Echoes of Destruction Amongst the Stars I:Azure Snow and Crimson Skies

by Biozardeer00

As the days leading to the final battle to decide the fate of Jarilo-VI come ever closer, fell forces from beyond the skies of Belobog make their descent intending to lay claim to the planet's Stellaron's to use in a bid to twist Destruction to their will and they do not care for whatever force that stands in their way. Caelus x Harem. Numerous OCs are involved. Crossover AU.

6. A Taste of Excess

Disclaimer, I don't own Honkai Star Rail or Warhammer, Mihoyo and Games Workshop does, I only own my OCs and my ideas. Reviews, suggestions, and critiques are welcome but flames are to be extinguished.

Chapter 6: A Taste of Excess

"Welcome home, you three." Greeting the trio was a red-haired beauty who served as their Navigator. A young woman with a fair complexion, waist-length wavy red hair partially tied into a bun with golden rose ornaments, and golden eyes. She wears a white, sleeveless toga gown dress with a sweetheart-neckline and straps that wrap around her neck.

The dress is lined with red, embellished with golden laurels around her waist, and has a high slit along the right side of her black miniskirt dangling with black flowers that exposes her black high-heeled legs that seemed to be nearly as long as the stars themselves. She also wears a black coat on her right arm with white ruffles coming out of the sleeves. The coat is lined with gold and has various gold and rose decorations. Not to mention the many accessories, including her golden earring, gold rose choker, black glove, and a bracelet matching her other items.

The man Himeko was talking to was also as equally well dressed, although less covered in accessories. A tall, brown-eyed man with matching brown hair that has a small white streak. He wears a gray and white dress coat with a scarf and black armor on his chest. He also wears glasses, dark brown pants, black shoes, and a black glove on his right hand.

"Himeko, Mr. Yang! Team Trailblaze, back from duty! Mission one: Accomplished!" March's words were exceedingly cheerful, unlike the expressions on the faces of their new recruits who sat on sofas at the opposite ends of the chamber, Serval still glaring at Cocolia who preferred to look at the shrinking planet of Jarilo-VI with a sad smile on her face.

Caelus heard saw Himeko chuckle as she congratulated everyone on their success, how hard they worked to end the crisis. Her gaze stopped at the Trailblazer, where she beamed proudly.

"How would you rate my performance?" Himeko's answer to him was far higher than he expected as she raised her hand to give him a five out of five-star appraisal.

Welt approached him next as the others began to unwind and enjoy the comfy atmosphere of the Astral Express. Putting his hand on Caelus' shoulder, he patted him and suggested that he take a good rest. "Pom-Pom is of the opinion that we should leave as soon as possible to avoid potential resurgences of the anomalies we experienced earlier. Himeko and I agree."

Upon hearing the mention of their little conductor, Caelus glanced at the small, rabbit-like creature with large ears that doubled as hands who has dark gray and white fur, blue eyes, and wore a modified hog-head hat and large-collared coat that concealed their arms from view. Their attire consists mainly of red and black colors, with gold embellishments and some resembling gears. They carry a white satchel with gold buckles on their right side and have a red, white, and gold band wrapped around their left ear. A real adorable creature, the mascot of the Astral Express, if nothing else.

"...Which means we need to decide where our next destination is, soon." Welt nodded at Dan Heng's words, March muttering about how they rarely take it easy. Always on the road, trailblazing… A comment that has both Caelus and Dan Heng stare at her blankly only for the perky pink-haired girl to raise her hands and quickly say that she's ready for more.

"Looks like March has fallen in love with the way of the Nameless. That's good to hear. You can head back to your rooms for some rest, or stay here and make yourselves a cup of coffee, whichever you like. Do what you like."

Dan Heng was gone as soon as Himeko finished talking, leaving the living area of the train to return to his room through the door to their left. The archer shook her head and sighed at the action.

"There I was thinking this guy would gradually open up after everything that happened there..."

"We need to give him some time, March. I think he treasures the time spent with you guys." March quickly bounced back and spun around excitedly. Loudly pointing out how she missed this place, much to the annoyance of their conductor.

"Home, sweet home!"

"...Shhh! Checking star rail stability, Pom-Pom needs to focus!"

March hushed herself and whispered before dashing away into her room in the same direction as Dan Heng, ready to sort through the many photos she took on the planet. Serval took the chance to ask more about how things are going to go from now on.

"The Express crew tread upon the Trailblaze. We travel between worlds as a thread weaved into the life stories of others. The universe is vast beyond our imagination. It's a miracle that our paths converge. The fact that we get to know and travel with each other can only be seen as the design of destiny."

The tinkerer crossed her arms, already gaining inspiration for future musical efforts. Cocolia simply continued to stare off into the distant light blue planet that grew smaller and smaller as the express slowly departed. The Trailblazer noticed Welt move over to Pom-Pom and start figuring out their next destination.

Trying to slowly break the ice as he saw Cocolia's aloofness, he knew Serval would get used to things quickly considering her nature, but the former Supreme Guardian, on the other hand, would be a different story. She responded to queries well enough, but socializing is another matter entirely.

"About the Path of Preservation…" Caelus questioned. Himeko was more than happy to tell him her knowledge of the other paths. The blonde beauty flinched at the mention of the Aeon she gave up on but was also curious to see how things changed after Belobog had been isolated for so long, Serval sharing her interest.

"Qlipoth, the Preservation is known for their... indifference. Unless you become a zealot like those with the Corporation, it's hard to share in the Aeon's power. Judging by how the battle turned out, Qlipoth responded to your wish. Their gaze infused you with the power to wield the weapon of a Supreme Guardian and to take control of the Colossus."

Grimacing as she materialized the icy likeness of the lance, Cocolia asked if she could hold the original. A request Caelus granted without a thought, letting the ex-head of state caress its ambery warmth. Closing her eyes as she wiped away a tear, holding it tightly upon her breast.

"I wish that one day, I'll be able to prove myself to return to Qlipoth's light…" Cocolia muttered a silent prayer, promising to make things right before holding it high and returning it to Caelus who put it away with a sympathetic look.

She really was a disgrace to the Architects. They held on for centuries to preserve the world they loved but the second the Fragmentum advanced in her watch. Her faith proved lacking and crumbled into dust. Abandoning the Path of Preservation and crawling to Destruction in her moment of weakness.

'Where I faltered, he stood his ground and proved his faith in the Amber Lord. Unlike me…' Disappointed in herself as she wallowed in her failures, Cocolia can only continue to hope that her future actions would be able to wash away her corrupt past.

"And the other two Paths we encountered on the planet, what about them?" Himeko sighed as Welt took over. Not a fan of either of the two Paths deemed by the universal community at large as among the five Dark Paths.

"Khorne the Blood God and the Aeon of the Path of Battle is a brutal and warmongering deity much like Nanook the Destruction that might as well be a newborn in comparison. However, Khorne is a much more ancient Aeon. The Astral Express has no prior interactions with His Pathstriders. Jarilo-VI was the first world any of Akavili encountered His brutal Pathstriders."

Welt sat down and held his cane tightly. The Dark Aeons and their followers had thankfully been more limited to galaxies the express had never crossed into. The pantheon of Chaos that the Five presides over, with numerous lesser Aeons orbiting them. Ena the Order was their chief rival but now with Their absorption by Xipe the Harmony. Only the lesser Aeons that formed the Emanators of Order were left to uphold Ena's ancient legacy in its truest form.

"So is Khorne's Path friends with the Antimatter Legion?" March asked, coming back to the living area to get her hands on some snacks and drinks. Welt shook his head, neither of the Dark Paths are usually allied with each other outside of very specific circumstances.

"Hardly. The Path of Battle wars amongst themselves more than the other Paths. Khorne values combat and bloodshed above all else. Nanook's goal of the destruction of the entire universe is in complete opposition to Khorne's. The same can be said with the rest of the dark pantheon that mostly dwells in a dimension parallel to our own, the place where all souls go where they die. The Warp, the Afterlife, and Realm of Souls as stated by the galaxies, with more experience with such beings."

"And the other one?" Welt sighed as he recalled the few personal run-ins he had with them, the Pathstriders of Innovation. Monsters, every single one without fail that he personally saw in action, were complete and utterly morally abominable to the concept of human decency. He knew that even the Destruction, the Voracity, and the Propagation had decent Pathstriders amongst their ranks, some that the Express had met. Innovation was the only one that hasn't proven otherwise.

Serval looked exceptionally focused, learning about Paths and Aeons she had never encountered before. A part of her was curious about the Path that resonated with hers quite strongly.

"The Path of Innovation is presided over by Vashtorr the Arkifane. The patron deity of any and all inventors, scientists, and engineers who pursued Innovation at any cost with little care given to any possible consequences. Curiosity and dedication shorn of any moral consciousness and driven to its darkest extremes. Filled with the need to understand the natural forces of the universe to enslave them in their quest for technological Apotheosis."

"Hah….I regret being curious about them in the first place. Don't expect me to join their ranks anytime soon or ever." Serval laughed nervously, staring at Cocolia, who just stared back blankly. No way she'll fall into the same pitfall as her ex-best friend. Meddling with forces above her own.

Welt saw the nervous expression on Caelus' face, deciding not to press him until the Trailblazer was ready to do so on his own.

"Well, that last part explains everything. With how those cyborg-looking things look and act. Not to mention some of their tech I managed to snag, which saved the day." Recalling the Hereteks of the Dark Mechanicum, their Skitarii soldiers and other mechanical minions wreaking on the underground. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell the others about what their leader did to him, their experiments. Maybe they'd try to help him or a rift would start to develop between them. Time is needed for him to decide.

"They've been collecting Stellarons for an unknown nefarious purpose and had tried to abduct members of the Genius Society across the cosmos. Thankfully, they've all failed." Welt personally protected Herta and Screwllum from their kidnapping attempts even if he knew they were capable of protecting themselves, but it was safer than sorry. He also heard of Ruan Mei thwarting efforts with the aid of the Intelligentsia Guild.

Caelus gulped and wiped his sweat when he heard his words, Himeko and the others promising to protect him when they tried to get at him again.

"With what I've heard directly from their mouths. The followers of Vashtorr consider themselves Innovators without limit, unchained by morality unlike those Nous' Erudition Pathstriders that they see as soft and deluded fools limiting themselves into all things." Welt Yang didn't doubt their words. The Genius Society always had its own rules, and taboos were considered forbidden for its research teams. Even the more eccentric members know better than to delve into certain research that will turn them into galactic criminals and their members' numbers into bounty board targets.

Cocolia shifted uncomfortably when their discussion reached the topic of Stellarons, knowing that it's only because of the conflict between Innovation and the Astral Express leading to the usage of esoteric technologies which was the only reason she was here today and not a deceased mother grieved by Bronya.

Caelus thanked Himeko again for the support she gave to them during the fight, even if the Emanator of Battle quite literally shrugged off whatever she could throw at him. The Navigator chuckles and says to everyone that the Nameless look after each other, friends or otherwise. No matter where in the universe.

"We can't judge Cocolia too harshly. Imagine if it were you or me who had to sit on the throne and watch the city slowly being brought to its knees... Would we not question what we believed in?" Cocolia looked up and smiled weakly, Serval admitting she wouldn't fare any better.

"Whew, yeah. I'd probably fall in the first few years." March admitted, handing over some biscuits to Cocolia, who examined the new food and saw the corporate branding. A new sight for her due to her isolated experience on a single planet. She knew it was her fault that she got corrupted slowly from a very young age, starting every single tragedy that came after.

Seeing Cocolia's inner turmoil, March tried to chum up to her despite their prior conflict and order some tea from Pom-Pom. A scene Welt could only commend March for.

"I can only hope my daughter is ready to lead Belobog. I know I've said that I have faith, but a mother can still only worry."

"The reports said that your daughter is a smart young lady with exceptional leadership qualities who understands the needs of her people and learned many by adventuring with Caelus and the others. As long as she works with the people around her, I'm sure they'll prevail against any threats lurking in the recesses of the universe. Fate likes to trick on people after all so even if things look up for them, Bronya will have to be prepared for anything."

Caelus felt an itch at the word Fate, Welt freezing slightly as his mind lingered at one of the other Dark Paths for a few seconds. One presided over by the so-called Architect of Fate.

He understood that no Path is inherently evil but when one is constantly encouraged to immerse themselves fully and throw themselves into its depths by their own deity. Staying modest and self-controlled would become a true challenge. Most Aeons are isolated and aloof by nature. Very few mortals would ever earn their gaze in their lifetimes.

The Dark Aeons? Welt tightened his grip on the cane again, they actively desire worship and offer corrupting promises of power made only worse by the horror stories he heard from distant galaxies.

"Can the Stellaron ever be destroyed?" Cocolia questioned, Caelus turning to Himeko, who shook her head. None in the universe discovered how yet, not even Herta. At best, they could keep it contained and prevent its energy from overflowing. At least with the location moved to Belobog's very heart, it's now protected from what force would desire to lay claim to it.

"The balance of power on Belobog is tilting ever so slightly towards humanity, the crucial factor being the Hope you brought about. As intangible as it may sound, don't underestimate Hope because the power it inspires has no limit. Like the Stellaron, it's a seed that may grow into something much bigger. But in my opinion, the fruit that Hope bears will have a much bigger impact than that of the Stellaron."

Hope…Caelus thought as he scratched his neck. That word made him itch more than Fate, with it being said three times in a row by Welt Yang. Focusing on scratching himself March introduced Cocolia and Serval to the wonders of galactic music and radio shows. Skipping over advertisements and sports channels while pressing a button to turn the setting from radio to a digital screen.

"With our new self-washing detergent, how much easier will washing be for any modest family?"

SKIP

"The Intelligentsia Guild's Astral Ecology School has declared the official end of 2157 AE and the start of 2158 AE."

SKIP

"Gooood evening to all you Cabalvision viewers out there in the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. I hope your televisions, crystal ball, and whatever method of visual entertainment is fully charged, and if not find a power source living or otherwise because season 2518 of Blood Bowl in our current Amber Era of the same number promises to be one hell of a show sure to impress Nuffle, our grand Aeon of Sporting. Doesn't it, Bob?"

SKIP

March rolled her eyes when she saw a ghastly individual appear on the screen, clothing tacky with his rounded spectacles, looking pale as a ghost. Skipping channels again Himeko crossed her arms as a look of disgust showed on her face. Some Aeon of Sporting, Nuffle is. Letting athletes brutalize one another in violent sports, cheat by bribing referees openly in front of crowds, and 'accidentally' kill each other on the field. How brutish and crass for any kind of sport.

"Breaking news. This is the Interastral Peace Broadcast. The Harmonia Galaxy, the only galaxy in the Universe to be able to brag and show evidence about the one hundred percent elimination of crime, conflict, and poverty has suddenly violently erupted into galactic civil war as every planet turned on itself, each connected by the Harmonic Choir of Unity gifted by Xipe to the stronghold of the Harmony had just been seized by Khorne's Blood Legions."

Himeko dropped her teacup in shock as it was quickly caught by Pom-Pom's ears. As the little bunny practically lunged at the piece of porcelain with a sigh. Everyone's eyes turned to the news broadcast as the screen gave way to the scene of utter pandemonium as horned red daemons like the one Caelus saw in the defeated Daemon Engine, World Eaters and Aeonites rampage around the planetary capital Pax.

Huge censor bars and cut-off audio blurred out the worst parts of the carnage as endless ranks of the Neverborn poured out of rifts across the many systems as the camera changed to failing security systems galaxy-wide.

A mechanical Intellitron newscaster with an IPC badge fearfully reports the news straight in the heart of the warzone behind a car within a Barrier of Preservation, his coworkers panicking at the sight of winged monsters bringing down the many escape craft leaving the spaceport and that of a three-headed hound of the Blood God felling a larger ship by climbing onto it and smashing its way into the bridge.

"The Emanator Angron and his bodyguards, the twelve Battle Emanators of the Cruor Praetoria, broke into the choir hall on Pax and spread Khorne's Aeonforsaken Murder Curse on the key of the galactic choir network. Driving every planet connected to Pax in the Harmony all across this galaxy to the state of berserker madness and constant warfare!"

"I'm a noncombatant! Please don't hurt me!" begged the reporter on camera as the barrier collapsed and the hordes of the Blood God rolled over the IPC holdouts. A gang leader who happily returned to his old ways as he felt his mind be free from Xipe's mind-manipulating tech, shoved aside the robot after giving him a shiv, a boot up the mechanical keister and pointing towards his fleeing coworkers.

"Let this be the lesson to all the other galaxies out there. There is no peace amongst the stars but an eternity of carnage, slaughter and the laughter of thirsting Aeons!" The gang leader turned the camera towards the burning IPC studio as the Khornates carved the Mark of Khorne into the structure as his gang cheered, praising Khorne and cursing Xipe. Daring any other galaxy to intervene and try to bring Order to Harmonia.

The gang leader exalted the name, willingly crying out Blood for the Blood God and Skulls for the Skull Throne. A different case than the vast majority of unwilling converts, the curse stemming from daemonic essence driving them to bloodshot madness. It didn't change much for those who were already willing when Harmony's influence left their minds.

It felt good to make his own decisions again. Living for so long beyond normal life span species by human standards only to live with any and all negative emotions suppressed was a new level of hell. He and everyone he knew could only smile at all that happened no matter what, a forced smile on the lips of those who did not have empty, blissful minds.

All the stress, grief, and anger bottled up in those who still remembered before Xipe's power claimed everyone in the galaxy, like a volcano just waiting to explode, unlike the countless generations that only knew forced Harmony. Good riddance to Xipe. Hail Khorne.

"By Akavili, this is awful…" Whispered Himeko as Serval and the others looked away as the camera on Pax turned to static and March clicked the skip button again to finally hit a jazz channel. The rockstar shook her head and muttered how Belobog got off easy compared to Pax, with Cocolia fully agreeing.

Welt didn't dispute it, thirteen Emanators leading a vast interstellar invasion into an ill-prepared galaxy that banned all conflict and abolished every military outside of Xipe's most ardent fighters to fully dedicate everyone in Harmonia to the way of Xipe were horrific odds as usually Emanators aren't located in the same planet. Forcefully converting anyone that wasn't of the same Path to their form of true and lasting peace until today.

He didn't know how many Emanators were there in Harmonia, only that any that weren't of Harmony had been forcibly converted, including the common Pathstrider. It didn't help that Khorne's champions were amongst the very strongest in the realm of combat. Some, like Kharn, that Caelus and the others barely survived, were completely immune to magic and elemental assault. Exactly the specialty of most of Harmony.

Whatever active combatant sanctioned by the reigning Harmonizers would be heavily outnumbered the second a focused invasion, one designed by the Universe's greatest warmongers to carve roads right into the capital of the galaxy. If all their Emanators were gathered at a single point of invasion, Welt knew very little outside of divine intervention could hope to stop them.

Everyone spent the next couple of minutes doing their own thing to keep their minds off the news they were unpleasantly able to witness. Pom-Pom tugged on Caelus' pants, making him lean down and hear him whisper about feeling something amiss in the Express since the news was flipped to music.

"There's something strange here, Pom-Pom can feel it. Please Pom-Pom look for it, pretty please~" Pouted the little Conductor somewhat forcefully, in an attempt to make things more dramatic and entertaining to ease everyone's mind.

Everyone made an attempt to find it, even if it seemed more ridiculous that there might actually be anything amiss that there was nothing suspicious. Every light bulb, leaf, rhizome, and smudge of potted plant dirt was in place. Not even the others found anything. Even Welt's suggestion of possible invisible intruders had little evidence to it as everyone swung their arms around to find nothing.

"No. I have a heightened sense of hostility and danger, but I don't sense anything on the Express. The galaxy is huge. Maybe there's some kind of organism that can become invisible visiting us."

'Wait…the mirror, was it there before?'

What's even stranger is that everyone else on the train seems to turn a blind eye to the sudden appearance of the mirror near the stairs leading Perhaps he should re-check the mirror or ask the others about it…..Nothing…Caelus saw them look completely befuddled as they saw no mirror anywhere before they moved on to the other train carriages to double-check other areas.

Caelus braced himself up and approached the mirror. and saw a figure slowly emerging in it that didn't look like him at all. In the mirror is a girl in a hood, her face hidden by a strange mask, making it impossible to make out her appearance. Before he can react by calling out to anyone, the girl steps out of the mirror.

"T-take this, you monster!" Swinging his materialized bat right at the appearing stranger, the weapon going straight into her body and through the mirror that might as well be a ghost.

"Wait, a minute! I'm not one of the bad guys!" The girl waved her arms around comically in exasperation as he took a few more swings just in case, looking like a maniac if any of his friends saw him right now.

"I'm a messenger from the Garden of Recollection. I will be staying on the Express from now on. It's very nice to meet you!" Caelus stared dumbly as he gazed at the so-called Messenger, explaining herself to be one of the Garden of Recollection that is an organization that worships the Aeon Fuli.

"As a messenger for the Remembrance, we surrendered our worldly bodies and traverse the universe in the form of memes to search the stars on behalf of Fuli for the most precious memories." Great, Caelus shook his head. How very motivating, having an invisible being looking behind your back anytime they want. He won't be surprised if she's not the only one.

"We can actually just follow you without being noticed. However, the Garden of Recollection believes that you're special: The memories that you possess are extremely rare and precious, and it's very likely there'll be even more in the future. That's why I thought it'd be best if I introduced myself to you! I noticed that you've also received the concept of Memosnatchers. The Garden of Recollection wouldn't want you to mistake us for thieves or crooks! Everything we do is for a higher purpose."

Not believing her at all, the Trailblazer suggested that he would tattle on her presence and let the others know. Ignoring her attempts to make him accept the rehearsed excuse of her being a Phase Flame or Inquisitive Spirit to alleviate their fears.

"If that's the case, the Garden of Recollection will have to block out their memories. I really don't have a choice. Please don't make me do that!"

The Messenger sighed as he ran off to the other train carriages to let the others know, all of them agreeing that the Garden of Recollection had to be ousted from the Astral Express.

"Seems like the rumors are true. The Emanators of the Remembrance don't have a physical body and only those they allow can see them." Pom-Pom stomped little bunny feet in a tantrum, demanding them to be evicted as undesired guests while Welt murmured about memory trading between the garden being shady and dangerous.

"Hmph, then I'll have to seal this portion of their memories. I'm sorry, but I don't have a choice. You and only you can know about me. If a keyword related to me shows up in their memories, then we'll have no choice but to get rid of it Why don't you trust me? I won't hurt them."

With the span of a few gestures, Caelus saw the others look confused. Welt Yang looked as clueless as Himeko and Pom-Pom, the others not any better as they returned to the living area. Completely forgetting about invisible beings of any sort.

'T-that's beyond dangerous!' Thought the Trailblazer with fear and nervousness, the Messenger tried to calm him down and believe that she meant no harm as he nearly hyperventilated about even Welt being vulnerable to such memory manipulation.

"Please, I didn't want to do it, but you forced my hand. We all have our rules at the Garden of Recollection."

He calmed down, eventually. Putting his hand through her body to see it being truly incorporeal, her words trying to tell him that he could consider her a living 2D character like one from the posters or a cartoon. The Messenger pinched the bridge of her nose. Oh, why can't her colleague Black Swan be here since she's far better at keeping people from freaking out?

"So, you're a burglar of physical bodies?" The Messenger shook her head, telling him indignantly that she gave up willingly and had no reason to try to hijack a material one in the physical world.

"So, what's the ultimate goal of you guys?"

"We want to prevent the universe from being forgotten because of the Destruction or any other malevolent Path. Even if all matter is annihilated, it can continue to live on in the form of memories."

With a gesture, a Light Cone appeared in her hand. Solidified, encapsulated phenomena or more easily understood. Crystallized memories in card form. The one she picked was random, showing a white-haired half-snake man standing above his black-haired giant of a brother who was chained.

"Some keywords and hints to your question: Herta a member of the Genius Society I deciphered through your memories to find out you recently met and a Light Cone when you came in contact with over in her space station, the concept of Remembrance, Garden of Recollection, and Memosnatcher were implanted in you. Madam Herta has a slight prejudice against us, so the Garden of Recollection believes that it'll be best if I provide you with a proper understanding of these concepts."

"This is the forgotten hall created especially to store your memories and help create new ones for your own viewing pleasure. We hope that you can visit this place regularly to rekindle your past memories. The Garden of Recollection will extract the memories they want and even allow you to fully relieve the Light Cones created by the minds of others. Come, I swear on the memories of my past self that you won't be at a loss for anything."

Wanting to see for himself, Caelus stared at the mirror in front of him. A crack in reality and that of the memoria. He peered into the crack, seeing his own reflection in it with the Light Cone in hand. Witnessing his own form like a reflection cracked. Caelus closed his eyes as he immersed himself in the contents of the handheld memories within the Forgotten Hall.

Within the personal chambers of the personal Flagship of a long-corrupted Emanator, the Pride of the Emperor was classified as a Gloriana Class Battleship. Mighty warship of a distant civilization. Two individuals, once amongst the closest of the sons of a mighty conqueror many galaxies away. One on his knees, a stern-faced giant of a man chained so tightly that escape was an impossibility, and the other a snake-like abomination.

"Ferrus, I ask you out of our Brotherhood to join us." Fulgrim's fixed smile would falter slightly as he appreciated the depths of hatred his brother had for him, just like it was over ten millennia ago on Isstvan. How it all came to this so long ago, knowing that once again. Only in death could this end.

"Our Brotherhood died when you decided to turn traitor. No matter what you say, I won't betray the Emperor as you so easily did. When you betrayed Him is when you betrayed me." Fulgrim scowled at his dark-haired brother, his long serpentine tail moving slightly before it lunged towards Ferrus Manus who struggled against the demonic constriction when he spat out.

"All I want now is to see you hang from traitor's gibbet for this vile sedition." The appendage wrapped upwards and strangled his mighty neck with so much force that the Primarch's head popped clean off in a fountain of blood. Such audacity, he did all this for the sake of their friendship but refusal was the only thing that can be given?! Again?!

"Bah, another failed attempt. What will it take to turn him?" Loudly mused the Lord of Chemos as he slithered back and forth within his personal chambers. Was it him? No, perish the thought. He was Perfect in every way, even his carefully prepared speech made no dent in his loyalty.

Fulgrim stared at the bloody mess that splattered all over his lavish bed and countless works of art that dotted the room. His gaze lingered on the busts of his two parents Tullea and Corrin long dead and smeared with red fluids, he no longer recognized and remembered which was which. Their likeness is reduced to bodies that form a picture of sickness and emaciation due to the laborious and toxic conditions of his homeworld when they saved him from his would-be murderer and adopted him. He also caressed the complicated tapestry depicting his wives, all of which had long died as neither was immortal as he was as a Primarch.

"EIDOLON!" Answering the call quickly, the Lord Commander Primus of the Emperor's Children who bore the title The Soul-Severed entered the gilded doors to the chamber and knelt immediately as Primarch loomed over him in a sleek approach. His serpentine gaze brooked the intense emotions that rose within his son.

"Tell the Primogenitor that I have need of another clone." Nodding furiously, Eidolon arose and noticed the headless corpse of Ferrus Manus. He slid his own hands across his old decapitation wounds that the provider of Emanator Clones brought him back from. The Lord Commander had no desire to doubt Fulgrim ever again lest he join the ranks of dead Ferruses that piled up over the many millennia.

"As you wish, I'll tell Fabius that this command is his newest utmost priority."

"Wait, have we reached our target oh son of mine~" Not resisting as Fulgrim dragged him closer into his den of corruption, Eidolon flinched at the sight of his blades so close to his neck again and swiftly provided an answer.

His eyes travel elsewhere as the fear of death once again looms, seeing the silky gloves worn by the dead Primarch as well as demonic chains get peeled off with psychic force. Meaty hands proved that Ferrus was a clone of the Iron Handed original. A deception made to delude the uncle of his in believing that there was no genetic foul play afoot, for what's little worth of it as he perished all the same, like his predecessors.

"Y-yes, we have my Primarch. We've arrived in the system and have currently orbiting Amore Prime since one solar hour ago. None of us dared to intrude upon your negotiations." One of the Primarch's four hands patted what was left of his white hair, a trait inherent in all if not most Emperor's Children. Praising him before dropping him unceremoniously into the pool of blood.

"Ah, so we did." Fulgrim slithered over to a colossal black mirror and gestured towards it with a scaled hand. Psychic power pulling aside the cloth to reveal a pristine sheen.

"Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the most Perfect Being in the galaxy?"

"That would be Grandmaster Chretien de Lilac of the Knights of Beauty, Emanator of Idrila. Head Peacekeeper of the Amore system…My lord." The mirror quickly added the last part, noticing one of Fulgrim's four hands twitch at a lack of absolute respect.

Covering the mirror again with a dismissive wave of his wrist, the Daemon Primarch slithered out of his personal chambers. Admiring the corrupted detail of his flagship, crafted under the direction of the Fabricator General of Dark Mars. Emanator of Innovation.

Melodic humming escaped his scaled lips as he enjoyed the screams of slaves and Neverborn alike, their voices echoing across the halls like a vile concerto. Pleased at the sight of the damages inflicted by his brother clad in blue and his sons, nothing but a memory.

What once were gorgeous hallways covered with marble floors and onyx columns filled with artistic masterpieces was little more than a macabre gallery of captive souls suffering eternally in painting and writing statuettes that had gained sentience from the many centuries that had passed from when its corruption had begun.

Eidolon obediently followed, taunting the screaming figures in the paintings and walls as their sweet torments were enjoyed by the Daemons of their Aeon, Slaanesh. Offering no counsel as his father picked six amongst his Astartes and six more from his personal bodyguard retinue of Phoenix Guard on whim alone.

"Prepare for celebration of my victory. This will not take long."

Neither of the Chaos Space Marines that weren't chosen voiced their displeasure in the open, unlike those that did who gloated endlessly. They entered his personal gunship, Firebird with wings curved in a graceful backward sweep and watched with raptured wonder as the large serpentine figure of Fulgrim assumed the form of his old form, eyes shimmering with purple malice.

"These feudal peasants don't deserve to behold my Perfect Beauty, for they are but worms from a planet as filthy as any of my brothers." Planetfall was easy, absurdly so. As expected from a Feudal World with barely any technology to their name. No single additional reinforcement required exactly how he wanted it.

True, he could just pick five like he did to bring an entire world to the fold in days of yore as a Loyalist, but what use is a truly Perfect victory without a larger audience?

Clad in finely decorated purple and golden armor befitting his standing within a veritable Gilded Panoply with one golden eagle wing gripping onto on his left shoulder. His shoulder-length shimmering white hair blew in the wind, inherent through his Legion as he enjoyed the breeze before scowling at the sight of unwashed peasants toiling in their hovels.

"A beautiful day to craft delicious agony, almost beautiful…"

Laughing loudly at the sight of his sons unleashing their sonic weaponry upon the villagers, whose homes collapsed like kindling, if the sound waves didn't kill them outright. The destruction of their homes definitely did.

Suddenly a ballista bolt flew through the air with sublime accuracy, piercing the skull of an unhelmeted Noise Marine whose body crumpled. They stopped their mockery of the local population and finally took notice of the activity occurring in the vast fortress on the other side of the village.

"A superb shot deserving of superb punishment." Exclaimed Eidolon as he lifted his massive two-handed thunder hammer and was about to charge towards the moat as he primed his own vocal cords. Fulgrim stopped his movement before parrying the next ballista bolt with a long two-handed daemonblade in the likeness of the very weapon that corrupted him over ten millennia ago.

"Leave the Knights of Beauty to me. Do as you wish to the people of this world. My sons~" Grinning madly, the Primarch of the Third Legion moved gracefully towards the moat of the castle. The screams and pleas of mercy from the Amoreans filled his ear like a foul tune as his sons unleashed abusive torment and self-satisfaction upon them in equal measure.

"Let this be a lesson to you, my sons. Never suffer from pain, revel in it~" Catching a ballista bolt in midair, Fulgrim stabbed it into his neck with a gauntlet-covered action. Puncturing his own neck before moaning as he twisted it deep. His sons paid plenty of attention as their father sadomasochistically tortured himself before tossing the bolt aside.

His smile widened the side of his lips when he saw an Emperor's Children catch up to a running farmer in wide strides, break her legs with two flicks of the index finger each before dragging her into the nearest house.

Fulgrim didn't allow any of the siege weapons to hit any of his Astartes, using the tides of the warp to guide them toward him. Perfectly splitting boulders and bolts alike as he artistically slashed the incoming projectiles in two.

Reaching the drawbridge itself at a leisurely pace, he psychically forced it down when the knights tried to retract it. Musing at the sight of the magically sealed front gates that were nigh impervious to frontal assault, taking his time to choose his method of approach as arrows and bolts bounced off his thick artificer armor. Swatting aside the ones that aimed for his exposed head to give them false hope that it could actually hurt his flesh.

Tossing his Laeran blade and Volkite Charger assault pistol sidearm, Firebrand high into the sky. Fulgrim reached towards the magical gates that could easily take an entire company of tanks head-on, grabbing onto it with psychic might.

Moving his arms in opposite directions, the Emanator pulled the door apart in slow motion after ripping off the portcullis. Relishing the waves of corruption it sent out as the doors gained sentience and moaned out in ecstasy as it was ripped apart, the doors crushing two of the ballistae. Leaving Castle Testarossa open to a one-man invasion begun with only one word.

"Perfection." Performing a mock bow of exaggerated proportions when he caught his weapons, Fulgrim immediately handicapped himself. Electing to refrain from using any psychic abilities or his demigod charm and uses pure swordsmanship after pulling the drawbridge up with a gesture.

The entire fortress turned into a killing ground as he practically danced through the courtyard, weaving a trail of death as he cleared the gatehouse with the greatest of ease. Servants, squires, or knights, it matters little. They all die here today for serving the so-called most Perfect being in this galaxy.

"Ah, this is unexpected." Butchering his way across the dozens of Knights of Beauty lining up the battlements, Fulgrim's keen eyes saw striders of a Path he didn't expect to see from Idrila's followers. Omen Vanguards of Finality, servants of the Aeon Terminus. Feeling an odd sensation wash over him as soldiers equipped with more advanced weaponry backed up the knights.

Increasing his speed above leisurely strolling, the Primarch deflected the bullets in a specific way to cause friendly fire. Slicing his way through the battlements and into the mess hall, as well as the civil quarters. Sword, lance, or rifle. Whatever weapons the knights or vanguards tried to bear with their finest Pathstriders meant nothing. They were incapable of even chipping his armor. He snorted arrogantly at the scratches and dark marks, continuing the slaughter of citizens and combatants alike.

"Like a dance of death~" whispered the white-haired paragon of Excess, focusing on showing his prowess with the sword rather than taking either the knights or vanguards seriously. With each stroke of the blade, slaying targets out with ease with unparalleled finesse. Taking great pleasure in shattering their lesser pieces of art, crystalline statuettes of natural beauty. The corrupted demigod smiled malevolently.

Shatter

Fulgrim had already slain a dozen more Knights of Beauty before the sound of the broken crystals reached their ears. Their gardens were now reduced to impromptu graveyards.

Within the walls of the main keep itself, young squires escort whatever surviving civilians remain into underground passageways. The only remaining path to safety with the drawbridge locked down, is an elderly knight handing over a stuffed animal to a long, red-haired boy.

"Whatever you do, young ones. Don't look back. The adults will give you as much time as possible." The knight put on his helmet and kissed his pendant, praying to Idrila to give them strength. Joining the other rallying knights in trying to fell the foul monster that dared to ruin the planet's Beauty.

Clearing one part of the fortress at a time, Fulgrim paid no mind to the adding marks on his bloody person. Seeing them as little more than smudges of dirt, an affront to be paid with their lives.

Before long he had slaughtered everyone outside the walls of the main keep, the Emanator slicing his way through the barrier of Beauty into the structure before finding himself beneath the rays of Idrila's Light. The statue banishes his veil and reveals his true form to his waiting foes.

"By, Idrila. Such a vile and hideous monster!" The elderly knight exclaimed as he pointed his pendant towards Fulgrim and the other Pathstriders intensified the light, rage in his eyes at the insult. Instead of an armored demigod, in its place was a four-armed humanoid serpent with feathered daemonic wings that shimmered like an angel's in the light. His eyes shone purple as he snarled.

"HOW DARE YOU?!" Enraged at the slight, the Daemon Primarch fired his sidearm, Firebrand at the elderly knight who was immediately disintegrated, unable to react fast enough to avoid it. The last thought in his mind as his body was thermally annihilated was the safety of the fleeing civilians. Snapping the sidearm aside, Fulgrim raised his four demonic blades and began using his fell powers.

Shimmering cages and flying blades were easily shattered, as his sleek serpentine figure swung his blades around in a whirling dice. Slaughtering knights and vanguards alike, the latter unleashing the power of their Path as they tried to bring him to Finality only for his movement to not even be slowed down as he shrieked in pain as marks of the end turned red as his vision turned white as he was granted excruciating pain, pain that transformed into pleasure as he moaned and butchered the disgusted opposition. The assault was meant to be lethal to any other being, having little effect on Fulgrim.

"Every cut a painting, every death a masterpiece." Bullets moving like paralysed snails, Fulgrim moved with speed befitting one of highest Excess and easily slid in between every projectile as their pathetic human reaction times failed to impress him.

His cuts spilled blood in such a way to paint the paintings of the knights that decorated the keep with their own insides arranged in such an exquisite way. Their deathly expressions, a picture of their ends as he moved so swiftly that they might as well be frozen in time.

"No, these are my prey. Alone." Fulgrim hissed arrogantly when he could feel a presence from behind the veil. Beg to be let into reality to join the massacre. Attracted by the intense emotions of Beauty and Excess clashing on Amore Prime. The demonic beings scowled but obeyed, witnessing the one sided battle in the physical world like blue-balled voyeurs.

Taking maximum pleasure in carving the perfect faces of anguish as he slowed his movement, letting the surviving Knights of Beauty and Omen Vanguards see their ends in real time as he picked out his favorite picturesque moments of death as he positioned their corpses like displayed artworks.

Only reaching the chambers of his true target after despoiling the entire fortress to fit his whim before slicing apart the doors with a four-way slice.

"I expected better from the Knights of Beauty~" His snake-like tongue tasted the expressions of the final few knights of the order as their Grandmaster continued to pray to a shining lilac levitating on a pedestal of the Shrine of Troies. Held by a serene statue carved of finest marble depicting Idrila holding the Holy Grail of Beauty. He ignored the Emanator of Excess' taunts, lambasting their Aeon as an absent and missing being, who allowed their follower to get butchered like animals.

"Flicking your tongue like a drunken fool, lacking any semblance of grace. Has the standards of Slaanesh really fallen so low?"

"So says the Emanator, who did nothing as I reshaped the rest of your hideous den. What paragon of Beauty lets their servants die like cattle~" Fulgrim's smile only grew wider when the Emanator questioned his intentions, the old warrior with long blue hair and delicate features walked towards a giant statue of a golden serpentine dragon, matching the colors of his own armor as he patted its head gripping an orb in its jaws.

"I am here because you are this galaxy's picture of perfection. All this death and destruction is the fault of your existence, which offends me so."

"Such a petty reason to commit murder on such a large scale, their hands clean and hearts innocent. Purest as any could be." Fulgrim snorted when a golden tower shield appeared in his hands, Idrila's likeness carved in its ornate defenses. No sword, no spear, nor bow. What a pathetic choice of arms for an Emanator of a pathetic Path inferior to his in every conceivable way.

"I-GAAAAAAH!" An intense beam blasted itself into the depraved Aeonite's back, turning around to see the leader of the Omen Vanguards in the galaxy make his presence known. Dark green hair matches his cape, blowing at the intense blast until the beam cannon can't shoot anymore.

"Beauty alone will not face you, monster, for I Kleon Tiresias, will ensure your end."

"And so shall I, Huangdiyan Primal Scion of Great Long." Fulgrim dragged himself up the floor, his body marked for death by the Emanator of Finality. Three Emanators? Now this may be an actual challenge after all~

Readying his four blades in an offensive position, Fulgrim let out a scream as the golden dragon now alive snapped his snake-like form up in its jaws and into the ceiling of Castle Testarossa, smashing through it and into the skies of Amore Prime.

Kleon looked at Chretien manifest the banner of Beauty before leaping out of the hole in the castle ceiling to plant it on the ground. Chuckling before turning around to disappear into a portal, reliving his entire life once more before returning with entire armored companies and ensuring that every Omen Vanguard that died has not before reappearing in the forests beneath.

Fulgrim sneered at Huangdiyan as he fired Firebrand into his golden maw, the golden protection of Permanence too much for the disintegration rapid-fire projectiles to breach. Screaming as his flesh burned and the dragon's teeth punctured his armor to impale him over and over.

He sought to extend his tail out of the draconic mouth to gouge his foe's eyes out only for it to spit him out into the air and smash him with its tail into the earth with the force of a falling star. Fulgrim staggered out of the crater with a groan as his wounds healed, parrying laser fire from advancing tanks of Finality.

"Come on boys, let's make Terminus bring another monster to the Finality of his life," Kleon shouted into the radio as they the Daemon Primarch had it. Rallying Knights of Beauty teleported to the banner from all across the planet as the knightly orders of the entire world converged onto one location.

Clashing with flower-gilded blades that were manifested by the oncoming knights and mystical knightly figures emerging out of paintings materialized by Chretien immortalizing heroes of the Path, Fulgrim was about to lunge towards them only for Kleon to ram his tank into the corrupted being into another, all the barrels blasting him with pure Quantum energy point blank before the vehicles pulled back after he applied his Marks of Oblivion on him.

Pelted with thorny arrows, magical weaponry of every element, and exploding light, the leader of the Emperor's Children immediately went back on his personal handicap and unleashed his psychic power. Crushing hand gestures were made, entire formations of Omen Vanguard tankers being reduced into scrap alongside their vehicles before he imbued the bloody balls of scrap with the power of corruptive Excess. Pure energies of Chaos, turning them into monsters to give him time to retaliate.

"What in Terminus' name?!" Kleon yelled out as he grabbed the shoulders of the other drivers and pulled them out of his own vehicle as more and more were pulled into gravitational fields that corrupted people and vehicles alike. He was able to extend the protective blessings of Finality to many to keep them from getting transformed into abominations that clashed with their forces.

"I can already see the hope, dying in your eyes~" moaned out the Phoenician as he gave himself a second wind and ripped out the pure light weaponry impaled in his flesh. Huangdiyan crashed downwards into Fulgrim and flung his body upwards into the sky before a bubble of Permanence energies gathered in his maw before a sphere formed and shot into the falling Emanator in an intense beam with the power of the dragon.

Giving him genuine pain that he couldn't extract any pleasure from, Fulgrim screamed as he was sent upwards. Moving his burning hands together to reflect the beam with his blades away from his body, at least partially. Decimating ranks of Omen Vanguards and Knights of Beauty as four beams annihilated their way across the surface of Amore Prime. Wiping out entire hamlets and towns, forcing the dragon to stop his beam in horror before snapping its jaw shut on the Primarch who managed to angle his body in a way that he could wrap his tail around its mouth to try to stab its eyes.

A massive golden shield smashed into Fulgrim's head as mystical knights pierced his form with many a weapon, stunning him before the blades could reach Huangdiyan's eyelids. Sending him crashing into the sea, an act that had the scion nod his appreciation to the Grandmaster who blessed his knights with the protection and power to take the evils that trouble their world head-on without fear of corruption.

What emerged from the ocean of Amore Prime wasn't the same Emanator of Excess from before, but a towering giant that oozed with psychic power as he unleashed the full power of the Path of Excess. His size rivaling that of mountains, Fulgrim hissed as he slithered out of the cold waters. He may not have as many tools of unreality as his red cyclopean brother, but this will do.

Kleon whistled at the colossal Daemon Prince before disappearing into a portal again as the Knights of Beauty and the Primal Scion stood ready to fight it. What were shattered wrecks and slain monsters were now a full-blown force of aircraft as the Emanator of Finality relived his entire life again and made different choices leading up to this moment in time.

Blades wreathed in psychic power, Fulgrim slashed the air in front of him. Arcing blades of energy slicing through many charging knights and aerial fighters as many more scattered and blasted him with Ice as well as Fire, a magical knightly warrior lancing him with a flurry of blessed stinging blows. His attempts to use his supreme agility or his wings foiled with Kleon using what he learned from Pathstriders of Remembrance and the Hunt this time around. Locking his limbs as he tried to make crushing motions.

Slicing up charging cavalrymen, Fulgrim eyed the leader of Omen Vanguard and felt something was off. There was something offputting about the Emanator more so than the other two, something he mused about as his energy slashes were blocked by Chretien's Beautiful Protection and endured by his knightly summons. Great swords, rapiers, lances, and many other knightly staples.

"Fear not the evils of Excess, children of Idrila. For in the light of the Goddess of Beauty, we will prevail!" Holding the banner up high, vast growths of thorns the size of skyscrapers grew around their vile foe. Restraining his movements so Huangdiyan can have another clear shot alongside the host of magical knights.

Swallowing a massive Quantum bomb to detonate in unreality in the realm of a rival Aeon, Fulgrim wagged his finger towards Kleon as the tiny rift in front of the dropped superweapon vanished into it before thorns wrapped around his four arms.

"More! More! More!" Writhing disgustingly against it as he allowed himself to bleed against the divinely blessed thorns instead of panicking, the sight disgusted the forces of the three Paths as mounted Knights of Beauty rode their horses up the thorns to pierce him with their lances. Siege weaponry aimed towards him in case the cavalry assault failed.

The depraved son of an Aeon's masochistic struggles drew the otherworldly attention of the Dark Prince who watched the battle with fascination, putting aside His attention away from His court of intrigue within the palace of the Realm of Chaos and the Great Game between the Great Four to give his most favored child's latest escapade momentary undivided attention. Eyes of countless Daemons and Aeonites watching with great pleasure as the second most favored child voiced his opinion.

"Simply scintillating, such a sensual show from Fulgrim. Surely still second in Magnificence to a sensational, salacious, scandalous, and sensational servant of Slaanesh such as I!"

Adhering to his request, Slaanesh merely watched after granting a boon of reinvigoration as the thorns held Fulgrim down so the Emanator of Permanence could bite his head off without any obstruction. Bestowing him the fleeting ability to use his full power in reality, as any daemon will find themselves weakened outside the Realm of Chaos.

Moving his head like a rubbery tool of depravity, Fulgrim managed to have Huangdiyan miss his head and instead rip his feathery wing off as the thorns struggled to rip the four blades away from his grip. Tiny lance prickling wounds as blessed weaponry pierced his daemonic flesh as Kleon snapped his finger in his cockpit to trigger the Marks of Oblivion to give the daemon its Finality.

The thorns slowly dragged the Primarch down into the bowels of the earth as the aerial vehicles launched homing missiles into him. Blessed ballistae penetrate deep into his body as his screams get slowly smothered as he is dragged into the ground until his otherworldly patron grants him a burst of energy after losing his blades.

Truly beautiful was the sight of a bleeding, sickly light from gaps of the thorny prison that sought to immolate him in the planet's core. Like a snowmaned Phoenix, Fulgrim burst out of the plant matter and he set it ablaze with soulblaze as if reborn again. His second wing was newly regenerated as he roared, swinging two fists at a time into the earth to punch his way out with psychic fury. Breaking out of the burning thorny vines as he incinerated the offending cavalry.

Swelling his arms even larger to grab the descending dragon and slam it into the ground, two arms held Huangdiyan down as one reached for his four blades to pull them back to his hands, the fourth turning the skies above a battlefield into a gravitational death trap as one by one all the fighters imploded and were crushed as they were dragged into twisting reality.

"Tut tut tut, no more of that now."

Kleon looked shocked as he slammed his fist on an emergency eject button to launch him upwards into a portal he made ready. Only for his body and soul to be dragged towards the fourth hand as it beckoned him closer.

"Impossible! I granted you Finality, HOW ARE YOU EVEN ALIVE?!"

"I've shed my humanity long ago and achieved Apotheosis. Now I am a being beyond death. Beyond Finality for I am Perfection Incarnate." Fulgrim stated simply as if it was a fact before his blade slipped back into his hand, raising it perfectly so that Kleon would impale himself upon its edge as he was pulled closer with psychic might.

"Cough….Guh….I guess this is what I get for trying to stop the Finality of my closest mates. Should've let destiny take its course and left time alone. Ghhhhhh, guess that feeling of a bad Omen that led me here was completely unavoidable."

Kleon Tiserias said his last words as his body, clad in a pilot suit, slid downwards into Fulgrim's massive blade. Splitting itself in two as his corpse splattered itself across the dirt.

"I will free you from foolish notions of Permanence"

Biting his teeth into the Primarch's tail as he gathered golden energies again, Fulgrim sliced the incoming boulders and ballistias before driving two blades right into Huangdiyan's eyes. Gouging them out and draining his very soul like he nearly did to his equally treacherous bitterly Iron wrought brother in the path that led to the ascension to this body in the name of the Angel Exterminatus.

"Forgive me, old friend. Long calls for me. The echoes of my original self can't hold on any longer. Forgive me, Chretien. I couldn't fulfil my oath to protect…your….w…w….orld….." Absorbing the power of Permanence by gorging himself of a succulent draconic soul, Fulgrim grabbed the orb as the disintegrating dragon looked upon the Grandmaster and retreating Knights of Beauty in solemn sadness.

"Hah, worthless." Shattering the fully drained ball of crystalline jade, the Primarch of the Emperor's Children licked the lips as he devoured the last of Huangdiyan's essence before charging towards the Knights of Beauty, now bereft of any support at speeds no colossal being should have.

"I will bring you all pain and you will love it." Manipulating their senses and reducing their capacity to not feel any pain to zero, the Daemon Primarch let out a psychic shriek that drove them to the brink of sanity as the sound drove them to madness.

Shattering their minds as mount and rider alike fell under the mental assault, eyes becoming white and throats becoming hoarse as froth came out of their mouths before they crashed into one another.

His attempt to pursue the remaining knights out of the range of his scream was halted as a massive golden shield dropped right in front of him, dismembering his hands only for each limb to shortly regenerate. The magical knightly figures surround him with lance and a manifold variety of weapons.

"Has your thirst for agony brought you before me?" Pleased to see that the remaining Emanator has decided to stop playing rearguard and decided to sacrifice himself to buy time for the rest of his knights to flee. Oh, how his plans to ruin whatever Perfection lurks under that elderly expression oozes out of his mind.

"As I still draw breath, you won't harm anyone else on this planet." Slamming the two-handed shield towards the daemon, Fulgrim deflected blades of light and took the lance head-on with the palm of his hand before ripping it out of him. Movement becoming slow and calculating as he thought of how to utterly ruin the man, parrying the magical knights until he could raise them all with psychic force and crush them into disappearing scrap.

"If you had even used a tenth of your power for offense than mere familiars, you might've been able to do better against one such as I. Your love for others has become your own undoing!" Idly slashing at the protective equipment until he could smack it aside when his foe was no longer able to protect himself any longer.

Laughing as his fell blades cut his face up, he slowly slashed the Emanator to ribbons, eliminating all traces of physical Beauty as he reduced Chretien's face into a chopping board that made his son Lucius look plain in comparison.

Gloating as he beheld the loss of beauty in his opponent. "You're wrong, fiend. True Beauty lurks within the heart, not the body. Something someone like you or your shallow Aeon will never understand."

SHING

Having enough of his words, Fulgrim beheaded the Grandmaster of the Knights of Beauty with a swipe of his sharp nails. Letting his body collapse into the dirt as he ignored the fleeing knights in the distance, losing interest in them already before he flicked a ball of warp flame towards the banner of Beauty, torching it utterly.

"Ah, just like the fields of Isstvan. Oh, how I missed facing dangerous opponents."

A small band of knights emerged from the underground caves of Amore Prime to witness the evening sky turn purple, as they all could feel the entire planet rot from the inside. Their mission had been to clear out the local banditry a success.

They came upon the village outside Castle Testarossa, now a den of depravity. The warriors of Idrila unsheathed their weapons only to find that half of the twelve decided to stab them from the back and grovel before the Emperor's Children when they took notice of their presence.

"T-traitors…." Eidolon looked turned his head in an unnatural twist, stopping his act of pilfering the piled weaponry of the knights. A Legion tradition after victory, to see the sight of supplication. His Primarch slithers in front of him to examine the kneeling knights more closely.

"Ah, willing recruits. How pleasant." Muttered Fulgrim, and he didn't need to use his glamour on them either. Oh well, it doesn't matter, he'll use it on them either way.

Looking up to see a gorgeous white-maned figure whose radiance shone like the brightest sun, they groveled and begged for mercy. Like a phoenix after rebirth. Offering the corpses of their comrades was a sign of their new loyalty.

Their leader was urged to come closer by Eidolon, who ensured that neither had any ill intent. Fulgrim waved his son aside, lifting his long snake tail around to caress the knight's cheek before tossing aside the white helmet to reveal purple eyes and sightly hair of polished coal. Giving the youth the order to bite off the tip of his tail to consume his flesh.

"Now, strip off the armor of your comrades and defile their remains. We will witness the beginning of your rites of entry~" The Primarch gasped slightly as a chunk was ripped away from his tail that quickly grew back.

Emperor's Children crowded around the horrified knights who had begun to have second thoughts as the fallen super soldiers grinned from ear to ear, enjoying the look on their leader's face as he looked at the corpse of his love while biting into daemonflesh. A lady knight of high repute and noble blood, slain by a moment of cowardice.

"I, Mordred. Knight of Beauty swear myself to you…Lord Fulgrim." Chaos marks of Slaanesh appeared in his eyes as his flesh turned serpentine for a moment before regaining human vitality again. He covered the dead open eyes of his lover, carving both of them out so she would not be able to see what he had become any longer.

Turning aside when the knights forced themselves on the remains of their former comrades, Fulgrim stared at the wagon filled with the body parts of the dead Emanators being hauled by Amorian slaves as they loaded it onto the docked Pride of the Emperor. He really should thank the Urizen for gifting him relics to allow him to act in realspace with nigh impunity, fueled only by such delicious torment aboard his flagship.

He hoped that the Primogenitor would make good use of them, cloning beings of a more preferable moral variety than the originals. In exchange for continued expedited stock of Ferrus clones. Fulgrim looked up to see the Wage of Sin and Proudheart, both the flagships of Eidolon with the latter being used as the mobile headquarters of his highest-ranked sons that formed the Phoenix Conclave. Offloading Slaaneshi cultists by the dozens to make their mark on the planet to form new cults of their own.

"Where to next, my Primarch. Melustanin the birthplace of Idrila?"

"No, I will let the Mirror of Universal Truth decide our path forward. I've grown bored with the Knights of Beauty." Losing interest in Amore Prime, he had already planned to deliver the fate of this world into the hands of the Neverborn that will surely flock to the planet's growing corruption like a moth to a flame.

They too will continue to ensure the completion of Mordred and his companion's initiation to Excess or witness their failure. Of which will have them complete the corruption of the planet and deal with the remnants of the knightly orders.

When Fulgrim turned away from the Lord Commander to look at the debauchery in front of him. Caelus threw the Light Cone back into the Memokeeper's hand and rushed up the stairs and back into his room in the Passenger Cabin away from the Parlor Car, the Stellaron pulsating in his heart with the color of purple and blue at his greatest act of spiritual exposure to the ruinous powers.

"Huh, usually people don't react so strongly with Light Cones." The Messengers stared quizzically, noticing the other members of the Astral Express look concerned and were about to check with Caelus only for her to wipe their memories of his actions for the second time.

"Ugh….Guh…" Caelus felt sick to his stomach as he flopped onto his bed. Tossing and turning as the Stellaron glowed bright golden, not by the power of Destruction but with more sinister energies as pink and blue shimmered with hues of purple.

'Slaa….n….esh…Fulgrim…Eidolon…What's happening to me?' muttered the Trailblazer as he sweated and coughed, groaning in pain while sweating and hissing. Mentioning the names of the beings he witnessed in the memory before covering his own mouth with a pillow as he screamed loudly. An ethereal being popped out of his Stellaron in exactly the same color before he blacked out for Aeon knows how long.

"Wakey…wakey…Stellaron-bearer~" Caelus opened his eyes to a hideous golden being laying on the bed right to him on its side. Four arms, all wearing bands and manacles of sorcerous power with long wispy flame-like tendrils flowing about like fire. A gold tail swinging about as it enjoyed the expression of horror on its vessel's face, happily feasting on the emotion as a tasty morsel.

"Y-you, what are you?!"

"A Lesser Daemon of the great and unknowable Changer of Ways. Thanks for the Golden sheen, by the way. Makes me more unique and distinguished than my ever-changing Iridescent, Pink, Blue, and Brimstone brethren~"

Caelus panicked until he realized that the thing in front of him was not only enjoying his anguish and torment but was also feeding off of him before he slapped himself around to calm down in case it wasn't a dream.

"How is, why are you-" Frowning at the sight of the human wising up to his consumption of mortal emotion. The Golden Horror levitated above the bed before moving around like a skilled acrobatic with its four arms. Showing his sharp teeth and glowing golden eyes as he flinched at their proximity. Caelus could feel the heat and foul energy, materializing his bat to swing at him.

The Trailblazer rolled his eyes inwardly when he realized his blows were going right through him. Oh great, not again. Add a second one to the pile…The Golden Horror goaded him, daring him to use his brain and put the three catalysts of his birth upon the universe before whispering slowly that warpflame saliva dribbled as his tongue flapped.

The experiment, the encounters with the servants of the Blood God, and, most importantly, his experience with the Light Cone.

"You can call me Aurum, mortal and I can make you more powerful than everyone on this train combined if you just take my hand and accept the Aeon of Change into your heart~" Offering promises of dark power, Aurum stretched out its clawed hand that resembled a human's albeit with longer, nastier fingernails.

"I already told the one that gave me an offer just like that two-bit piece of tin. Get lost!" Caelus didn't bother smacking the gold daemonic hand, knowing it'd just go through it before turning around to face the wall.

"Oooooh, the most favored of Kelbor-Hal's Nine Disciples? Nice work with that. She's not down for the count, by the way. None of the more high-ranking ones do so for long~" Scoffed Caelus. Fully trusting that Svarog can kick her metal ass again like last time if she shows her face in the Underworld again.

Aurum could only chortle at the refusal, already making its vessel more valuable than most mortals, even without the Stellaron in the equation with this one test. Just as planned. Usually, they'd take the shortcut to power, rolling the metaphorical dice that the blessing of Change won't kill them outright or turn them into a mindless monster.

"You really, really, super duper sure you don't want to accept it? It's only by the grace of Change you survived Kharn. Saving that snowball of a planet from becoming a charnel house with no one nearby that can stop him~"

"Hello? Hello hello?" Hovering on the Trailblazer's right shoulder as he pretended not to hear him, the daemon was about to make another offer until the intercoms rang out.

"It's about time we hit the road, passengers! Thanks to the three trailblazers, the activity of the Fragmentum has reached the lowest level, and the readings regarding the status of the star rail have returned to normal! Pom-Pom will dispatch the Express shortly and we'll be leaving Jarilo-VI. Please be seated and say your goodbyes to this system!"

Almost frowning when Pom-Pom instructed everyone on the train to stay where they were until they reached cruising speed. Aurum said nothing as Caelus gave it the silent treatment for more than a couple of minutes, closing its eyes as if listening for something before smiling. The Astral Express lurching suddenly after galloping into the depths of the interstellar sea.

Caelus fell to the floor and quickly got up to see what was going on in the Parlor Area, trying to outrun the Golden Horror only for it to lose its form and turn into pure warp energy, flowing back into the Stellaron within his heart. Dan Heng noticed nothing amiss when he passed by Caelus as if Aurum wasn't there.

'Don't expect me to be seen by your pals. We work in the same vein as that Memokeeper over there~' The veil thick and the influence from the beyond at its weakest, ensuring that beings of the Warp are invisible to but the most sensitive to the unseen.

"What happened?" Questioned Caelus as he saw everyone gathered over the windows of the Astral Express, Pom-Pom looking dismayed as the train refused to budge after it was unceremoniously halted from its travel to whatever the senior crew members chose.

"I have several theories, however, the only thing for certain is that we won't be going anywhere outside the system," Welt muttered, looking out into the unknown system they were dropped into. The records and maps hold no answer as if they had been erased long ago. There were merchant ships and patrol craft, the voices they heard from the coms seemingly foreign yet friendly. Obviously, of another language.

"There is a powerful Stellaron reading on the planet." Stated Himeko as she observed the scanner, Welt doing his best to discern the language spoken using the translator on board. Barely catching the words being spoken on the coms that had been opened to them.

It was a green planet and with the equipment aboard the train. They could see that it was a reasonably advanced one, with plenty of plains and plateaus. Zero indication that it has anything to do with the IPC or any other known organizations.

The crew discussed their options, agreeing that they should land on the world and make contact with the natives to get a clearer picture of things and locate the Stellaron. It wasn't in a critical state, but with the scanner, Himeko could tell that it could easily change with how unstable it was. It couldn't pinpoint exactly where, but could narrow it down to the world's most populated regions.

"It seems the local ships think that we're a group of traveling nobility. We can use that to our advantage." Welt stated thanks to the train's outer decor, Himeko volunteered to go as he did. Caelus raised his hand. March and Dan Heng looking at each other as Welt said that tact and professionalism will be of utmost importance here.

"Why don't we bring our new recruits on their first trip here, hmm?"

"If she's coming, then count me out. I'll go with anyone except here." Serval's words were certain, glaring at Cocolia as Himeko sighed. That's something to work on at a later time, the ex-Supreme Guardian giving no complaint as she agreed quietly.

Caelus didn't disagree with their reasoning. Welt was dignified and sage enough to play the part of a wealthy scholar while both Himeko and Cocolia not only looked regal but were more than capable of acting far more important than they actually are in any world. Dan Heng went back to his room to check the archives again, suggesting he check to see if there was anything to help in the wider web.

"Eheh, guess I'm not coming along this time, huh?" March lowered her hand, admitting that she neither looked as mature as the adults nor capable of bluffing her way through situations. Hopping onto the sofa to stare off at the green planet and the system they're in.

"It is decided then." Welt Yang stated as he kept a translator close at hand, with enough for the others. Piecing enough together from first contact with the world's natives as Pom-Pom readied the Astral Express for descent. And off to the surface of the world, they go, to the distant and technologically advanced yet feudal world of Nuceria. Planet of the Gladiators.

Author's Note: Similar to how the polls for my Genshin fanfic work, there will eventually be polls put up soon to decide which characters will become Caelus' harem members and possibly join the Astral Express crew. Some are already guaranteed like Serval and Cocolia, others would need a miracle and some like the children will not be considered.