Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

"Excuse me, sir, what is Chaos?" Kyle Varen asked.

At this time, the Iron Warriors' fleet was in the warp passage heading to the Davin system. The Interrex turned into a series of slightly reflective dust particles in the air, and the colorful light of the warp was blocked outside the closed window panels of the Iron Blood.

The Astropathic Choir has shared the situation of the Davin system with the Iron Lord who came to deal with the rebellion as much as possible. Multiple intelligence with the same information was sent in sequence to fill the gaps in the loss of comparative information. It is expected that after four weeks, they will return to the real universe dotted with various celestial bodies, and Davin Satellite 63-8 will appear before them.

Although the satellite surrendered to Horus Lupercal's 63rd Expeditionary Fleet, the first contact with it was Lorgar Aurelion's Word Bearers. According to their custom, the Davin people who retained primitive beliefs on this planet were all destroyed, the old temples were all demolished, the holy images were destroyed, and the long-haired Davin people who looked like apes were set on fire.

Later, the Imperial colony ships redefined the social composition of Daven.

It can be said that this is a pure Imperial planet, without the unstable factors of foreign members-this also makes their rebellion lack a conventional reason.

Perturabo raised his head and looked at his war blacksmith. Kyle Varen is not well-known, but he has solid command and dispatch capabilities, and his military exploits have accumulated bit by bit, step by step to the side of the Primarch. For personal reasons, the war blacksmith did not use machinery or biotechnology to make up for his missing left eye, and Perturabo would not ask about it.

"You still remember the problem of the Interrex people." Perturabo said calmly, "Do you care about it?"

Kyle Varen hesitated for two seconds: "Yes, my lord. I'm not sure if we have the authority to know all this."

"Tell me what you think." Perturabo said, "You have been thinking about it for a few days. I am glad that you didn't let the problem affect your work, and I am glad that you have the courage to confess to me."

"Oh..." Kyle was surprised, and then regretted that he thought the Primarch would not notice his hesitation.

"I initially thought that the 'chaos' you mentioned was a synonym for witchcraft or psychic power, and they are similar in the roots of the words, but then I found that I couldn't explain it. If chaos is just witchcraft, why did you let us leave to discuss it? After all, we have close contacts with the 'wizards' of the Thousand Dust Sun."

"Then, why do you think it is?" Perturabo asked.

"Because the Imperial Truth does not recognize wizards?" Kell was not sure about this. "In diplomacy, should I be consistent with the Empire's caliber?"

His speculation made Perturabo's eyebrows relax slightly: "No, Valen, we don't have to be so political about Interrex. Your guess about 'chaos' is correct, but it is incomplete. In the name of the Emperor, this is all I can tell you. I believe that with your intelligence, your exploration should have reached the end."

The truth cannot be known, and the war blacksmith understood the answer almost instantly. Even if the secret of the webway is so secret, the Iron Lord is willing to tell it frankly, so there are more unspeakable things, I am afraid that the crux can only fall on the thing itself.

"But..." He still had a question, "If we don't know what we are facing, how can we prevent its threat?"

"It's simple, listen to Magnus and get witchcraft out of our world. If you are in doubt, then call on those who know the truth - such as me, such as Magnus."

Perturabo replied and returned to his work. In a sense, he enjoyed the process of letting different information swirl and interweave in his brain, which was equivalent to building a metaphysical building.

He noticed a strange message sent in the astropathic message: an abnormal black corona was radiating around the 63-8 satellite. This phenomenon was similar to the scene described in the Nightmare Sun Intelligence Book given to him by Conrad Curze - the areas affected by this phenomenon seemed to be often accompanied by madness and destruction.

This confirmed a vague, unstatistically verified rumor that the phenomenon of the Holy Grail Expansion was quietly appearing in the shadows within the Empire.

Considering that these trivial reports were mixed in with the millions of intelligence reports sent to Terra every day, Morse said that Malcador decided to wait until the threat of the anomaly was greater than the chain famine caused by regional agricultural production reduction before dealing with this kind of almost hearsay folk rumors.

"Thank you, father." Kell said sincerely.

"Also tell this to your colleagues," Perturabo said, frowning slightly, "If there is anything beyond common sense, be sure to report it to me immediately, and I will make the decision myself."

--

Lightning flashed across the sky above the satellite, and the drizzle fell like a ghost, blocking the broken divisions of World 63-8 from each other, as if sealed in a static sphere of eternal circulation.

When the Iron Warriors arrived here, in the unknown turmoil, the satellite had been reduced to several loose gray-brown rock islands floating in the universe, barely connected by gravity.

Each torn continent was desolate and gray, with different shapes, and was moving slowly. From orbit, the broken soil and rocks look like broken chains covered with black rust, surrounding the outer side of the planet.

It is hard to imagine that such a planet on the verge of destruction is capable of launching a rebellion against the Empire.

And, unfortunately, after the evaluation of the Mechanicus, this planet can still be rebuilt into a habitable world.

After his request for negotiation was rejected, Perturabo signed an order to certify the betrayal and dispatched the Iron Warriors' ships to disarm the planet's orbital defense.

The whole process was easier than he had imagined. This did not mean that the other side had no resistance. On the contrary, the ships that were once loyal to the Empire launched an almost crazy counterattack as soon as they saw the Iron Warriors. One after another, the ships emptied all their ammunition reserves almost at the first moment of the battle, and then rushed towards the Iron Warriors' warships reinforced by Perturabo's additional armor with a self-destructive intention.

Naturally, this greatly accelerated the destruction of the already weak defense fleet of World 63-8.

"Go and investigate the situation," Perturabo ordered, assigning the task to three warsmiths.

After a meeting, these senior commanders assigned different torn continental blocks to reconnaissance and combat companies according to the longitude of the planet, and each of them brought Perturabo's Iron Ring Mechs to provide Perturabo with a more professional observation perspective and the most timely means of communication.

"What on earth is this place?" Belosos, the war blacksmith of the 21st Battalion, whispered to himself, looking up through the goggles at the dirty and turbid sky.

The clouds were like gray-black spider webs, dividing the dark sky into pieces of dark mist, and the rain dripped like pus, with a sense of viscosity and dullness that violated common sense. He felt that his armor became more like some kind of turbid fluid as the army marched, even though all the data indicators emphasized that all this was just a false illusion.

The Iron Ring Mechs were right beside him, tall and stable, accompanying him unwaveringly, advancing and retreating with him. He knew that Perturabo was watching his every move, and compared to honor, what he could get from it was more of a sense of comfort.

The governor who once took over this area was appointed by the Word Bearers. Belosus sometimes wondered how much rage Lorgar Aurelion would vent to the world when he found out that there was a traitor under his command.

But they had not seen the traitor yet.

As the team moved forward, some ruins of Davin's past life gradually appeared under their feet, with broken ancient sculptures and collapsed stone buildings everywhere. They passed an open space and saw a large circle surrounded by stones, and the black scorch marks in the center of the circle gradually dissipated in the rain over the years.

This was the evidence that the Word Bearers had destroyed everything, and it was the remnant that no one dared to collect for sixty years.

Everyone knew that after the massacre, the Word Bearers would always light anything that could still burn as usual, stand on the edge of the fire sacrifice, watch the rising black smoke, smile and pray devoutly to the Emperor, wishing the Emperor to give the world a new life.

Berossus was certain that the remains of the buildings they were passing had once been a temple, some sort of serpent-themed society.

Countless granite blocks had once been carved with fine scales and cruel snake pupils, broken arches nestled between cliffs, bronze doors carved with reliefs of coiled snakes, showing the local faith of Daven.

Now, all of this was scattered into charred debris and broken stone roots, half immersed in a bubbling yellow-brown mud, after the ruthless destruction of the Word Bearers sixty years ago.

Lush mosses and weeds clung to the surfaces and gaps of the stones, and flies and their disgusting larvae swarmed on the surface and edges of the mud.

The helmet immediately began to filter the toxic air as soon as the reading was taken, but a stench still lingered, as if invading directly from the edge of their sensory system, testing their souls with a toxic breath.

Above all these elements, a dark and gloomy aura appeared competitively, covering their senses like a veil. It seemed to have quietly appeared after they saw the Fire Sacrifice of the Word Bearers.

It was purer and more... vicious. A cold hatred that came out of nowhere prompted Belosus to clench his weapon. In his throbbing heart, a dark desire to destroy everything in front of him was rising rapidly, urging him to tear, burn, and knock down anything.

Through the helmet, he seemed to see his companion's eyes flashing with a ferocious cold light, as if a dark ecstasy inhabited the adjutant's soul, and he had high expectations for any sign of destruction, even if the destruction would be his own.

The hormone detection signal in the helmet quickly warned him, and Belosus bit his tongue hard, swallowed his saliva, and barely suppressed the overflowing hatred. As he gradually calmed down, another emotion rose and fell, and fear suddenly stuck to his skin, bringing a deadly cold.

He waited for the power armor to inject him with a sedative to regulate his nerves, and faithfully told the Iron Lord his situation orally.

If he encountered something beyond his ability, he would not use his stupidity or pride to create unnecessary sacrifices - not to mention that before coming here, Kyle Varen had just talked to them about this.

His combat boots stepped on some crispy substances, and Berossus lowered his head and noticed that it was a festering human skeleton. This was the first thing related to humans they encountered on this broken continent. What a destruction and end worth rejoicing... No, stop.

"Death time is no more than four weeks," a warrior leaned over to conduct a simple test, "psychic traces, corrosive spells... He died from the surrounding psychic environment."

His lieutenants entered their findings into the comms channel in clear and concise sentences to share with other soldiers. Berossus noticed that the adjutant's voice had become quite hoarse, and that the other party was also affected by the strong and bad desire.

Both inside and outside are steel, he recited silently, recalling the teachings of the father of genes, and regained the calmness he deserved.

In the officer's internal channel, Belosos read more counter-intuitive phenomena.

This small planet seems to be accompanied by material division, and essential changes are also derived in various regions.

Some broken continents are completely filled with strange fragrance, and everything shows the worship of reproduction. Even the stone corridors and house pillars are matched with each other in pairs; in some places, rivers of blood flow, and the rust of copper and iron fills the mountains and plains. Distant roars echo outside reality; the least of which is some kind of labyrinth-like crystallized area. The Iron Warriors use heavy cannons to smash every crystal wall blocking the way, and advance coldly towards the depths...

It is worth noting that they have never encountered any living creatures that could pose a threat, not to mention rebels, not even living people.

"Similar to a certain pattern," another group of warriors shared their knowledge, "there are patterns in the shapes of these psychic signs."

Berossus also discovered this feature. Many things are vaguely constructing the same set of similar features. The yellow crescent moon above Devin is an arc, extending three twisted and entangled reflections in the quagmire on the ground. The temple Viewed from certain angles, the multiple cornices form a strange nested cohesive structure, and...

The iron ring robot raised its mechanical arm and picked up a series of nested sawtooth chains from the top of a black branch that looked like a dead silhouette. The bright green light in the robot's eyes flickered slightly as he scanned the shape of the chains - they were not man-made. The chain is affected by the surrounding psychic environment, and the branches automatically connect and twist into a loop. Judging from the shape, it resembles a snake with its tail.

Messages continued to be exchanged and transmitted rapidly, and any discovery was not an isolated case. From countless corners of the Devin satellite, more products of psychic influence were discovered one by one, and the surrounding environment became more disgusting. The more overwhelming the warp's stench and dim simmering malevolence become, the more common these small, tangible signs become; they either accompany or work against each other.

There were no living people, still no one, just like the sandy plains that had been burned by the war.

Berossus ordered his warriors to delay their advance. His experience gave him a bad feeling. "Be careful," he said. "Stop and wait for further instructions."

But the world seemed to begin to change completely. From an insignificant moment, the plates beneath their feet seemed to slowly begin to move. The gravitational environment was violently turbulent. Trees fell, and rocks collapsed, sliding in a predetermined direction until Falling into the dead center.

At the same time, the cruel and crazy idea suddenly strengthened countless times and turned into a scream that penetrated the soul. The dark wave surged and roared silently with eternal pain and torture. Countless scenes were intruding into his mind: ships exploding and crashing in the air, tens of thousands of stone towers rumbling and collapsing, travelers falling to the ground on the dry gray stone beach, and the corpses of the dead flowing along the Styx-like river. The waterfall falls into the deep pool...

However, there was no real sound in Belosos's ears, and the colors faded and dissipated bit by bit. The turbid brown-yellow mire, the war cry echoing in the distance, and the fragrant sensory gauze were all swallowed up by the darkness and turned into a sharp, inky black fog, tearing at his skin like an eagle's claws scratching his. bone……

"That's enough," this strong sense just emerged, but within ten seconds, a mechanically synthesized imitation human voice came from the mouth of the iron ring, sending the order of the Iron Lord who was far away on the Cheorwon.

The synthesized sound of the hoops was emotionless, but Berossos could only feel the voice of the father of genes in his ears - so urgent, so solemn.

"Everyone stopped exploring and prepared to return to orbit. The counter-insurgency of 63-8 has been put on hold," Perturabo said quickly, "This is no longer what we should deal with. Wait-"

Berossus did not hear the second half of the Iron Lord's words. Around him, the world was so silent. Whether it was the dirty dim yellow light or the flash of light on the Iron Ring's shell, everything suddenly dimmed and fell into a distant, infinite world. of darkness.

The darkness was spreading, covering the area around him. No, it was far more than that. It was so huge and infinite, climbing over the broken snake pillars, swallowing the withered hag trees, gently spreading across the continent, and then towards Devin's broken heart. The sky is burning...

From top to bottom, from outside to inside, the darkness deepens to infinite dimensions, until the measurement turns into nothingness, as if inside and outside, as if below is above, death and silence reappear from the darkness, slowly crossing all human beings to define Burning within the confines of words, beyond the limits of measurement, beyond finite numbers, words no longer have meaning... Everything ends in death, and thus transcends time.

He seemed to have seen everything and yet he seemed to know nothing.

He looked up.

The nightmarish black sun is there.

It hangs at the other end of the void, as if it has just appeared, and yet it seems that it has never left.

The end of the stellar wind turned into a thin black needle that absorbed light, piercing him like a moth.