**Author's notes: First, content warning for a Keeper of Secrets saying terrible Keeper of Secrets things for evil reasons in this chapter. Second, I'm rewriting the conclusion of this arc because I wasn't happy with what I had written previously. Because of this, my updates might be slow/irregular for a little while as I get caught up again.**

With a long gasp, my awareness was shunted back into my body on my golden throne on the bridge of the Divine Retribution. Hearing Am'Erika's voice was enough to shock me back into my fleshy physical form. Blinking repeatedly, I looked ahead, and found the two holographic displays were displaying the Statue of Libertine's wicked gold face as she gazed upward at me. The blue light of early dawn was now upon us, which gave this entire scene a very eerie atmosphere. Currently, I was slowly circling a few hundred meters above and away from the infernal colossus as I kept myself out of direct striking range of the statue's sword if Am'Erika decided to lunge.

Behind me, I was immediately aware of the thick fear that hung like a miasma on the bridge. My little jaunt in destroying Evna's operational anti-aircraft cannons had absolutely terrorized my poor crew, and while the bridge had artificial gravity, Rasputin and Virgil were now clinging to the floor in fear nearby.

"Erika, my pretty," Am'Erika growled with stentorian sensuality. The Keeper of Secrets withdrew her gigantic gold hoof daintily away from its crushing strike upon the Family of Liberty cultists, which were now a red smear on the stone ground below. The gold statue had to be at least 500 meters tall, similar to the structure on Levant, and while I was now somewhat larger, the possessed statue clearly had the weight advantage here. "We meet again, and once again, the world we dance upon faces grave danger. I see that you've become quite an unlucky herald. Your visits are dire portents. This reminds me of your similarly unfortunate and addled predecessor. Perhaps you are both fated to suffer similar fates?"

I didn't immediately respond, and continued circling above. With a groan of effort, I quickly took stock of just how strong we were after taking a few cannon strikes and firing a few torpedoes while keeping my distance from the greater daemon. I honestly did not want this fight right now, considering my condition. As soon as Null found a path through the minefield, I was out of here.

General status and defensive status, Divine Retribution? I mentally inquired my vessel.

My answer came on the screen before me:

Captain, Secondary Navigator engaged

Warning! Low energy! Psychic exhaustion, physical injury detected on Captain, Secondary Navigator

Void Shields: 45%

Parson Shield: 20%

Lascannons: 50%

Plasma Torpedoes remaining: 8, regeneration est 35min per 2 torpedoes

Luckily, Am'Erika didn't appear as if she was in a hurry to immediately kill me, and instead, she languidly stretched with an indulgent groan as her energy suffused the statue. Shaking my slight disorientation away, I then impulsively loosed two more torpedoes straight into the statue's face as she yawned.

Moving impossibly quickly, the greater daemon raised her mighty sword and blocked my projectiles. As Am'Erika moved, her massive blade blossomed into lurid blood-red flames.

"Temper, temper, my pretty," the Keeper boomed as her gold skin began to shimmer. I watched as the form of the statue then transfigured itself, bending and shaping to accommodate the wishes of the greater daemon within. Am'Erika had decided to appear much as she did on Levant, with a skimpy star-spangled dress over swollen breasts (and, upsettingly, a similarly swollen groin this time). Her skin remained patent gold, and her eyes were swirling unnatural sapphires. On her head, she grew a crown of thirteen sharp horns, which again made her look like a horrible parody of the Statue of Liberty back home. In her right hand, she held her long flaming red sword. With another lazy stretch, the Keeper's hooves now stepped demurely off her pedestal to walk upon the blasted ground. All in all, she appeared similar to how she had manifested on Levant, but with one dramatic difference.

Am'Erika now only had three arms. Her upper left scything crab claw was completely missing, which gave the greater daemon a slightly unbalanced stance.

I laughed at this observation as I tried to conjure a plan on how to survive this situation. I was still tired and weak from my recent death, and I didn't want the greater daemon knowing that, so I decided to bravely lambast the unholy creature to give the illusion that her appearance didn't completely terrify me. "Hey, how's it going!" I loudly projected through both the ship and through the Warp. "I see Slaanesh left you maimed from our last encounter, Am'Erika. Looks like you're a little lopsided. Where is your left crabby claw, pumpkin?"

Am'Erika's face flashed briefly with rage as she lowered her red sword. As she continued to watch me, the Keeper then drew her giant flaming blade up to her face, and in a disgusting display, drew the edge of her sword across her silver tongue. This caused her to messily bleed black daemonic ichor as she watched me. After licking her blade, Am'Erika placed it point down onto the ground. It had to be at least two thirds of her height, which was staggering. The greater daemon smiled at me. "Do you think that taunting me is an excellent idea? I've supped from the energies of thousands now, instead of simply hundreds. My presence is such that I feel the people of Evna cower in worship as the light of dawn strikes me."

A typed message appeared on the small corner window that displayed Null on my screen. "Still working on finding a hole in the minefield, and I can see that the xenos are scanning this region for an appropriate entry point into the atmosphere as they approach. From what it appears, the fleet may wish to begin its assault over Evna, as it is by far the largest population center. The other cities have power once again, and some of their anti-aircraft cannons are operational, but the fleet seems to be aimed directly at this region."

Okay, so I have to keep Am'Erika occupied for a little bit, I take it? I sighed loudly as if I was bored with the display of the greater daemon's sexy potency. "Yeah? Well I'm pretty tough now too! My ship is fully powered. I've got a new energy crystal, and I've eaten my fair share of souls as well!"

"Oh yes, I heard, and that will make you excellent sport indeed," the daemon boomed as she began to calmly walk ahead on golden goat hooves the size of houses. "But, I did promise my exalted mistress that I would offer you friendship this time around. The Perfect Prince smiles at your gluttony, and since you have deprived her of the sensation of Champion Grikk'ahn's predations, she wishes to extend to you a formal invitation to visit her pleasure palace for a... pleasant afternoon."

"Hmm, that sounds real fun and totally safe..." I mused as I nervously watched Null tap on a keyboard on his display window, his expression frantic. "But, I'll have to pass."

"What a shame. We could've had even more fun together had you been willing," the Keeper of Secrets mused.

"Tsarina please! I can help!" Rasputin hissed beside me, interrupting. "Listen to me!"

"Quiet," I hushed the mad monk.

"Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin," the Keeper of Secrets abruptly shouted, stamping her hoof against the ground, causing dust and sand to swirl upward. "Ah, another delicious Traveler crosses my path. Not as tasty as my dear Erika, but delicious all the same. I see you there, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin. I see right through you!"

The greater daemon then paused, sniffed the air, and then began to speak Russian! I heard Rasputin gasp as an English translation appeared on the display before me. Nothing could have prepared me for the abhorrent cascade of evil the daemon then spoke.

"I sense Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, the Mad Monk of Russia, disgraced advisor of governor Langwidere. You were known as a drunk, a womanizer, a horse thief, and the Antichrist himself! You were taken from your beloved Mother Russia by the Great Conspirator right before the Bolsheviks took power and destroyed the royal family. Since you flirted with my Family of Liberty, and engaged in many pleasures, I can easily see through you! Would you like to know a secret?"

Am'Erika paused, and smiled wickedly. Rasputin held his hand to his mouth in a gesture of shock as he watched the Keeper of Secrets through the display.

"Did you know that the communists ravaged the royal Romanov women before executing them, symbolically conquering their bodies with their fetid, ungodly essences before they died? I hear the echoes of their delicious agony even now! Your beloved little Anastasia was made a woman many times before her flesh gave out under a hail of bullets!"

"You... you..." Rasputin gasped. I had also gasped, completely stunned by what the Keeper had said. Was she lying?

"Don't listen to her!" I then urgently spoke up to my crewmembers. "Daemons lie!"

"That didn't happen! It's lying!" Alberich cried out from the rightmost throne. His voice sounded somewhat weak. "Our intelligence said that the Romanovs were-"

"None of you listen to it! Cover your ears!" Virgil also shouted onto the bridge. "Daemons will feed upon your suffering! Don't give it strength!"

The Keeper of Secrets laughed musically when I did not respond immediately, and continued to speak in Russian. "Do you know what sort of neverborn I am, lost mad monk of Russia? I am a Keeper of Secrets, and I am the most beautiful of my kin. I hear and see all secrets whispered in the dark, and I will tell you this delicious secret..." the daemon hissed as she lashed her long silver tongue across her gold lips. "The ravaged little whore wept as her many new husbands defiled her royal anointed body in the dirty snow, tearing it to pieces like wild dogs rutting in an alley. Did you know that Anastasia screamed and wished for you to save her? She called for dear Uncle Rasputin to rescue her as they took her over and over again! But, you weren't there! You could not save Anastasia, and nor could you save Russia, as it descended into communism after the desecration of your beloved Romanov daughters!"

The Keeper of Secrets laughed, and then, she upped the ante. When she spoke next (still in Russian), she spoke in the voice of a little girl! "Uncle Rasputin! They're hurting me! Uncle! Ah! Ah!" Am'Erika then even began to salaciously and obscenely moan in that same little girl voice. "Oh, Uncle, I wish you were here to make me a woman instead!"

Rasputin's soul now radiated with incredible anger, and he stood beside me, shaking with outrage.

After a heartbeat of stunned silence, the greater daemon began to speak again as she drew her fingers up and down her sword in a suggestive manner before briefly tracing a clawed finger up the shape of her groin, and moaning in disgusting anticipation. Am'Erika continued to turn as she watched us circle above her in the sky.

This entire display was absolutely revolting and harrowing at the same time, and I knew intuitively that it was being done to unnerve us.

Giggling again, Am'Erika then sighed lazily, and said, "And now, Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin, I intend to do the same to the Romanov seated beside you!"

Within the blink of an eye and a flash of pink light, the Keeper of Secrets abruptly hurled her entire bulk into the air with impossible power, her flaming red sword outstretched and aimed upward toward my heart!

Luckily, my reflexes were still good enough that I was able to slow time again before we were skewered, and I strafed, evading the Keeper's sword strike. The greater daemon immediately recovered after landing with a crash, and lunged upward at me with her remaining crab claw. Once again, I was forced to slow time to desperately swoop out of the way.

"You are fast!" Am'Erika laughed as she stepped backward, her giant hoofsteps making depressions in the desert below, and crushing the paved road that had led to the statue. I continued to soar around the greater daemon in a very wide circle, still trying to keep out of her direct reach until I figured out what I was going to do. Above, there were vengeful Necrons and a minefield, but right here, there was a greater daemon, so I didn't have much in the way of safe options concerning my future. It honestly felt like I was totally screwed.

The colossus watched me with scintillating blue eyes, turning her giant body to follow my flight again. Am'Erika then held her two hands and singular crab claw out in a gesture of welcome as she watched me, pinning me with her frightful evil gaze. When the animated statue spoke again, it was in the voice of the little Russian girl. "I sense your hesitance, gold chicken. Perhaps this situation isn't looking too good for you this time? I believe that if I continue to do this-"

Instantly, the greater daemon leapt at us again, her sword shining in the light of early dawn. As I slowed time and strafed out of the way again, Am'Erika then unexpectedly lashed again out with her left crab claw, reaching for the space she had estimated I would jump. Unfortunately, she had been correct, and I registered a crushing physical blow against my left shoulder and wing, which shook the bridge violently! Everyone but Lian cried out in fear as the ship dangerously shuddered. A three dimensional model of the Divine Retribution appeared on my screen, and informed me that we had been hit so hard that we had actually suffered hull damage! The void shields had shouldered most of the blow, but a blinking red warning informed me that our living gold had sustained damage. We had even lost altitude, and had briefly fallen before rallying my energy to pull myself backward and away from a third strike by the greater daemon's sword.

In response to this, I angrily loosed two more torpedoes and a blast from my right lascannon, this time aimed at the statue's forehead. My strikes were once again parried by the greater daemon, which then laughed at me, its voice filled with sadistic pleasure.

"As I was saying, my pretty, if I continue to destroy you in this way, my game ends too early. I don't want that, no! I want to savor your suffering! Will you attempt to turn tail and flee from me, my pretty? Fly above into the sky to encounter the life-seeking mines?"

"We've been hit!" Null protested from the engine room. "Our left wing! Hull damage to the living gold!"

"An eye for an eye does make me laugh, but..." the greater daemon mused. "Having the game end too early isn't truly fun at all, really. Perhaps I will enlighten you all with the secrets I keep instead of simply cutting you out of the sky right now?" Am'Erika then relaxed her three arms, and swung her massive sword in a lazy, playful arc.

"I will not allow you to touch my charge, daemon," Rasputin unexpectedly snapped as he walked ahead, his fists clenched at his side.

"But, you can't help her, Uncle Rasputin. Your new Romanov will end up as the women you knew in Russia! Come to my side, and perhaps I will show you the ultimate pleasure that you have always so fervently desired! You are free from Christian shame in this universe, so why not experience a true orgy of holy pleasure with me?"

"Listen! About the Romanovs, she was lying!" Alberich cried out angrily. "Am'Erika is lying! German intelligence stated that the family was merely executed and not violated!"

The daemon heard this and threw her head back with a great belly laugh, which echoed loudly through the land. "And now I see Heinrich Weiss bleeding to death, and his regrets are sweet. He thinks of his old mentor Ernst Vogel, who died seeking the secrets of God for the Third Reich, and he forever regrets not taking that last assignment in the Republic of Hatay due to his own insecurities. Heinrich keeps his own secrets, and has not informed his new leader that he had made a bargain with his so-called 'Great Architect' who demanded ownership of his shadow in exchange for fate's blessings. He thought he could keep it a secret, now that his shadow has been seized by Tzeentchian cultists who were all too pleased to possess their own fate-bending Traveler!"

"Alberich?" I gasped, turning to the right throne. The psyker's jaw hung open, and he looked away from me.

Rasputin quickly repeated on my left side in a low voice. "Let me help, Inheritor! I can help us clear the minefield!"

"And, you, my pretty Erika. I think I'll save your tastier secrets for last, but you couldn't even direct your ship to heal both you and your copilot. Instead, it greedily consumed the souls you gathered for itself, and threw a mere pittance for your consumption. You neglected to think of the health of your crewmembers, and you make so many stupid mistakes that you embarrass yourself! What a failure you are as an Inheritor! But, I suppose I understand why you don't consider the welfare of your copilot. He is a Nazi, after all, and on some level, you think he deserves to suffer for following the Great Conspirator."

I felt Alberich watch the display, his pale face filled with hurt. The psyker was not well. Virgil again spoke up, and said, "Don't listen to it! Please! All of you! This creature wants dissolution! It feeds on suffering!"

"Listen to Virgil," Null instructed us from the engine room, his voice tense as he continued to frantically work. A message appeared below:

"We have a window to escape into low orbit and to the area of one of Tar Vigaz's spaceports. From there, we need to recalculate our route. There will be a hole in the vortex minefield in approximately 90 seconds, and we need to thread the needle. Power is simultaneously being restored to Evna, which will also reengage all defensive anti-aircraft cannons as well. Wait for my signal." A few moments passed. "85 seconds now."

I noticed that Null was holding the flat clear box again in his gold hand, and that he was shaking in fear. The Tech-priest then informed us audibly, "As much as I don't trust both Alberich and the Grand Advisor, the daemon is trying to psychologically injure you! It is taking advantage of your insecurities!"

The Keeper of Secrets continued to lazily laugh while I tensely waited, soaring out of range in a broad circle above the region. Knowing just how fast that statue was, and that it was simply choosing to calmly taunt us instead was terrifying!

"And what can I say about your busy metal friend Null, dead astropath Virgil Allegrii? Null keeps too many secrets indeed, the worst of this group! He was once called 'Archmagos Ogun Nemo' before he sabotaged his entire Explorator Fleet, the one you served faithfully upon, to his whims of chasing technology."

Am'Erika once again paused to laugh happily as she watched me circle, her body language unconcerned and confident.

"Null would be called the foulest of hereteks anywhere in the Imperium now, if people knew he lived, but he lives in denial of his sins. A traitor to mankind, forever fleeing his past, even to the point of deleting his own memories! A murderous coward who is too afraid to read the code that might save him, because it might unlock his self-deleted shame! I'm not even going to speak of the belt he wears that summoned the Necron fleet that races above!"

Virgil said nothing for a moment, and clenched his fists before the display. "I refuse to listen to this!"

"You won't? Tell him then, great and powerful Archmagos. Tell Virgil Allegrii why you changed your name! Did I lie?" Am'Erika chortled happily as I continued to wait for this hole in the minefield to emerge. The Keeper of Secrets wasn't even charging at me anymore, and was simply casually clopping her way through the desert as if on a Sunday stroll.

"60 seconds," the timer continued to tick down. Null did not respond to the words of the Keeper, and I watched as he held the clear container yet again with his shaking gold arm. Yet another blinking alarm caught my attention on the bridge. This one said, "Warning, aggressive alien fleet approaching. Categorization: Necron. Fleet will begin to pass east to west directly overhead in 42 seconds. Recommend, reinforcement of topside void shields. Vulnerability: extreme."

Holy shit, this was insane, I thought, looking at all the threats that were now assailing us! This was entirely overwhelming! When I didn't immediately respond to Am'Erika, the greater daemon then abruptly charged toward me again in a blink of pink and gold light, forcing me to draw upon my Sight ability again to evade her striking sword. This exertion caused a wave of shooting pain to pass through my spine and heart.

"Having trouble on your nasty chair, Anathema?" Am'Erika laughed again, lazily swinging her sword into the sky. "What a mess you are! What an embarrassment you've made of yourself!"

The Keeper of Secrets then pointed her gold crab claw at me accusingly.

"Here's another secret: You're not getting out of this. I know about the incoming fleet. I actually don't even need to do anything, really. I can simply wait for the aliens to incapacitate you, and then, I can claim you as the men of the Red Army claimed little Anastasia!" The creature then looked above, and pointed her sword to the sky. "I know that the minefield is armed, so all these delicious people are trapped here..." Am'Erika pointed her sword toward Evna, and laughed. "What a bounty! They will be claimed for the glory of Slaanesh before their physical forms are skinned to death! I will claim this world for my mistress! I will-"

Am'Erika's voice faded into the background as time unexpectedly slowed again. I felt the machine spirit of the Divine Retribution watching me with a critical, cold eye. I then felt it reach up through me on the throne, and before my eyes, a flickering ghost pulled itself out of a cloud of threaded light. Coming into coherence, it actually seemed that it could not decide on a form, as it flitted between Sebastian's dark-haired smiling shape, and Spoiled Prince's white-haired form.

"I see you are troubled, Inheritor," the figure observed in this mote of slowed time. "I hear your emotional distress. The manipulations of Chaos placed you here. All at once, they strike to overwhelm you. The plans of the Lord of Change placed over many years, portents from dreams and whispers all converging over a single crystallized point."

"Yeah," I responded simply with a sigh, rubbing my tingling left arm. "This is a bad situation, but you ate all the souls in the Key to get stronger. I'm still weak! I didn't even know that I could allocate some of that energy into healing myself and my copilot. No one gave me a freaking instruction manual!"

"It was necessary," the shifting shade responded, its voice a blend of many. "As you see, our power will increase together, and a large healthy meal has broadened our amalgamate capabilities once again. I am here to impart some advice for you as you strengthen, Inheritor."

Dizzy, I glanced around the frozen bridge. Everything was grey and still. "Will your advice get me out of this terrible situation? I mean, look at all this!"

The spirit grinned beatifically at me as it glitched between forms, and in a parental tone one would use while stating the obvious, it said, "If you wish to heal yourself and secondary navigator, simply redirect some of the energy reserves of the ship into doing so," the shifting shade said in a very plain matter-of-fact tone. "You'll have less in the way of power, but it will prevent the death of your copilot. You will still be in danger, but less immediate physical danger. But, I wished to advise you on other matters aside from your healing, if you would listen.."

"What do you mean, then?"

"You do not have to concern yourself with any lack of energy, for yourself, and for this vessel," the spirit impassively elucidated. "You have a bounty of high quality fuel on your vessel, bright and brilliant and even more delicious than a willing sacrifice! All you have to do is to will this soul to be consumed or integrated, and it will be so."

The spirit then walked ahead of me, and pointedly observed Rasputin as he stood frozen beside me with its shifting, glitching eyes. The fuzzy flickering ghost paused then, and stopped before me. "There is a way out of this, you see. A part of being a good leader is learning how to utilize your environment, and to overcome any obstacle to your progress. You may not be capable of effectively piercing Am'Erika's reinforced skin in her current empowered state, but maybe someone else can?"

"I'd rather just leave," I huffed. "I'd rather just leave all of this behind." This was actually similar to my overarching desire concerning this entire universe. Am'Erika was right. I was a fuckup, and I wanted out of this. This wasn't some stupid fanfiction; this was real life!

"I very much doubt that, Erika," the shade smiled at me. "Would you allow this creature to harvest the souls of this world before triumphantly fleeing to the Warp? Do you truly think a coward's flight is what you truly desire? What does your imperative tell you, Inheritor?"

I felt the sensation of wind as the Divine Retribution began to reach through me again. It then effortlessly lifted me away from my body.

The guttering spirit drew my eye across the massive sprawling megopolis of Evna, and the nearly three hundred million people that dwelled within. Multitudinous images of their faces, old and young, rich and poor, sad and happy, drew across my mind's eye. And then, afterward, I felt my Sight expand further. There were other cities on this world, of course, a notion that I had actually given little thought to, considering how large and "important" Evna seemed to be. Immense City was the second largest metropolis on this world, and I watched as brave partisans of justice delivered speeches against the tyranny of Langwidere's rulership under torchlight. The city of Zeron, on the other side of the world, trembled as they hid in their bunkers watching the alien fleet overhead on flickering displays.

"These people, don't they all matter, Inheritor? They all live and breathe and exist just as you and your friends do. Don't they have a right to dignity?" the spirit asked. "Just because your myopic world view did not see them does not mean that they are unimportant. This echoes your current flawed universal view. You have a responsibility toward humanity; you must accept this."

I paused, and sat here breathing as images from the entire world of Tar Vigaz flitted through my mind. And, it did not stop there. The Divine Retribution filtered my perception further outward. This was similar to how I had perceived the dead souls of the Independent Empires of Nubua, and I watched as entire worlds of subjugated humans suffered and died under the yoke of Chaos in this general region. In their hearts, they yearned for a champion to save them, but found their prayers unanswered. It caused my heart to ache to witness.

Further still, I witnessed countless images as I then began to instantly swim across the entire galaxy, experiencing and feeling humanity's brave efforts to survive this toxic reality. I felt the ceaseless agony of the souls consumed by the Warp after Cadia's sundering, and the visions of a little vagrant girl on Terra as she once again saw "Basteen and his sister Rikka" in her dreams. She prayed for both of them each night before she slept, hoping that they would be happy.

My eye was pulled to the scorched and pained world of Rhadabus, where happy dreamers slept peacefully knowing that they were blessed by the Almighty, their thoughts untroubled.

In another world, far to the south, I saw a powerful being finally wake in a stasis chamber, his eyes filled with fire and vengeance as a new future for mankind unveiled itself.

Somewhere far to the east, I heard the confused cries of a young astropath who was being tortured with fire for information. Something unremembered within him knew that the divine had touched his spirit, and the sadistic Inquisitors who had imprisoned him could see that, so the terrible flames continued. He began to weep with wonder and confusion when he sensed my eye fall upon him, and he then knew that he had indeed seen me before. Down the hall, a middle-aged man with a dark cane topped with a three-eyed gold eagle's head raced to put a stop to the astropath's torture.

To the west, a group of Dark Angels were meditating in their craft as they fled from this system under the instruction of a divine messenger. A bald Astartes with a scarred face and dark eyes prayed fervently as he stood near a dark-skinned apothecary who quickly worked to save his brother, who had been grievously injured in an explosion. An incredibly unlucky explosive shrapnel strike had broken both his legs at the knee, and had severed an artery, causing him to nearly exsanguinate. The unconscious marine was familiar, and I watched his still features as he was given another blood transfusion by the apothecary. As soon as my eye passed over the injured Dark Angel, his wise light eyes snapped open, and he gasped for breath. With a delirious croak, he proclaimed, "I saw her!"

"Rezel," I breathed in relief. "They got out! They got away!"

The Divine Retribution seemed pleased at what I was witnessing, and then, it steered me in a new direction. All I could do was hang on as the godlike machine spirit took me for a ride.

Another vision, and now, I was somewhere close. Time felt somewhat strange, and it felt as if I was actually not quite in the present, but I couldn't determine "when" exactly. At first, the image was cloudy, but I found my Sight drawn to an oddly attired man who was pleading for "divine retribution" on an alien bridge of dark metal and neon green lights. He and a handful of other humans had been transported up to an alien ship for inscrutable reasons, and were currently being studied with baleful glowing eyes of green and red.

My Sight began to slowly focus, and I was able to see where I was with more clarity.

Behind the imprisoned humans, the helm of this giant vessel yawned like the vaulted belly of an impossible whale. There, reports of a dangerous minefield were being reviewed, and plans to disarticulate it were now being enacted with cold efficiency by alien minds. They would apparently be using some kind of laser for precision when far, and some kind of electric whip weapon when close. Numerous weapon systems now buzzed online, and many aliens were now set to work tending to what sounded like some kind of overpowered cannon of exotic matter.

These were Necrons, I knew. But, something was unique about these particular aliens. Many were different from the typical shape I had come to expect from their cold race. I decided to study this scene further.

Groups of metal aliens with long bladed fingers and gnashing sharp metal jaws stood observing the small terrified group of humans. The captives were confined in a shimmering cube of force a few meters across, which was probably better for their safety, considering the decidedly hungry motions of the fanged and slathering Necrons that watched them. These twitching, bestial aliens had bright red eyes instead of green, and their motions were wild and erratic as they stalked around the cube like starving hyenas. Other Necrons wearing long red cloaks of actual fabric also stood nearby. These individuals were arguing with one another, their green eyes blazing with a strange mad intensity. Some even mimed the motions of breath, and two even appeared to be smoking pipes, which was definitely strange. Undead robots shouldn't be able to smoke, right? Maybe my lore was out of date?

"Are they to your liking, dear brother?" a familiar tall Necron covered in jewels and wearing a tall sharp crown spoke in a strange grating language (which somehow effortlessly translated in my mind) as he gestured to the shivering group of captured humans. The jeweled Necron held a tall staff topped with a glowing green sphere, and he wore a tinkling cape of rubies that fell behind his knees. While I studied him, his identity became all too clear.

This was the Nome King, and I knew immediately that he was very close! I somehow knew that he was on a large important vessel soaring somewhere above in space, and now, I could pinpoint that I was definitely slightly out of phase with time, and that I was now in the very recent past. The Nome King pointed his staff at the group of captured humans, one of which was dressed in a fanciful furry grey costume, reminding me of some kind of fancy bear in a tuxedo. This was the cowering man that had been praying for divine retribution earlier.

Roquat grinned as he pointed at the captives. "Ah, see, I told you that their skins would be intact! Not charred from a solar flash, no no!"

"I lost seven ships to your recklessness, Roquat," a red-eyed and scythe-clawed stooped terror of a Necron grated beside the Nome King. Apparently, this was the Nome King's brother, but I did not recognize him. He was a distinctively nasty looking creature with a tall jagged crown and a single red eye. His fingers were long and bladed like knives, and he vaguely seemed to resembled the wild Necrons that paced hungrily near the caged humans. The Nome King's brother added in a hollow voice: "This is the last time I'm letting you command my fleet."

"But, look! Aren't their skins soft and tender?" The Nome King then waved his staff, and the costumed human was instantly transported across the barrier to stand in great fear before the two Necron Lords. Roquat then roughly grabbed the unfortunate man's arm with a metal hand, and lifted him up effortlessly to display his prize to his brother. With an easy tear from his metal grip, the Nome King tore a sleeve from the frightened man as he held him, displaying a bare olive-skinned arm. "See? These humans aren't even tough and leathery like the war humans I've seen grunting and shooting across the galaxy. Soft! Perfumed! Untouched by war! These are high quality skins, and they'll be perfect for your costume party! And to think, my dear brother Valgûl can't even show gratitude!"

The single red-eyed Necron seemed to sniff at the man who was held aloft by the Nome King. The man was now uttering prayers as he dangled. Nearby, the other ravening Necrons shuddered in hungry anticipation at this scene. Something in these desperate prayers caused me to pause, and after a moment, I realized then what the bear-man was saying.

He was praying to me.

I realized instantly that this man's prayers was what had drawn my eye here, and now, in the cold grip of the Nome King, the doomed man paused his fearful words. He somehow sensed my eye fall upon him, and he smiled widely.

The man then began to fearlessly laugh, which caused the two Necron Lords to glance at one another suspiciously.

"What is this? Has he gone mad?" Roquat barked as he dropped the praying man, and with a wave of his staff, the costumed individual was transported back inside the force field cube. Disappointed metal hissing filled the air, and I noticed that the Nome King's staff was glowing with a brighter intensity. Roquat was now watching his staff suspiciously again, and his green eyes darted between his human captives and his staff.

"Did you see her, filthy xenos? She can see you. She watches," the praying man laughed as he stood again. He spread his arms wide in the cube. "She's here, my friends!" he said to his fellow captives before pointing at the two Necron Lords that watched them. "She will destroy you all! I feel her light upon me now!"

"What does this mad human speak of?" Valgûl inquired in his native language. The Nome King was now observing his staff again while he wore a worried expression. Through this man's prayers and my own willpower, I felt my presence continue to strengthen here. There was some resistance as my more energetic projection manifested through the living metal of this vessel, but since a part of me had been constructed to specifically kill these aliens millions of years ago, it wasn't much trouble for my bright shadow to bypass.

The Nome King's staff continued to brighten, and once again, the mad king was transfixed by its radiance, and did not answer his brother's words.

"She's coming. She rides the Great Eagle. She is going to destroy you!" the man continued to laugh.

More and more of myself was pulled into existence. I was now visible to some of the Necrons on the bridge as a glowing cloud. For the first time in eons, these undead creatures experienced the kiss of genuine fear within their circuits, its instigation a terrifying mystery to their soulless natures. Despite the unnatural hunger of the more bestial Necrons, the attending group began to recoil away from a coalescing gold shade that was now appearing on the bridge of what I now knew as the Grandiloquent Abundance.

I was now a bright watery shadow of gold looming over the two great Necron Lords, and they both recoiled from me.

"Brother! Tell me what is happening! Are you doing this with your shard?" Valgûl pleaded as he attempted to tear the glowing staff away from Roquat's hands. "This light! It-"

"Look! It's her!" Roquat growled angrily as he gripped his glowing staff, refusing to allow his brother to seize it. "Bigger than before, but it's her! This is her projection!" There was something dangerous in that staff, I noticed. Something of incredible power, and strangely, a familiar light. The light even seemed evasive when I tried to push my Sight into it. I knew then that the Nome King was using the staff to perceive his surroundings. His willpower, I somehow then also knew, was pointed to finding a "thief".

And the thief was Null, who wore a similarly powered belt on his metal body. This absolutely confirmed that the reason the Necrons were on this planet was because of us. Between the Statue of Libertine and this Necron fleet, I and my crew were responsible for this planet's doom, I knew beyond all certainty. It was a terrible feeling, and I needed to do something about it!

"Look, do you see?" the Nome King hissed angrily as he gazed upward, pointing a metal finger at my face. I looked down at Roquat as I continued to push Sight into his glowing staff, which actually resisted my attempts to study it. Whatever power the Nome King's staff (and belt, apparently) contained was remarkable if it could resist me, and I was now very concerned with its origin. More of my energy poured into my projection, continuing to strengthen my presence here. "I'm not doing this, brother! My staff does not conjure her!"

Valgûl gazed upward, and held his chin with a hand of bladed fingers. "What is-"

Roquat continued to angrily point at me. "The Equerry. This shadow is its captain. She's-"

As soon as my projection was strong enough, I reached through time and space, and tore the souls from the captive humans, claiming them for myself, and preventing any maltreatment by any xenos who would harm them. All fell down painlessly dead, and I felt their souls effortlessly soar into my form, strengthening both my physical body and my astral form. My physical form wouldn't get much from here, but at least it was something, and these poor people would get an easy death. A whispered, "Thank you," alighted in my mind from the man in the bear costume. I learned that he had been at the governor's costume party, and he had left early with a handful of other nobles became suspicious of Langwidere's suddenly erratic behavior along with having visions of a God-Empress in gold. Sadly, the merchant ship this man had been on did not make it out of system, and had run straight into the Necron fleet on its way out.

"The humans! Look! They've all died!" one of the attending red-robed Nomes observed with a cry, the emotion of true fear actually scaring him. The Flayers yelped in fear, and backed away, their hungry cries now moans of confusion. Some even held their bladed hands to their faces and turned away from my light.

"Do you really think you can win against me, alien?" the Nome King angrily spat at my floating projection as I watched him. What was in his staff? I felt like it was important.

"Probably not, actually," I was now strong enough to be able to respond audibly (and in the Necron tongue!) with an eerie echoing voice. The Nome King staggered backward, surprised that I had actually responded to him. "I don't want a fight with you, Roquat the Red. Go in peace from this world, and I will not trouble you."

Roquat snarled, and wagged a bejeweled finger at me. "But you do want a fight! Your metal alien friend stole my Magic Belt, and you broke my Tomb world! You want a war, and I'll give you a war! I'm here with my brother Valgûl, and he has his Flayer fleet! We've come all the way from Drazak to destroy you! We will skin you alive!"

Flayers? A distant part of me wondered where I had heard that term before, and then I remembered my lore, which caused me to feel great dread. Necron Flayers were not good news at all. I then supposed that this was why my visions had showed me terrible sights of people being skinned. The fleet above contained multitudes of hungry Necron Flayers!

And again, I painfully reminded myself that the whole reason these xenos were here was because of Null and I. My Tech-priest had secretly stolen the Nome King's belt, and I had broken his planet. I was completely culpable for this world's ruination.

"Brother, please," Valgûl actually began to speak up, placing a placating hand on the Nome King's shoulder. "If this is really the Equerry, then it may be prudent to listen to what Orikan advised us of. If we-"

"No! No! I'm not backing down from this! The line must be drawn here!" the Nome King screamed at the top of his nonexistent lungs and stamped his foot again at the vague gold projection of my form that towered over him, which caused some of the nearby gnashing Flayers to jump. "She's just mocking us! She walked right into the Grandiloquent Abundance to laugh at us, right past our damned shields! She wants to kill us all and steal our souls like that human said! She killed all these humans just now! She's a monster! For the good of the Necron race, we have to stop her! Kaliko!"

"Yes, sire?" a one-eyed red-robed Cryptek answered cautiously from nearby.

"Find where Gir'Auda is on that damnable planet immediately, arm the Grandiloquent Annihilation, and as soon as you find it, rain ruin down upon the damned Equerry! We'll collect the living gold later when we invade! My patience is over!"

"Brother..." Valgûl warned again, now appearing worried. "Brother, temper your rage, please! You are liable to make mistakes if you-"

This caused the Nome King to absolutely snap. "You're a mistake, Valgûl! Damn you and your mindlessly passive beast-people! Always chewing and chewing and chewing like cattle! The grating noise of your lychguards, it drives me mad! How can they even appreciate a costume party if they just keep eating their clothes like they do anyway? We're going to destroy Gir'Auda with the cannon, and you'll thank me later!"

The last thing I saw as I was summoned back to my body on the Divine Retribution was the strange sight of two Necron lords slapping each other like bratty children.

With a punch to my chest, I now found myself back on my throne again, and I gasped as stars swirled around the edges of my vision. The flickering shade of the Divine Retribution stood before me, and this time, it wore Spoiled Prince's form, his long white hair flowing behind him like water. "Do you understand your position now?" the white-haired shadow quietly asked me, his gold eyes flashing. This time, he wore no jeweled crown.

I didn't answer, but the machine spirit sensed that I understood, and was satisfied.

The shade of Spoiled Prince then glitched to Sebastian's form, his eyes twinkling as he grinned in a way that real Sebastian would never emote. "Then, go forth and enact your will. Feast upon those who would subdue you, and protect the honor of your humans. May the name of the Traveler be blessed."

My world began to resaturate itself with colors as time sped up once again, and the shade of the Divine Retribution's machine spirit vanished into a smear of pixels. I felt a rush of power and confidence enter me as my wounds closed, and quickly, I ordered the vessel to heal Alberich. Nazi or not-Nazi, right now, I needed all the help I could get.

The world restarted just in time for me to see another notification flash on the display before me before it was spoken aloud:

"Spaceport Alpha passing overhead in orbit in 24 seconds. Minefield window observed, 750m gap."

"First off, I order no one to listen to the greater daemon," I immediately boomed the instruction through the bridge. With a thought, I cut off any outside communication from reaching my crewmembers. "We have too many things to worry about right now, and I've decided to destroy this monster. Even if this world is doomed, I'm not letting an overpowered Keeper of Secrets consume the souls on it."

Intimidated by my voice, no one said anything, and I continued to circle the colossus. The Keeper's lips were still moving, which demonstrated that it was speaking to me. It then paused, and made a pinched face before I heard the daemon's voice call in my mind instead.

You cannot silence me, my pretty. You and I will always be able to hear one another, as I have a piece of you. It influences me, it fuels me, it has changed my very being! I enjoy you very much, you know.

Screw you, I mentally growled as I drew into my Sight to go on the offensive in my dancing flight, feinting twice before extending a sharpened talon to slash at Am'Erika's gold cheek. I was rewarded with a slight graze wound upon her flesh.

The daemon lashed at the cut on her cheek with her long snakelike silver tongue before speaking to me again in mind. You made me, you know. Your Traveler's soul has influenced me, and through me, the piece that was once you created my new cult, which continues to spread on other worlds! Don't you find it beautiful? Your beloved country bleeds into a new universe where people worship my perfection of your echo!

I glanced above with my Sight as my crewmembers all tried to talk to me. I ignored them, and considered a new plan that I had percolating in my mind while searching for the Necron fleet. It was a crazy plan, and I wasn't sure if I had enough Mary Sue god-powers to work through it, but I had to try. If I left here and let Am'Erika eat all these people, then I'd be complicit in helping daemonic forces, and that was disgusting. I'd rather the humans die to xenos than be used for daemon food, I thought grimly.

Again, the greater daemon charged at me with her sword, but this time, I was able to dodge both of her strikes in my bent perception of time before I dove near her hooves, dragging my talons across her lower legs. This injury caused the daemon to bellow in delight.

"You need to be ready to flee," the note appeared on my screen from Null's display. "The window will open within fifteen seconds."

"I have something to do first, Null," I stated as I pulled back from the greater daemon once again.

Why aren't you speaking to me, Erika? You cannot escape me, I heard the creature's voice in my mind. I gazed upward with my Sight again, and sensed that the alien fleet would be visible very soon along the eastern horizon. My senses told me that they were planning on some overkill concerning me. They were afraid of my status as a War in Heaven weapon, and because of that, they were planning on using their specialized monster cannon (which had the ostentatious name of the "Grandiloquent Annihilation") to blast me to pieces. Roquat had very conveniently revealed to me his plans, so this gave me a target for my Sight.

With a short breath, I then split my spirit into two halves. I had done this before while piloting in the Warp, and while uncomfortable and disconcerting, it enabled me to attend to the bridge of the Divine Retribution, and also, I could be a ghost invading the Grandiloquent Abundance.

Once again, it took a measure of effort to pierce Harvest Ship's hull, but I was a weapon made to specifically destroy these aliens, so I could do it. Distantly, I sensed that Am'Erika was trying to mock the part of my spirit that dodged her strikes on the throne, but I did my best to ignore her. I needed my crazy plan to work, and I hoped that my Traveler fate-bending Mary Sue abilities would help me here.

I sensed that my energy was being rapidly drained by this endeavor, so I needed to be quick about this.

Inside the Grandiloquent Abundance, I dashed invisibly through alien halls. Nomes and Flayers fought and bickered as they continued their preparations for this invasion with the red-robed Nomes being the primary organizers since they were the saner party. Unusually, I noted that this mismatched crew appeared highly disorganized, and the Nomes frequently argued with one another. These particular Necrons seemed to all share in the Nome King's predilection for madness.

Back in my body on the bridge, my crew watched nervously as I stayed just out of range of Am'Erika's sword as she attempted to both slice and taunt me into a reaction. I seemed to have a better handle on myself and my maneuverability now, and so far, we had not been hit a second time. While this was obscenely dangerous, I preferred that the greater daemon fixate on me instead of the nearby city filled with millions of people.

As a ghost, I let my intuition draw me to where this overkill cannon happened to be on the Necron ship, which was under the center of the front "crescent" of the vessel. With a push, I bypassed some sort of force field, and entered an exotic armament bay filled with neon crystalline batteries and strange humming machines. Nearly immediately upon entering this region of the vessel, I felt my form strain. It was behind higher security meant to shut out any wandering spiritual spies, but this did not stop me. However, my presence here was consuming a lot of strength that I didn't really possess at the moment.

But, like the Divine Retribution had said, there was a very hearty source of energy sitting on my bridge, one that I could either drain or integrate for my own purposes if necessary.

I partially returned to my body, and turned to Rasputin, who was watching me with worry beside Virgil.

"She does not respond, I-"

"Rasputin," I responded.

"Yes?" the Mad Monk questioned as he recoiled backward, spooked by my voice.

"Get on the left throne."

Virgil's jaw dropped before me, and the Mad Monk turned toward the empty throne, his smile wide and toothy. A sense of satisfaction shimmered from his soul.

"This won't be as pleasant as you think it will be. I need your energy."

"I have a kill-switch code for the minefield," Rasputin quickly informed me as he advanced toward the left throne. Across the bridge, my crewmembers made noises of surprise and protest against this action. "I stole it from the governor's Hall of Heads. If you drain me to death, you don't get it."

"A kill-switch would permanently disable the minefield, enabling our escape!" Null distantly cried out as we again danced away from Am'Erika's sword. "But, it would leave the entire world open to the xenos."

"Great. Rasputin, sit on the throne," I responded, not listening to anyone. "Whatever happens, don't leave your seat."

"What is going on?" Alberich distantly asked, his voice now stronger.

"Why are-?" Zok croaked behind my throne.

"Shut up, all of you," I impatiently snarled as I felt myself pull back into the Necron ship while leaving a portion of my awareness on my bridge to both dodge Am'Erika's sword and keep an eye on my physical surroundings. Distantly, I felt that my eyes, ears, and nose had begun to bleed from the exertion of this incredible psychic feat while I gripped the armrests of my throne. This felt terrible, but I had to try to kill this terrible Keeper of Secrets before she could eat the rest of the planet.

I found myself gliding through the warded exotic armament bay, and now, I was floating within a specialized command center set up around the giant doomsday cannon. A large holographic model of a wide flat cannon was displayed in threads of green light floated above me. Below the hologram, a small group of red-robed Crypteks stood over complex consoles covered in more strange glyphs, which I could tell were controls to the heavy weaponry of this vessel.

"We don't need exotic Empyreal shielding right now, I tell you. I'm keeping it off. These humans are primitive beasts. I heard that they don't even have a fleet to defend themselves, and that all they have is this minefield!" one of the red-robed Nome Crypteks said to his neighbor at a control panel.

The other Nome beside him nodded in agreement, and then, he appeared to yawn with a great stretch of his cold metal limbs. The Cryptek replied with. "I'll be happy to finally have a break. Would you care to get a meal with me in the alley when the Flayers are playing with their new skins? I hear they've got spiced molten silver again in the galley!"

None of the Crypteks knew that I was secretly present, and I found that I was smiling back in my body on the bridge of the Divine Retribution. Ignoring everyone's protests and Am'Erika's sword strikes, I darkly informed my crew, "I have a plan."