After a short bath, I stood in my quarters observing my reflection in the bathroom mirror while braiding my hair again into two long braids. Since my hair was now more than half white, my "look" wasn't so clean anymore. A thick white streak now banded across the black section of my hair. I still didn't understand exactly why my hair was changing like this. Unless I was incorrect in my lore, Sebastian always had black hair. A few of my predecessors also had white hair, with Pale Lord being an example. I wished that I had asked the Inheritor more questions when I was training him, but at the same time, he kept our conversations mostly devoted to combat training. If I saw him in any form again, I'd have to have a chat with him.

Searching for interesting formal clothes that would make me look tough and cool, I started rifling through my chest of drawers and wardrobe, which were all nicely filled with good threads. My bag from Tengoku Manse was also here, dropped off by a helpful crewmember when I had forgotten about it.

I wondered if I had any armor in here as I quickly pushed aside fancy silks and linens that wouldn't be all that appropriate for this sort of meeting. Shit, I huffed. If I was going to get into fights regularly, it was probably logical that I should find some armor or something more protective to wear. Maybe I could run into a Sister of Battle and Sight-dominate her into stealing her power armor, I thought darkly. Or, better yet, I could get a cool set of gold armor like my predecessor was always seen wearing.

I paused, holding a formal black military-style jacket that resembled Alberich's Nazi uniform. While this would have to do, I got to thinking. I observed the gold furnishings all around my quarters. From my bed frame to my bathtub to the fixtures of my sink, the gold of this vessel gleamed beautifully. While the interior plating was somewhat less radiant than the hull, much of the metal on this vessel was shiny, pretty gold. The hull itself was some kind of preternaturally brilliant living metal that possessed mysterious psychic qualities, which I realized probably explained how the vessel could grow and change over time.

And, I remembered that this living gold could be taken from the vessel and worked with. Null had successfully done so already with his new arm, Jiminy's repairs, and a few other projects, including Rahm's repaired vascular system. Suddenly, an image of myself wearing brilliant gold power armor decorated with beautiful eagles briefly seared into my mind's eye, and I sharply inhaled, feeling the Imperative prod at me, almost in approval of that thought.

Clothe yourself in me; don the light of heaven! the foreign thought whispered in multitudinous voices came to me, unbidden.

I walked back to the bed to retrieve my bloodstone, which shimmered like a hot red star. As soon as I gripped it, it stopped the psychic whispering scrabbling at my soul. How... how in the fuck was I going to find more of these stones if we were going to be leaving this world? What was I going to do?

A strange shiver cascaded through my nervous system just then, and I could tell that the Chaos Marine in the Anguished Epiphany was trying to contact me. Sighing, I began to get dressed and opened my mind.

Before I could hear any messages, I beheld a short vision of Sorcerer Oro seated next to Magos Nemea in a large spiky black shuttle that was about half the size of the Divine Retribution. The Chaos Marine transmitted to me: We are departing, Inheritor. Magos Nemea and I are ever so eager to behold you. We shall be at your location in approximately twenty minutes.

Oro, again, seemed genuinely excited about this visit. He and his emotions were easily sensed, and it was interesting to feel how sincerely happy he seemed to be for this meeting. This was yet another example of Tzeentch-aligned beings thinking I was cool, which was definitely a trend.

Curious about the motivations of the hereteks, I projected my mind outward in an attempt to understand the two evil Tech-priests seated near Oro.

While I could sense the sorcerer's bright but tainted soul with relative ease, I noticed that I was presently having trouble perceiving both Magos Nemea and Archmagos Apep. Nemea (Who I still didn't know was male or female) sat beside the Chaos Marine on the shuttle as it flew clear of the heretek cruiser in orbit. This dark Magos was shaped mostly as they appeared to be on the display earlier, but now wore a heavier, more concealing black robe that covered nearly every part of their body from head to foot. Their features were mostly hidden under a cowl, but I could see this figure had numerous shimmering eyes and a large, vaguely feline-fanged jaw.

Sitting across from Magos Nemea, Archmagos Apep's substantial serpentine bulk was lounging luxuriantly on some kind of metal chaise that looked like an H. R. Giger-designed sofa. This nightmare furniture resembled a clustered mass of spindly insect legs bound with glowing red cables in a vague couch-like shape. Looking further, I could see numerous tiny metal spider drones fussing over the heretek, seemingly grooming the monstrous figure like cleaner shrimp. One spider climbed out of an eyehole inside the giant snake skull mask the Archmagos wore, and he buzzed with obscene relish. His numerous spider-like arms were folded on his chest, and one of his metal claws tapped his ribcage in either anticipation or worry. Beside the Archmagos, a tall and wickedly sharp bladed staff rested against the wall, its metal reeking of daemonic taint. An eight-pointed star the size of a dinner plate smoldered with hate on the opposite side of the blade.

Frustrated, I tried to push a little again in an attempt to observe the souls and motivations of the hereteks, I noticed that while I could "see" both individuals, their souls remained utterly unreadable to easy examination. I'd have to use a lot more energy to break through here, and I didn't have the luxury of draining all my magic points right now after today's fun.

I sense you are viewing us, Oro observed, his scaled face in a short smile. You need not worry, as I have said. We come in peace.

Caught, I quickly responded with, You understand why someone like me would be wary about meeting with people like you. Archmagos Apep groaned again as a spark arced across one of his many clawed hands, destroying one of the spider drones that had been crawling on him in a pop of fire.

Completely, Inheritor, Oro responded, still smiling. I take no offense. If you were curious, our shuttle is named the "Dark Limerence," and it is nearly 100 meters in length at approximately twenty wide. The location of your great eagle is convenient, as your valley can also accommodate our vessel comfortably. It is also clean and does not house any denizens of the Warp. Do you have a preference on where we should land?

I turned toward the wall display in my room and willed a map of the local area to appear. A few points of interest had been helpfully marked, which included Jinnicky's tower in the mountains to the north, the current location of the crazy Magos' army (Which was now within two kilometers of us, and fast approaching), where the Chaos drone had crashed in the western forest, and even where Alberich and Rasputin had made a snowman. Since I could somewhat draw upon the Divine Retribution's power if I was close to it, it was probably smart for us to remain near to the god-bird for this meeting. However, I intuitively did not feel comfortable with a meeting right beneath the ship's beak. I decided that a hundred meters away appeared adequately close but not too close for this sort of gathering.

It would probably be good if you didn't park like, right next to us, considering that whole Chaos thing, I answered. Park your ship about one hundred meters to the west of our ship, close to where the forest begins to the west of us, which is where your drone got shot down. That's a good distance, I think.

Very well, the Chaos Marine answered politely. We look forward to meeting with you, and to witnessing the turning of the wheel of fate. After this message, the sorcerer silenced the connection, the residual emotion of happiness he had exuded breezing through me.

After informing the crew through the ship that the hereteks were on their way and where they'd be parking, I quickly dressed. Sadly not having my own set of gold eagle armor, I was now wearing a wool military-style black jacket with tall black boots that were now slightly too small. Irritated by my bodily changes, I closed my eyes and focused my energy on possibly changing the size of my clothing. Surprisingly, I felt my clothes and shoes shift on my body, and now, everything fit just fine. Oh, that was convenient! I wouldn't need a tailor after all if I could just magic my clothes to fit.

I tucked the Key under my clothes and fastened my scabbard that contained the Nemeses Argentum. There was a knock at the door as I picked up my trusty eagle-topped force staff, which caused me to have another momentary dizzy spell. I willed the door slide open, and Lian now loomed over me in his black and silver power armor. Virgil stood beside the Fallen Paladin, holding his hands inside his robes. Lian had opted to wear his gray shroud this evening, and his armor appeared both polished and sanctified. A spicy herbal scent surrounded him, which I assumed was some sort of anointing oil. I noticed that he had combed his tawny hair and was freshly shaved. His helmet was in his hand, his sword slung across his back, and a bolter rested at his hip. The Fallen looked great (and extremely dangerous) right now. Aside from his fundamentally inhuman proportions, I could almost consider him to be handsome. He saluted me. "The crew you requested now waits at the threshold. Null explains that the shuttle is close."

"Yeah, I just heard from them. Let's go," I said with a tap of my force staff. My bloodstone rested in my left jacket pocket, and I hoped that it would be able to do its job through the layers of wool.

I made my way out to the Divine Retribution's foyer area. My requested crew stood at the ready, their souls (if they had them) were anxious. Ennoia and Morai looked ready for action, and both were wearing heavyweight dark blue martial arts uniforms that made their gold sai daggers and masks look striking. Null was speaking with Kaas and Rahm, who stood perfectly still at attention. Alberich, Virgil, and Rasputin were also here, despite not being on the "away" team. Only Zok was understandably missing here.

"You guys ready for this?" I asked, gripping the Force Staff of Zuze in my right hand. "Null, are they close? Everything ready?"

Null nodded, his soul colored with anxiety. The Tech-priest was so tense that he was generating a little cloud of worry in the Warp behind this reality. He began to speak: "Magos Jinnicky's army is waiting outside. The hereteks have crossed into the upper atmosphere and will arrive within fifteen minutes. They are using a shuttle that our vessel calculates is one hundred meters in length of a make that is unfamiliar to me, and one that almost certainly contains taint."

"It's called the Dark Limerence. I told their sorcerer to park a hundred meters away to the west," I noted as I willed the front entryway to the Divine Retribution to open at the end of the front corridor. A gust of cold air caused Alberich to nervously shuffle. "We'll be okay, everyone. I'll be close enough that I can draw on the ship's power if I need it, and I also have this gold staff."

"What is our plan when we are in position? What orders do you proclaim?" Lian asked.

"The plan hasn't changed. Null may have a code that might have the power to cripple the hereteks. We plan to speak it in order to hopefully damage an entire world of Chaos worshippers," I answered. "From what I get, he just needs to be close enough to speak it to someone in authority, which is probably the Archmagos."

"When do I use this code?" Null asked. "Shall I speak it as soon as I am within range of a suitable target?"

I almost initially responded with a hearty "yes," but then, I thought for a moment. While I wanted to hurt the hereteks, maybe talking to them for a little bit for information would be smart before I stabbed them in the back. Maybe I could even get some general Chaos current events sort of news of the galaxy from these people. "I'm thinking that I'd like to talk with them a bit beforehand. How about I give you a code word or phrase so that when it's spoken, you speak the code as soon as you're ready?"

The Tech-priest nodded. "Very well. And, what word would that be, Inheritor?"

"How about..." I thought for a moment, and then, it came to me. "Wizard. I'll find a reason to say the word wizard, and after I say it, you can say the code. Or, you can also say the code if these guys start immediately attacking us, of course." I laughed nervously.

"I will obey," Null answered quietly with a short bow. He didn't sound very enthusiastic concerning my weak plan.

"Look, like I said before, we've got to try," I responded softly. I allowed my Corona to heighten, and I used its light to reach through my crew to let them know that we were doing the right thing. "If you know this and you have a chance to do this, we have to try it."

Null nodded, looking away from me.

"How will we know if the code was successful?" Lian asked.

Null answered. "After being heard by the Archmagos, the code should cause a brief power fluctuation. You will see the eyes of the heretek flash three times in brief succession if the use of the code is successful. Now, how many parts of the Hell-Forge are attached to him and how distant those connections can be accessed is unknown, but I estimate that this would cause an emergency shutdown to many of the manufactorums and security measures on Cyclothrathe. If... if we're very lucky, this may also affect the cruiser in orbit, leaving it crippled until someone can reroute control, which may take a fair amount of time, maybe even hours. I did not see any heavy weapons on the Anguished Epiphany on the scans, but if the ship is truly without a nova cannon or any other heavy armaments while also losing void shield capacity, that would leave it somewhat defenseless."

A new mood now shone through the Warp behind our group. Hope began to brighten like a star.

"The Divine Retribution has many weapons at its disposal, and if we are regenerated in time, we might be able to use these weapons on the critical systems of a crippled cruiser, perhaps causing fatal damage to the ship." Null paused to take a breath, and I felt him get excited, his animated green eyes wide with what could be perceived as anticipation. "For those who do not know, this ship possesses, from what I have been able to see in its current arsenal, heavy lascannons for smaller precision targets, plasma torpedoes for mid-range, and something named the 'Wrath of Heaven.'"

Before I could say anything, Lian asked what we were all probably curious about. "The Wrath of Heaven? What is it?"

"Unfortunately, I do not know what this 'Wrath' is, as it only appeared on the Divine Retribution's arsenal after the ship's recent growth, which was only a short time ago. In addition to the weapons I listed, the wings can be used as rams, its talons can be used to rend hulls, and its bite can puncture heavy shielding!"

"Oh, wow," I laughed. This ship was a powerhouse, and it was only getting more powerful as it continued growing, just like me. "So, what you're saying is that if we can cripple the heretek cruiser, we should run up into space and destroy it if we can?"

"That is precisely what I suggest, Inheritor," Null stated with his smiling animated eyes. "This is all if our outcome is good, however. I estimate that what this code will do if it does anything, is merely cripple part of Cyclothrathe's infrastructure devoted to manufacturing, which for a Hell-Forge, is still very significant."

"Pardon me," Rasputin began. "But, what should happen if the code does not work? Will the hereteks be alerted of our treachery?"

"It is very likely they will be alerted, yes," Null responded sadly. "Our meeting place will be one hundred meters from this vessel. If the code does not work, the eyes of the Archmagos will remain unchanged, and you will likely witness the heretek become extremely angry. We must be ready to deal with retaliation and retreat to the ship. We must also leave this system as quickly as we can. Presuming the Divine Retribution is fully regenerated, it is a fast ship, and can likely outrun the cruiser at Warp."

My power rose within me, and I suddenly felt braver. "I will be close enough to the ship to put up a good fight. May I remind you all that the last time I was bothered while close to the Divine Retribution, I summoned a fire tornado and killed all those Wheelers and downed those shuttlecrafts. I'm a force of nature, a force of retribution," I found myself eagerly saying. "I'll destroy everyone on the ground so we can get back to the ship."

"One more thing," Null added, his enthusiasm cooling. "There are still six heldrakes patrolling the region. Do we have a plan to deal with them?"

"Their sorcerer is the one directing them. If we can kill the sorcerer, would that stop the daemons?" I asked.

"No. It would merely free the daemon engines from the sorcerer's command, who is most likely to be a very potent manipulator of Warp energies if he can direct multiple heldrakes on precision missions. Speaking on that, do you estimate yourself capable of going into direct confrontation with such an individual?"

I thought for a moment, and again, I got the sense that this confrontation wasn't anything to get worried about. The Chaos Marine I had been talking to just seemed like a genuinely nice guy. But still, nice guys can hurl fireballs at me if I wasn't prepared. And, if we neutralized the sorcerer, the heldrakes would then be free to do whatever they wanted, which, despite some daemons liking me, appeared to be a dangerous situation. But, if I was a beta psyker now, and over halfway to Emperor strength...

"I think I can handle the sorcerer if I need to," I said with confidence. "But, if there's a fight with that guy, and it looks like I'm losing, Ennoia and Morai are Blanks." I turned toward the two masked women and spoke in Nubuan to make sure that they understood me. "You will both keep your eye on the sorcerer. He is a large armored man with gold metal scales for skin and blue cat eyes. If it looks like he is being aggressive toward me, take off your masks and go after him. Morai, I know you were injured earlier. Do you think that you'll be okay in a fight?"

"We heal quickly, my sister and I," Morai said warmly. "I have confidence that I can stand tall against a wicked user of the mystic arts."

"Okay, good," I said with a nod. "And for the heldrakes, let me see..." I thought for a moment and had an idea. "Divine Retribution," I began. "If I'm a hundred meters away, can I access and command your weapons?"

I felt the Divine Retribution's attention, and it sedately stated, "Captain must be seated on a command throne to utilize defensive weaponry." That made sense, but it was disappointing.

"What if one of your copilots is sitting in the other two thrones? Could they utilize the weaponry if authorized to do so?"

Both Alberich and Rasputin took a short inhalation of breath as the vessel examined my copilots. "Secondary and tertiary thrones can be utilized for command if the primary captain is not integrated."

I nodded and turned toward Alberich who was now smiling. "So, Alberich, you'll be in command of the ship when I'm not here. You've been drafted to destroy the heldrakes while plugged into this throne should they go after us. But, ask me before you do this. Please don't just start blasting whenever you want."

"Yes, my leader. I obey," the German psyker replied, straightening his back and nodding.

"What do you command the others aboard the ship to do, Inheritor?" Virgil asked, glancing at Rasputin. Another gust of cold air disturbed Lian's shroud. He really did look fantastic tonight. I took a mental image and promised myself that I would convert and paint up a fancy Space Marine model based on Lian.

"Keep an eye on everything from the bridge. Remember, Alberich is officially in charge. Contact me if something unexpected happens, and don't fight. You should be able to easily contact me since I'll be close, but if there's a communication problem, you three psykers can make that astropath choir thing and talk to me that way. Hopefully, this will be easy, but we still have to get the Archmagos in close physical proximity to use the code. If it doesn't work, we come back and we run like hell."

Hearing this, there was a heavy, anxious pause. Yeah, this plan sounded both tenuous and dangerous, but I had to at least try to stop the hereteks. If there was a chance that I could cripple a Hell-Forge and maybe even destroy a Chaos ship, I would take it.

"We will do as you wish, my leader," Alberich responded with a nod. Rasputin glanced at Alberich before looking away.

"We ready? Let's go," I instructed the crew that would follow me. I turned and walked down the corridor to the ship's exit, which was open to the colorful light of sunset.

We advanced down the entryway corridor. Another cold breeze pushed through the vessel from the exit. With a telepathic command, I willed the gangway to create itself. Liquid gold flowed outward from an unknown source to construct a convenient stair. I watched, partially mesmerized. The living metal of the ship's outer hull was just... so beautiful. I began to wonder if Null knew how to construct power armor, and if so, would he be capable of making a fancy set out of the god-bird's living gold? I would definitely have to ask about that later. Another fantasy drew through me as I saw myself wearing beautiful shining gold power armor. Information was then magically placed inside my mind, and I learned that the living metal was a psychically charged mystic material suffused with heavy amounts of soul energy and the condensed hopes of what the ship cryptically referred to as "Those Who Came Before." Even the necrodermis of the vile Necron race paled in comparison to the radiant metal of the Divine Retribution, which I felt proudly basking in the sense of its own self-glorification.

As the gangway finished flowing into existence, I halfway realized that I was absently rubbing the back of my hand up against the outer edge of the hull along the entryway, feeling pleasant psychic tingles run up and down my spine. My Corona emerged in a soft glow around me, and I grinned hazily. The magic gold hull felt warm like sunlight and safe dreams. Its caress on my soul was like a hot bath on a cold winter's day and a lingering hug from an old friend. I was beginning to feel distracted from my reverie by something hot in my jacket pocket, but I continued to drift away. Oh, how wonderful and cozy a suit of living gold would feel! Nearly weightless! Amplification of my Sight! To shine like the sun against the dying of humanity's light!

That last thought was deviant enough to cause me to come back to myself, and I realized my bloodstone was blazing hot in my pocket. Null helpfully nudged me, and I quickly stopped my weird behavior. With a heavy swallow, I straightened my back and turned around. "Alright, time to go," I announced to my crew before turning around again and making my way down the gangway.

Fuck me, this was only going to get worse...

"Hello!" A cheerful shout called out toward us from below, and to my right, I saw Jinnicky riding his robo-scorpion in the snow. His remaining mechanical army was marching in perfect unison beside him. "Praise the Omnissiah! We go with the Machine God into wherever he may lead!"

I waved as I continued making my way down the gangway. After briefly exchanging pleasantries, Magos Jinnicky, who rode Snappy as if the robo-scorpion was an elephant, positioned his army to our right.

The colors of the evening continued to paint beautiful bands across the sky, and our group made our way quietly through the new snow. Wolfie trotted just before me, his paws not making any sort of indentation in the snow while Lian walked slightly ahead of me. My Honor Guard now wore his red-eyed helmet, and his gray shroud flowed behind him in the light breeze. Ennoia and Morai were positioned directly behind me, and Rahm and Kaas walked in lockstep alongside Null, who walked behind the Blank women. The Tech-priest's favorite battle servitor, 77-X, held up the rear.

According to Null's instruction, we arrived at the meeting space after a short walk through the snow, which was conveniently marked by three scraggly trees a fair distance away from the forest where the daemon drone had been shot down. Jinnicky partially encircled our group with his army in a protective formation with rifle-armed servitors pointing outwards. In the center of this formation, my crew and I gathered near the trees, with Lian and Null scanning the skies. The atmosphere was very tense. I couldn't help but recognize that we were exposed out here, and I prayed that we would be strong enough to fight back if it were to come to it. "So, how long is that code?" I quietly asked Null.

"It will take me 3.51 seconds to speak, and I must be within 1.4 meters of the Archmagos to be assured that I am effectively heard," the Tech-priest responded, still worried.

"Don't worry. I'm over halfway to Emperor strength now, I have my staff, and we'll be close to the ship," I answered, feeling the gold presence within me bask in its self-assured power.

An unwelcome thought came to me. I again remembered that the whole reason we knew a lot of this information was that we'd been freely given these insider tips by Tzeentchian daemons. Yet again, we were enacting plans that stemmed from the acquisition of secret knowledge given to us by a Chaotic source notorious for treachery. Time and time again, I was wandering down the yellow brick road that was being laid before me by the Lord of Change, brick by brick. Far away, I felt the god smiling at me, pleased.

After waiting a short time, my psychic senses lurched, and my attention was drawn to the sky. A low pained roar echoed across the land as the six heldrakes soared over the horizon. In unison, they turned like fighter pilots, and began a slow bank across the sky, circling us in a wide arc and trailing black clouds of terrible smoke. The six daemon engines howled like burning, agonized wolves, which echoed spectacularly off the mountains ringing the valley. A flash of intuition showed me that these machines each contained a tortured soul that was trapped and suffering within each fiery heart. I could sense that all six daemon engines had spotted us and that they were being commanded by Oro in the approaching shuttle somewhere above.

"The heldrakes," Lian rumbled. Wolfie growled at my feet. The screams of the daemon dragons howled across the terrain, echoing dramatically. Nearby, Ennoia covered her ears.

"I await your every command, Omnissiah! I have done battle with the Chaos dragons, and I am prepared to die for your light!" Jinnicky shouted before barking out a series of letters and numbers in an incoherent string. The servitors snapped to harsh attention, pointing their weapons above, tracking the heldrakes as we walked.

"We're exposed!" Null hissed.

"Then we will die in glory for the light of the Machine God," Kaas responded in perfect deadpan. I could hear her preparing her rifle behind me.

"If they go after us from here, I'll shield us and command Alberich to shoot them," I quickly reassured my group. "Don't shoot the heldrakes if they don't attack us!" I instructed loudly, watching as the daemon engines looped back around, all while continuously screaming. It appeared that they were now circling us at a distance of about a kilometer. On top of being perceived by the heldrakes, I could now sense another, larger presence approaching from the south. Many eyes were watching us from within this shadow.

"Look," Lian quietly informed us, pointing into the sky.

"It's them," Null confirmed. "To the Omnissiah, my glory, my life."

A dark shadow was growing larger and larger over the southern horizon. The light of the setting sun cast a reddish glow against a side of the dark shape, making it appear as if it was on fire for a moment. Oro's grinning mutated face was briefly visible in my mind's eye as he telepathically informed me, We come.

Above, the heldrakes continued their wide circling and screaming around us as the shuttle approached. I wanly wondered if the Dwemer were going to show up again, but since their retreat, I hadn't sensed them. Since there were only six heldrakes in the sky now, I honestly had to respect the elf aliens for managing to take down one of those things. I just hoped that the coming of the hereteks wouldn't mark the extermination of their species, considering their present situation. The Dwemer seemed to have all sorts of interesting sound-related tech while also possessing bloodstones. It was a shame that these aliens hated me since I'd probably be buying up their whole stock if we were friends, but just because we were fighting didn't mean that I wanted their entire race destroyed, right?

My right eye briefly twitched and I quickly rested my hand on the bloodstone in my jacket pocket. I continued watching the heretek shuttle approach.

Their vessel was a large black bat-winged metal patchwork mess of a craft that was about half the size of the Divine Retribution, and after circling us twice, it was now hovering over a clear patch of snow approximately a few paces away to the south a height of about five meters. Six engines blazed blue and green fire as the hereteks slowly vertically lowered themselves to the snow, which was melted away. The design of this big shuttlecraft was extremely chaotic; it looked as if someone had gone into a futuristic junkyard with an arc welding torch and a dream, as all the weird plates and angles of this thing made it look like Tzeentch himself had created it with a random sneeze.

The disorganized vessel was kicking up a bit of wind and snow as it slowly descended. My crew waited nervously behind me, standing in a formal but ready position. Lian stood perfectly still to my right at attention. On my left, Null also stood, the emotion of excitement and worry echoing from his soul. Wolfie sat at my feet, nearly vibrating with excitement in hopes of seeing more chaos and murder. The astral hound was telepathically ordered to be good and to not attack unless instructed. However, this didn't stop the astral hound from softly whining in frustration that he couldn't start destroying people immediately. I straightened up while allowing my Corona to surround me with warm light. The wind from the landing Chaos shuttle caused Lian's grey shroud to fan out in the breeze. My Honor Guard's soul shone with bravery, and I could tell that he was ready for anything. It's gonna be alright, I transmitted to the paladin.

I hold faith in you, Inheritor, Lian responded. My Cowardly Lion wasn't so cowardly anymore, I thought happily.

A square three-meter tall door slid open on the side of the craft, and a large accordion-style dark metal gangway unfolded downward. Behind me, I could sense that Null's soul was nearly radiating with reproach and disgust. Above, the heldrakes continued to circle, but they had stopped their relentless screaming.

We're watching all this, and we're tracking the heldrakes, Alberich's voice informed me from the Divine Retribution.

With a flash of dark silver, two monsters emerged from the open portal first, both marching in sync down the gangway. These, I deduced, were some kind of heretek interpretation of Skitarii, but they were even more inhuman than the two warriors standing behind me. Each of these figures appeared to be about Lian's height and leanly built. Both had two sets of blackened metal arms that terminated in three-fingered talons, and each figure held what appeared to be futuristic black rifles covered in small spines and glowing red details. Below their "main" set of arms, two more sets of thinner, multi-jointed insect limbs sprouted from their torsos. Their heads were vaguely insectoid, reminding me of a glowing red-eyed mechanical version of the Brundlefly from the movie, "The Fly." They wore long black robes decorated with red spider detailing and a red trim around the hem.

The two hereteks (or whatever these things happened to be) were now standing about ten meters away from us and had positioned themselves to the far left and right of the gangway as another person emerged.

This was Oro, the friendly Chaos Marine Sorcerer I had "talked" to earlier. He appeared slightly taller than Lian, and his power armor was a luridly color-saturated "peacock" blue color. Oro's surreal armor was detailed with gold stars, swirling eye motifs, and strange runes that nauseated me if I focused on them for more than a moment. The Chaos Marine's skin was also gold, covered with shimmery scales that almost looked like metallic glitter from this distance. His hair appeared to be made up of long metal strands that gently coiled and floated behind him like living silvery dreadlocks. Oro's dazzling catlike aquamarine eyes found mine, and he nodded politely in my direction as he walked off the gangway, his head bowed. As before, a levitating obsidian orb floated above his outstretched left hand, but he did not seem to be armed with anything else. It blew my mind that I had apparently met this guy's parents!

That is one of the Thousand Sons, Lian transmitted to me, his mental voice strained with repugnance. He is likely a sorcerer of substantial power, probably sent to the Hell-Forge as a representative of his traitor brothers. Your actions here may make it to the ears of the rest of his legion.

Yeah, I acknowledged. Oro was now at the bottom of the gangway and stepped aside to stand adjacent to the leftmost Skitarii. His head was bowed, and the Chaos Marine stood with stiff formality as he held his orb.

Magos Nemea was next to appear from the ship's open portal. This heretek, who was about two and a half meters tall, wore a very long black robe with red spider details that trailed on the gangway behind them, even covering their feet. Frustrated, I was reminded that I could not easily sense Nemea's soul, which meant any exploratory prodding into her thoughts and sensing any betrayal was impossible without a lot of power. I also became concerned about making a certain social faux pas, so I asked Oro about Nemea's ambiguous gender: Quick question: Is Magos Nemea a man, a woman, or, uh, neither?

Oro didn't look up, but I was able to see the pull of a slight grin against his lips. Magos Nemea is known as a female, he answered, warmth radiating from his soul. If you were curious about how you are unable to sense Magos Nemea and Archmagos Apep's souls, it is because of a personal psychic dampener each one possesses.

Thanks, I responded. The Chaos Marine slightly nodded in reply. I couldn't help but think about how disturbing it was that I now knew two Chaos Marines who appeared polite and friendly toward me. This guy probably wasn't going to be happy with me when we spoke the code, though.

A shiver passed over me, and for the briefest second, I received an unexpected mental image of Word Bear laughing heartily as he read a large book. He indicated toward something on a page with what appeared to be a black tentacle, and another Chaos Marine with glowing face runes and a froglike mouth filled with sharp yellow teeth smiled happily beside him. The image burned away as quickly as it appeared, and I was left confused.

Within a moment, I was back to reality as I watched Magos Nemea settle to the right of the gangway. While she was nearly entirely covered with her robe, I still got the impression that she was stooped and that her form probably wasn't entirely humanoid. Many colorful eyes peered out from her cowl before she bowed her head.

Finally, the main event arrived as the monstrosity that was Archmagos Apep began to scuttle out of the jagged chaotic craft. This aberration had to stoop to exit the shuttle, and he stood tall at over three meters in height. The burning red eyes within the large fanged snake skull perched atop the lengthened serpentine column immediately found me, and the heretek began to stare as he scuttled down the gangway on his numerous spidery legs, which were visible beneath his black robe.

Apep was more serpentine in shape than human, but he did seem to have a lengthened, vaguely humanoid torso under a thick black robe similar to the one Nemea wore. Eight arms of various functions sprouted from the monster's chest, one of which held a bladed staff topped with a jagged eight-pointed star.

The Archmagos snake-centipede creature scuttled ahead, and placed himself in the center of the line of his gathered crew, directly across from where I stood and about three meters away. Okay, I just needed to get Null close enough to this guy at some point, I confirmed to myself.

I can't believe I'm doing this, I thought as I stepped forward. Apep looked down at me, his red eyes glowing like hot coals in their sockets. Should I be the one to talk first? I cleared my throat and began to speak. "Greetings, representatives of Cyclothrathe. As I have said before, I am called the Inheritor. Behind me, you will see part of my crew, which includes my Honor Guard, Lian, and-" I briefly paused, wondering if I should just call him a simple Tech-priest in this situation. I made a quick judgment that I would call him by his previous designation. "Archmagos Null is here as well. You wished to speak with me?"

The heretek Archmagos curiously tilted his head, almost as if he was a dog listening to a whistle. He hissed, and leaned downward toward me, looking me in the eye. A tiny red spider drone skittered out from inside his eye socket. The weird little bug-thing waved its thin legs and spat something in high squeaky binary at me, but I didn't back down and continued staring back at the Archmagos. This felt like an attempt at intimidation. "Small," Apep finally responded in a rasping, guttural machine voice that hurt to listen to. "Your kind is supposed to be larger. I keep ancient memories of a liar-titan in gold who caused machine spirits to sing in his mere proximity, but I witness before me a mere elfin-sorcerer woman in a gold pretender crown, all flesh and no perfection of the machine."

A part of me felt super insulted at hearing this, and luckily, it was the angry gold part. Instead of suppressing this anger, this time, I decided to ride it. I dropped my defenses, and let myself get angry at this disgusting heretek who would dare treat me with disrespect. Quickly, I placed a metaphysical barrier around the bloodstone in my pocket as my Corona began to blaze out of me like fire. The furiously blissful momentum of the Imperative poured through me.

Fearlessly, I looked up at the ugly ass monster giving me shit, who lurched backward at my sudden light. "From what I understand of the messages sent, you wished to see me, and you have flown far to do so. You obviously do not understand the situation you're in, so I'm going to dismiss that last line as ignorance." I closed my eyes and tried to further hype myself up enough with anger to be huge. This wasn't something I could normally consciously do, but maybe I could now since I had recently become stronger. My heart ached, and then, I was now looking down at the heretek, who was now slightly shorter than I was. "Of course, we can play this crude game of intimidation. But, I think that it will be a game that you will lose, Apep, bastard of Mars."

The Archmagos recoiled from my height with an organic metal hiss-bark-growl, dark oil dripping from his jaws. The two guards flanking the hereteks immediately turned toward me with their rifles, which caused my own people and all of Jinnicky's army to instantly point every single gun at Apep. Lian drew and powered on his sword. After a moment of bluster, I unshielded the bloodstone, and allowed it to siphon my anger away. With a big exhale, I dragged myself back under control.

"Satisfied?" I sniped, ignoring the throbbing pain in my heart. I was now normal-sized again. Awesome, I was learning how to do this at will!

The tense moment filled a long silence, and then, I could hear low, throaty laughter coming from somewhere. Apep had now recovered, and he was now shaking his big skull-head, black drool seeping from his jaws. He was laughing?

"That damned light is a cursed thing. That memory of the Anathema remains even when all others fade. Distinctive, can't be replicated," Apep chortled before vomiting a gobbet of black slime onto the snow before him. Nearby, I noticed that Oro had not moved, and he was smirking. The Archmagos gestured with a spiked mechadendrite toward Magos Nemea, who stood beside him. Pointing toward his people, he chuffed, "I did not believe them when they told me, the cult's scholars studying the universes beyond ours. Yet, here you are, a gold flesh-encased woman-thing, an alien soul clothed in the skin of a native."

The Archmagos made some kind of a dismissive swapping motion with one of his many hands, and his two guards stopped aiming their guns at me. "Your ship, the eagle-god," he pointed rightward toward the Divine Retribution with a mechadendrite. It was shining brightly in the light of the setting sun. "It is a scarcely believed legend by itself, a story only told by the mad or the damned." Apep snorted like a pig and snapped his jaws. "It is difficult to imagine that the Corpse Emperor was once something like you and that your titan bent him into what he became, according to the words of the cult."

"At ease, everyone," I instructed, ordering my crew to back off, which most did. Wolfie stopped growling, but Lian still held his sword.

"I told you the truth," Magos Nemea whispered, her voice a mass of sibilant murmurs. "A new dawn rises."

"Yes, I'm sure you can't wait to tell the rest of the synod, Nemea," Apep replied, a nasty twang in his voice. The revolting monster then scuttled ahead and proceeded to study me closely again, tapping the butt of his bladed staff against the ground. Two long multi-jointed mechadendrites roped over his back and pointed at my head. "Your light, you use a form of innate biomancy for that larger manifestation, am I correct?"

"Something like that," I responded with a shrug. I had no idea how all this worked, actually. The only thing that was important in this situation was milking these people for information and then getting Null to use his code. Apep was now close enough to Null that we could use the code if indicated. "Now, why did you want to talk?" I asked.

Apep stepped backward again, and he was now no longer within Null's effective code infliction zone. "Formal introductions, first," the Archmagos rasped. "I am Archmagos Apep, and I lead this visit to this lost world, both to explore its resources and to examine you. Magos Nemea leads a cult that concerns itself with the study of the interdimensional sciences."

Apep gestured toward Nemea, who stepped forward.

"Greetings, Inheritor," the heretek Magos purred as she bowed gently before me. "I am the one who precipitated this visit, yes. Cyclothrathe, as I have said, is not the same Cyclothrathe as has been known by the Imperium during the Heresy. Change has gripped the world. We are at the cusp of a new dawn, and we wish for our world to advance into a new, brighter future, away from the darkness of ignorance."

Null lightly tugged on my sleeve, and I motioned that he could speak. He stepped forward. "If you will pardon me, Cyclothrathe followed Archmagos Draykavac and the traitor Warmaster to perdition. It is a Hell-Forge, irrevocably warped. How, may I ask, can a Hell-Forge have a bright future?" Null asked, having a great point.

"And who are you to make that judgment? I've never heard of you," Apep immediately interjected. "Another Mechanicum nobody speaking from ignorance of Cyclothrathe and its true history."

Null froze, his soul shining with incredible outrage. Before anyone could say anything, Magos Jinnicky wandered into the dragon pit and shouted from behind me, "Heretek, you speak with Kelbor-Hal, who has been forgiven by our Omnissiah reborn as he stands before us! I have seen his radiance and glory!"

"He?" Archmagos Apep chuckled, looking downward at me again. Null was completely frozen, his eyes wide in anger. "And who is this madman riding a vermin chariot?" Apep pointed behind me at Jinnicky.

"Jinnicky, just let me handle this!" I quickly turned around and responded before the crazy Magos could say anything else and ruin everything. I was beginning to think that having him around for this confrontation was a bad idea. "That's Magos Jinnicky. Sorry about him; he's got mental problems. We've had a hard time lately."

"No bother, no bother," Nemea responded, bowing again before us and preventing any further escalation from Apep. "But yes, Cyclothrathe has changed. We have new goals, new hopes, new dreams. Millennia ago, Cyclothrathe fell victim to a gamma-ray burst from a distant Warp star. Half of the world was seared, rendered nearly unusable. Our vaults of information, our manufactorums, so many destroyed! But our spirit remained. The need to survive drove us to curiouser and curiouser spaces."

Magos Nemea walked forward, and I somehow knew that she was smiling under her cowl. A strange sense of déjà vu struck me, and she continued to speak. "These were dark times for our world, as half our governing synod had been killed in this event. Madness and violence ruled for many years, but one day, a stranger came to Cyclothrathe. This individual taught us about the multiverse and our place within it, and that there exist people who can bend fates named Travelers."

"It is presumed that you are one of these creatures," Apep interrupted, spitting more black goo everywhere. The heretek laughed bitterly. "I suppose that it is serendipitous for the cult that you are here, as this is also our first formal venture into this world after it became visible to us again."

Before Apep could continue, Oro stepped forward and began speaking to me in a deep voice. "Synchronicity of fate has blessed you, Inheritor. My name is Oro of the Thousand Sons, and I know much of fate. A visit to Ix had been planned before your arrival, and lo, you have arrived." To my right, I felt a wave of hate pass through the Fallen Paladin as Oro continued speaking. The Chaos Marine walked to stand beside Nemea; I definitely got the sense that Nemea and Oro were friendly, but also that Apep only tolerated these individuals. "We've sent survey drones down, and one of them contained a servant that spoke of you in glowing terms. All of this together, it is serendipitous, as if fate has conspired to work together to bring you to us."

"We didn't shoot down that drone, by the way. The local xenos did that," I quickly responded before anyone could make any false assumptions. "The crashed drone is in the forest near to the west if you were looking for it." The hereteks appeared expectant as they looked at me, so I continued speaking. "So, you guys study Travelers too?" I asked, glancing toward Null, who was watching Apep like a hawk.

"The interest is somewhat new, only a thousand years past," Nemea stated. "You and your legendary ship, you will change the galaxy, and we of Cyclothrathe would like to humbly ask-"

"You are not 'humbly asking' on behalf of Cyclothrathe, Magos," Apep snapped, now scuttling ahead, once again in range of Null's code. He glowered down at me, his red eyes glowing balefully. "If there is confusion, only I speak for Cyclothrathe!"

"Alright, okay!" I said, stepping back as the heretek had his little fit. Right now, Apep was within arm's length, and I noticed that Null was side-eyeing me nervously while also glancing up at the mercurial Archmagos. I extended my left hand outward in a placating gesture. "So, I'm just curious as to what you guys want, that's all. Uh, what-" The Archmagos vomited more black liquid onto the snow, some of which got on my shoes. Null jumped backward, but Lian stood perfectly still by my right side, his sword still drawn. "What can I do for you?" I asked.

Apep sniffed. "According to the teachings of this cult, a creature such as you can turn fate, and make the impossible, possible. Rebuild crumbling races to exalted heights once again to see the light of stars. If all this is true, and you are the one spoken of, we are interested in working with you."

"It is true," Magos Nemea offered quietly again.

Apep bristled again and began to speak with Nemea in a squawking, robotic language. It sounded as if they were now arguing. I awkwardly stood nearby, waiting for this to resolve. Wolfie whined at my feet.

My leader, Alberich's voice called to my mind. My halo briefly glimmered in response.

Not a good time, I responded quickly, watching Apep and Nemea argue.

Movement to the west. The aliens, the Dwemer, they have emerged, the German psyker informed me.

Seriously? I responded incredulously.

Yes, I am being serious. The group appears small but they are flanked by several robots, it appears. They carry a white flag. They have appeared in the forest where the hereteks shot the drone.

Directly after hearing this message, I saw Oro's features shift toward concern, and he turned toward the arguing hereteks. Not waiting for them to stop their confrontation, Oro gripped Nemea by the shoulder, pulling her away from Apep, which caused Archmagos to hiss and bark what sounded like a curse. The Chaos Marine said something in an unusual, but evil language. He then pointed behind us, toward where Alberich had indicated.

This caused the argument to finally cease. Apep paused, and glanced at me again, his red eyes hot. The heretek groaned in irritation, "The same xenos that troubled us before by assaulting our forces have emerged once again." He then paused and turned his head toward me again in a curious manner. The Archmagos moaned a long speculative sound which was followed by a red spider drone crawling out of one of his eye sockets before being devoured by the heretek with a snap of his jaws. Apep scuttled about on his spider legs before pointing his bladed staff at me. "Mmm, perhaps I should be more fair, no? Perhaps, you can be given a test that would demonstrate your unique abilities. How quickly and with what technique, I wonder, could you annihilate a group of xenos? Could you cause them great and delightful pain for the Dark Gods before they expire?"

Before I could reflexively decline the disgusting proposition, Nemea immediately spoke up.

"Archmagos, please, we cannot waste time on this posturing foolishness," Nemea responded before turning back to me. "We are being told that a band of xenos has been spotted nearby. They are within the forest and they are on their way here. Curiously, they do not appear aggressive."

"And they're waving a white flag. My people just told me too," I finished for Nemea. "They don't look like they want a fight, and if they don't want to fight, I don't want to fight either."

Nemea spoke quickly in an excited tone. "Curiouser and curiouser! In a new reordered universe, perhaps xenos can be of use to the fires of technology, and not just as fodder to be cleansed, and-"

Apep scuttled forward again, and this time, he rudely shoved Nemea aside, almost causing her to stumble onto the dirty snow. "What did I say when we left, Magos? Do you speak for Cyclothrathe, interloper? This is my fleet! This is my will! Cyclothrathe is under my direction, and this is my new planet!"

As Apep had done this, a strange strangled shout echoed from behind me from Jinnicky, and I heard the crazy Magos call out some kind of order that caused all of Jinnicky's servitors to aim their weapons at Apep again, which caused the heretek guards to point their guns at me a second time! Alarmed, I turned around and shouted, "Stop arming your goddamn weapons!" at the crazy Magos. This really wasn't going well, I thought sadly. Fuck, in the books, everyone always sounded so epic, capable, and heroic when dealing with situations like this, and here I was, falling flat on my face when I try to be diplomatic.

Laughing, Apep then abruptly lowered himself to look me in the eye again, his fanged face now close enough for me to feel his fetid hot breath. More revolting slime dripped out of the heretek's mouth. It smelled like rotting meat and kerosine, which made my stomach turn. I didn't move, and then, I noticed Nemea and Oro glancing at one another. I got the sense that these two were up to something.

"Your presence, it seems, does not appear to inspire leadership, despite its gold gleam." Apep reached forward with a thin, spindly mechadendrite, and pointed at my laurel crown. "Seeing this sort of rare creature before me, weak and soft and youthful and unarmored..." Apep began again. "Instead of allyship, I begin to contemplate the rewards the Dark Gods would give if you were to be given as an offering, and your vessel's gold rendered to craft new innovations."

This sort of talk, months ago, would have terrified old me, but right now, this just felt exhausting. Apep was posturing. Above, I noticed that the heldrakes were nearing the far edge of their circling route above us. I shook my head, fearlessly looking upward. "I really don't know what I expected," I replied, disappointed. "I guess I was hoping that this universe wasn't all black and white and that you people weren't just garden-variety evil guys." Beside me, I saw Null step slightly forward, and angle his head to face the Archmagos, who continued to drool gross black evil slime everywhere.

Just as I was about to find a way to weave the word "wizard" into my next sentence, Nemea again tried to be the voice of reason for her side. "Archmagos," she cautiously spoke, stepping forward. "This woman, she is a find far more valuable alive and friendly rather than killed, as killing her would prove difficult, you see. She is a Perpetual, and she-"

Apep reached outward with three of his left arms, and fucking backhanded Nemea as she drew close, causing her to fall to the ground with the sound of metal striking metal. "Insolent interloper! You will stay quiet! I don't care what the synod says! I will not-"

"Nimmie!" Jinnicky shouted at the top of his lungs. "Stay away from her, heretek!"

"Jinnicky! I told you to knock-" I began to scold, but then, a flash of red laser light originating from Snappy's scorpion tail struck a force shield that sparkled around Apep's head! Oh shit!

Instinctively, I felt my Sight begin to respond to the burgeoning chaos, which slowed time down considerably. Apep had responded nearly instantly and pulled some kind of wicked energy weapon from his robes with one of his spider arms, but before he could get a shot off, I heard Null begin to speak the code in slow motion.

My heart, overextended from today's visions and tribulations, fluttered, and I found myself suddenly in normal time again. Above, I saw the eyes of the Archmagos flicker and dim twice! People were beginning to respond as they charged lasers and ignited melee weapons, but before anything else could happen, I witnessed that the Archmagos froze stiff before us. Quickly, I boomed, "Everyone, stop!" before putting up a shield around myself.

Null and I backed away from the Archmagos, who was now frozen before me in the act of drawing his energy weapon, his red eyes fixed. Nemea was now on her feet again nearby, but she and the two heretek Skitarii appeared to be motionless. My attention was swiftly brought to Oro, who would probably not be under the thrall of any heretek code. What I saw surprised me. The Chaos Marine still held his levitating orb and did not look like he wanted to move to defend anyone. His face actually wore an amused dry smile as he watched Null and I back away. Lian was still at my right, and his giant blessed sword crackled with power as he waited for my instruction. The Fallen Paladin did not move to advance on the sorcerer, who still seemed strangely nonplussed at the insanity around him. Above, the heldrakes were now on their way back to us, but I noticed that their paths had not deviated. They were still merely flying in their circular "orbit" path around us.

"Fear not, Inheritor. I won't order my pets to attack," Oro unexpectedly offered in a friendly tone. "We did imply that there may be surprises to this visit, did we not?"

"Yes, we did," Nemea abruptly said with a chuckle. Apparently, the Magos was not frozen, and she moved to stand close beside Oro again. I could sense that she was smiling widely.

"Wait, what's going on here?" I asked.

Before I could get an answer, I heard a scuffle behind me as the Rahm failed to keep Hurricane Jinnicky from blowing into another situation. "Nimmie!" the crazy Magos cried. This was really awkward. "Nimmie, oh, you're finally here! I will save you from this fiend!" he squealed, walking toward Nemea and Oro.

"Jinnicky, stop! Don't attack anyone!" I ordered the mad Magos, who obeyed and halted behind Null, who was now restraining him with two arms. Looking around, I saw that all of Jinnicky's army and both of my Skitarii still had their weapons aimed at the hereteks. I glanced back up at the Archmagos. He still had not moved, and I was now unsure if I had seen his eyes blink three times. I was pretty sure I only saw two flashes.

Jinnicky looked at me, his remaining eyes sparking with mania. "Omnissiah, this is no heretek! This is Magos Amee, the most brilliant and beautiful Magos Explorator of Mars! She has served you in all ways and all things! Surely, she has infiltrated the hereteks and still serves you!" Jinnicky breathlessly introduced by pointing a hooked mechadendrite toward Nemea, his mechanical voice sighing with glee.

Nemea turned toward us, her head slightly cocked to the side while Oro shook his head with a smile. The two individuals were approximately two paces away from us now. What were they up to?

"You deny Nimmie's genius, fiend?" Jinnicky spat toward Oro, who still seemed completely unbothered by everything happening around us. I kept my eye on the frozen Archmagos, waiting for the third blink. The heldrakes passed, and were now behind us, still circling.

I concentrated, and quickly asked Alberich back on the ship: Have the heldrakes deviated at all from their path during the last minute?

No, the reply came. They're on the same orbital flight pattern as before. What's happening over there? I can't tell!

Can't talk, tell you later.

Jinnicky pulled away from Null and took another step forward toward Nemea before being grabbed again by Null. I could now tell that the heretek woman was snickering. Lian also stepped forward, his sword drawn. I looked up again. If we killed Oro, would all those heldrakes turn around and attack us? Would Alberich be able to torpedo all of them before they could blast everything to ash?

"Come on, third flash..." I whispered, looking up at the Archmagos, who remained frozen.

"Curiouser and curiouser once again," Nemea casually chuckled at the absurd situation. "Your hesitation to fight, Inheritor. It is not cowardice, I sense, but more caution in the face of confusion, admirable traits for one such as you to have. I estimate that you sense that something is not as it seems here, and that would be correct."

Beside me, I then felt Null's soul reverberate heavily with shock, and he stepped back.

"N-Nimmie?!" he asked.

The heretek nodded, and then, she removed her outer black cloak, which she discarded on the ground. Beneath her cover, she wore a dark red robe and held her eight spidery arms close to her body. However, instead of normal humanoid legs, she possessed long sharp insectoid legs that extended from her lower body like a spider, similar to how the Archmagos had been built. All in all, this heretek didn't look like the Nimmie Amee I remembered from the Tower of Reason, but there was a resemblance, the eight eyes, fanged jaw, tall height, and eight thin arms were all definitely familiar.

"Wait," I said, still keeping my eye on Apep while studying Nemea. What was going on?

The lady heretek then began to speak in a short, screeching language before extending her many arms in a wide, friendly gesture toward our group. Lian kept his eyes on me, and held his sword with two hands, eager to instantly destroy whomever I indicated. Wolfie began to growl again.

Null recoiled backward, and said in a choked, disbelieving voice, "Omnissiah, this cannot be true." Nearby, Oro continued grinning. I noticed that one of the gold embellishments on his armor now seemed to make up a vague "happy face."

Finally fed up with all this confusion, I commanded, "Explain!" as I tapped my force staff against the ground, causing its tip to ignite in blue flame.

"Traitor," Kaas responded behind me; I could hear the high-pitched whine of her rifle. "Magos Amee has betrayed the light of the Machine God."

"Hardly, Kaas," Nemea (or whoever she was) laughed, somehow knowing Kaas' name! "Because of your customized programming, you remained ignorant of the Tower of Reason's tenuous allyship with a splinter cult from Cyclothrathe. As said before, that world has changed greatly, and now stands for progress away from darkness and ignorance. After Cyclothrathe was seared, the disaster also weakened its connection and devotion to Chaos, miraculously so! Some of the "Hell" was burned from the "Forge," if you'd like to be poetic!"

"Nimmie..." Null repeated, simultaneously horrified and overjoyed at the same time. "Nimmie, I-"

The confusing moment was interrupted by the sudden movement of Archmagos Apep, who was now animate again. The Archmagos hissed and scuttled backward, now holding a jagged black metal weapon that resembled an electric shotgun in three arms. "Betrayer! Traitor Nemea! Upstart! The synod will hear about-"

One blink and a booming red flash later, and the Archmagos's chest and upper body were now a ruptured mess of metal and flesh. The remains briefly tottered before collapsing to the snowy ground, spilling gouts of slick black oil that pooled in the snow. Numerous red spider drones squealed as they poured from the heretek's chest cavity! The two heretek Skitarii wordlessly withdrew their smoking rifles on either side of the destroyed heretek.

"Worthless rusted junk," Oro offered with a friendly smile before crushing one of Apep's screaming spider drones. He was still completely unsurprised at everything around him. "Never did like him."

My head was still spinning when I noticed that Null had formed his xenos weapon out of one of his whip mechadendrites, and he aimed it at Nemea's head. "I-I don't want this to be true," he said, his tenor voice cracking.

Nemea froze and extended her arms in a wide, friendly gesture before the Tech-priest. Nearby, Kaas spoke what sounded like some kind of machine curse, but no one attacked.

What the fuck was happening here?!

Confused and now fed up with whatever game was being played, I decided to figure all of this out right then and now. With an angry inhalation, I drank deeply of the power within me. My Corona began to blaze out of me like fire, and while Oro and the hereteks cringed away, they did not move to be aggressive at seeing this. Angry, I pushed my consciousness into Nemea, hoping to overwhelm whatever suppressive tech she wore on her body. I felt the heretek woman cry out as I pierced her consciousness.

Images of a life lived as a loyal female adept on Mars flashed through my mind. I witnessed the woman work with another individual, a man with white hair and a metal plate across his cheek as they plumbed the depths of a vault filled with strange dusty artifacts resting deep underground. Their research was devoted to the science of multiple dimensions, alternate realities, and the miraculous cross-dimensional beings called "Travelers" that were said to ride upon a gold bird. I saw the woman as she happily received her lengthened spinal column, her boosted energy core, and her first additional limbs. I watched as she was injured by a sparking dataslate, and soon after, I observed the adept, who was now a Magos, as she was ordered to a faraway world on assignment.

I watched as she constructed the familiar shapes of Wheelers out of screaming convicts, all while merrily singing old hymns of devotion to the glory of the machine. Profane shapes in black robes appeared before the Magos one day, each one offering her information on Travelers that amazed her further. A tenuous alliance was struck, and she spoke to the hereteks, exchanging knowledge on forbidden topics with regularity. Her body became more twisted with time, even somewhat resembling the eight-armed hereteks in shape. As a gesture of goodwill, the hereteks showed her a secret vault filled with special technology devoted to uploading a mind and cloning the remaining flesh of a body, research that was rumored to come from the secret mind of Belisarius Cawl himself!

A miraculous discovery was uncovered at the formation of the Great Rift, and conveniently, a stable Warp route between her world and Cyclothrathe was found by her profane friends, the adherents of the gold cult.

I saw the Magos as she witnessed the strange gold bird cross the minefield of her planet, wondering if this bird was the vehicle of the Travelers. The Magos remained skeptical until she spoke to her old friend with the beautiful animated eyes, who informed her of the truth of the events unfolding before her. Her old friend was somewhat familiar, and I then, as Erika, realized that this was Null!

And then, I saw myself as Erika through the eyes of the Magos. Wearing my gold laurels, I was speaking to the Magos while standing on some kind of runway or tarmac. The Magos was explaining something to me, motioning to where the great gold bird stood with its wings bent in a resting position. She laughed when I, as Erika, made jokes about the crushed cultists beneath the talons of the gold bird.

There was a meeting with Space Marines that even included the nearly-mythical figure, Cypher. The mood was that of joy as the Magos sent encoded messages toward the secret cult of the Travelers on Cyclothrathe, but not all shared in her enthusiasm. These messages were intercepted by the rest of the governing synod, who were unexpectedly intrigued rather than offended by such a happening.

I watched as the Magos frantically organized defensive measures against a fleet of xenos that were advancing toward their world, and I saw her embrace the familiar Tech-priest with the animated eyes and the burned robe. He, under her instruction, locked her in a cold, dark room so that she could keep the defensive minefield open for the people of her world to evacuate.

And then, a powerful woman of dubious humanity was speaking to the Magos. A mocking, evil voice made demands of her. This was Langwidere, I recognized, and I saw her sneering and laughing through a cogitator. Still locked in the room with the command console, the Magos sighed and activated her upload command, which was executed through a tiny stable Warp corridor. Satisfied that she would awaken in a cloned physical form elsewhere, the Magos grinned as she reached inside her chest, and permanently disabled her body.

I saw her waking again in a pod of jellylike liquid as hooded assistants labored to reassemble her. The scene then changed, and now she was whole in a new, more malevolent body. She stood before a council of hereteks, all of which wore skulls as masks on their heads. The Magos explained what she had seen occur in her previous world, and most listened with intrigue. She was placed in a sub-command position beneath Archmagos Apep himself, and together, they would investigate a new world along with a new hope. Before leaving, she spoke with a gold-scaled Chaos Marine who told her that his mortal family had been saved by the gold bird's captain, and together, they worked on a secret plot.

And now, I stood before the woman as she staggered backward under the weight of my Sight striking her. After a moment, she balanced herself, and stood tall again, her eight eyes twinkling. She was still smiling, and then, she knelt on the snow in supplication to me, all eight of her arms spread.

"I represent Cyclothrathe in an offering of friendship and allyship, Inheritor," she said, despite all of the guns on my side being presently aimed at her head.

"It's true," I said, pulling myself back from the vision. "Null, everyone, this is Nimmie Amee. She's been cloned."

Shocked, no one said anything. Behind us in the Warp, I felt a rush of energy soaked in change and betrayal surge around the local stellar region. It poured like a deluge of un-life into the Sea of Souls, and new daemons were happily spawned from this action, happy and cheering. The laughter of Tzeentch reverberated as the Chaos God became more powerful.