For everyone's sanity, I decided that waiting a short time before flying to Tar Vigaz was a good idea. After briefly chatting with my crewmembers, it was agreed that we would wait at least another 24 hours here before departing. While we were low on food, we weren't going to run out in a day, and the Vigaz system was fairly close by. With my Sight (and basic human empathy) I could easily sense that nearly everyone on the ship was in various states of trauma from the last day. Not only had I discovered that I was the same sort of eldritch creature as the Emperor, but I had watched a Chaos Lord ascend to a Daemon Prince, and after destroying him, I had felt the bonds of reality rend and tear from the final destruction of the Heart of Worlds. Even more harrowing was feeling my very soul scorch and burn under the Emperor's possession while listening to him coldly imprint knowledge within me that I was going to be painfully bled of my humanity, gradually metamorphosing into some kind of psychic monster of transcendent power. On top of all that, I had saved Null, listened to shadowy ghost advisors speak in metaphors, punched and dented metal hallways, and somehow blundered into having Khorne notice me.
What a fucking disaster. I needed a break.
The ship needed a break, too. The Divine Retribution, while mainly powered by souls, could also drink up some solar energy in a pinch. After a brief inquiry, I discovered that the ship wasn't actually in bad shape, but a little extra energy gained by soaking some sun couldn't hurt. The damage on the left wing caused by the Ebon Hare's mine was just about healed, and aside from that, all we needed to do was rest a little to ensure that the ship was somewhat refreshed when we were Warp-bound again. And, of course, I had to rest since I powered this ship's Gellar Field equivalent with my own soul.
The rest of my crew seemed grateful for the down time. Alberich and Lian had decided to go exploring inside the ship, and Null set to work decrypting the rest of the Necron information disk that Orikan had given us, and seeing if any of the black time crystals we took from the pyramid on Nubua could be salvaged. Unfortunately, it appeared that most of the crystals had shattered in our fight with the Angels of Ecstasy, which was a real shame. The majority of the servitors that had suffered damage from Null's incapacitation were easily salvageable, but I was informed that it would take at least twelve hours of rest and some minor repairs before we'd see them again. The Silent Witnesses wanted to turn in early, and it was explained to me earlier that their regeneration took a lot out of them. Morai had explained to me that she had broken three ribs, but that they would mend on their own within a day. For my downtime, I invited Virgil back to my quarters to see if he could help me with some meditation exercises, which he happily obliged.
Here, I currently sat with the astropath hologram as he instructed me in psychic temperance. For the last 90 minutes, I had devoted myself to meditation. I had successfully learned how to ground excess emotion by visualizing a hole, and then throwing my negative feelings down through it when I felt overwhelmed. I had to be a careful about not actually burning a hole in the floor here with that, but so far, that exercise had worked well to temper my energy. The helpful hologram continued to teach me.
"So, to further moderate your psychic potency, take another deep breath, and concentrate on regulating your heartbeat," Virgil spoke to me in my suite. He was sitting on the ruined sofa as I sat across from him, my legs in a lotus position. I breathed deeply. "Now, calmly visualize and see your link to the Warp as an innocuous tether of light. Know within yourself that it cannot hurt you, and understand that. While it most certainly can hurt you, simply believe that it can't. Belief is a big part of effectively using your power, so you must convince yourself strongly. Your strength as a psyker need not be a thing of danger, but you must learn to control yourself."
I closed my eyes, and imagined my connection to the Warp, only to see in my mind's eye that I seemed to have two tethers. One was a glowing rope of slowly undulating energy connecting me to the power of the Warp, and another thick cable of molten gold that crackled and writhed like an angry snake.
With a few deep breaths, I was able to calm the slower whip of Warp energy, but not the angry gold cord, which hissed dangerously out of my chest. I opened my eyes. "So, what are you supposed to do if you have two power cords?" I asked. "I'm able to see the Warp tether and I can get it to calm down pretty easily, but I have another cord. It's gold, and it's really angry."
Virgil's face expressed consternation at this, and he reached up to scratch his messy hair. Tiny sparkles of light drifted from his head at this action. "You have two cords?" he asked me. "Maybe it is because of your nature that you have an additional well of power to draw from?"
"I thought all wizard power in this universe came from the Warp?" I wondered, visualizing my gold cord again. In my mind's eye, I followed it as it branched outward from my body. It seemed to then split like an artery, branching out into the ether as it pulled power from an unknown source into my soul. "Maybe the extra cord is from the Key and the ship itself, but I can't really tell when I look," I said with a brief shrug.
"That could be true," Virgil contemplated, holding one of his hands to his chin. "Do you feel any sense of impurity or malevolence from any of your tethers? It would be fairly easy to sense for someone like you, I theorize." The hologram then wore a thoughtful expression, his eyes searching. "I wonder if you have an inborn resistance to corruption because of the dark place you have come from? Null told me about your reality of origin, and how your dimension sees ours as a place of sadistic books and games. Forgive me, but it seems like a grim reality if it finds entertainment in our hardships."
I felt a pang in my heart to hear it put that way. It was true, though. My home dimension, apparently being a universe that "creates" things in this one (according to what the Emperor believed, at least), was being sadistic when it had spat this reality out. An uncomfortable thought came through me again. Now that I was here, did that mean that someone in my home dimension actually writing me doing this? Uh...
"No," I quickly responded, my voice suddenly heightened by my existential distress, causing Virgil to flinch next to me. I decided to forcibly refuse to entertain thoughts of the supernaturally horrific true nature of reality right now. "Oh, uh, sorry Virgil. Didn't mean to yell. But, my second cord is the same color as the ship, so yeah, I think it's just the ship's effect on me. It doesn't feel bad; it just, I don't know, its uncomfortable. It feels angry, like it wants to fight things."
Sort of like retribution, I wondered. Hmm...
Our lesson (and my anxiety) was blessedly interrupted by hearing more classical music begin to drift through the ship. Virgil began to smile, and turned his head upward in relish at hearing this. "Null continues his work on decrypting the Necron information disk, I see. This music comes from ancient Necron composers, he believes. It is actually quite nice to listen to."
"Well, I don't know about that," I said, recognizing a few notes from Beethoven's 5th Symphony as it echoed dramatically through the halls. Oh hey, here was yet another weird thing to have a crisis over, I thought miserably. Why were the Necrons in possession of music from ancient human history, and why did Orikan put this on the information disk to give to us?
"Hold on for a minute, Virgil," I said. I closed my eyes, and mentally asked the ship to display the engine room, which it did on the wall-screen next to the table. The screen was pointed at Null's desk, which I had seen in his suite. The battered tech-priest turned around, and looked at me through the display. "What's going on with this music, Null? Are you doing this?" I asked him.
"Ah, hello," Null said warmly. "I have discovered various musical files on the information disk. With a brief preview, I have also been calibrating the com system on the Divine Retribution, sensing if there is any distortion and delay. I also quite enjoy it. Fascinating, isn't it?"
"I think I recognize this music," I informed Null as I watched him fiddle with a small machine in his hands, one of his fingers acting as a screwdriver. I could make out some insectoid legs and wings, so I assumed he was also trying to repair his Jiminy drone. Poor Jiminy had been broken twice already.
"Oh? You do? The games and stories of your universe told of Necron music? Quite fascinating!" the tech-priest quipped in surprise. He seemed to be doing much better now. "How odd. But, I suppose I should not be surprised, considering the reality where you came from. I do sometimes wonder if perhaps I am written in a story book somewhere, or if I exist as a miniature on a game board?"
"Uh, no," I said, further listening to Beethoven's dramatic strings swell and roll through the metal corridors of the ship as I tried to divert my attention away from any existential dread again. Was everyone on this ship official lore or was I just in a fanfic or something, I briefly wondered. I closed my eyes, and decided to enjoy the music instead. The acoustics in here were actually great. "So, I don't think this is Necron music. This was orchestrated from a great composer in my universe's past."
Null appeared surprised, his neon green eyes animating a few quick blinks. He put Jiminy back down on his work table, and leaned forward in interest as he spoke to me. "This came from your universe?" he inquired, pointing upward to indicate Beethoven's moody music as it played.
"Well, it could also be from this universe's past, actually. The people in my universe established that this reality, the universe of Warhammer 40k, was actually an imagining of a dystopian far future for us." When I said it like that, I experienced a another flash of dread as I wondered if this universe was actually the distant future of my own reality, and not in a different dimension at all. "So yeah, I guess this music could actually be from your past here, or it came from my universe or one like it. Do you have any theories as to why Orikan put it on the disk?" This was all very confusing to think about. If I existed as a piece of lore somewhere in the 40k lore or fanfiction community, whoever was writing me needed to relax.
"I do not know," Null replied, appearing deep in thought. One of his mechadendrites looped around to his face to tap at his metal cheek. "I'm still decrypting the disk. So far, I have only discovered what appears to be music of various types, but there appears to be a few particularly large and complicated streams of information that I am studiously working to understand. From my cursory exam, it appears to contain multiple holo-vids, but I'll know for sure when I am complete here."
"Holo-vids? Oh, that's neat," I mused. Orikan did tell us that we were to "watch" whatever it was when we were far from Kolch, and that the disk would explain what the Chronomancer knew. Thinking back, Orikan held peculiarly accurate knowledge about Plane Walkers, my movements in this universe, and strangely enough, The Wizard of Oz. None of it really made sense right now (and my head had started to hurt thinking about all of this), and I hoped that when we finally unlocked the disk's secrets, we'd get some insight. "How long do you think you have before you can finish decrypting everything?"
Null tapped one of his other mechadendrites on his work table behind him in further thought. Out of the dozen or so clawed prehensile appendages that he used to have, only three remained. None of his whip mechadendrites, or even the wire-thin spiny one that used to inject me in the neck with mystery drugs seemed to be operational anymore. "The extraction process is nearing its end. I have most of the music now, but I should be finished with the rest of the information in under an hour. If it is holo-vids, I can make a projector if need be. I too am quite eager to see what hidden knowledge the xenos seemed to know."
"Well, just be careful," I said, pulling back from the screen. "We don't want to see you get hurt again."
Null appeared to roll his animated eyes, and then quickly nodded as if catching himself being rude. "Yes, of course. I assure you that I am taking every precaution. Mind you, I always take utmost precautions with xenos tech, and I would never have experienced my recent near doom if I had been fully operational. Three quarters of my systems were broken from my encounter on Nubua, and I am quite thankful to be alive."
"What about that Necron belt? Anything new with that?"
The tech-priest paused, closing his eyes for a moment. "It seems to be inert now, and whatever malignancy that it held seems to have been chased away." Null took a deep breath, and opened his green eyes. "I... I have you to thank for that, and I have much to think about concerning what I saw as I tarried near death. I would prefer to keep my attention on something else for the time being, if you would allow me."
The tech-priest had actually been thoroughly traumatized by his experience, I sensed. I decided not to press the issue with the mysterious jeweled belt, and to just allow Null to busy himself in other projects to keep his mind off anything difficult for the time being. My Sight had told me that right now, the belt didn't hold any danger, so I let it go.
"That's alright. I'm fine with you concentrating on the disk right now; just keep me posted. Let me know when you're finished with it," I said, listening to the dramatic classical music move through the ship. I honestly loved that we somehow had classical music. Like most things in my new life, it didn't really make any sense, but I wasn't complaining at all.
Null lightly bowed on the display, and said, "Thank you, Scion. Good evening to you," before the screen flickered back to the circulating star system of the dead world we were on. We were all lucky that the tech-priest was alive.
"Shall we continue our lesson?" Virgil asked.
"Actually, let's call it a night for now. I think I want to take a walk by myself for a little while, maybe go and find Alberich and Lian. I still haven't explored the rest of this ship."
"Very well. I'm always here to help, Scion. We are at your service, so call upon me whenever you might need me," Virgil said, bowing deeply as he frizzled away in an electric smear of light, leaving a slight scent of ozone behind.
I stood up, and had a good stretch. Taking a walk would be fun. I had actually not taken any time to just wander aimlessly around this incredible ship yet, so that sounded like a great idea. As long as the ghosts didn't give me a hard time, I felt very adventurous stepping out of my suite. As I was walking out the door, a new classical track began playing through the vessel. I recognized this one as Swan Lake, and it really lifted my mood. The metal halls of the Divine Retribution were absolutely perfect for music, and I even began to hum along.
To my right was a short walk to a round room that greeted anyone walking into the vessel from the entryway. If I continued walking that way, I would hit the two sets of stairs to the bridge. I decided to go left, further into the ship's body, but as I was about to take that turn, my Sight told me to stay put. Standing there, I wondered why I was feeling this way. I then felt an urge to turn and face the metal wall opposite my door, and as I stood there confused as to why I was experiencing this sudden intuition, the buffed metal wall before me began to swim and reconfigure as if it were actually water. A glowing line of energy began to carve a rectangular outline into the wall, and after a few moments, a brand new metal door had appeared out of nowhere. This door was strangely decorated in a radial pattern with various sigils and crystals, their jagged marks shimmering crimson across the surface. It reminded me almost like a dartboard covered in strange glowing red runes.
"A secret door?" I wondered aloud. And, right across the hall from the captain's quarters! I wondered why I hadn't seen it before? With my Sight, I gently pushed through the door, wondering what it was and if it was dangerous. In response, the runes then turned to align themselves into nine rows, and briefly flashed green. I felt a vague sense of disconcertment, similar to what I had felt on Kolch when Orikan was manipulating time, and with a few clicks and hums, the door slid open from all four sides. Ahead of me was an incredible new area, completely hidden from us before!
Before the lights began to flicker on, a wave of pleasant smelling air washed over me as I stood in the doorway here, reminding me of faint sandalwood and cedar. I even felt my ears pop, which was odder still. It surprised me, as this entire ship either didn't have a scent, or it only smelled of electricity and the faintest hints of metal, almost like a power plant. In here, though, it smelled like a very fancy esoteric bookstore on a chilly December afternoon. Even faint notes of coffee could be smelled.
My jaw dropped in wonder as I took in the new space before me. Under gold vaulted ceilings that had to be five meters high (I wasn't sure how this area could appropriately fit in this ship), gold chandeliers with amber candle flames cast a very warm atmosphere, and under my feet, an elaborate carpet decorated with stylized tessellated gold eagles in flight outlined on a royal blue background appeared completely untouched to time. A few paces ahead of me, there was a bookshelf that was about twice my height, and a round metal table that held a large closed book. This room appeared to be L-shaped, and the longer arm of the space to the right was filled with shelves that contained more books, sculptures, precious gems, skulls, and other curiosities. Further down, there was a very large gold desk with a generously sized blue cushioned metal chair. This appeared to be a personal study, a library, and, what was super interesting, it appeared to have been under a temporal lock, so nothing in here was falling apart.
I stepped further inside. It was beautiful in here! Swan Lake began to fade out, and a few seconds later, my ears were delighted with the piano notes of Für Elise, by Beethoven.
"Bastian? You coming down? We're all ready to go here," I heard a distorted voice behind me warble. It was so distorted that I could not tell if it was male or female. I turned around, searching for any ghosts that might be responsible. None were visible, so I turned to face the study again.
An especially bright ghostly figure had materialized sitting at the desk. He was holding the side of his head with his left hand, clutching at his long dark hair as he stooped over the table. Barely visible, I could see a wreath of what appeared to be leaves in his right hand, and he was gripping it tightly. His body language suggested that he was very upset about something, even if I could not see his face. "I'll be down in a moment," he called out, but did not move.
His voice was familiar beneath a veil of distortion. The phantom picked up what appeared to be a mug, and took a sip before placing it back down. The ghost then slowly stood up, leaving the wreath on the desk, which sparkled with a bright light of its own. The figure slightly turned, and here, I confirmed that this was Sebastian (or something that looked just like him). I could tell from here that the lost Traveler's eyes were closed, and he was breathing deeply as he slowly turned around, his fists clenched and his expression greatly pained. He was wearing what appeared to be some kind of thick form-fitting doublet and heavy trousers with tall boots, like a Renaissance noble with a twist of modern styling. His hair was down, and spilled along his shoulders in gentle waves. I witnessed a new thing on Sebastian's form this time, and it made my breath catch to see.
On his left hip, a very bright sword-like shape hung at his hip, which the ghost nervously clutched at as he stood next to the desk.
If the Sebastian ghost had opened his eyes, he probably would've seen me here. He stood breathing deeply for a few moments, almost like he was trying to summon the nerve to accomplish a difficult task.
Under his breath, he whispered: "What I've started I must finish. I've gone too far to turn back. Regardless of what may happen, I have to go forward." He then opened his eyes, and began to walk toward me. For a split second, he seemed to see me, which caused me to hurriedly step back...
...and promptly back right into Lian's power armor, causing me to jump!
"Ah!" I cried out, turning around. Lian and Alberich were both there, and each appeared concerned. "How did you sneak up on me like that? Jesus, you marines are scary!"
"I apologize!" the Fallen said as he immediately fell to his knees again.
I shook my head, "Get up, Lian. Sorry for yelling. I just didn't hear you guys behind me. What are you both doing?"
Alberich responded behind the kneeling Fallen. "We were exploring. We found a map in a solarium, and from that, we also located what appears to be a small lounge complete with a theater! On the map, a sealed door was indicated right next to your quarters, and it was marked as 'essential', but with no other descriptors. We decided to investigate."
"Alberich says truth," Lian stated as he stood back up, just outside the doorway to the study. He began to sniff at the air. "The air is different here. I detect a faint scent of fragrant incense or herbs, perhaps a men's cologne. What is this room here?" the Fallen asked, looking over my shoulder.
"Uh," I mumbled as I turned around, wondering if the Sebastian-ghost was still there, and unsurprisingly, he wasn't. "I just discovered this place too. It was hidden behind some kind of magic ward, I think, so it was invisible before. It unlocked when I used Sight on it. This looks like it might've been the captain's personal study," I said, turning back around to face my companions in the hallway. I looked down at Alberich's dirty clothes, and Lian's dusty power armor. Just like having company over my apartment at home, I was hesitant to let people covered in dirt (that was actually probably made up of cursed disintegrated people dust from Nubua) to waltz in here and mess up the place. "Can you guys take off your shoes before walking on the carpet here, or at least clean up or something? I think this place was under a time lock, and I just opened it, so I want to keep it on the clean side so I can investigate it. Just come back later when you're both cleaner, no rush."
The Fallen looked down at the beastman, who was definitely not clean enough for this room. "I'll go and change. Null left me a change of clothes, anyway," Alberich said with a short bow, and began walking back to his room.
Lian looked at me with perturbation as I examined the state of his armor. "I do not believe I can fit in the human showers, so I will stay away."
"Good news for you, big guy. In the bath part of the ship, there are a few space marine sized showers, and even a hot tub which is more like a small swimming pool if you want to relax sometime. Your weight won't hurt the metal floor, and you can still wear your armor, or take it off if you want. Whatever you do, just be clean when you get back up here if you want to check out this room with me."
The Fallen's expression visibly brightened. Had he even taken off that armor since Kolch? I had no idea. Could he even take it off by himself? Also no idea. "I had not seen these areas. Thank you. I will return soon." A brief bow, and he was walking back to the baths.
This ship sure was neat, I thought. A big golden luxury war eagle that turns its captains into godlike psychic titans, and at the same time, serves as a pretty posh ride! Following my own advice, I took off my shoes and left them in the hallway before further examining the study.
Once again, the music shifted to another classical track. This one, I could not recognize, but it had very pleasant sweeping strings. Having a soundtrack was definitely making the exploration of this mysterious grand space very pleasant.
I padded into the opulent room, walking over to examine the desk where I had seen the memory-ghost sit. What was still interesting to me was that while Sebastian was tall, he never appeared gigantic, like he always did in the lore. Whenever I had seen him, he was just a normal guy with long dark hair on the handsome side of brooding. Well, normal with the exception of his blinding halo and unreal eyes. The gold desk chair was also somewhat large, but not terribly oversized. The table itself was about the length of my body lying down, and half again that wide.
I pulled the chair away from the desk, and sat down. The seat actually felt somewhat warm, which was a nice touch. On the left side of the tabletop, there appeared to be a small scale replica of the Divine Retribution, wings spread and one claw reaching dramatically outward. It was only about a half meter tall, and its detail was very fine, with each mirrored gold feather of the wings sculpted to sharp perfection. It almost looked too precious to touch, and I marveled at its construction. I remembered then that I had found miniature figurines in my suite on a table and spilled on the floor, and wondered if Sebastian had put this together like a model? He was very talented if he had made this, I observed.
On the right side of the desktop, and close to the front of the desk, I marveled at something mundane that normally wouldn't be fascinating.
A coffee cup. It was a normal white ceramic mug, like any you would see at a coffee house or a normal kitchen. I reached around the handle, and discovered, that just like the chair, the mug was also warm. I brought the mug up to my nose, and with a sniff, I discovered the scent of fresh coffee. The mug was still half full!
Okay, that's freaky, I thought, immediately putting the mug down. When I had seen the memory-ghost drink coffee at this desk, was it from this very mug? Did I see an event that happened directly before the Divine Retribution had been buried in a flood on Levant? To be fair, if Sebastian had made a habit of drinking coffee at his desk, this could have been anytime. This caused me to relax as I began to further examine the large gold desk.
It was a beautifully crafted piece of furniture, and it appeared that it was made of solid gold. The style of the table reminded me of an expensive French antique, and didn't quite match with the rest of the decor on this ship. I pushed my hands over the smooth surface of the desk, and my hands found what felt like a small button, which I pressed without thinking.
To my amazed eyes, the desk began to fold open at its center, and inside, a large flat rectangular display about a meter wide emerged and rose into position before me. It settled itself at about a slight angle, and turned itself on. Was this Sebastian's personal computer? Oh wow, this was exciting!
A beautiful high resolution image of the Milky Way galaxy appeared before me on the screen, only to be interrupted by a notation that said, "updating..." for a few moments.
The galaxy then updated itself to display the various areas of Warp corruption now cutting through it. That was really depressing, and again, seeing it displayed in front of me like this somehow made it a tangible threat. Clutching my chest, I realized that seeing this actually physically hurt me as I began to think about all the suffering that my fellow doomed humans were experiencing in this reality. It felt like getting struck in the heart to know what was happening to humankind here.
I wanted to continue exploring, but I made a mental note to check out this computer later. Maybe there were more journal entries I could read? I pressed the button under the desk, and the display folded back smoothly under the surface.
The music changed, and now, I was listening to a unfamiliar, but very dramatic symphonic track that filled me with energy.
Standing up, I walked further into the room, and again, I wondered how this area even fit inside the ship. As I padded further down the long space, I heard a mental message from Alberich as he began making his way back up to me. I was able to sense that he was in a very positive mood.
I am on my way. Are you enjoying this music? Is this Null's doing again?
I really like it, actually. I don't recognize everything, but I like it. And yeah, this is coming from the disk Null got from the Necron that helped us on Kolch. He's decrypting it, and so far, he found all this music, I responded in mind, walking quietly along the shelves of various books and artifacts. This room felt more appropriate in Hogwarts instead of a spaceship. On a reinforced shelf, a large horned skull behind glass caught my eye, and instinctually, I knew that it was a daemon's skull. It had to have been a fearsome daemon, since it was a little larger than a hippo skull, and had very sharp teeth and large goat horns. So, daemons could leave behind skulls? You learn something new every day, I guess.
Since Alberich was on his way already, this private walk was now becoming a public affair. I decided to see if Virgil wanted to join us.
Hey, Virgil? I called out to the astropath. You around?
At your command, he responded. I am currently assisting Null with the repair of his servitors, and listening to the music he has discovered. And... hold on, he's talking.
I observed another glass case that held three strange gold eggs on delicate stands. Were these Fabergé eggs? The raw wealth displayed in this area was like nothing I had ever seen before!
Virgil responded to me again: Null states that he is almost done with the decryption. He says that he has discovered 99 tracks of various styles of music. He states that a few musical tracks are marked as somehow complimentary to one of the holo-vids.
I started to laugh. Did we have a soundtrack to a holo-vid? Maybe Orikan enjoyed showtunes from my reality? Maybe we could play the soundtrack to Cats or Cabaret if we end up fleeing the Imperial Inquisition or whatever new trouble we end up falling into?
Tell Null to put one of those complimentary tracks on the com system after this track is done. I have a feeling that this will be funny. And also: Lian, Alberich, and I have discovered a very fancy time-locked room near my quarters. It's really beautiful. If you want to check it out, feel free to zap on over.
A pause as I sensed that Virgil was speaking to Null. I could now hear Alberich's footsteps as he approached over the music. He was whistling along to the music.
Null obeys, and also requests that we all visit him in his workshop near the engine after this following track. He eagerly wishes to display the vids he has discovered. And, I will be with you shortly.
The beastman poked his white feathered head inside the doorway just as Virgil reappeared in a flash of bright light beside me. "Oh my!" the astropath explained in surprise as he admired his new surroundings. "Spectacularly well preserved! What fascinating beauty!"
As Virgil began to float through the room, mesmerized by his surroundings, Alberich wore a large contented smile on his short dark beak as he looked in from the hallway. "Indeed, what fascinating things this reality holds! This music reminds me of home. What we listen to now is Wagner. He is one of my favorite composers in my universe, and this is from Das Rheingold, the first part of Der Ring des Nibelungen, or, in English, the The Ring of the Nibelung. Listen to the powerful emotions woven in the instruments! The true majesty of it all!" the beastman called from the doorway. He had changed his clothes to a brand new Imperial military uniform, and was actually in the process of taking off his boots before walking in here. Virgil continued to slowly float through the room, his holographic hazel eyes wide in amazement as he took everything in.
"Yeah. We had Wagner in my universe back home too, but I don't know that much about him," I said, trying not to remind myself that this guy was actually a real life Nazi occultist. I looked away as he strode into the room, and I continued walking down the hall. As I approached the end of this large area, I could now see that there was even more space to explore. To my right was a massive tall door that had to be over twice my size. It seemed to be locked with a similar series of red wards just like the front door to this place, and was crafted from solid metal. To my left, another new open area was visible, and in this similarly large room, I could see what appeared to be trophies of various weapons and taxidermied heads mounted on the walls. Fine paintings of eclectic subjects were also hung with care, and I could even spy two large leather couches and even a fireplace! Incredible!
I turned back around, marveling at everything as Wagner's heroic opera drifted through the air, and spoke to Alberich: "I still can't believe that this entire area was here. It was completely hidden behind magic before. Maybe I just wasn't strong enough to see it?"
"Maybe," Alberich replied, walking into the room before closing his eyes and stopping. I noticed that he didn't have his daemon glaive with him in here, which was probably for the best. "I am sensing that Lian will be up here soon. I am strengthening my remote viewing skills, and I find that with practice, I am getting a keener psychic eye. Perhaps my skills are broadening as well from my connection to this vessel?" He grinned happily, beaming with excitement. It was almost difficult to believe that he had been having a breakdown in the shower a short time ago.
"Just be careful, you know. Like I told you before, this universe is really dangerous for psykers. I know that it looks fun and powerful from where you are, but seriously. Be very careful. If you end up possessed I won't be too happy," I warned again, examining some colorful geodes and gemstones that sat on another shelf. Some of these were probably worth a fortune!
Alberich sniffed heavily, and observed Virgil as he floated over to one of the bookshelves at the front of the space. The astropath didn't actually appear to be listening to us, and was transfixed in awe at his new surroundings. The beastman began to speak in mind to me, a charged edge in his psychic voice. Ah, but you were possessed by the Emperor, and still, you have come back somewhat intact, perhaps even stronger?
That was a super rare exception to the rule. Getting possessed by the Emperor is different than getting possessed by a daemon, Alberich. Trust me on this. I know just how dangerous Chaos can be in this universe. And now that we're on the subject, I want you to consider slowing your roll when it comes to Tzeentch. He might look like your friend now, but he'll totally screw you over for fun later.
"Slow my roll?" Alberich asked audibly, puzzled.
"Uh, sorry, I just mean stop being so enthusiastic about..." I then also sensed that Lian was close. Virgil had now opened the large book near the front of the study, and was still distracted. It was still better to talk about this stuff with telepathy. Don't be so enthusiastic about Tzeentch, I'm serious. Right now, it seems he wants to help us, yeah, but that might change. I keep telling you this because I mean it. It is dangerous to trust him!
"I simply seek knowledge. That is not bad, is it?" Alberich said as he walked over to the shelves to the right of the desk, picking up a large emerald and tossing it in the air a few times like a baseball.
"Put that down, please. I don't know if any of this stuff is cursed or anything yet," I said, starting to lose patience with Alberich's cavalier attitude.
The beastman shrugged, and placed the gem back on the shelf. He then began observing a series of horned skulls displayed behind glass.
"Hello." Lian's shadow then appeared in the doorway, which he then turned sideways to enter. His power armor was now clean, and his light tawny hair was damp. Maybe he couldn't take off his armor by himself? Or maybe, no one had any space marine sized clothes for him to wear outside of his armor, and prancing around in just his skimpy bodysuit and black carapace combo in front of us didn't appeal to him? "The baths are expansive! An ogryn could soak within one of the larger tubs! I am amazed!"
I nodded with a grin, and gestured around me. "So, like I said, I think this was the Emperor's personal study, and I think it was under a stasis lock. I found what I think was his personal computer, or cogitator, I think they're called, in that gold desk there. There's even a cup of coffee that's been frozen in time for thousands of years. Look!" I pointed at the mug on the gold desk. Lian strode over to examine the warm coffee cup, and cautiously reached down to it with an armored hand. "So, uh, don't touch anything, please, just in case something might be cursed or warded or just delicate. I don't want anything valuable to get broken either." Virgil stopped flipping through the book, and pulled his hands back as if the pages had burned him. Lian also withdrew his hand away from the mug.
"I'm sorry! I was overcome with curiosity!" Virgil spoke apologetically. I was beginning to get annoyed; I didn't want any dumbass crewmembers breaking priceless things like bad children in here if we needed to sell some of this shit off to pay our way around the galaxy. Null had said Tar Vigaz was expensive, anyway.
It was then that I caught Alberich pushing aside a glass door to one of the horned skulls; he began to reach for it...
"Stop touching things in here!" I snapped angrily, causing Alberich to jump backward in fright away from the skull. I had not intended to amplify my voice, but it had happened anyway. In response, all my companions flinched, afraid again. Wagner's music began to dim, leaving an uncomfortable silence in the room as everyone watched me. Again, I could feel fear catching the hearts of my companions. I didn't want them to actually be terrified of me, and I certainly didn't actually want them to think of me as an Empress figure that could kill everyone they hated in the galaxy. These heavy expectations that I suddenly felt on my shoulders were entirely unwelcome.
"I'm sorry again. I'm sorry," I shook my head, seeing just how quickly again I had lost my temper. "I just- I just don't want there to be any trouble." I looked again at this incredible room around me, at all the priceless valuables that had been collected thousands of years ago, and that it abruptly dawned in me that it had all ultimately meant nothing to the man who had owned them, who was now a tortured corpse in a chair. More important than controlling my temper, I realized that this opulent room was a sobering lesson in humility in this universe, and I needed to understand that.
I felt another pang of terrible homesickness. I wanted to go home. None of this wealth or power would be worth it in the end if I stayed here because this universe was cursed. It was irrevocably cursed because my universe made it that way in the lore! There would be no happy endings here because that's what the Warhammer 40k lore consistently dictated, and the only reason I had gotten as far as I have already was because one particular Chaos God had taken a fancy to me, and was playing around with me like I was a fun toy! I was damned if I stayed here, wealth or not!
Fuck all this. None of it meant anything if I was doomed to end up like Sebastian no matter what I did. I wanted to go back over the rainbow and back home to shitty stupid life in New Jersey. I wondered if I was still dying in my living room, or if I was dead yet back in my home dimension? Would I even notice if I died back there?
Almost as if on cue, a new and very familiar song started to sing though the room, causing my heart to fall even more. This was the song that Null had said had been attached to one of the holo-vids, and now, I had a pretty good idea what one of those vids was, even if it seemed utterly impossible.
Judy Garland's voice sang beautifully across the Divine Retribution, punctuating my yearning for a better place with her poignant song taken straight from The Wizard of Oz.
"Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There's a land that I've heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true."