The walk through the town was without much incident. That is to say that the Greenskins didn't seem to know we were there. Oh sure, we heard their cackles and grunts, and by the smell of it, they had used a shrine of The Emperor as a latrine.

"I didn't think they were capable of knowing who The Emperor was," Jurgen mused.

"I've seen this before. They're desecrating the rival Warboss' image," Illric responded. "To them, Ynnead is but the Warboss of Humanity."

It was hard to move on from such a scene of blasphemy, but move on we did. Jurgen spat in disgust, and I followed suit. It was the first time I'd seen the God-Emperor's holy grounds be desecrated- Emeli's cult was not under a cathedral, after all. I had yet to see how the other various nasties in the galaxy would try to defile His temples… though that thought made me feel like my presence was defiling them(1).

"Forgive my trespasses," I whispered towards the shrine, as we walked past the hanging corpses of the priests. Jurgen said nothing at that, for which I am grateful for. Then, I noticed something. In the suffering, I could pinpoint more concise emotions. Human emotions.

"Jurgen… do the orks take prisoners?" I asked him.

"Slaves. They won't last long. We should keep moving," he replied. "There isn't anything we could do for them that wouldn't get us killed." Well, get him killed, and me banished, at least. I nodded somberly, and we continued on our trek. I ran my hand over the amulet, and breathed a sigh of relief as it was cool again, it having heated to red-hot against my skin after the sorcery I had used against the Orks.

"I'll keep an eye on them," Illic promised. That was all we could do for them at the time. When we reached the water that led into the hydro plant, it was very tempting to drink the water, but I didn't know what was in it, especially since the Orks were nearby. Their kind never appreciated hygiene. It was an aqueduct, lined with rockcrete walls, which helped mask the sloshes our movement made. Slowly, the sound of the Orks faded into the distance, which also meant that, unfortunately, we were no longer covered by the friendly Elar Ranger (And at the time, that was a very, very strange thought to have)(2).

"We're here," I said into my combead. I heard muttering in the background, before another voice picked up.

"Good. Remain at your position. We'll come to you." The line went dead before I could file a complaint at that strategy.

"Illic?" I called. "Do you see anyone approaching from your end?" Instead, I heard his rifle fire a shot. And then another. That meant that the Orks had found us. Sure enough, a group of three of the brutes burst through the door, crude weapons firing wildly. This gave Jurgen and I time to aim out weapons, and go for the head. I also drew my chainsword, and dashed forwards. A few rounds whizzed close by, but I did my best to ignore that. I would cut their heads in half after putting a few las-rounds in them, given how tough they were. And no creature, no matter how dumb, couldn't survive without a brain. "Follow me," I told Jurgen, and we set off in the opposite direction then the Orks had appeared. Sure enough, my hunch that there had been more of them was correct. Dozens of Greenskins poured from the gap, and judging from their bellows, they'd found the three we'd killed. Both of us kept running, and thankfully, the Orks didn't start shooting. At least, not yet. I pointed to a blue door, and without a word, we both raced to it. We sprinted across open ground, and heard a few more laser shots that were much closer.

"Illic. Do you have eyes on us?" I asked.

"I see you, and the other squad. You've got a large group after you," he told me.

"Great…" I grumbled, as Jurgen and I forced the door shut. IT was badly corroded, so it was incredibly difficult to force into position- and hopefully, it would be as hard to remove. Jurgen placed a few heavy bolts to the door, and wiped his brow.

"That won't hold for too long," he replied in a calm manner, as if observing the weather.

"Taylor? How do you fare?"

"Pinned down by the Orks!" he growled.

I turned to Jurgen, and had to think this through. I could order Illic to help deal with the Orks outside the door. Sure enough, a couple had rammed into it by now. However, there wasn't any telling whether he'd be able to kill them all before they broke through. With a heavy internal sigh I made my decision.

"Illric? Give the squad some cover. Jurgen and I will take care of the Greenskins near us."

"Of course."

"There's another of you?" Taylor asked, before I heard the sound of accurate lasfire. "Woah! Do you have a Ratling, Commissar?"

"No," I replied back, hearing Illric snort. Perhaps it was to suppress the feeling of being insulted for being mistaken as an abhuman, or perhaps the idea that he was 'merely' as good as a Ratling(3). Now, I had to figure out a way for us to escape. "Are there any escape hatches?" I asked Jurgen. He turned around.

"Not that I can see. There's another vehicle here, but other than that…"

Vehicle.

"I have an idea," I stated, rushing over. I began to pull out the welding torches from their places, and began to open the boiler. I then grabbed a torch, and unscrewed it. Thankfully, the gas used to ignite the fire was heavier than air, so it went down into the boiler. Jurgen caught on to what I was doing, and began to help me fill the boiler. More and more thuds were heard from the other side of the door, so we were running out of time. Taking a few more tools from the warehouse, I carefully rigged an igniter to the door, so that when it finally gave way, the boiler would explode, incinerating the Orks (And their spores) in one go. The vehicle was being looked over by Jurgen.

"Well?"

"It could only go a klom- maybe two."

"That's enough," I told him. I then began to throw what was left of the warehouse into the vehicle- especially all of the flammable material I could find. The pounding, by this time, had also come from the garage door, which was essential for the next part of the plan. "Get the garage door ready to open! We'll use this as a distraction!" I told him. He nodded, and removed the bolts. I slammed a brick onto the acceleration, and the vehicle took off.

Everything worked perfectly. It crushed many of the Orks on its way out, and caused the rest of them to follow suit. Using that opening, we dashed through. To my surprise, I felt no exhaustion. Perhaps it was the adrenaline. Perhaps it was the fact I was a daemon. Either way, the feeling was fleeting, and we reached the fence. I slashed through it with my chainsword, and we just got through it when the warehouse's surprise blew. Most of the sound was muffled by the walls, but we saw the plume rising as the roof caved in. At almost the same time, the vehicle's payload finally went off, killing two hordes of Orks in one go. I raised my fist into the air in celebration that a plan had gone off so well. Was it unprofessional? Yes. Did I care? Not at the moment, no. And then I heard another warcry, as more Greenskins began to race at us.

"Frakk!" I swore, ready to stamp the ground in frustration. However, I wasn't able to do that, as an Ork had somehow gotten lost in the aqueducts, emerged, and sent his cleaver down on me. I brought my chainsword up, and moved to catch it. Our blades crossed, and it roared in defiance. I let out a yell of my own, and found my strength doubled. I slammed the Ork's blade aside, and, with my chainsword holding his cleaver back, did something stupid. I punched the ork in the chest. To my utter astonishment, the thing's chest caved in, and my fist exited its other side. It looked down at my arm, and then at me.

"Well, dat's not fair," he muttered, before slumping to the ground, dead. I cut his head off for good measure.

"Come on!" I ordered Jurgen, as we raced along the pipe. "Illric!"

"Keep going forward! There's a kill-zone ready to go!" he called. I listened, and we ran. However…

"A dead end!"

"Three… two… one…"

And then the end that was full of Orks chasing us exploded, taking a good chunk of them out of the fight. Now there was the firing of lasguns, which meant that at least some of the squad had made it. The last remaining Orks were quite close to us, but bellowed their warcry, and turned towards the new positions. I knew that the PDF would be overwhelmed, and then they'd turn on me. I thought I would be no match for that many Greenskins in melee(4), but I had to try. As they turned, I lunged, slicing one in half, one side falling to the right, the other to the left. I lunged out of the hole this created, rolled, and found myself facing the horde. They pointed at me, and bellowed their warcry. Thankfully not soiling myself, I held my position, my sash flapping in the wind. The first Greenskin was easy to slay. Then came more. The fire behind me slowed- they likely didn't want to hit me. Illric kept firing, his shots taking down those nearby, keeping the number of Orks approaching me at the minimum. More and more corpses sat at my feet, and the taste of mushrooms filled my mouth. Eventually, however, there were none left. After the last one fell, I sheathed my blade, and found myself staring at nine men.

"Sergeant Taylor, I presume?" I asked the leader.

"Y-yes, sir," he stammered.

"This is your group?"

"What's left of it, sir. Thank the Emperor you arrived- the Greenskins had discovered us."

"Then we'd best get moving again. Oh, and when you see my sniper, don't worry. He's on our side." The sergeant looked confused, but nodded. One of the survivors had worked at the hydro station, according to the group, so that allowed them to use it for hit and run attacks. He would lead us through the aqueducts, so that any surviving Greenskins would not be able to follow us. Combining that with my knowledge of how to navigate an Underhive, it only took us a short while to reach the edge of the town, not far from our buggy. Illric was there, having slid off the roof, rifle to the side in a show of passivity.

"...So that's why you warned us," Taylor replied.

"Yes. Sergeant Taylor, Illric Nightspear."

"Greetings, Sergeant," Illric replied in a friendly tone. "I must say, your men put up quite the fight."

"Why're you working with the Xeno," Commissar?" the Sergeant asked, concerned.

"I'm working for your Empire now, sergeant," Illric replied. "It's a recent development."

"I'm not sure I should trust an Eldar…"

"Why would I lie about working for your Empire? If the stories are true, none of my kind would even pretend to be subservient to a human, would they not?"

"I can assure you, he fights for The Emperor," I promised.

"If you say so…" the Sergeant replied warily.

We set up camp for the night there. It was difficult, since many of the Guardsmen were in quite a bit of pain. I could tell from how much I was getting from them. They tried to hide it, but I could feel it. I could eat it. Wait… if I could eat it… could I end it? I decided to test this theory, laying a hand on one of Taylor's men- a burn injury. With a rush, I could feel it. I began to pull. The man seemed to sway a little. "Commissar? I feel funny…" he mumbled. I pulled some more, drawing out the pain like poison was drawn from a wound. I had to be careful, so as to not draw his soul. I could feel that on the pull. If I messed up, I'd devour it as well. Carefully, like I was cutting fat off of a grox-steak, I peeled the tendrils of both my taint and his pain away. He staggered a little, before his eyes widened a fraction of an inch.

"Did… did you just…"

"I did," I replied. His eyes widened, and raced off. Given the standard knowledge of Chaos, it was unlikely that he knew what I had done exactly, except lay my hands on him and ease his pain. He was bringing another of his buddies over- one that he was helping due to a broken leg, eyes wide and hopeful. I mentally groaned, and placed a hand on his friend. I knew that the leg needed to be healed, and that the pain was meant to keep him from ruining the perfect human form from-

Perfection. That was another of Slaanesh's domains. I went deeper. As a daemon, I could make deals… but I'd heard that some saw those as 'blessings'. Could I make a deal with no strings attached? I gently fished out the pain, and as I did, I sent tendrils of myself into his wound. A psyker would have likely noticed what I was doing, as well as where the power came from. Hopefully none of the men were psykers. The amulet wasn't heating up, however. Evidently the God-Emperor was pleased that I was healing His servants(5), and also making sure they weren't in any pain. Slowly, my corruption forced its way into his cells, and took control. I ordered them to divide perfectly. They did so. I focused more, careful to not touch the soul, and to keep the skin from mutating. Ever so slowly, the bones began to reknit. Finally, it was done. I pulled out all traces of myself, and removed my hand. The man was feeling his leg.

"It… it doesn't hurt…" he took a step, and froze. "You… you didn't just remove the pain…" I nodded. The man's eyes lit up like a fire, and he raced off to the Sergeant. Soon, the rest of the men were there, eagerly awaiting me to heal their wounds, or ease their pain. I would do so. Nothing was asked for in return. Just gifts. This way, they'd be able to fight better, and hopefully, keep me safe. That, and they'd love me for it. Nothing helps a soldier fight like thinking their officers actually give two shits about them. They didn't seem to know how I was doing it. From the group mutterings, I could hear the word 'Saint', which made me wince at the irony. Then, I heard someone move behind me.

"Slavhreenur? Can I talk to you?"

Frak. Eldars were psykers. How could I have forgotten?! With a mental sigh, I nodded. Illric took me away a bit. I nodded at Jurgen, and he remained behind. A few hundred feet away, Illric motioned for me to sit. I did so, and so did he. "What is it?" I asked.

"I've seen that power used before. I know where it comes from," he said. "And I must say, you're flipping She Who Thirsts the bird that way. That is the phrase, yes?"

I nodded. "More than you think," I sighed. "Why are you not…"

"Telling the others? No servant of the Dark Powers would wear a blessed Aquila like you do. Though I have to ask… how?"

"The Bargain."

Illric nodded. "You did not escape untainted… but you still serve Him on Terra."

"It's more than that." I didn't know why I was explaining it. Maybe it was because the title he was giving me felt like a hammer slamming into me, reminding me of what I was, and what I had become. "The ritual that I crashed was an Ascension ritual. Slaanesh… didn't let it go to waste."

Illric's eyes widened.

"I see you understand," I said mirthlessly. I waited for a strike. Instead, I saw Illric move to bow. "What… what are you doing?"

"Bowing to you, obviously," Illric snarked(6).

"But I just said…"

"You wear His amulet. You worship Him. Your actions freed my people. And this? You are literally going against your very nature to do His work." He stopped bowing. "I imagine that the Aquila burns."

"It doesn't," I admitted, holding it. "It only feels hot when I extend my sorcery for selfish purposes." Illric stopped his bowing, and sat up. "I… I only told Jurgen."

"I understand. And you're only telling me because I could sense She Who Thirst's power being used."

"Exactly."

"I will keep your secret, Slavhreenur." The name didn't seem so painful, now. It felt… easier. "This also explains why you feel so… strange in the Sea of Souls. That thin layer of gold…"

"It comes from this," I replied, holding the Aquila. "He said it keeps me contained. It keeps my damnation contained."

Illric nodded. "A prison? Or a container? What do you see it as?"

"A prison, designed to protect everyone else from the Heresy that is my very being," I replied truthfully.

"No Daemon would willingly imprison themselves like that- bind their power and serve Him on Terra willingly and without fault."

"Well, here's one," I snarked. "So… you won't…"

"Tell anyone? No. But this raises more questions. How are you able to stay physical? And how do you stand your aide?"

"To me, Jurgen just smells bad. I can still practice sorcery around him. As for the first question… I don't know. I don't want to waste it, though… especially since I'm committing treason against that fucking bitch…" I snarled.

"The best sort of treason," Illric chuckled. "I may be no Farseer, Ciaphas, but someday, your secret will get out. You will have to remove the Aquila. That will be your true test. I am not as well-versed in Chaos lore as some of my kin, but I know that Falling is a choice. The Four can make it so that it seems like the only choice, but it is still a choice. And there is nothing that you can be tempted by. You already have all the power any Chaos cultist would ever want."

"But what if I use that power to the fullest?"

"Remember who you are, and do not look for more power. That is all I can offer," Illric replied. "Now, let us return to camp. I haven't taken a man from camp to speak privately since…"

"This 'Sebby'? Who was he?"

"Your people would know him as 'Sebastian Thor'," Illric replied, picking up his rifle and heading back, leaving me in stunned silence.

Well, that explained why so much of his diary was redacted in the Schola…(7)

1: Daemons, especially ones of Cain's level of power, leave taint wherever they go. Ciaphas' amulet contains the taint, so that where he steps, he does not defile the land. Now, when he takes the amulet off… I don't even have the heart to call Lord Karamazov's cleansings 'excessive'.

2: Ever since the Joining, it has been common for one or two Rangers to join regiments. They tend to be quite beloved by the rank and file soldiers, due to them helpfully picking off enemy commanders before Ratling snipers would even be able to see them. There have also been higher incidences of liver failure, as many try to go shot for shot against them. As far as I can tell, most fail, and those that succeed very nearly die afterwards. The only one I know of who wasn't even buzzed was a Veteran of the 23rd EDR regiment.

3: Knowing Rangers in general, it was both.

4: Ha. Ha ha ha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! The mere idea that Cain couldn't duel a dozen greenskins is simply hilarious to all who know even a tenth of his exploits. As for someone who knows most, if not all of them… it is, quite literally, fall-out-of-your-chair-laughter.

5: Cain's selflessness is almost unknown to Daemons. While he would gain power from the pain, the fact of the matter was that he was still expending power to help, while nothing was asked for in return. As their souls weren't being stolen, I think He was more than happy to let Cain's healing slide.

6: This reaction is common among the Eldar who learn of Ciaphas' true nature. To them, he has either tricked Slaanesh into empowering him while he directly weakens her, or he is fighting his nature every second of every day to serve the God-Emperor. Either one deserves respect, in their mind. His version of the story just makes them laugh, but he earns the same level of respect regardless.

7: I have read those redacted parts. There was much about 'conquering the deepest depths of the Eldar', and 'triumphantly showing that humanity always belonged on top of the Galactic hierarchy'. I was… confused when I read it the first time. I was less confused upon a second reading.