The shock of finding yet another person living on this dead planet caused a deafening silence, and no one spoke for a few startled moments. I finally said, "He says he doesn't want to hurt us. He's a psyker. He spoke using telepathy."
I watched as his shadow became more cohesive in the settling dust. He was only about my height as he stepped forward, and held himself in a dignified manner. Each step he took caused the small bells lining his robe to jingle. The masked Blank women still remained kneeling, and perfectly still. Had our entire visit been foreseen?
"Scion, I do not understand," Null said to me nervously. One of the tech-priest's hands was held tensely at his side, as if he were preparing to draw a weapon.
"Neither do I," Alberich stated. "Who is this man? Why were these people hidden here? They even seemed to have been waiting for us. We were only randomly transported here by a-" the beastman caught himself before he could finish his complaint. Null's head whipped over to Alberich, and his expression displayed narrowed suspicious eyes.
"He says his name is Nabopolassar, and that he's the last king of Nubua. I don't know how he got here," I replied as he stood before me.
We all stepped back from the stranger. He was not tall, and only a hand's width above my height, even with his headdress. Nabopolassar wore embroidered robes that appeared to be silk in many noble colors wrapped around him like a toga. Tiny gold bells attached to his cuffs tinkled when he moved, and he wore a short headdress of pale muslin over his salt and pepper hair, reminding me of a religious leader from my own time. He was in late middle age, clean-shaven with tan skin, dark features, and eyes that suggested a heavy burden.
"What are you doing here?" I finally asked, and then immediately felt silly for asking. Maybe telepathy would translate for him? My companions continued to exchange confused glances, and Lian had not let his guard down. Alberich stood clutching Valkyrie with his eyes half-closed, presumably asking the daemon inside for advice. I realized that I was getting more and more uncomfortable with the beastman's reliance on this creature. Something would eventually have to be done about that.
Nabopolassar began to speak again in mind. His voice was gentle and fatherly.
My apologies, blessed Omega, but I cannot respond in voiced speech to you, as I do not speak your tongue. I can understand what is spoken to me, but I cannot speak it. But, as you can see, I am a capable sorcerer, and can communicate easily in this universal manner.
The stranger gingerly stepped out of the dust cloud, his long, eagle-topped staff tapping against the ground. I watched as Lian immediately walked ahead of me, brandishing his sword defensively.
"No, no. Put your weapon down. I don't think he wants to hurt us," I instructed.
The man turned to us and bowed before I heard him speak again. The masked women hadn't moved, and remained kneeling.
At last we witness you, blessed Omega. Your visit has been foreseen, and now you are here. I am the last of the prophet-kings of Nubua. I was here to witness the scouring of my world through the hands of the Weeping King. It was as it must have been, to my great grief. Fate advances as it should, and we are powerless over its passage. I have waited outside time and within stasis for your arrival, so that our last chapter can be written.
"He says that he's been waiting here in stasis for us, and he was here when these worlds were scoured. He called Sebastian the 'Weeping King', I think," I explained to my companions before turning back to the ancient king. "Why were you waiting here? All of this feels like I was expected. What is the meaning of all of this?" I pointed to the two kneeling Blanks. They had not moved and had remained perfectly still.
Our prophecies spoke of the before, and of the after, but as prophecies go, we often did not understand them fully. As he spoke, I translated what Nabopolassar said into voice so that my companions could understand. He then spoke a few words in a strange language, and the masked women stood, walking to us with their heads bowed. The ancient king's expression was tense, as if he was carefully considering his next words.
We invited the Weeping King to our world as he rode through the stars on his gold chariot, Garuda. His coming had been prophesied by our mystics for thousands of years, and we knew that one of his kind could interact with our sacred Heart of Worlds to bring peace to the Independent Empires. When he finally came to us, I and only a few others were within the Great Pyramid when the Ruination occurred. Our prophecies were correct. He brought everlasting peace to us, but through the annihilation of our civilization. The mystical strength of the Great Pyramid sheltered us few within from the devastation, but there was nothing else left alive outside. Not only did every single living thing perish, but their souls were trapped in eternal torment in within our vast borders. Our fate was grim, but there was peace.
Nabopolassar sighed heavily, and his shoulders dropped. A small tear rolled across his tired face before he spoke again. I continued translating what he said for my companions.
The Weeping King departed in his guilt as he wept, never to return. We few left alive divined our futures once again, and discovered that the only chance of salvation would now exist in the Weeping King's Inheritor, a woman known as the Omega. Only an Inheritor could manipulate the Heart of Worlds, and unmake the curse, but we knew not when she would arrive. In their grief, the other priests resigned themselves to the sands outside. Only I and the Silent Witnesses sealed ourselves away here to await the coming of the Omega. Only she could break the lock to the locus chamber with her touch, and that would break our temporal sequestration, signaling her arrival.
Nabopolassar then briefly kneeled on the floor as I finished the translation.
"The Weeping King. Hmm," Null mused thoughtfully. "Is that what he calls the God-Emperor of Mankind? This is the first I have heard of such a title. Why?"
Divinity has many names, many prophets, as you see here on our sacred records, the king spoke to me as he gestured to the long hall of various Inheritors, understanding what Null had said and responding to it. I translated for him again, and the king slowed down so I could easily elucidate what he said to me to my companions. He did not go by the name the God-Emperor as he traveled his Golden Road, but he had many names. We knew that he had been given the designation of "Revelation" by other civilizations. In our oracles, he was known as the Weeping King, as it was his fate to suffer anguish in the service of humanity. We knew him by his Corona, the halo that moved with him. It is like yours to my sight, Omega. Even the Silent Witnesses can see it with their ashen shadow-souls.
"Everything he says is true," Alberich announced after communing with Valkyrie. Null glanced at the beastman again suspiciously.
"Incredible. Here after all this time," Lian remarked, placing his weapon away. "These three are relics from the Dark Age of Technology."
The king stood once again as he wore a tearful smile. Many years have passed, I am assuming.
Null answered with, "Indeed. Over fifteen thousand years, ancient one. Your worlds have been dust for quite some time, forgotten by time and the rest of the galaxy. It is remarkable that we found you here."
The ancient king continued to wear his sad smile, and said, Fifteen thousand years? What wonders the peoples of the future must be experiencing!
"Well..." Null began, trailing off. "Time hasn't exactly been kind to the rest of the galaxy, I'm very sorry to say."
Nabopolassar dropped his smile just a bit, before relaxing. Then it is the will of fate, and I accept it thusly.
The ancient king then watched the two Blanks beside him as they began to sign, and their gestures were emotive. He nodded, and began speaking in a musical, syllabic language to them both before touching each of them on their shoulders with two fingers. The women immediately fell to their knees, and began to silently weep behind their masks.
Before you, you see the Silent Witnesses, and there were always two. They had devoted their entire lives toward guarding the Heart of Worlds against corrupted sorcerers. Their names are Ennoia and Morai, and they are both fighters of fierce strength against wicked sorcery. Today, their guardianship ends, and I have released them from their duty, and their vow of silence. Their duty is now to follow you, and to defend you with their lives.
The two women stood again, and bowed twice with their arms crossed over their chests.
They will serve you through the stars until death.
"Silent Witnesses. Most curious, and a curiously similar name to the Sisters of Silence," Null said. "Something I must ask. You were behind a stasis lock, waiting here in accordance with your prophecies. Am I hearing that correctly? You were waiting here for this, eh, 'Omega' as you call the gold woman before you. Her title of the 'Omega', what does that mean?"
Prophecies are not precise, but yes. Her arrival was foretold, but we knew not when, only that it was inevitable. As you can see in our sacred records in this pyramid- Nabopolassar motioned broadly to the mural- we devoted much of our existence to understanding the strength of divinity through time. The paintings here were all resultant from the visions of our finest minds through our civilization. Minds which are now all sand, and souls which are now trapped in an eternal screaming limbo. Each of these Inheritors is a revelation of an aspect of divinity, and each was given a name by our seers.
Nabopolassar hadn't really answered Null's question. Alberich then spoke up, "The name 'Omega' suggests something that is the end."
"Yeah," I said. I removed the scissors from my shirt pocket. As I did that, Nabopolassar and the Silent Witnesses took a step back. The king even flinched as his eyes widened in wonder at what I held. "The mural in the other room has me cutting a gold cord with these scissors that started all the way back at the beginning with a little boy."
"Nemeses Argentum," the king physically said in a hushed voice, awestruck. You hold in your hand the holy weapons of the Nemeses Argentum. 'Two made one, undone by Omega, unless by none,' the king said as another small tear rolled across his cheek. Forgive me for my emotional state. Nemeses Argentum was almost thought to be completely lost to time, even when it appeared in our visions. Once upon an ancient time, it was wielded by the Inheritors named the Dancing King and the Dire Wolf. To see it with my eyes! Oh, praise be! Once again, the king fell to his knees.
"Weapons?" I asked, holding the scissors. "Plural? I thought this was just a magic pair of scissors. I found them in a farmhouse on a planet thousands of light years away. They weren't guarded or locked up or anything."
Far more than mere scissors, blessed Omega. Far more. What you hold in your hand are two anathema blades hidden in a humble form, similar to how you are currently hidden in plainness. Ah, to actually see them! Such power in deceptive smallness! They lay sleeping now, but there will come a time when they are woken. They must drink as you must drink, and once you are stronger, they will rouse to full glory.
"Anathema blades?" I asked. I hadn't heard about any of this in 40k lore. Maybe it was in one of the eight thousand Black Library books I didn't read?
Beside me, I could see that Null was vibrating with excitement again. His artificial eyes were flickering and cycling through many different colors, and one of his metal hands clutched at his chest. "Null?" I asked. "Do you know what an anathema blade is?" I held up the scissors before me.
"T-t-t..." the tech-priest was stuttering, and I heard the sound of a shock move as a spark raced over one of his metal arms. "A-anathema Blades," he started speaking again with great difficulty as he fixed his eyes on the scissors. "W-w-what you h-hold is p-p-priceless. V-v-very few weapons like it in our r-reality. V-very few. Only other c-confirmed weapon s-s-similar is..." Null could not finish his sentence.
"The Emperor's Sword," Lian said as he slowly kneeled before me. "The Emperor's Sword and perhaps the Lion Sword are the only Anathema Blades I know of. They are blessed weapons of great strength, and when wielded by a master, they are capable of permanently killing a daemon."
So I really did get a pair of scissors instead of a flaming sword. Just my luck. "But these are just scissors, not swords. I haven't seen them do anything special, aside from maybe channeling some psychic energy and helping me to kill a monster. And what do you mean by 'they need to drink'?"
Their power lies dormant now, thirsty for life energy. I can sense it. Just as you are a vortex for spiritual energy, pulling souls into yourself to strengthen your power, so these humble blades will also need to feed. As with yourself, they require soul energy, and with every life that is taken close to you, both you and the Nemeses Argentum grow in power. You must consume to progress along your fate, as with every Inheritor. The blades will surely show their true forms in due time once you gain enough power.
"I have to eat people?" I asked, horrified. I remembered that when things died around me, their souls were drawn into the Key, and whenever I was plugged into the Divine Retribution, I felt the souls pass through me from the Key before heading into the ship. "So, with every soul I absorb, the Nemeses Argentum and I get stronger? Is that how it works? Am I also feeding the, um, gold chariot? I have it parked outside."
The gold chariot Garuda is itself another mystery, but it remains a constant through many Inheritors. Our people surmised that it and the blessed Inheritor that commands it have a special bond, one only attainable by a soul not tainted by the touch of the reach of this darkening galaxy. It too needs to drink life energy, as I am sure you have noticed if you made it here.
Null made a contemplative sound, and turned to me. He had calmed down, but was still obviously very excited. "V-very interesting. I believe now that the K-key you wear, when bonded properly to an individual, acts as a sort of gravity well for life energy, transferring souls to its bearer, increasing their power while simultaneously fueling the Divine Retribution. I think I now understand that it could not have bonded with the wicked Evanora properly, as it required a soul from beyond our universal boundaries to properly f-function."
"Evanora?" Lian asked.
"The W-wicked Witch of the East. The Scourge of Levant. She was a sorceress with m-many titles, and good riddance to her. Evanora was the original owner of the body you see the Scion wearing. When the Scion came from her d-divine reality, she displaced Evanora's s-soul. She now walks in Evanora's body," Null waved his hand dismissively.
Lian nodded.
"What about the term 'Omega'. Why are you calling me that?" I asked the ancient king.
Because you are the last. That is your designation. The end. You are here to end our story, and I am grateful for it. It is time for the ink to dry, and for the tortured to be put to rest. Now that you are finally here, on behalf of all of Nubua and her once vast congregation of Empires, I humbly and formally request the Grand Rite of Undoing. All the souls here must be set free, and not tormented forever in an un-life of dust and sand.
"Grand Rite of Undoing? I don't know what that is," I answered.
It was foretold that at the end of our time, that the Omega would bury the Heart of Worlds deep within the center of the Nubua through the Depthless Well, and that that event would be our final end. At the center of this world lies a psychic amplifier that once fed dreams and life to the peoples here, which was focused by the Heart. If the Heart's corpse is sent down the Well, it will collide with the Oversoul Engine. This will unmake all of the Independent Empires, setting all souls free to wander the multiverse, free from this cursed existence, and even free from this reality. Peace at last for us!
"You wish to unmake your existence. How will that effect us? If the entirety of this region is 'unmade', then certainly we'd be unmade along with it. I'm not certain if this is a wise course of action," Null said to Nabopolassar carefully.
Once the Omega enacts the rite, you will have time to leave here before it is complete. The Heart must have time to fall down the Well to the center of Nubua, where the Oversoul Engine presides. We would be eternally grateful for your help, blessed one. The king smiled shortly.
"And you'll come with us to help," I stated with a nod. Having another psyker like him around would definitely be useful. I got the sense that he was very powerful.
A pause. The ancient king's smile dropped briefly, and he shook his head. My road ends here, blessed Omega. My people died long ago, and now, I wish to die with them. The Silent Witnesses will come with you since their shadow-souls are immune to the curse, but I cannot leave the pyramid without certain immediate death. I am a native of Nubua, so I have a special link to the Heart and its divine malediction. But, do not despair; I can still aid you on your journey. I desire to commit myself to your embrace at the moment of my death, my soul offered to you freely.
"You want me to... eat your soul?" I asked incredulously.
Before the king could answer, a brief tremor struck below us. Nabopolassar sighed, and shook his head. I thought we would have more time, but now, they're here. It is as it has been prophesied. The king began to speak to the two women, who nodded briefly. They turned around, and walked back to the space where the slab had fallen. They began knocking against the shallow stone indentation.
"What is happening?" I asked. Lian immediately drew his weapon again, and faced the direction of the entryway.
"Someone else is here? Mein Gott, more danger!" Alberich also asked, alarmed. He gripped his daemon glaive, which briefly glowed in blue flame.
The king turned to me with sadness. We do not have much time, and I wish I could explain everything to you in the easy way, but now, fate advances quickly. You must do what I ask of you, for our lost civilization deserves peace. Trillions of people languish eternally in torment between realities due to the curse the Weeping King enacted. We must begin the Grand Rite of Undoing first, and afterward, I wish to die by your hand, and to be drunk by your radiance. My strength and memories will be yours, blessed Omega.
"Who is here? What's going on? Tell us! What are these tremors?" I asked. Oh god, not more Necrons, please. How did they hide from the Retribution's scans? Can't I have a break?
The king took a breath, and turned to the painting of the Angels of Ecstasy. Oh no, I thought, my stomach dropping. No. Nabopolassar began speaking again. It was foretold that foul warriors would arrive shortly after you, and seek to end your existence before you can even properly be born. They follow their nightmares, they seek the omens of devils. The tremors you feel are the talons of your chariot fighting against them, refusing them passage.
Null stopped shaking. "We were followed? But these marines! They are dead! We discovered two dead marines in the outer areas of the pyramid. They had even partially transfigured to dust from the entropic curse."
Lian shook his head, but remained watching the entryway. "Chaos marines devoted to Slaanesh typically travel in warbands of six, and we only saw two. It may be that there are more, either marooned here or even waiting in orbit."
Aw, crap. They could've been in orbit, I realized. I never checked the space around Nubua, only the planet itself. "If they were here and this whole area is cursed, then how are they even alive? Wouldn't the curse have turned them into sand if they stayed here waiting around?"
"Chaos and its infernal blessings may offer a protection." Lian answered.
"Where are they? W-when are they..." Null asked, nervous again and unable to continue.
-Expected to be here? Not long. Not long at all. With sadness I must say that these warriors are very powerful. Among them is a sorcerer who seeks to become an immortal devil, one whose visions lead him here. He is a Champion of a detestable new flesh god, one that I am not even familiar with. Right now, he and his vile brothers are occupied with attempting entry into your chariot.
Oh, well, maybe that's not so bad? Trying to cut into the Divine Retribution when it was simply parked somewhere had never worked for anyone. Not only that, I remembered what had happened to the Necrons on Kolch who had decided to start shooting at the Divine Retribution's talons, and was briefly relieved. I didn't know it could automatically defend itself, and if it was doing that, that was a nice surprise. Maybe Virgil was somehow involved, and he had ordered it to fight back? I smiled, imagining the giant Divine Retribution stomping on some Chaos Marines like ants. Get squashed, jerks! In curiosity, I willed my awareness outward, back to the ship. I wanted to see these fuckers get flattened.
I saw in my mind's eye that the storm outside had somewhat abated, but high winds still swirled around four figures that stood on a large stone landing pad that supported the Divine Retribution. Three of the marines held weapons that screamed, and were pointing them at the ship, laughing in mad ecstasy at the cacophony around them. Each marine's armor was a familiar pink and black, covered with spikes and fleshy protuberances. They wore no helmets, and I didn't look further to see what the ruins of their faces looked like. One Chaos Marine stood a little further back, holding his hand up in a strange gesture.
"Noise Marines," I informed everyone, my eyes still closed. "There are four Noise Marines. Angels of Ecstasy, I think. Like we saw in the outer hall. They're shooting at the ship." From behind I could see Lian tense his grip on his short sword, and Null folded a pair of his metal hands in anxiety.
"What are they doing?" Null asked. "T-tell us!"
I nodded, and resumed my viewing.
Most of the Noise Marines stood a fair distance away from the vessel. My attention was pulled to one particular marine who was larger than the others. He was the one who held his hand in a strange claw-like gesture. His face resembled a desiccated fanged corpse, just like the painting on the wall. His physical appearance made him look like a feral starved ghoul with long teeth, and a grotesquely large forked serpent's tongue that licked the air as he cackled. He was laughing deliriously as he held out a three-fingered clawed hand, and instead of using his sonic blaster, he was using his strength of mind to pummel the Divine Retribution open with an invisible wall of force.
"I see... a Chaos Champion of Slaanesh!" I said with a gasp. "A psyker, and a tough one. He uses his mind instead of physical weapons. Let me see if I can get more."
I dipped back into the psychic viewing, and I watched the Champion throw walls of invisible force against the Divine Retribution's chest, causing the windy air to ripple around him. One of the Noise Marines advanced closer to the vessel, wielding his sonic blaster where the Champion was aimed. The eagle had apparently had enough of this, and fought back. I watched as it quickly lifted one of its talons, and reached forward to stomp on the closest marine, flattening him to a paste that turned to sand, blowing away in the wind. The other marines were not discouraged, but now hung a safe distance away from the Retribution's talons. The Champion simply laughed at the scene, managing to bite his own snake tongue bloody in his mad haze. Another quake rumbled, and just as I felt it, I perceived the peculiar sensation that I was being watched once again.
As I viewed the scene, the Champion turned and somehow looked directly at me, and said, "I SEE YOU!"
I staggered back, a fierce migraine striking me, and putting me off balance. Now he definitely knows we're here. Great job again, me. Fuck.
My companions rushed to my side when they saw me stagger. I waved them away, and stood up again.
We have now been seen, the king said calmly as I struggled to relay what I had seen to everyone, my words racing. The two women had reappeared by Nabopolassar's side, and now, I could see that they were both holding two long sai daggers in each hand, each crafted of flawless gold. At least we have more muscle now, but seriously, a psyker Champion of Slaanesh? That's really bad.
I informed my companions, "There are now two Chaos marines and one Champion. The Champion saw me," as I reeled. I received an image of the remaining three marines as they backed away from the Divine Retribution, and began to speak among themselves in the storm.
Then we must do this quickly. Come. To the locus chamber, and to the sundered Heart of Worlds. I will show you what must be done to commit the Great Rite of Undoing, and after that, you must consume me to empower yourself so that you and your companions may survive to complete your journey. May righteousness guide your future path, Omega. Ave Imperatrix!