luminaries will continue to exterminate them with every bout of combat. Whatever they killed and destroyed, it is becomes their through the power of light thus while manpower is a recurring problem for them, firepower for individual isn't one of them.
To engage in a battle against the Luminaries is like signing an extreme-interest loan. Not only you sign yourself and all of your resources to them but you will also perish in an agonizing and shameful end while being completely powerless to stop the crumbling of your ambition and works. Unless one can defeat the all of the Luminaries in a single move, to meet defeat at their hands is just foregone conclusion.
"We don't have the time to sit around, we need to plan out the optimized composition of railway guns so that the train itself can handle the Genestealer onslaught from all range". Kang said as the lull of just falling asleep right now is becoming much more noticeable. Although their mental fortitude has been all over the places, this is their current farthest that they managed to push themselves going.
Immediately using all of the time that they obtained, they quickly gets into their work.
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Recurrence Insight
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Cross-Height Transit Tunnel 44?, Middle Hive, Hive Sector 12, Hive City Vespera, Twilight
Sophia has no idea what's going wrong with her mind. She has been ignoring the voice from the void for a while as the group as it is were fighting tooth and nail to maneuver Tombstone from the dangers that have been booby-trapped into nearly all of this infrastructure. This has gone on long enough that their supposed leaving of this tunnel in 4 hours into a harrowing and mind-wracking death race that has gone on for 8 hours with the end of it nowhere in sight.
No one has gotten a single moment to rest their eyes as their vigilance has went into overdrive for the sake of survival. Nearly everyone but Dorothy and Sophia were on the hinge as Stannum, Reinhardt and Leonhardt have been switching seating with one another for the sake of preserving their dwindling sanity and the dying hope of getting out of this hell of mired with endless death traps.
And yet, there was no target for them to unleash their welling frustration on. Nothing on this indestructible armored truck of their as they slammed the car horn just to gradually releasing their barely-contained rage from all the previous hours.
Sophia Formido. A scribe whose qualification is utterly lacking for what she was supposed to do as an advisor, is assigned to this trip. She supposed to do something that the Guild Master saw in her and she too want to fulfill that qualification. Yet, she has been here doing nothing at all to assist in this turmoil they're going through. Helpless is the words that she describe how she is feeling and seeing everyone slowly careening into the deep end.
Even if they could rest, their body would immediately crash due to accumulated fatigue and that's when they're completely vulnerable to their assailant who has rigged this entire route they were in. Completely defeated and play into their hands regardless of outcome, she couldn't believe that she who supposed to be the group's tactician and advisor just can't see the obvious trap ahead of them and played like a fiddle.
The most wise of them all... what the Guild Master spoke to her now feel like it was nothing but a motivating lie just to keep her doing his bidding.
It all felt unreal to her. She wished that all of this was nothing but a bad dream yet...
A sharp pain pierce her mind from nowhere. It can't possibly be anything external since they could literally drove this truck on an anti-tank mine and it wouldn't have a scratch on its body afterward. This cacophony of undiscernible screams and yelling that she kept hearing become louder as if her grip on sanity is slipping away.
Sophia's mind was a whirlwind of confusion and fear, but amidst the chaos, she began to notice something. The world around her started to feel… off as her insight start to manifest. The tunnel which had seemed endless, now appeared to be repeating itself. The same cracks in the walls, the same flickering lights, the same death traps at certain point of distance, and once the illusion starts to waver, even the rubbles become the same. It was as if they were driving in a loop.
The more she started to see the 'writing on the wall', the more she felt like she is going off the deep end. Yet as she felt all of her existence is slowly falling apart, none of her allies even notice that something is wrong with her and the situation they're in right now as they're only preoccupied with the road to nowhere. She tried to yell to catch their attention but for some reason, all of it just go into deaf ears.
And the cacophony of noise in her head become more thunderous in intensity. As if whatever occupies her mind isn't her anymore. Not a single person here is helping her despite her plea for help. She is still there, wrenching herself from the crushing pressure that seemingly smother all her thoughts. As if an entity intrinsically far greater than her noticed her cry for help, and did so without care of consequence.
Like a cogitator suddenly over-capacitated, her mind ceased perceiving reality as a person should. Her vision overloaded with images that impossible for the mind to discern, her perception penetrates through the fabric of this false reality, through the total primoradial chaos. She saws herself in a pod wearing a respirator and a helmet that has numerous cables attaching to it. Alone in the darkness while what seems like people who were observing her suddenly thrown into chaos as if something beyond their field of expectation has occurred in a negative way.
The insight of truth lasted like a mere ephemeral thought but it was enough for Sophia to reach a revelation.
Her whole team was captured and all of the suffering she is going through was all but a simulacrum within her mind to keep her in stasis. She have no idea how long she has stayed like this in true reality but she need to find a way to leave this reality right now. However, completely isolated within her own mind, she has no method of controlling her true body into taking action even if she wanted.
To be aware of the revelation yet too powerless to take action, there was nothing more despairing than that.
Everyone else around her has collapsed; it is unclear if it was exhaustion or total fatigue. The truck is now at a complete stop and vulnerable to attack. What likely was just seconds for her may have been actually hours. As she tried to nudge her fallen allies to see if they're still alive or try to wake them up properly, she felt a dangerous presence approaching the truck. No, not even just one; there were so many that she couldn't even hope to take one of them out, even if she was combat-capable.
There was no way for any intruder to breach into this truck while it was locked. But she wouldn't trust common sense to be upheld when this reality of her mind is entirely false and at the whim of her captors. She decided that she must hide away from them as much as possible, even if nothing truly escapes their gaze.
Opening the under-seat storage of Stannum's seat, her petite form barely fits into it as she squeezes into it as best she can. Having only the darkness to herself while inside the under-seat compartment, she heard thunderous sounds formed inside the truck's inner space itself. Then there were gunshots...
Sophia knew what that meant, even though it was likely just a figment of her mind's imagination. And the assassins that come for them are likely also the byproduct of her nightmare, manipulated by her captors to forever torment her. Even if she kills them, there will always be more to appear out of thin air.
In the end, unless her own resolve can reach her true body, this nightmare will extend to eternity.
Feeling the presence approaching closer to her hiding spot, she grabbed for anything to defend herself with. With something familiar to her handgun found with only her touch sense, she didn't hesitate to just aim it upward, for her life and death were on the line. The moment the trigger pulled, a bolt of crimson light unleashed from the barrel of the gun as it pierced through the seat itself and struck someone. But that was the only attack that she could give before everyone else that she didn't hit, they just gunned her down immediately through the seat as her short-lived victory die along with it.
The first bullet is always the most painful, as she could feel the visceral pain beyond the lexicon description, then another one added more insult to the injury before more and more of them tore her body apart as every one of her senses was completely overwhelmed by pain and agony. Then, it just ends in a whimper as her last breath is taken. Her consciousness then follows suit as everything fades into nothingness.
...
...
"Sophia, wake up!" A familiar voice spoke to her, which snapped her out of the void that she had returned from. Which turn out to be Dorothy herself.
Sophia opened her eyes again. Her teammates are still alive, and they were just continuing the trip again from the stock up before. They were in a pleasant mood, believing that today would be a perfectly fine day for once in their lives. At this point, Sophia wanted to break into tears because she wasn't sure if she had the heart to tell them that this reality is nothing but falsehood or the likelihood that they are also false, since this is her mind that is used to simulate this reality.
And since they just entered the tunnel again, the same thing will occur once more. The death traps, the assassins teleporting, their deaths, and hers.
How many times has this very scene happened? How many of them end in the same manner, completely oblivious to her and maybe everyone here? Why is she the only one now remembering it? Despair grips at her heart, yet no matter what she does, these people here are nothing but figments crafted by her memory and understanding of them.
She retreated to the storage chamber where the items of delivery resided. This section of the truck is soundproofed for some reason, which she found out by coincidence. Taking a place to brood in there, the dam that is holding back Sophia's emotion bursts as she cries and wails with everything that her heart and mind have. Until she completely released everything that had been weighing down in her mind. Before she would proceed, she wanted her heart to be completely clear, or as clear as possible.
Then she steps out, having wiped her tears away. She spent half an hour in there weeping in sorrow before finally obtaining a shred of resolve to push forward.
"Reinhardt, what would I do if you were in my position?" Sophia muttered sadly, as the time she spent crying wasn't in complete vain.
Her plan... is to have all three of the combat participants, Reinhardt, Stannum, and Leonhardt, teach her in combat so that, at one point, she could overcome the assassins by herself should they finally appear to finish everyone off. Even if the number of assassins becomes infinite, even if she falls apart at some point and meets her gruesome demise, she will always return to this trip's beginning. While there was a wishful thinking of her to just stay in complete obliviousness, she knew that if she truly wanted to save her friends, she would have to do what she was best at.
Her wisdom. She'll gather them. To know everything that she wanted, the wisdom to move forward no matter the adversary.
The 'scarecrow' is searching for wisdom again.
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The Ascent
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2 hours of continuous combat. They forbade themselves from using Psykic Passive to preserve their strength until the Magus and Primus show themselves instead of trying to just send endless horde of Genestealer at them. They have a rough idea of how Genestealer Magus fight and because of the Luminaries' nature of existence, they become total immune to psykic manipulations and interference in general thus rendering a lot of its skill set null. And since they're at the current peak of their Emotion Level, their combat power is entirely unmatched.
And all of the Genestealers they slain broken down into luminescence particles or Lights. And they used said Lights to create more heavy-weapon wagon to increase the train's firepower. By some point, it was the train's artillery array that is doing the work for the Luminaries instead of the other way around. Armored vehicles blew up apart by the artilleries' pin-point precision, the tides of Genestealer scorched into nothingness. It really does seem that the Luminaries' victory is in their hands but they never drop their vigil regardless of their current advantages, that is how one could lose grasp of victory despite being awfully close to it.
Because all of this hard work of theirs can also be easily destroyed by catching a Psykic attack off-guard. And seeing these hideous creatures dying in drove would certainly send a message to the more advanced Genestealers to do something or else. Especially the one that bears Psykic potential much that Yang has told them about.
The sounds of gunfire and artilleries briefly become stretched out which the Luminaries taking it as a sign of approaching Psykic attacks. All warp-based attacks tend to create unnatural phenomena around when activated thus if one can discern it early, they will obtain a minor advantage against the caster. Which one it will be is entirely randomized but just knowing is the few assurance they have should they fight Psykers without using Psykic power of themselves.
Immediately springing to action, with only gut instinct to guide them to where the attack will be. Kang and Alphric has yet to see actual attacks but Mika seemingly noticed something that they couldn't.
"Do you guys see the ethereal purple threading lines that I see?" Mika asked as she didn't hesitate to cut them off with her scarlet sword as she used minimum amount of Psykic channeling to it. The moment she did so, the line was severed.
"Uh, no?" Alphric said before suddenly all hell broke out inside the passenger wagon.
With sudden motion, the Luminaries climbed into the passenger wagon before they found out that one of their Retinue members has been enthralled by some sorts of mind control effect that caused them to fire their weapons at their allies. Yang himself has subdued said victim already but from the look of it, it seems that said victim was in total braindead already from the empty eyes that Mika examined. Deliberately chose the most well-positioned to cause maximum damage even as although there was no fatality, 5 combatants of theirs have been rendered unable to participate due to critical injuries.
A harrowing gaze appears on Mika's face, it seems that she has suddenly awakened to something entirely unrelated to both physical and psykic in nature. And because of it, she could actually perceive things that even her fellow Luminaries couldn't before.
"Yang, what are these lines that I perceived when I focus?". Mika asked the only expert in this field with sincere curiosity.
Yang suddenly raised his eyebrows when he heard of what she said. Kang and Alphric is also curious of what caught his intrigues.
Mika noticed another of that purple line has breached inside and its target is Yang himself. Wanting to warn him of the unseen danger that is approaching yet before she could say a word, Yang took out his combat knife and stared sharply into where that purple thread is as if he is also seeing it like her. With one swift slash, the purple line was cut and started to dissipate on its own.
"Wait, you too?" Mika said in complete surprise as she couldn't believe that Yang has the same capability as her but with considerably greater proficiency.
Psykic attacks leave obvious traces behind. But some Psykers can fine-tune their attacks to become unnoticeable beside the original phenomena. And by nature of Genestealer Broodminds that them and Yang has discussed about, a lot of it has to be unobvious or their enemy will focus fire down the caster before any effect can be done. It's not easy to do so against a Broodmind in the first place and Genestealer Cult are cunning bastards who only fight when their victory is with absolute assurance either way.
But even if they try to shroud those attacks from detection, it is still leaving minute traces that even if no longer detectable by conventional means. Because Wuxia's people themselves somehow figured out how to detect even Psykic attacks without even directly perceiving it through sheer martial discipline alone. The saying that if one become dedicated to the arts of martial enough, they will become one with their weapons and that they can completely understand the nature of things around innately. Even if said things are alien to their mind at first.
That's the realm of Peak Martial Art. Where one started to perceive the world in an entirely different way. Where intents laid bare and read like tapestry. Malicious intents against illustrated in blood red and your best counterattack portrayed with azure. And once you reached this realm, anyone below Peak martial artists can no longer defeat said artist in a duel anymore for all their attempt to mount an assault is dismantled at the very first exchange.
Unfortunately, the realm of Peak martial art isn't strictly unique to Wuxia because they wouldn't otherwise suffer complete defeat despite the powerhouses resided in it during the Imperium of Man's invasion against their world. It's just that it is Wuxia's method of comprehending the realm of martial peak that they reached. An intuitive comprehension of them shared amongst Peak martial artists.
And in the midst of Yang's explanation, another purple line comes to take control of someone again but Mika could detect it this time with clarity. Even more, she understand why it was even purple to begin with.
Psykic attacks, are intents strengthened by warp energy due to the user's mental connection to the Immaterium. And if it is intent then a Peak martial artist can pick it up no matter how faint it is. And the purple color of corruption comes about due to the malicious and alien intents that it originated from. With that, there's no further words needed to explain why she must terminate that insidious source of intent. In fact, she already start to do so by literally taking hold of that thread of intent with her own hand.
Protected by the aura of light surrounding her, she is immune to all mental interference inflicted to her. And immediately, she discerns the origin of where this purple thread comes from. Behind literal tides of Genestealer still rushing at as far as her eyes can see, beyond the lingering haze and artillery explosion that beckons. The thread continue to stretch as Mika knew that the origin of this intent must be the Genestealer Magus that is now trying to disrupt them from their weakest link, the Inquisitorial Retinue who are merely normal people who couldn't perceive psykic phenomena until too late.
Disgust welling her thought. And just as when Kang and Alphric reached her, Mika jumped through the train's window while the train's artillery bombardment still rage fiercely outside. Seeing that she has detected something, they quickly follow suit even if they're unaware of the what it actually is.
Mika rushes toward the army of Genestealers and the cultists alike as she draws out her scarlet sword once more. Accessing the realm of intents, she felt numerous red lines all over poured into her body, most of them gathered toward her neck, heart, and forehead and some toward other secondary vital points. The azure line, however, showed her the most effective method to slay all of them in a single sword stroke.
With none of her Psykic power activated, only her martial art is used. She will cut down all of these horrid monstrosities without making use of her Psykic power. Partially because using it puts strain in her fatigued mind and other, is to prove herself. She can use Lights to purchase better physical strength, she can improve her own psykic aptitude thanks to it. But, martial prowess is something that she can only obtain with her own efforts, something that not even her birthright will assist in paving an easier path for her.
For it is the unification of her strength and her psykic potential. Her martial prowess belongs only to her and no one else can stole it.
Heavenly Demonic Divine Arts - Second Form
Sword of Forthirst
Using her own emotions and memory of dying from thirst as the strength to swing her sword, the sword path combined with the azure intent of hers that it pursued to cut down all of her enemies in a singular slash. Then the moment its sword path end, it initiates again as its form and path shift like a flash flood that is impossible to predict in the brutally short amount of time she swing her sword. Their bodies torn apart like a meat grinder that they willingly jump into as the number of variations possible formed by her sword art become staggering in exponential scale now that she is utilizing the realm of intents into her form of combat.
Alphric and Kang are also following her as they dispatch any Genestealer that is assailing them with their own martial arts. However, as Alphric continues to observe Mika performing the Sword of Forthirst, he noticed something has changed about it fundamentally despite being the same sword art that is being performed. He couldn't put what he thought into words but he had an idea as to why Mika suddenly awakened to something life-changing.
He recalled the time when they fight for the train's defense as it is boring a path through the collapsed zone. The area was pitch black yet they refrain from using Psykic Passive because of how exhausted they have become since the beginning. Can't see in pitch black darkness, can't hear when the drilling bore loudly carve through broken concrete, yet they have to fight against such unfair conditions with only their accumulated martial experience and the turbulence flow in a tunnel constantly stirring. All of it where the three must fight together in rotation to maintain their mental stamina against ceaseless horde of Genestealers still flooding into the tunnel.
The one thing he recognized even in the dark is whenever it was Mika's turn, the way she swung her sword was with her entire heart put into it. He couldn't see the sword path exactly in the pitch dark but he could recognize its form when she used Heavenly Demonic Divine Arts. Her movement was graceful yet powerful as if she had become one with its creator who put all of their beings into making it. If it was just pushing his senses, recognition and skill to the limit then even Kang and him would have already reached the Peak like her but they still here unable to perceive the realm of intent she is utilizing.
Thus, it came to his conclusion that she has such high affinity for Heavenly Demonic Divine Arts that she practically resonated with its essence and teaching every time she uses it. If there's a martial art suitable for him too like it did for her then he would have likely reach the Peak as fast as her.
But he has no such fortune after all. So all he could do is to keep using the martial art that he knew of and keep using its technique to the limit. Embracing it as much as he can until he could practice it without needing to consciously think about it. Until all of it become one with him.
Status updated. Registering new attribute.
Martial Prowess: Peak Human
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Cycles of Strife
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?'?'?, Middle Hive?, Hive Sector 12?, Hive City Vespera, Twilight
Sophia broke out of her slumber again but she still know for sure that she is still trapped in this death spiral. Although tried as she may have attempted to resist against the assassins at cycle's end, she has made little progress at all in her combat capability. The jump from ordinary to extraordinary was far too great for her envision that she felt like she will never reach there at all. There's average, and there's her. She just has no aptitude for combat and it disheartens her much to know about.
How can a lowly scribe like her stood against the tide of fate? Her time is infinite, but death isn't something easy to overcome even if she return back to the cycle's beginning. She remembered how Stannum called this armored truck their protection and their grave during the first cycle that she started to realize something is wrong. And she become immune to memory-wipe when the cycle repeats itself for some reason once the illusion shatter.
It was merely an off-handed jest at their situation but to Sophia, that joke has become her reality. This truck, this reality have become her limbo where she has to fight for her right to escape. A grave that she will lie on for the rest of her existence if she lost her will to prevail against.
Reinhardt Ozborne. The leader of team, the man who seemingly overcome all adversary. Normally, he would have figured out something was wrong and would have made protest against traveling through such obvious death trap to begin with. If he was stuck here like her and sharing the same simulation then even he would have found a way to breakthrough this dire strait. But this Reinhardt is merely a reconstruction of what she knew of him and his display of intelligence was... sad to describe the least. Guess she couldn't envision his intelligence well-enough for a perfect replication.
This prove that none of her teammates get captured at all. And that she was the only one get caught in her captors thrall. The reason as to why this has happened to her is unknown. Is it because she was left behind? Is it because she sacrificed herself by her own volition? Or is it she that get caught off-guard and become the sole victim? But if that's the case then why are they interested in her who has nothing to offer meaningfully beyond her wisdom?
Sophia dreads whatever implication it may be to them. And even if her team comes to rescue then their chance of success is very little with how advanced her captor's technology are. By methods of elimination, whatever falsehood gets purged completely then what remains is only the truth. She has been captured by a Noble House. But what exactly is in the crate that they must delivered which gets said Noble House so riled up to intervene like that?
But, even if this Reinhardt was nothing but an imitation of her memory of him, the insights he responded with is still useful as if her captors have to put efforts in maintaining this illusion or it would just be broken the moment she asked anyone onboard at all. Because of it, they did their research of her team very thoroughly, too much for her comfort in fact.
And during the calm before the storm, she would ask for the three of them to teach her in anything necessary should she must fight too. Although reluctant at first due to her aptitude not being the best, they accepted her request since they know if they won't be there to protect her always. Of course, she couldn't exactly tell them that they'll die before her and left her alone in this hell of endless death.
During the first cycle of post-awakening. She asked for Reinhardt's help with handling firearms. Specifically the Laspistol that she found underneath Stannum's seat which she obviously obtained without his permission or inform. After a stern talking, Reinhardt decided to help her either way, she's sure that the actual him in true reality would have loved to teach her how to handle a gun.
The storage section of 'Tombstone' or their armored truck is soundproofed for some reasons. Its hull are durable beyond imagination as proof of their journey so far thus adding a few scorch marks to it doesn't change its ability to protect her and others from outside interferences until the cycle's end. She struggled at first to aim correctly and handling its recoil but after a few hours of his tutoring, she managed to handle the Laspistol with some proficiency. At least aim true when standstill which is still below her want.
She didn't live long when the assassins arrived but she managed to take down three of them by taking cover in the storage section before they just grenade her.
The second cycle came about again and she asked for Leonhardt, the team's designated vanguard, in combat tactics should the theoretical events of sudden assassination which he decided to amuse her questionings by answering them straight. In such small area where this will happen, close-quarter combat is inevitable and that she would sooner learn to throw a punch that is capable of disorienting someone at worst. Having said that, the only tactic he could gave her is to fight in most dirty way possible with her life on the line.
Trying to train her strength with the limited assets available in this truck according to Leonhardt's guidance, she won't build muscle or strength as it won't carry with the loop but the innate strength she has being held back by mental limit will be able to carry on as even the slightest improvement will eventually make its different. When the assassins arrived again, she managed to take down 4 before they overwhelmed her in group.
The third cycle that followed as she asked for Stannum, the old veteran, in close-quarter combat or weapons suitable for her. Given the combat knife that he has from his time in Imperial Guards, her task is to scratch his worn-out Carapace Armor with the given knife in a given amount of time. She failed of course but Stannum taught her properly of how to wield one afterward.
When the assassins arrived again, and with the sum of her combat knowledges from the three, she managed to take down 10 of them before succumbing to inevitable demise. There's nothing she can do there beyond keep improving the knowledge that she is given. But by feeding the knowledge that she learned from her mentors back to them again, they will no doubt teach her to be better steps by steps, each cycle that she passed.
Sophia who is now relieving all of these cycles as she fight with all she has, training herself madly while desperately try to resist the inevitable demise at cycle's end. Each cycles that passed, her margin improvement starts to stack on itself and all her efforts are slowly building momentum to carry her forward. All of those deaths that she suffered wasn't in vain, and that there might be light at the end of the tunnel.
By the fifth cycle, Reinhardt is a bit impressed at how she understood how to operate the Laspistol despite just found it. Before then, he decided to teach her the more advanced techniques involving firearms and their handlings that may or may not save her life.
As the cycles continued, her proficiency with the Laspistol became increasingly apparent. By the tenth cycle, she was not just handling the weapon, but mastering it. Her aim was steady, her aim and movements fluid, and her understanding of the weapon's mechanics was thorough. Reinhardt, oblivious to the looping reality, found himself both impressed and slightly bewildered by Sophia's rapid progress.
In the fifteenth cycle, Sophia was no longer just a student. She was a recognized soldier in her own right. She could disassemble and reassemble the Laspistol blindfolded, adjust its settings to optimize its performance, and even perform minor repairs. Her shots rarely missed their marks even while on movement, and she had developed a keen sense of when to fire and when to conserve her ammunition. Reinhardt could not help but express his admiration for her dedication and rapid improvement. Not a single bit more aware of her cycles.
By the twentieth cycle, Sophia had surpassed Reinhardt's expectations. She was not just proficient, but exceptional. She handled the Laspistol as if it were an extension of herself, her shots were precise, and her understanding of the weapon was comprehensive. Reinhardt for once in his life was astounded. He had never seen anyone, let alone a novice, master a weapon so quickly and so thoroughly.
Despite the looming threat of her inevitable demise at the end of each cycle, Sophia's spirit still remained unbroken. With each cycle that she is in, she must learn, grow, and fight for her right to live. And with each cycle, she was one step closer to breaking free from the loop. Her determination was her unyielding torch in the face of despair, a testament to the strength of the human spirit. And Reinhardt, oblivious to her reality, could not help but be inspired by her resilience and resolve.
"I have to say though, you got me truly surprised. You asked me to teach you how to handle a firearm and... I don't think that there's anything that I could teach you anymore. Well, I guess there's only one lesson left that I could impart you. More of a final exam if you will". Reinhardt said as he genuinely surprised at her capability to draws out wisdom.
The final exam that he had for her, is to beat him in a duel. They can't use their actual firearm so instead, they put their hand into a finger gun and whoever draws first win. Basically the cowboy duel of the wasteland that he heard Dorothy talks about.
Although there's only the confine of the storage section to themselves, it felt like they were in a vast open field with the atmosphere they decided on. The ceiling light created illusion of a high noon as both Sophia and Reinhardt focused their hardest for the right moment. And then-
BANG!
It was unclear who was the victor because there's no one to check the speed nor that actual gun was used. To each other, that was a draw in literal sense. Although the result was inconclusive, it was more of a show to be put on where the result ultimately didn't matter.
"Hahaha... In just a few hours that I taught you, your expertise has shown that you probably could beat an Imperial Guardsman at Laspistol dueling if you tried. That's not an easy task to speak lightly about". Reinhardt said as he managed to crack a first smile since a while. Sophia can only look sadly because she will never be sure if the true reality him would ever do the same if she come to ask him for mentoring again.
Reinhardt left this storage containment as Sophia thought to herself if Reinhardt's guidance will be enough to push the inevitable demise for long enough. Or, will she forever stuck in this armored truck that is now her grave? In the end, Sophia only decided one thing. That she must survive.
The cycle's end approached and the assassins came for her again in this truck. They always pick the exact moment where everyone is most vulnerable, the factor that she couldn't control even if she tried. Thus her true final exam has begun in earnest.
During the 5th cycle, she took down 15 of them before a stray shot injured her and from that shot, her performance got worse before her inevitable fall to demise. During the 10th cycle, she managed to exterminate a considerable amount of them that she stopped counting. After that, she tried to see if their teleportation sequence has ended, and that mistake got her killed in that cycle. During the 15th, she started to be able to fight against the assassins' onslaught to a stand still, the truck's internal was reek with blood and burnt flesh. The floor was flooded with blood in entirety as she come to be stained with blood.
Also, during that cycle, she come to learn that the crate they supposed to be delivering formed a force field when harms come to its way directly for reasons unknown to all of her teammates. It was the reason why this truck was targeted to begin with so many times and the reason why she was caught in this loop against her wish. But here for now, it is her indestructible cover that has shielded so many lethal attacks that would have killed her. After confirming that there's no more threat within sight, Sophia decided to step outside the truck and...
She died instantly to something before she could even register the reason why.
This 20th cycle, is when she decided to take a proactive method instantly. Suggesting to her teammates to hide in the storage room while she alone deal with the imminent threat before they're fully exhausted. Having heard protest of how she can't possibly handle the incoming danger by herself, she shut Reinhardt down by declaring to him with a finger-gun duel, in before done in jest and entertainment, but now done with serious intentions.
Reinhardt was determined to win but right as his fingergun twitched in anticipation, Sophia already pulled her and this time, there's no denying of who win or lose with so many spectators. Reluctantly accepting the outcome, Reinhardt demanded her to stay alive no matter what before everyone else retreated into the storage room and closed the door. Just as the truck about to come to a halting end, the assassins teleported into this room but Sophia has taken action already.
She has been killed by them and killing them so many times that she no longer has any sympathy nor consideration to think of them as humans anymore. And with the first assassin's head blew up by her Laspistol at point-blank. She took the corpse immediately to use as a meat shield as she guns them down immediately during midst confusion and chaos with her hi-powered Laspistol. With swift precision and reaction, the assassins who entered expecting easy preys for slaughter found themselves to be the one will get slaughtered instead.
A mist of blood and burnt flesh came as a result and so many corpses stack into a mount in the middle of the room they're in that when the assassins teleported in, their bodies become stuck with the corpses due to the sheer amount of them. And they're all executed immediately upon entry with her Laspistol. Before what was supposed to be quick rout for them instead turned into complete bloodbath as a result.
After there's no more crackles of teleportation to be felt anymore. She lets out a sigh of relief before just crying in catharsis entirety. This isn't yet the end for her nightmare but she has managed to overcome a great crisis that consumed a large part of her by her own method. By her only way she knew out of the cycles of misery she endured. To keep gathering wisdom so that in eventuality, it will save her life.
But with no time for rest, she signaled to her teammates that the coast is clear for them. And as the designated combatants step out to see, they become visually disgusted at the carnage left behind in her wake in middle of this room. Yet, Sophia's expression indicates that this isn't the end.
"Stannum, there are still threats unseen outside. Can I ask for your assistance?". Sophia said as if the aura she exudes has changed completely.
Seeing the evidence of her capability in display. Stannum made his agreement nod before grabbing his power-axe once more as they both steps outside the truck's safety. With their livelihood already endangered regardless of its protection, they have no choice but to step forward into dangerous territory.
*KLANG!* A loud sound of something has clashed between an unstoppable force and immovable object. As she turned around toward the origin of it, she saw Stannum is fighting back against someone with his power-axe. The veteran of hundred wars made his act of resistance as another assassin this time has come to finish the job that their underlings failed to do, seeing that tossing more lives in didn't solve anything at all.
This time, Sophia takes in everything that she could perceive while possible. The assailant that took her previous life in the previous cycles when she first stepped out of the truck, is explicitly a woman or appear as such. Dressed in skin-tight bodysuit, while armed with what is just look like a whip with a sharp blade at one end. At this point, her closest description is a dominatrix who is actually lethal considering she died instantly without telling in previous cycles.
Stannum obviously didn't get seduced with how apparent the killing intents are radiating between them. In the next instant, Stannum lunges forward while swinging his two-handed axe with strength and dexterity that betrays his age. And for the first time, she actually sees him fight with such seriousness that the true reality him most likely never perform.
She will never run out of wisdom to gather at all, will she?
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Setting the Stage
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Underhive, Hive Sector 12, Hive City Vespera, Twilight.
They have already charged directly into the enemy's line as they were immediately surrounded and besieged in an instant. But with their strength mustered and power unique solely to them, they won't fall easily even against if their foes are as numerous as stars in the sky. Mika has already made significant strides as there's nothing that could stop or slowing her down once she has tapped into the realm of intents. And as the most effective path laid bare for her, she made no hesitation to cut down everything in her way to reach toward her destination.
Meanwhile, Kang and Alphric barely keeps up with her. They can only try to follow her path but such imitation is imperfect and often just more detrimental to them than moving on their own. Striking everything stood in their ways yet the distance between them and Mika only widen. Even though they are a team together, to see her slowly leaving them behind like this tells just how far she has progressed despite seemingly only learn of it recently.
"Crap... We really are going to lose sight of her at this rate" Kang said as his fists are in a disgusting red-purple hue from all the Genestealers that he brutalized. His Power Maul completely stained in alien gore and its limit has been pushed to the breaking point.
The threat that Luminaries represented to the Genestealer is so high that they no longer care about collateral of their own just to kill them. Because as long as they still draw their breath, the Genestealer Cult's total annihilation is real and become more possible as each moment of time passed. They would rather take a grievous wound than getting their figurehead decapitated by the Luminaries.
But that doesn't have any meaning toward the Luminaries because to them, the Genestealer Cult is an insidious and corrupting vermin that festers a terminally-ill body called the Imperium of Man. They will not make any compromise with evil because otherwise, they wouldn't be anymore different than the tyrants that has ruled their previous lives. Thus, they decided that they are their own master and only they themselves have any control over their own.
Keep fighting even as their own bodies whine and scream, putting motions and intents into their actions with unwavering belief. Normally, that's what they would have concede but the frustration of their own lack of progress is still prevailing regardless of how focused they are. Trying as hard as they could to reach out to Mika yet still lagging behind, the Cult has taken advantage of their momentary setback to utmost cruciality.
The Genestealer Primus entered the stage, separating Mika from the rest of the Luminaries as she heads toward the Magus on her own without looking back. Alphric and Kang looked at the Primus dead in the eyes, and neither flinching against the opponent they are pitted against. The Luminaries have too much of fighting foes far greater than their capability already, surrendering to their own fear didn't save their lives so defiance all the way to the end is their only way to go.
The Primus lunged first at the Luminaries, Alphric took first steps as he knew this battle won't be won without usage of Psykic Passive. They don't make any attempt at conversation since every Genestealer Cultists here knew that they have already loathed their opponents without a shred of respect for their capabilities. And the Luminaries so too agree with that same sentiment returned toward the Genestealer Cult.
Commanding the broodkins in stentorian tones, Primuses stalk through the fires of war with the surety of an alpha predator. Each is an ambush leader and front-line general, sowing destruction through the most prized targets of the enemy force. It is the duty of a Primus to show the supremacy of their kind's beliefs, rewriting the history of worlds in the blood of those who oppose them.
Where a Magus boasts a pin-sharp mental acuity and telepathic powers the equal of any Space Marine Librarian, the Primus has a superhuman dexterity and surety of focus that can see them bring down adversaries twice their size. The wargear of a Primus complements their approaches of stealth and guile, allowing them to lay low those in their path without raising any unwanted attention.
Each Primus girds themselves with the finest equipment the cult can provide, distilling toxins from their own virulent bloodstream and delivering them via silent-firing Needle Pistols and paralytic toxin claws. Amongst their equipped arsenals, some wield strange, sentient swords thought to be grown from the bony secretions of the Genestealer Patriarch's bio-throne - these blades are not only symbols of the cult-father's trust, but deadly weapons in their own right, capable of stealing the life energy from those they strike to leave only withered husks behind.
However, all of these above only apply if the Luminaries were completely human to begin with. The Primus blends in with numerous other Genestealer Cultists that are charging head-on toward the Luminaries enmass. Then while expecting his target to be overwhelmed, the Primus would then lunge at unexpected moment to deal a mortal blow to his opponent, for the Bonesword it wields only need one cut to sap their life in blink of an eye. And...
Coward's End (Partial Awakening) - Carmine Haymaker
Alphric has no time to play this stupid game of long drawn-out conflict. Much as he hate to use his Spirit Arms when the true figurehead has yet to appear, he would rather not waste his breath with the Genestealer Cultist horde that exist solely to tire him out to no end. Resonating to one of his innate Spirit Arms, the manifestation of his chosen path of life that he confronted about, and his coming to acceptance and understanding as to why he lived that way.
He continued to live in a world that loathed people who wish for rationality like him. And he will continue to live so in spite of it. An easy way out was presented for him in the form of everlasting and blissful slumber. Yet, he continued to live.
The Spirit Arm that represents those who chose to take an early grave by their own volition, represented with numerous wounds left by those as a whole before turning into scars on his body. And the one he chose to open is the one that ran across his punch-throwing arm's elbow. Then from the opened wound unleashed a massive jet of blood as the force propels his punch forward like a ballistic missile moving at great speed.
A sweeping hook or an overhand thrown from his rear hand in combat stance. Otherwise colloquially known as a haymaker because the wide arc of the punch is so similar to the arc of a scythe when it is being used to cut hay. As it flies toward the Primus who now realized that Alphric has never once disconnect his gaze from his chosen target despite fighting like a dozen more Genestealers at the same time.
The Primus adjusted its Bonesword to shield themselves from the hit yet the impact it received right at the blade send him flying and brutalizes many more Genestealer Cultists caught in his flight path. That hit should have just torn the Primus apart already but the blade itself already received majority of the impact yet the Primus felt like something inside was injured beyond expectation.
It coughed out blood. Something that has never happened in its entire life. It was a creature born for war, there supposed to be nothing capable of defying it and yet the Luminaries are making as if it was nothing but a rock that stumbled in their ways. That the entire Cult's best of the best was far weaker than a single Luminary.
In absolute fury for its damaged pride that it not supposed to have, it rushes back at the proximity where the Luminaries are. Learning from its previous attempt before ended in absolute failure, it intents to inflict them a slow and painful death from the distance with the Needle Pistol loaded with lethal toxin that could kill a normal person with the slightest minimum dose in excruciating agony.
Firing their guns while also on the move, making sure that its target can't possibly trace the firing path as it weaves along the onrushing crowds. It even confirms landed hit exactly on the target that send it back and-
Coward's End (Partial Awakening) - Death Spiral
Surging jets of blood unleashed toward as the Primus's instinct made it perform a narrow evade. During that brief moment, hundreds of Genestealer Cultists of all mutation different stages were bisected indiscriminately by those jetstreams of blood unleashed by Alphric through the gaps beneath his fingernails. Alphric and Kang even coordinate with one another to completely clear out all of the Genestealers in their surrounding within a hundred of meters.
The toxin that the Primus fired? Alphric has completely expelled all of that tainted blood through those unleashed jetstreams aforementioned. Even the Primus is taken aback at the seemingly ceaseless vitality that he has despite there's the Genestealer Magus whose psykic capability said to be compared with Space Marine Librarian of all things.
Kang gave another glare at the Genestealer Primus for thinking that there will be reinforcement to come for them at all. As if to cast fear into their alien heart for the killing intents conveyed through that glare alone could probably broke a person mentally. Although it didn't work for too long, just the slight taken aback is enough for him to perform his next action.
An oversized gauntlet appeared within his arm, one that belong more to a Space Marine that it did for him. Then as Kang used that armored arm and dig to the ground, he-
Regret Within (Partial Awakening) - Forsaken Upon By All Relief (FUBAR)
throws an extremely fast punch into the ground in a direction as the shockwave resulted in a sizable earthquake that can be felt. The punch itself broke the sound barrier as a loud boom can be heard even before the blow landed by those more perceptible. It is similar to Alphric's Earthshatterer but that was more of a thought-out utilization of Psykic Passives than actual usage of Spirit Arms.
The aftermath left behind a decently-high wall made from raised rubble. Its height is capable of deterring any Genestealer from making the climb lest they allow Kang to tear them apart with his hands once he swiftly caught them. They obviously tried to outmaneuver him but they just have to pick the worst possible opponents to outspeed against.
The Death that I Deserve (Momentum + Violence + Overdrive + [Minor Psykic Links])
Kang was tired, and now he become much more evidently more as he pulls himself to move at the speed of sound. Throwing a punch is obviously less demanding that moving his entire body but he must make sure that no one can interfere the fight that Alphric himself ordained. And with his rapid punch, walls of rubble formed by the sheer force of impact as he completely seal off the perimeter. Before a minute could pass, he has sealed the perimeter from all interlopers with him being the one to stand guard.
He's tired, that thought wouldn't leave his mind no matter how focused he is. The raised wall that he made will be his last act of strength for this current session. They thought that they could just rush straight toward the Patriarch while their Emotion Level is at their peak but it seems that they will have to make revision in eventual.
"Come at me if you can, hideous bastards". Kang said as he cracked his knuckles before marching toward the Genestealer Cultist Horde relentlessly attack him.
Meanwhile inside the enclosed perimeter, the Primus screeched in anger the act that Kang just did to separate it from the rest of the army it supposed to command. All is fair in war they said. Anyone would be in obvious anger with met with disadvantages, including pretty much any Xeno if they're capable of sentience even.
The Primus moved at speed exceeding the turning view that a person is capable of. Easily outflanking Alphric as the Bonesword swung toward his neck at speed leaving brief trace of vacuum behind. And yet...
"Your blade will never cut deep enough"
A sudden terror was afflicted into the Primus despite it was engineered to be impossible to feel fear yet it did either way because the immense dread that Alphric is instilling. Yet it did either way regardless of warning and...
Scar of Sorrow + Stagnant Blood + Fervid Emotions + [Minor Psykic Links]
The Bonesword barely nicked into his neck despite that swung before. And despite the sword supposedly leeches life itself like mad, it didn't have any effect on Alphric at all that it couldn't figure out a reasoning of why. Then, Alphric turned his head around in an instant with a death glare on his face that was so terrifying that the Primus's thought was disrupted briefly. And even that momentary weakness gets thoroughly exploited by Alphric himself.
Krav Magus Defense Techniques - Third Form Variation 3. Daredevil's Full Counter.
There was no moment in between, the Primus was lodged into the wall of rubbles with its armor severely damaged with a crater in the middle of it. And Alphric's counterattacking fist was smoking at the sheer speed he performed. His demeanor remain unflinching at the attack he performed as he approaches the Primus again, this time it seemingly screech in fear at what he's doing.
"We're only done when I said so. Get back up again or I'll put you down into the ground permanently". Alphric made his threat loud and clear while his gaze seemingly penetrate into its being.
A show of how despite being a well-mannered person, he is not above brutality and violence when the situation demanded.
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Clashing Wills
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?'?'?, Middle Hive?, Hive Sector 12?, Hive City Vespera, Twilight
Cycle 26
Sophia woke up again at the cycle's beginning. Yes, she died. To make it short, although they managed to triumph over the first assassin with all their struggles, the next one that followed wasn't exactly just one. It was an entire squad of the same hardened assassins and this time, they were armed and formation into proper discipline and roles. Worse, they use actual guns and it didn't take long for Stannum to get overwhelmed and her death soon followed.
From what she recalled, they're also look like women like the first proper assassin that they fought and that one was more of an outlier than the actual combat-prepared. Like comparing a hitman with actual soldiers in terms of equipment. Still, their capabilities are a bit too much for just mere mortal human thus Sophia doubted whatever to consider them the same.
Barely getting better than before and with how harrowing the first steps were. She knew that she alone can't progress far without her team's help. If even one is taken down in this illusionary world, then gone is her chance of breaking out of it. These people here aren't her actual teammates in real life, yet her livelihood of survival hinged on them either way.
This time, she inevitably needed one of their help again. In particularly, Stannum will be her teacher for the foreseeable amount of cycles forward. The old Guardsman will inevitably have a lot to teach her about all of the skills needed as an Imperial Guardsman. Ranging from the most basic to things that only the most veteran would ever come across and to make use of.
Cycle 26, she asked him how to use a knife after begging the old man a lot of time until he capitulated under her incessant demanding. He decided that he will taught her how to do so if she can use a survival knife to make a scratch on his Carapace Armor at all. Yet despite how worn down it is from the passage of time, and the confinement of the test limited to this truck. She failed to do so miserably. As a gesture of pity, he decided to teach her how to use a knife properly in both combat situation and survival.
Cycle 28
Stannum began the lesson by explaining the basics of knife combat. He emphasized the importance of grip, stance, and movement. He demonstrated how to hold the knife firmly yet flexibly, so that force and direction can be changed quickly. Giving an example of the proper stance for her, a balance between stability and mobility, and how to move fluidly while maintaining this stance.
Sophia tried to take in every detail as she listened intently. She practiced the stance and grip, initially feeling unnatural and uncoordinated. But with Stannum's gentle coaching, she began to gradually grasp the concept.
Cycle 33
Stannum introduced Sophia to the different types of attacks and defenses with a knife. He taught her how to thrust, slash, and feint, and how to parry, dodge, and counterattack. He explained the concept of timing and rhythm in knife combat, and how to read and anticipate the opponent's movements.
Sophia struggled with the complexity and speed of the movements. But she persisted, driven by her determination to survive. She practiced tirelessly, her hands growing calloused, her body aching from the exertion. All of those traces of training will disappear at the end of each Cycle where she puts all of what she practiced to the test and the brink. Yet all of its still lingers on her mind even if they're no longer there, even if all vanished like tears within the rain.
Cycle 39
In this cycle, he pushes Sophia to her limits. He made her spar with him using a training knife. He didn't hold back, attacking her relentlessly, forcing her to use everything she had learned. Sophia was overwhelmed at first, barely able to defend herself.
Stannum was a tough teacher but also fair and encouraging. He praised Sophia for how fast she learned despite unaware of the loop that she undergoes and urged her to keep pushing her limits. Sophia, for her part, was grateful for his guidance. She knew she still had a long way to go, but she was determined to become proficient in knife combat, not just for her survival, but also for the survival of her team.
With heightened focus, her perception also starts to pick up on previously imperceptible speed that would have left her blindsided. Then, with a decisive thrust, she managed to land an attack on Stannum after a roughly about 100 failed dueling bouts. Before she could enjoy her short-lived victory however, Sophia was promptly struck down by the old man's unnatural speed not belonging to someone his age. Before she lost her consciousness however, she could see just how much he is proud of her for someone who's so naïve and unaware can learn this fast.
She cried internally because she doesn't deserve this opportunity or his praise at all.
Cycle 45
She starts to push back Stannum's onslaught of attacks as he tries to assess her capability when she first asked him for knife training when in her perspective, it was her 20th. What he perceived as natural talent in reality is her accumulated efforts and trainings over the past 20 cycles under his supervision. But all of that combined with real experience of each cycle accelerates her growth than if she just keep tranining normally.
Then with a determined look in her eyes, she defected the knife out of his hand. Something that has never happened during his time training other conscripts in the Imperial Guards. Not even the most professional and adaptive by far did what she did during his first session. Sophia breathes tiredly as if this was the proof of her learning that didn't go to waste with each Cycle.
Stannum looks at the combat knife that he used lying on the ground. Then with a deep breath then a sigh, he turns around and leave the storage compartment of the truck before returning with his power-axe. No words were spoken yet Sophia knew this is too is also part of her close combat training.
Her nightmare has just only begin and the night is still too long.
Cycle 52
Stannum with his signature weapon is the most terrifying thing to go up again that she knows so far. A man who is so powerful to outlive all of his compatriots in a profession that they supposed to die young. And the fact that he retired from it doesn't mean he was weakened or anything at all. Sophia struggles to get any hit in while avoid getting struck by the flat part of his axe. Although her reflexes and dexterity has been increasing slowly on its pace, while pushing her perception and mental processing to its limit. She is basically forced to perceive everything in her environment for any minute differences that make up for her survival.
Klang! She managed to block the incoming blow with her knife from striking her in a dangerous spot that would have hurt her immensely. She can tell that Stannum is still going easy on her because her memory of him going all-out in many previous cycles away still imprinted in her mind at the time. Although being pushed aside isn't the most lethal thing that she suffered, it is basically telling her of how inept she is alone without any of their help at all.
If she wanted to live, she simply will have to fight harder. Until there's nothing outside this truck can stop her from escaping this false reality.
Cycle 60
After the long routine of combat training drilled into her. The crucible that is the cycle of death and regression that she endured has finally forged her into a hardened combatant even if the firearm training with before didn't already make it so.
Slowly but surely as she managed to weave through the swing of Stannum's power-axe as she tries to overcome the disadvantage of range resulted as their weapons of choice. Since he could forgo his standard-duty Twilight Lasgun for a power-axe, it means that there must be a method to overcome that disadvantage that he knew about but won't teach her for some reason. Perhaps, he really believes that even someone like Sophia could figure out on her own with how much of her skill being displayed at the first assessment.
Unfortunately, she isn't talented or a prodigy at combat in the making. All of this is but trails and errors repeated throughout all the previous cycles under his tutoring. But even the dullest blade can be sharpened with given enough effort in the making. And Sophia intents to reach that state of enlightenment with all she has.
The difference in strength is still obvious since it is one of the few things that can't be carried across cycles. Yet she is still fighting fiercely with that non-existent strength of her that is seemingly conjured out of ether. The source that it came from, is her body's hysteric reaction that she has reached the point of self-inducing it at will.
Not without a cost which she is already aware of, but if she doesn't put her body to the limit now then it would be torn apart when she actually fight the true hostiles who come for her life at the end of the line.
Then it finally hit her. Not the axe, the epiphany that she was looking for so long. The reason why Stannum used his axe instead of his issued firearms. It wasn't because he was more proficient with it or anything at all. It's because he trusted everyone else to fulfill the roles that he knew he won't be capable of. Especially Reinhardt's marksmanship with the Twilight Longlas that was given as a gift before from him.
A Guardsman is helpless alone against the greater threats that they usually confront in the wider galaxy but that's why there's never only one of them. They have their allies are there to fill in the blind-spots or weaknesses that each of them have and as become more cohesive as a group and as a whole. And here, Stannum himself is alone thus the weaknesses are much more glaring than it otherwise should during normal combat. Turns out, she has been approaching the whole battle wrong since beginning.
Taking a deep breath as she pushes her recognition the limit that her reserve of wisdom could take her. A dance of death and survival that they're locked between, and her determination which has always been shaky become unwavering in a brief stint of time. His power-axe, formidable as a weapon it is, isn't completely omnipotent that there's no possible way to get around it. Everything about its swinging pattern, the range, the rhythm, all of it entirely depended on the user which is Stannum himself.
An attack isn't entirely devoid of the intents behind. No one can swing a weapon with emptiness in mind nor in complete uncannily-robotic manner. Thus there's always a minute trace of vulnerabilities that can be found and exploited. Through out all the previous cycles that she underwent when Stannum brings out the axe, she have learned everything she could about his behaviors, his methods of attacking, even patterns if she could even devise at all. And none of it have went in vain for this moment.
In the 60th cycle, Sophia has made her first step toward a new realm that she wasn't aware of nor anyone could elaborate. But she can now perceive the unseen intents imbued in the weapons wielded by her opponents if she focused. That alone makes her undefeatable to anyone below such level in a duel.
Stannum made his wide-swinging arc of his axe as Sophia ducked and rolled beneath his attack in a swift action. In before, she would have just fallbacks from his swing before rushing at him mid-motion. Swiftly coming up from behind, his combat knife that given to her is now placed firmly at his throat. Signify of his defeat at the hand of hers after so long.
35 cycles in total since her first tutoring request of him. And she managed to achieve a single victory out of those numerous failures and setbacks before. Stannum was genuinely surprised to see her holding him hostage like that thus he dropped his axe and raised both his hands in surrenders.
"Well done". Stannum said as his voice gruffed. "You really earned this victory."
Sophia lowered her knife, her body trembling with exhaustion and relief. She had done it. She had beaten Stannum. She had proven to herself, and to him, that she was capable, that she was strong, that she was a survivor.
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Epiphany
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The Primus propels toward him both out of anger and fear. Its survival held in his hand as if it was a jester at the mercy of a Imperial Noble. Using every piece of arsenal that it carried on it, it tried to harm Alphric with everything it has but-
Krav Magus Defense Techniques - First Form Variation 4. Wandering Wind.
Like a formless specter that Alphric's acrobatic become, the Primus tried to swing at something whose freedom of movement being so great that it couldn't keep up no matter what. Alphric really could have just killed it in an instant right now but what he is doing is just absolute humiliation for something that had so much pride in its warborn capabilities.
And while it continues to desperately fight while Alphric seemingly couldn't give less of a shit toward it. It started to realize something, not an enlightenment but a realization of just how screwed the Cult were to pick a fight with the worst possible enemy.
The scourge of life that came from the stars above that have traveled across vast distance, one that has devoured numerous lifeforms in many galaxies. But ultimately, all they did is just eating life itself in the end, not the stars that consisted said galaxies. The stars whose fury is ultimately too much for the swarm that it still has to steer clear for there's nothing to be used at all there. A blazing wrath that leave not a trace behind in aftermath.
Much like Alphric that it is fighting right now. Not a prey to be eaten but a force of nature contained in the form one.
Mistakes were made, and the due is about to come.
The Primus's attack patterns start to slow down. Then its speed and movement become pathetic. Emotions that never otherwise existed in it started to appear before it completely give up as it kneels in front of Alphric. Its face stare toward the ground in complete defeat in morale.
He has made a Genestealer submitted to him in despair. To make such a fervid and zealous existence completely destroyed mentally by just how much terror Alphric inflicted to it despite a lot of the previous actions aren't specifically terror-inducing. Alphric made his sigh before he just killed the Primus in an instant, the aftermath rendered in chunks of indiscernible gores that no longer telling of who originally was.
You have killed a Genestealer Primus. +40,000,000 Lights
He didn't want to kill it instantly so that he could have a worthy foe to push himself to the limit. He even tried to use Krav Magus constantly to see his own ascent to the Peak martial art realm. But... none of his martial arts resonated with him. Is he just destined to never be able to reach the same height his partners are?
Although the relationships between them ultimately never change regardless of their prowess. It hurts to know that he will be pitied upon if this situation of his doesn't change. Looking down at the gore, he sat down in quite self-consolation. With only one thought in his mind.
He's tired.
Outside the sealed perimeter, the ground nearby was bathed in numerous gore and viscera from the carnage that Kang unleashed upon the Genestealers. The spiritual exhaustion is killing him mentally even though he knew that he won't succumb to such a thing at all. He keeps slaughtering his numerous foes that all the violence just blurs like an afterthought that he never dwells upon or care about more than the next instant that followed.
During that rain of blood that played out in slow-motion, one that came about partially from his overdriven senses and the trance that his mind is running on right now. Seemingly enable him to think separately while his instinct takes the wheel, Kang thought to himself.
Why does Mika managed to reach the realm of intents on her own while the two of them just struggles to follow? What is it about her that she could seemingly learn martial arts better than they could despite having the same start? They know already that she resonated with her selected martial art thus her accelerated growth but that doesn't feel like the sole reasoning to this conundrum.
So it comes to one reasoning that he surmised. One that came about from his life-long wisdoms accumulated as a person who have worked in all kinds of profession including of legal and illegal during his stay in the Lower Hive. Is that Mika understood herself and her disposition. That might not have been the most profound thing which could have been spoken but the fact that she stayed true to earnest empathy herself despite all the hardships that she endured.
Thus, what exactly is he to himself? Someone who can be a infamous Ganger known for cruelty can also suddenly change job to a diligent manufactorium worker on the fly without altering what he believed of himself. He could be on the side of 'justice' for a moment of time before switching his role toward the opposite end without batting an eye. All of it for his dream of getting out of the Lower Hive for the hope of getting to a better life. He keeps switching place, moving from one job to another until he finally reached the beaten end of that path where he could finally shedding his past away once and for all.
He realized suddenly of what a person he actually is. He is... a vagrant, an aimless wanderer who yearned for a place that he could call himself truly belong to yet the heart never settles down. He is the negative connotation of the journey mattered more than the destination. That at the end of the beaten road, the weight that he carried across the journey can't be cast away. Very few has seen all the vastness of the Lower Hive has but he could say to himself that he is that one person who did so.
With all the knowledge and wisdom he gained from the Lower Hive, he made the final jump as he cast away everything that he obtained there to reach the Middle Hive, where lives are unquestionably better. The final sacrifice mounted on top of every other sacrifice he made before, that consisted of everyone that he made connections to and parts of himself amongst them.
Amidst his introspection, he starts to draw parallels of his journey to the realm of intents that Mika has reached. Then he started to realize that it isn't strictly just power or prowess that makes the reach toward it. It is that their effects help immensely but the final jump is strictly required to be performed by the practitioners themselves. That's the distinction that separates any rated martial artists to the true pinnacle.
It is his state of mind, a deep understanding of himself and the world around him. The Spiritual Resolution trails did immensely to make him confront with his own mental problems which having the additional effect of causing accelerated understanding of martial arts and the intents instilled within them. However, he was only forced to become aware of them and haven't yet taken action to confront. In essentiality, he was running away from his problems even when he knew what he can do about them.
But now, he knew that he must embrace himself. To accept his true nature. What positive is to be reinforced and what negative is to be rectified. A fighter, a supporter, any role that he could adapt, he can change into within a moment's notice. He endures the hardships and keep moving forward undaunted. That is his intent, that is his nature.
After that newfound understanding, he recalls the Thousand March Footwork that he learned from Yang before and ponders. What if he could uses its footwork and adjust it to become an attack. He has always instinctively adapting what he learned across many professions of similar natures to his advantage, deriving an entirely new martial art out of the pre-existing one shouldn't be an impossible task for someone like him.
Footwork motions transforming, his emotions and beliefs unified as the slow-motion started to cease and in its place is total clarity. Surrounded by numerous Genestealer Cultists whom he had always barely keeping up to them with his weakly-unified raw strength and prowess. Then, from the backpedal that was supposed to just be hasty retreat, it transformed into a blazing fast roundhouse kick that shreds the Genestealers behind him into torn fleshes.
Through all the chaos and carnage that he underwent. Kang felt a shift within him. He felt a connection to the realm of intents, a resonance similar to what Mika must have felt. He realized that the realm of intents was not something one could reach through force or effort, but through self-understanding and acceptance.
The world around him turned into black and white but the threads of intents flutter around him as he could notice all the sanguine hostilities directed toward him in total clarity. This revelation did not make the battle any easier, nor did it alleviate his exhaustion. But it gave Kang a sense of purpose, a sense of identity. And with this understanding, he felt a renewed vigor, a renewed intent to continue the fight, not just for survival, but for himself.
For the first time in a long time, Kang felt truly alive. He was ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead, armed with his newfound self-understanding and connection to the realm of intents.
"Piss off". Kang said before he completely mops the floor with anyone who still dare to think that they can win against him in this state.
A little moment later, Alphric broke through the perimeter wall with his concentrated blow after he recovered his mental stamina briefly. Seeing the clearing completely empty but the battleground drenched in Genestealer blood. Kang stood there surrounded in a mountain of corpses and lake of blood that formed as a result. His entire being was drenched in red as if they were lingering remnants of hostility permeated this very atmosphere.
His figure was menacing but beyond that thin layer is a relief of an eternity of struggles and suffering. That all the baggage and weights that have been holding him down was promptly discarded away. A part of him was glad that Kang has seemingly reached the next realm that Alphric is still struggles to comprehend at yet...
Alphric shoved that inevitable sense of envy that came about obviously away. What kind of leader is he to be weaker than his compatriots but be envious of them at the same time? He's weaker than them for now but if he really did something like that for something he only has himself to resolve then he truly had no words to describe of what a terrible person he himself is.
A sharp pain pierced through his head. Nothing has struck him suddenly, it's the aftereffect of his mental exhaustion creeping up upon more physically as he pushes himself through the hardship. The more he neglects his own well-being, the more agonizing that sensation become. He wished to stay up to confront the Patriarch at their full strength yet their spirit is stretched thinner than ever.
Maybe, just may be that Yang may have a solution so that they can technically rest to recover their spiritual strength but not actually fall into sleep. All of his techniques involved pushing the human body to the limit thus even the resting state is included.
"We need to recuperate with Mika soon. With the Primus's death, the remaining Genestealers are no doubt in chaos and aggregating toward the Magus in attempt to reestablish order of their army. But knowing Mika, I have no doubt that she can overcome the crisis on her own measure". Alphric said as he stares toward the the last direction where she headed toward.
In the distance away, the wind is blowing in a sealed land. As the clash between Mika and the Genestealer Magus rages as the land around torn apart by the might. Having ascended to the realm of intent, Mika no longer needs to use her own Psykic power to clash against Psyker anymore as she can cuts away the threads of warp-infused intents that is heading toward her. Once they were disconnected in the realm of intents, all psykic-based attacks in reality fizzled out without anything to fuel its phenomena.
Psykers are normally unstoppable compare to mortals below them and yet, it screams in confusion as to why someone who has no trace of Psykic energy is pushing back against her onslaughts without a care. The horde that surrounding her did nothing to stop her as any individual approaching get dismantled immediately by her blade. Mika has stopped perceiving a group as an entity but a collective that is weaker as a whole but connected. And if any individual can be slain at her hands, then even mountains can be torn down with each pebbles removed.
Mika has essentially become a singularity that nothing can approaches. The deadliest melee fighters the Genestealer have died at the first stroke of her scarlet sword, the spell casters rendered annul as their ranged attacks fizzled out at the swing of her sword. In the end does nothing but withering themselves away while futilely throws their worthless attacks against her. Before even the enhanced physiology of Genestealer can't do anything at the limit they pushed themselves into.
The Magus screamed in denial as Mika approached before sealing itself in an impenetrable domains that can stop even heavy artillery shells with ease. The same thing that has withstood her combined attack of both Psykic and martial at the same time even if briefly. But even the strongest shield still has a chink of its armor.
With a calculated slash in the realm of intents, devoid of additional psykic power imbued into her blade. Mika tore the barrier apart in a single blow as it shatters like glass. In confusion that it caught itself at the sight of Mika breaking its psykic power. The scarlet sword tore into its face before it bisects the Magus with a single slash.
You have slain a Genestealer Magus! +40,000,000 Lights!
An anticlimactic death was enacted. Something that no mortal could wish to get away alive let alone defeat, died in such pathetic way. Mika continues to glare at every other Genestealer in their sight, asking a silent question if they want to follow the Magus's fate. The thing is, she didn't ask for any answer before deciding it the same either way. All of these abhorrible existences that does nothing but parasite on its host cultures must be uprooted to the last individual.
Her grudge overwhelms her own tiredness briefly as the scarlet sword ignited in an unquenchable flame. The danger that can be felt by all of the cultists unanimously as they immediately tried to flee the premise now that there's none of the Primus or Magus remained to ensure their unified front anymore. Cultists of all kinds of Genestealer mutation trample one another without remorse as all of that solidarity vanished into thin air now that nothing is upholding it.
Not that running will assure any of their survival any longer.
Heavenly Demonic Divine Arts - Second Form
Sword of Forthirst
Fiery Crescent (Burning Heart + Ember of Hope + Nostalgic Embrace + Cherished Memories + Display of Affection + [Sword of Forthirst] + {Minor Psykic Links})
Martial prowess and Psykic channeling, two distinctly different paths of power that seemingly have no correlation to one another. But in reality, these two are unquestionably connected as martial arts without power are just parlor tricks, and psykic power without discipline are nothing but inevitable self-destruction. Only through unification of the physical and spiritual can true greater power can be achieved.
Mika swung her sword as its paths shift in rapid succession. Each swing of her flame-coated sword, a raging fire swept across the direction she swung at as anything caught within its path was incinerated into unrecognizable ashes. One stroke of her scarlet fountain sword, thousands perished in the fire unleashed by it. The battlefield favors no one and Mika simply takes advantage of its completely open terrain to be utilized.
Until all the evil has been cleansed. Until all the injustices they did is purged away. She will not stop her sword dance until there's none of that remain.
Strangely, she doesn't feel any fatigue at all. Normally, her spirit would be stretched thin and her mental fatigue becomes much more prevailing as it invades into her consciousness. But during this brief moment, she is now perceiving all of the world around her in clarity. After a while, there was only silence permeates the atmosphere.
She gazed into the empty distance scorched by her psykic fire. A sensation of melancholy lingers in her mind. Just as she is about to fall into slumber-
"Mika!" A voice shuddered her eyes wide-open and so too is her waning consciousness.
She looked around in confusion before seeing Alphric and Kang heading toward her position. A smile relief appeared in her face as she just can't help but do when they arrived. Even if that smile can't overturn the perpetual sorrow on her face.
"Don't worry, we're about to leave this area soon. We're going to bring you back directly". Alphric said as he bridals carry her with all he has.
The three of them leaves this scorched battlefield as their train appears on the horizon. It was beaten and battered in numerous scratches and damages but it persevere through the battle of this scale much like they did. If anything, the sighting of it is now no different to that of a close acquaintance that one just glad to see in the darkest of time.
There's no rest for wicked just yet but it felt like they're leaving this place better than before already.
"._.""._.""._.""._.""._.""._.""._.""._.""._."
To Reveal The Way To Go
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?'?'?, Middle Hive?, Hive Sector 12?, Hive City Vespera, Twilight
Cycle 91
Sophia was not doing well. Even with the teaching of Reinhardt and Stannum, she still can't break out of this recurring nightmare that is gnawing her will and spirit alive. Determination has been her best friend and what is propelling her forward right now but her fear of being stuck in this nightmare while remember her deaths of every struggle to stay alive at the end of the Cycle is still a tangible thing that can't be ignored.
She learned how to fire a gun, she learned how to use a knife against opponents who can outrange her immediately. So why isn't any of it enough?
Those assassins that are outside this truck once it stops in this transit tunnel, they aren't human. Not entirely. Their limbs and bodies is entirely mechanical as the damage that the whole merchant team worked together managed to deal has shown that their enemies they're facing is mechanical in physical body.
When Reinhardt managed to headshot one of them with his Twilight Longlas, the head exploded with brain matters instead thus... she came to know that the assassins that were coming for them... is basically combat servitors but a lot more fancy and humanlike. Servitors are already manufactured from human already with all the horrifying details omitted for sanity yet people can't stop using them at all, but the external parts are designed to be as closely to the normal human body as possible for some reason.
But why going through all of that troubles? If they wanted combat servitors then why going through such hassles? Not even Sophia herself knew where to starts this can of worm that she come to learn. Whatever she deduced may just be flat-out wrong or off the mark in terms. Unless she could somehow access the Noble House's data archive that has trapped her in this false simulation then she may well be as much as a toad sits at the bottom of the well.
She sighed. Although her advances in combat skills and experiences is unquestionably improved compared to the beginning. They are still two separate things that she can't use in tandem. And she has the idea of someone who can.
Leonhardt Ignavus. From what she has heard from the Guild Master and earlier research before this entire transport trip, is that Leonhardt was also an ex-Imperial Guardsman much like Stannum is although, he didn't get to brought back any of the Guards hardware due to dishonorably discharge and... he turned toward Gangers before rehabilitation and joining of the Eventide Merchant Guild. Which is rather surprising because Twilight's brand of rehab is a bullet to the back of the head to the moment the cost outweigh their preferred budget.
So... he must have know something. He isn't the brand of upstanding Guardsman like Stannum but his knowledge will be in sore demand by her. Approaching the man whose beard and hair connected to one another like a literal lion's mane, she called out to him.
"Leonhardt, I have heard of your previous occupation and I wonder if you can teach me in combat tactics". Sophia made her request at the man who seemingly look somehow simultaneously authoritative like a leader of a pack and yet looks like a scaredy cat with how his body vibrates when she just only asked him.
Like a cowardly lion, he made his roundabout way of saying yes before he properly teach her of combat tactics, both of standard and improvised.
Leonhardt, despite his initial hesitation, agreed to Sophia's request. He began by teaching her the basics of combat tactics, starting with the importance of understanding the environment and using it to one's advantage. He explained how every battlefield, whether it be a narrow alleyway or an open field, had its own unique characteristics that could be exploited. In this transport highway tunnel, there just no escape but ahead and back.
He taught her how to analyze her opponents, to look for patterns in their movements, and to anticipate their actions. He showed her how to use feints and misdirection to confuse her enemies, and how to strike when they least expected it. The former, she has already come to be adept at it thanks to Stannum's teaching of CQC. and the latter as side-effect of Reinhardt's teaching of wielding a gun. However, unifying them together is what stumped her entirely.
Sophia struggled at first. The concepts were foreign to her, and she found it difficult to apply them in the heat of battle. She would often forget to observe her surroundings or fail to predict her opponent's actions. But she persisted, driven by her determination to survive.
Cycle 100
She has stepped into the three digits of cycle. And her progress was... slogging along like a snail. She has only one life and the combat servitors fighting that she is fighting against won't hesitate to take a beating just to kill her. Their reflexes and capabilities far transcend mortal and she has nothing to improve herself with.
Her reflexes and mental calculation has reached a point that she can tell where the bullet paths will go just by how the weapons are aimed at. She can basically respond to attacks in fraction of a seconds already. She can basically sense ambush from behind and respond accordingly. And yet, none of it was enough.
Leonhardt even admit that this isn't about the matter of tactics that she is dealing with. She is in fact doing very well for someone who only first learning of it. The practical applications she did profound him even but it wasn't enough if she wanted to survive the attack upon cycle's end.
So there was one thing that she asked him about. To teach her to unify her skill with the Laspistol and the combat knife. The dissonance is ultimately killing her and unless a shared ground was reach, the stiff differences will keep doing so to her at the end. Hearing her desperate plea that felt like she has been going through hell and back despite nothing of unusual has happened during that time as far as he know, unaware of the cycle that Sophia endured.
So... the three of them that she has come to learn from. Come together to help her even if they have no idea of the cause of her distress. And upon seeing her skills accumulated through their teachings in the previous cycles and her combined efforts into putting them into actions, they perceived the traces of themselves in those movements and skills and know that there is something unnatural going on and that only she knows about.
The reality that settles in was unbearable but if Sophia is any indication then she is their only hope of escaping this predicament that they're in. The three combined their knowledge together and decided that they will together impart all their wisdom to her. Sophia seeing this can't control her tears from flowing seeing how much they cared about her at all.
The turning point approaches and she must grasp it with all she has.
"I... I'll never forget your teaching!"
**Words of Emperor: For this part, play To Reveal The Way To Go - Ys Seven**
Cycle 122
When time is rewound, what is carried with her isn't just she herself anymore. She carries all the knowledge and wisdom imparted by all three of her teachers knowing that they will inevitably disappear when she returned. By flinging a light into the past through her, the three of them will continue to readjust and teach her with the little time she has left.
Dorothy is amongst the merchant delivery team and she is the driver of this indestructible truck 'Tombstone' of hers. She isn't the best nor having any useful wisdom to impart but she will keep driving this truck until she collapse in fatigue to delay the cycle's end as far as possible. So that the three teachers can taught and train her to the best as they could. The clashing flaws resulted from their separate teaching, they work together to rectify so that she can combat in much better state and movement than struggling to combine the two.
Whatever a single mind can't deal with, four of them together is certainly better even if it isn't much. By this point, the three of them figured out that Sophia has returned back in time and the three of them were teaching her through the many previous iterations. Because of it, they came to aware that this won't be the last time that Sophia will cycle back again to this trip's start. And that she can't go back any further.
Despair may have come across them when they know that their future won't be one of brightest but for the sake of their future-past-selves and the hope to break out of this spiral of death that the group has caught into, placing their hope in Sophia is their only way. And to make her combat capable and transcend their limit is the only way.
Through the unified effort, they have devised a combat art for Sophia and her specific method of combat. Utilizing the sidearm and knife in both of their hands, they come to call it, "Scarecrow's Fury". The seamless combination of attacks utilizing any chosen sidearm and melee weapons allowing for combat capability of both short-range and long-range. The demanding of agility and dexterity is absurd to the point that no one else but Sophia and her numerous combat experiences through many cycles can fulfill.
And finally, a thorough understanding of her weapons and the roles they're supposed to fulfill. By utilizing them in perfect coordination, she can effectively deal maximum damage in the short timeframe of combat that she is forced upon. It's not a perfect art but one that is so utilized for her that no one can possibly ever read upon it and think that it is a combat art feasible for any practitioner.
Named after what a literal Scarecrow which Dorothy commented as a protector of the field which sometimes used in Agri Worlds. A figure that stands alone in the middle of the field and enduring all the harsh elements while protecting the crops from intruders. A bit too similar to her plight right now as the only person who can become stronger through the cycles of time and fight against the cycle's end effectively.
Standing tall and solitary in the face of adversity. It also represents her ability to instill fear into her enemies, much like how a scarecrow frightens away birds. The scarecrow is also an unassuming figure, often overlooked until it reveals its purpose, mirroring Sophia's unsuspected combat prowess that now accumulated through cycles unsuspectingly from outsiders' eyes.
This technique, born out of countless cycles of learning and adaptation, of sorrow and desperation. Now stands as a testament to Sophia's resilience and her determination to see the end of her imprisonment of this false reality.
She's prepared for this cycle's end. Should she die, she will return back to the cycle's beginning and tell them of the practical result of their teaching.
They were coming for this crate that the team were supposed to deliver and for some reason it has its own protection method from harm which she utilized in many previous loops before. Thus if the crate is left behind then nothing will happen to the team supposedly. But, that just means they failed their mission and the cycle will go on till her death. Not that it mattered since this reality is just a simulation to keep her locked in it in this death spiral.
With a push, the crate fell out of the truck while it moves at high speed. There was no other vehicles in this highway tunnel which was another sign already that something was wrong this reality they're in. The moment the crate falls off the truck, she followed as Sophia braced her landing at high-speed on the concrete road. As she gazed toward the truck that is still continue to drive away until it disappear from her sight.
The battle begins as Sophia detected the presence of the combat servitors squad that appeared out of nowhere. Feeling the glare from behind, she quickly take cover of the crate before they could riddle her with their bullets. The wooden crate whose size being slightly larger than her height seemingly can't protect her meaningfully did so against expectation.
Those seemingly mundane assault rifles that those servitors are wielding has firepower and penetration power similar to Heavy Bolters. Which is what Stannum guessed based on Sophia's word of passing and how gruesome his demise were in the many previous cycles. However, their area of effect is minimal unlike the Heavy Bolt rounds thus she shouldn't have to worry too much about stray bullets. There's no room to make mistake already with how precarious the situation she is right now.
And while the enemy squad focused fire on the crate that she hid behind, Sophia then used all of her hysteric strength to push the crate toward them as she also pushes the offensive toward them. Seeing that Sophia is making her shielded advance, the servitors so too approached with precaution of what she can do. Despite being mechanical in nature that they are, their movement is fluidic and acrobatic as a human should have.
Being outnumbered is always fatal no matter what but she ultimately must be prepared for it because at some point, not even her own allies will keep up with her during the later cycles if she transcend their own teachings. And there are methods to sabotage the advantage of numbers that she will always be face against.
Taking what loos like a grenade out of her dress's hidden pocket, she threw it beneath her feet before taking hold of the crate and pull it back with all she has. With the crate itself protecting her from all harms no matter the power and lethality, the grenade that she threw before detonated as a bright flash of light and sound overwhelms everything else in this tunnel.
'Leonhardt's brand of improvised flashbangs that he made with his own recipes. Probably with numerous forbidden materials used in the making even just to permanent cripples someone's hearing afterward'. Sofia thought as she has already adapted to the grueling conditions already even just being prepared fast enough make differences.
Jumping into the fray while the servitors still in disarray, Sophia quickly utilizes her learned combat art. With prowess and might combined, she managed to damage the mechanical body with her own swings of her knife before following up with a point-blank laser bolt to finish one of her target off. The rest regained their bearings quickly and Sophia quickly used the servitor's gun against the previous owner's teammate.
Proven with its might, before any of them could respond did she mag-dump the entirety of the assault rifle at her opponents. Taught by Stannum and collaborated with Leonhardt truly in the event that one desperately needs a better weapon. Its recoil thankfully isn't like its firepower thus she concludes that it wasn't the propellants alone that make up its complete firepower.
As she gazed toward the direction that the truck has headed off toward, Sophia then salvages their remaining weapons and carry with her. She wonders just what happens if there are separated observers in the same simulation, do they eventually return back to her from the other side if they gone on long enough? If that's the case then simulation may just literally bugged itself if the entities within realized that it was all one such thing along.
And so, she waited for them to make their return. This transit tunnel supposed to be only a 6-hour trip in reality but by 8 hours did they collapsed. If they make their cycle in eventuality then...
Suddenly, bullets flew past her as she narrowly take cover of the crate again. More of those Servitors, and they won't let up this time around easily like before. In fact, the previous strategy only works because it was technically their first encounter with her every time this cycle starts. For anyone that wished to argue that she isn't supposed to be able to defeat them this way, remember that every success has numerous failures to build the path that leads to it. If that wasn't the case, Sophia would have broken this cycle at first by mere fluke, not into a hundred of it before a breakthrough is achieved.
But in this cycle, she has a much better footing than before along with an actual strategy and path forward in this cycle. And so she pointed the Servitor Rifle which she decided to call as for now toward the new enemies. 6 hours of siege with only this crate as a method of defense. And here, she thought that she escaped the path of attrition by jumping the truck but outrunning fate takes different kind of efforts.
This time, she is no longer resisting out of futility.
"._.""._.""._.""._.""._.""._.""._.""._.""._."
Final Frontier Approaches
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Underhive, Hive Sector 12, Hive City Vespera, Twilight.
After the death of the Genestealer Magus and the Primus, their journey has now been suddenly as peaceful as it could have been. To instill fear into something without a heart to carry one, the Luminaries just doesn't cease to amaze those around them. However, their spiritual conditions are unstable right now and normally a long rest would have fixed everything wrong, they abstained from making such decision because they intend to end the Genestealer Cult while they themselves are still at the strongest.
To nip a bud of disaster before it could blow over. They better settle the whole war between them at once and leave no room for recuperation. And yet despite all the advantages of being the Luminaries as it is, they just simply don't have the stamina to keep on their fighting. A lesson is learned, pace your battles thus your war accordingly. Or burn out at the finish line.
As the train made its path toward the station's center. The Inquisitorial Retinue was certainly at their utter limit with how much fighting they just go through in nearly a single day. Their concepts of time as a whole is completely distorted. The Lightbearers still remain vigilant knowing that the final battle, and as the Luminaries walks down the aisle toward their personal train wagons, they made their salutation out of only respect for their determined fighting against an enemy that they know that they alone can't defeat.
"A little help here? Do you have a method to accelerate mental strength recovery?" Alphric said to Yang who has been in silence while thinking by himself.
"This is about your survival too, so don't ignore us like that. Not even demanding here, I just literally state the matter". Kang said as although he stood tall, that great figure of his would crumble in due time without intervention.
Yang broke out of his self-mediation as he has heard their request. Having perceived their accelerated learning and adaptation of martial arts, there was one thing that he has been pondering. What would happen to him after this special encounter once in eternity? Would he just go back to being part of an organization has no heart nor care about its own members? Would he just continues wandering this galaxy after this event, and just continue to live as if nothing special of note has happened in his life?
He couldn't continue to live listlessly like that anymore.
"Okay, then. I guess it is time for all of you to learn meditation. It's not a cure all for actual rest but it certainly help keep your mind at peace and restful for a while. Enough to revitalize your drained mental stamina if you can do so unconsciously". Yang said as he heads toward his assigned room. The Luminaries followed out of interests.
Meditation, a method of practicing one's mindfulness and attention on a particular certain object, thought, activity. A method to achieve mental clarity and emotion stability.
There's no clear definition to meditation as far as Yang knows. Each person has their own method of doing so since meditation isn't a solitary technique but an entirely inseparable from one's system of belief.
As they entered the room, Yang began to explain the basics of meditation. "First and foremost, find a quiet and comfortable place where you won't be disturbed. Sit in a relaxed position, either cross-legged on the floor or in a chair with your feet flat on the ground. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, letting your body relax with each exhale."
He continued, "Focus your attention on your breath. Feel the air entering and leaving your nostrils, the rise and fall of your chest. If your mind starts to wander, gently bring it back to your breath. This is the essence of mindfulness - being fully present in the moment."
The Luminaries listened attentively, each trying to follow Yang's instructions. They could feel their minds calming down, their thoughts becoming less chaotic. It was as if a veil of tranquility had descended upon them, shielding them from the turmoil of their recent battles.
"Remember, meditation is not about emptying your mind, but rather about observing your thoughts without judgment. It's about accepting your thoughts and feelings as they are, not trying to change or suppress them." Yang added his words of advice. A little while later,
"With regular practice, you'll find that meditation not only helps in recovering mental strength but also improves focus, reduces stress, and promotes overall well-being. It's a tool that will serve you well, not just in battle, but in all aspects of life." Yang paused, letting his words sink in.
Alphric, Kang and Mika are now in a state of trance as they reflects upon their experience as a whole. Mika and Kang having reached Peak martial prowess is displaying a different air around them than Alphric who is stuck behind despite being their leader. Seeing how his friends reached the new height on their own accord, Alphric wonders just what is wrong with him to be left behind like that.
'No... Focus... It's a matter of realization. You'll be there eventually' Alphric thought to himself as he is in his meditative state.
As the minutes passed, the Luminaries found themselves sinking deeper into a state of calm. Their minds, once filled with the chaos of battle, were now focused on the simple act of breathing. The tension in their bodies began to ease, replaced by a sense of peace and tranquility.
"Be mindful that meditation is a practice. The more you do it, the easier it becomes. And with time, you'll find that it not only helps to restore your mental strength but also gives you a greater sense of control over your thoughts and emotions." Yang said, bringing the session to a close.
The Luminaries woke up from their state of meditative trance. Their faces reflecting a newfound state of calmness earlier. Although not fully recovered, it is more than enough to proceed in the oncoming final showdown.
"Thanks for your help. We can't possibly repay your kindness of this moment". Alphric made his thanks toward the mentor.
"Don't mind it. Beside, it's a real pity that our mentorship is approaching the end. Once this mission end, I'll have to leave with the Inquisitor to report this finding. Just... if only I have more time to teach all of you, there's no doubt that all of you can reach a far better height than I did". Yang said as the Luminaries one by one leave his room.
After the door of his room is closed, the Luminaries still stare at the closed door and wonder about what Yang just said about greater height? There is a greater realm to martial prowess that they didn't know about? Isn't the Peak supposed to be like the end of it already? From what Yang has inferred, Peak martial prowess isn't yet the end of martial path and at that point, it is unfathomable of what's there beyond the realm of intents that reached access to.
"Yang... I think he has been hiding his true power level for a long while. Likely since his homeworld was dominated by the Imperium of Man and only display the minimum of his true prowess just to stay alive through all of the hardship. While I think that his saying about how martial arts have been supplanted by advanced technology isn't a complete lie, his survival as a whole wasn't just reliance on it alone." Mika said as she has saw him display the power of Peak martial prowess in front of her. Likely actually beyond what she perceived on her own.
Outliving his role as an Imperial Guardsman to get recruited by the Inquisition. Not impossible considering that wilder things have been happened and been recorded in the Imperium's over-censored record of history. But, something about Yang's backstory is making it feel very much more contrived than usual. He also witnessed parts of his memory with Visualization. And Heavenly Demonic Divine Arts too, just what is he exactly? Normally they wouldn't consider it as they're practically untouchable.
But even the most stalwart pillar could be knocked down by their own hubris. Case in point, the Emperor himself. Because of it, they will not underestimate or looking past the possibilities that the Inquisitorial Retinue will betray them, even if it is the most stupid decision possible that is below even suicide itself. Because after all, the Imperium was never a rational civilization to begin with.
And... the fact that they will fight their own mentor, Yang himself. And it is questionable where his true allegiance lies toward. His disdain toward the Inquisitor is clear but the relationship between him and the Luminaries isn't special enough to make him turn coat toward their side. And if he ever unleashes his true martial prowess after the Luminaries' have dealt with the Genestealer Patriarch then even with their own enhanced capabilities, it would be hard to match up against.
An ominous air started to rise before Alphric dispels it away before it started to concentrate. Even if his capabilities right now is unquestionably lag behind, it is still his role as a leader to lead his friends and allies toward the right direction, to be the light illuminating the depths.
"There's nothing we can do here but to fight our best battle. Should it come to that conclusion, then we'll simply show that our own actions is unquestionably just and better than anything that Inquisitor could have ever done." Alphric said as his reassures his fellow Luminaries.
Think about it, when was the last time that Inquisitor did his job instead of just sitting around while hitchhiking on their train of all the things. His existence have been nothing but demoralization of nearly all of his personnel and it is more likely that he was such a burden toward Yang himself that his infuriation become more real than ever the more time has passed. Yang likely didn't care before but the meeting with the Luminaries have reawakened his righteous belief again.
"Yeah... I'll believe that Yang will choose the path he truly wished the most". Alphric said as if he could foresee the future ahead of him. He knew that already victory against the Patriarch is unquestionable.
However that he knew, that Yang confronting both the Inquisitor and the Luminaries isn't out of the equation either.
Battle Report
Group Physical Strength: Peak Human
Spiritual Resolution Level: Awakened Psyker
Light: 302,612,431 (302.6M)
Total Kills: 31,783
-Nemesis Slain:
-Scrap Knight (100k Lights)
-Imperial Knight (300k Lights)
-Kelermorph (300k Lights)
-Locus (300k Lights)
-Purestrain Genestealer (750k Lights)
-Abominable Intelligence (1M Lights)
-Genestealer Magus (40M Lights)
-Genestealer Primus (40M Lights)
-Martial Arts learned:
+Alphric Alpheus:
-Thousand March Footwork
-Krav Magus Defense Technique
+Mika Apocrypha:
-Heavenly Demonic Divine Arts
-Autumn Falling Leaves
+Kang Jeremy:
-One-Inch Punch
-Thousand March Footwork
-Armaments:
+Alphric Alpheus:
*Weapons
-Heavy Autorifle (GM6 Lynx)
-Assault Cannon (GAU-19 / MG46 Wolfenstein)
-Break-action Grenade Launcher (M79)
*Armor / Accessories
-Flak Armor
-Heavy Ammunition Box
+Mika Apocrypha:
*Weapons
-Heavy Automagnum (Desert Eagle - extended barrel/mag)
-Brilliant Scarlet Steel Sword
*Armor / Accessories
-Flak Vest
-Magnum Bandoliers
-Liberator Magnum Rounds
-Imperial Guard Standardized Medicare Bag
+Kang Jeremy:
*Weapons
-Autohammer (Shockhammer Wolfenstein)
-Arbite Power Maul
*Armor / Accessories
-Flak Armor
-Exotic Shotgun Munition
-Grenade Bandolier
-Martial Prowess: (updated!)
+Mika Apocrypha: Peak Prowess
+Kang Jeremy: Peak Prowess
+Alphric Alpheus: Half-step Peak
-Spiritual Resolution:
#Mika Apocrypha:
+Broken Hope:
-Ember of Hope: Kinetic-based attacks gain incendiary effect, and heat-based weapons gain more effectiveness. Close-quarter combat can release fire burst upon injury received and inflicted.
-Burning Heart: Melee attacks gain increased potency and can cause explosions at times. Can cause friendly fire and self-harm. Can be activated and deactivated at will.
-Rise From the Ashes: Cause a massive incendiary explosion on receiving mortal wounds, nullify said deathblow at the cost of potentially losing all non-relic equipment in the said explosion. Can be activated and deactivated at will.
*Spirit Arms: 4th Blaze Match - Dying Light (information updated)
+Cherished Memory:
-Nostalgic Embrace of Old Days: All melee attacks can cause shockwaves even if fail to connect. Chance of happening increases with repetition and succession.
-Cherished Memories: Combat fatigue effect is reduced, and the most tiring combat technique known and used becomes less tiring the more usage of it is increased. Reset at long rest.
-Display of Affections: When engaging in direct combat or duel, attack potency is increased significantly. Otherwise, attacks become less in power. (Can be toggled at will)
#Kang Jeremy:
+Forsakened Servitor:
-Violence: All attacks gain a significant boost but skill-based attacks may suffer from uncontrollable violence. Can be activated and deactivated at will.
-Metallic Crush: Strike attacks or critical blows inflict permanent damage that can't be removed. Significantly increased damage dealt against mechanical and constructs.
-Chained Wrath: Gain a massive attack boost to everything even firearms, however, mobility is reduced to a near-slow pace. Can be activated and deactivated at will.
*Spirit Arms: Regret Within, Regret Without (Astartes-pattern Armor and Weapons)
+Helper Servitor:
-Overdrive: At combat start or well-rested, gain a massive increase in speed, and attack deals significantly increased damage in comparison to potency during effect.
-Recognition: When attacks succeed against enemies' attacks multiple times in a row, the next following attack has minimal fatigue.
-Momentum: The higher Kang's speed in comparison to the clashing opponent, the higher the attacking potency against the said opponent.
#Alphric Alpheus:
+Bloody Aftermath:
-Stagnant Blood: Blocking become much more effective and can withstand all blows with no agony and permanent damage.
-Scar of Sorrow: Slash attacks received deal significantly reduced damage and can nullify blows at chances.
-Pale Hands: Melee attacks can inflict shocking and revolting sensations. Extensive contact can destroy a target mentally.
*Spirit Arms: Bloodbath - Coward's End
+Endless Endeavor:
-Heart of Aspiration: Increase maximum health and endurance. Movement and reaction speed are increased considerably when activated.
-Pulsating Beat: Strength increases the longer combat extends (hard-capped at 12 hours maximum). This ability resets when the Emotion Level is reset from long rest.
-Fervid Emotions: Gain a short burst of strength, speed, defense, and indomitability when activated. May cause heart attacks if overused in rapid succession.