Warhammer 40k: Shattered Steel Soul

Chapter 440 Shadow Prison

Alpharius could still remember the scene when he sneaked forward in the shadow of the palace and played around with those golden armored guards.

At that time, the palace was not yet completed. Some places that would become magnificent spires and fortresses in the future were just a wasteland on the plateau waiting to be built like ruins. Humans tend to rebuild new things on abandoned wreckage. If there are no wreckage there, then humans must first destroy the ground to re-lay the foundation.

And the guards have never changed. They are the most handy tools of the Lord of Humanity and the most obedient works of art. They wear those high-quality craftsmanship and shining gold that can be called part of their bodies, calculating the frequency and direction of each step, and measuring the energy they need to consume from here to there and then patrol back regularly.

Their innate intelligence is not enough for them to see a person who is well hidden. Alpharius took one of the countless containers that entered and exited the palace every day-he should have chosen this, because the complicated document management system was still the biggest natural omission in the early days of the human empire.

Yes, just like that, Alpharius packed himself into a shipping container and infiltrated the palace's security system.

Next, Alpharius would exit the logistics hub, and either continue to play a mortal and walk through those open spaces. That would be too tall, and the laborers and pilgrims would not suspect, but the Custodians would notice.

In addition, he could not play a Thunder Warrior.

So, he could either play a Custodian: he could only play a Custodian, which would help him move freely within the palace, because the suspicion of mortals was equivalent to disloyalty.

If you want to enter the equipment room, you must first be a Custodian or a slave. So Alpharius would choose the easier way, such as killing a Custodian and taking his place.

Next, what would Alpharius do?

How close could he get to the Emperor's Sanctum Sanctorum? Outside its heavy and exquisitely carved gilded paintings from the Unification War; or past the sentries and corridors, deep into a certain dimension, until he was exposed because of his unfamiliarity with the communication beads and his ignorance of the internal defenses of the sentry?

Alpharius - no, Omegan couldn't think of it. Even if he and Alpharius were in tune with each other, as if the two of them were a complete whole, he could not further imagine the details hidden in history.

He yearned for the past he didn't have. This was not out of jealousy, but an instinctive expectation, the only nourishment to fill the lonely gap in his early life.

When Omegan returned to the Empire, he no longer had a suitable reason to reproduce the glorious moments of his twin brother.

To be more precise, "reproducing the original blood game" could be used, but only once at most. Omegan would not risk violating the laws of the Lord of Mankind again after receiving the expected admonition. This would hurt himself and overly implicate his twin brother.

So he cherished it until he got what he needed.

Until the third snakehead fulfilled his agreement and duty.

Omegan stood by a French window of a marble building near the shuttle landing port, letting the building's natural shadow cover him.

This suit of armor didn't fit well. Every Custodian tended to spend decades grinding his armor, making every neural socket and every vertical plate curve and trend fit perfectly into his second skin, but Omegan knew how to imitate the Custodian's posture too well.

It should be noted that the Custodian who lost his armor only received a mild long coma. This can weaken the attention of the entire palace defense system, because it means that this is just the aftermath of a blood game - that is, Alpharius's own little game.

When you have dealt with double-digit Alpharius's pranks for decades, you will not think it is a rare event that he is inspired by the blood game and wants to set up another additional problem.

Omegan watched the gray shuttle painted with the characteristics of the human empire slowly descending. Three patrol planes circled in the air, vigilantly escorting their important target. The shuttle lowered its landing gear, and the engine spewed out a cloud of hot steam. Soon, the click of the hatch unlocking reached his ears.

According to the information he obtained, No. 11 was in the shuttle, and he would show Omegan a path that no one in the outside world knew.

This reminded Omegan of the old vault.

In the books, rumors and memories, it was destroyed twice, the first time by an unknown power, and the second time by Astartes.

Of course, he was referring to Lady Astartes, the creator of the most dazzling army in the empire today. She herself was the tombstone of all her achievements and past.

After the loss of the Primarch, she could no longer trust the stability of the Astartes warriors. Therefore, when the Imperial Guards rushed into the vault, Astarte's life's work had been burned, and all the collections were destroyed. At least, she thought that Astarte's research had no backup at that time.

She was destroyed by her own weak fear of the future, otherwise she would have been among the stars of the Imperial dignitaries today.

I heard that Valdor was very interested in the ruins. "Interested", even the Imperial Guards, a group of living machines with only loyalty and the knowledge required for loyalty in their minds, would be interested in rebuilding something on the ruins.

Then, it became the safest place in the entire galaxy.

The two Word Bearers priests walked out of the shuttle first, and Omegan waited for their head of the church, and No. 11.

On the 11th, he remembered the moment they first met.

In that ruined dead world, in the wreckage and dregs of human civilization, in the swirling residual brilliance and the eternally repeated rain and music, Eleven and his caregivers found him before anyone else.

Eleven told him of the Imperium's existence, of what a brilliant game of blood Alpharius had accomplished, and of how to learn to find his way through the Warp. Otherwise, how could he have traveled across billions of stars to make his debut on Macragge?

More than a hundred years ago, Eleven was more energetic than he is now, and his arrogant and tired confidence is impressive. "If you are interested, the light will be waiting for you."

After the Word Bearers Priest, he saw Eleven again. They had kept in touch through another means over the years, and he found that he was still familiar with the way Eleven looked now: typical Old Earth attire, as if he had lived in a time before humans had reached the stars.

The focus of No. 11's eyes crossed him, and Omegon prepared to follow quietly.

Then, a hovering patrol plane also began to descend. Likewise, two Word Bearers came out, but the next person to appear was something Omegon didn't expect.

It was Lorgar Aurelion who came here, not his Master.

Omegon returned to the narrow shadows and silently took off his armor. The subsequent follow-up would surely violate the regular patrol route of the Custodes, and he covered himself with an optical cloak.

If Aurelion thought Eleven intended to destroy Terra, he was sadly mistaken. Eleven cared more about the integrity of Terra than any of the Primarchs, although he sometimes showed a fleeting dislike for Terra whom he had never met.

The soft boots muffled the sound of his walking. Omigang went up to the second floor, jumped out of the window, and walked silently on the smooth roof, stepping on the golden bricks, always paying attention to the walking direction of the people below.

As he jumped from spiers to spiers, the inevitable sound beneath his feet, Eleven spoke: "I've always wanted to meet the Emperor, and I hope I get the chance."

"Tell it to the cell wall, rebel," Lorgar replied. "This is the strongest fortress in the galaxy."

"I'm looking forward to it." Eleven said.

Omegon descended along the stone pillar, fixed himself on the outer edge of the wall, and looked for the next decoration as a foothold. They passed through layer after layer of areas. The terrain and paths here were enough for one person to explore for two hundred years, not to mention the existence of many one-way doors that greatly restricted the scope of activities of daring explorers.

Sometimes Omegon must knock out the guards in time and avoid the patrolling Custodes. If one of them was disturbed, all would turn sharply towards him.

He groped for the perfect path, which twisted and swam beneath his feet like ever-changing snakes. Constantin Waldo is not here. He has confirmed that the other party is leaving for Ullanor.

Outside the tunnel on the ground floor of the palace, they identified themselves and the Imperial Guard opened the door.

Luojia nodded slightly: "I will stand here until I can confirm that No. 11 is detained."

"It's all in vain, Aurelion," Eleven said softly. "If your senses were as sharp as Leon El'Jonson's—"

"My abilities are limited." Aurelion said coldly, but Omegon heard the sarcastic hint of No. 11.

If he could say less suspicious things, Omegon's journey would not be so scary.

Omegun landed on the closed back side of the turbine cable car, turned on the jamming signal device to avoid the detection instruments of the security inspection, and firmly grasped the iron ring connecting the cable car to the sling, hanging it outside the carriage and riding it toward the abyss. Go inside. The surrounding stone walls seeped slightly, scattering a thin ghostly light. The cables were buried within the stone walls and were illuminated by lumen lamps from a distance.

Continuing downward, the wind pressure and poisonous gas here are gradually enough to suffocate any mortal. Tens of minutes later, Omegon saw those building layers flashing past. These reactors, power plants and water supply pipelines hidden under the foundation of the palace were the real foundation of the huge building above. They were like a spindle, with the upper half and The lower half unfolds equally.

Further back, there are the remnants of the old palace that were directly buried. More than ten floors of palaces were successively filled in by those who came before, and then covered by those who came after.

Omegon tried to keep his body flat so that the optical cloak could work better. They continued their descent until the dampness in the air began to subside. The Imperial Guard stepped out of the cable car and monitored No. 11's every move as he walked without fear.

The five inhuman giants and the hum of the perfectly functioning machines surrounding them were a silent threat in themselves, enough to make the surrounding workers fall into panic due to lack of observation. Despite this, the intensity of surveillance here reminds Omegon directly of the throne room. A large number of blast-proof doors are chasing the heels of the Imperial Army. The door locks close quickly after sliding open, and there are no bunkers to hide in or vehicles to enter. .

When Omegan almost realized that this was an impossible mission, No. 11 gave him some help: his extraordinary and well-trained psychic powers opened a way for Omegan to rely on the reality of the afterimage. .

Eleven once shared its principle, "a temporary road built to imitate the small webway system that the Eldar Outcasts have inside the planet," he said tiredly, "You can call it the Shadow Way."

The Shadow Way was fleeting under the palace's psychic protection system, but it was enough for the Primarch. Omegon stepped on No. 11's footprints and felt his body trembling as he crossed the entity.

He estimated that he had advanced far enough, so he left a little evidence on the edge of the monitor that he had left early.

The dust turned the air into a heavy semi-fluid. Omegan pushed the air away and moved forward like a ghost in the shadow of the towering dome pressing on the ground. He avoided the hot air waves in the mechanical arms responsible for transportation and the ventilation ducts. The irritating chemicals in them were not good for anyone. Once he almost collided with a shield guard in black and gold armor, but the unique smell of ancient incense on the guards alerted him. Several hours of long tracking quickly consumed his spirit, but he could not fail.

He got into the operating shaft of the next elevator, followed the maintenance handrail on the vertical wall, and jumped down in groups of multiple steps to catch up with the speed of the box's descent.

Finally, Omegan followed the vertical afterimage trail left by Eleven in the box trajectory, slid to the back of the Imperial Guard, and accurately stabbed a knife into the gap of the armor, cutting the cable and disturbing the nerves of the Imperial Guard. Then there was a quick punch and a quick attack to seize the sentinel blade.

Within ten seconds, the four Imperial Guards were disarmed. Omegan stopped the moment before the long knife crossed the Imperial Guard's neck and turned to a horizontal attack.

Eleven grabbed a Imperial Guard who was about to fall to the ground and made sure he fell quietly. At most one minute, the Shadow Prison Warden would soon notice the time deviation, and they had no time to communicate more.

"Finally." Eleven said silently with lip language, adjusting his collar, without any joy at the success of this infiltration, "Do you know its location?"

"I just need to create chaos." Omegan replied, "Destiny only needs a push, and then everything will be done."

He didn't need to know the specific location of the blade of destiny hidden in the static force field deep in the Shadow Prison. Use the sentinel blade to force open a few doors that are ready to move, and the chain reaction created will be just right.

"Should we leave the old way?" Omegan asked.

Eleven paused for a second: "I haven't seen the throne yet. Maybe this is my only time to come to Terra."

"Tell me you are not insane like Erda."

"Maybe soon," Eleven let a smile flash across his cold cheeks, "a joke. After the chaos breaks out, I will be able to break through the psychic defense. I'll wait here, wish you good luck."

Omegan turned and left, stepping into the silent space of the Shadow Prison full of whispers and spirits, going deep into the heavy shadows painted with runes and bound with chains, to listen to the seductive and sad whispers and the creeping ghosts and misty phantoms that always challenge the bottom line of the soul on the edge of hearing and vision.

This is the Shadow Prison, where the horror of the old night is condensed countless times, almost turning into a solid body flowing and winding, coldly soaking the ankles of everyone who walks here.

The door to the Shadow Prison was locked while the trumpets of the Unification War were still echoing. If the Shadow Prison is the second safest place in the galaxy, then the safest place is the throne room.

Throne room. Eleven thought. It is said that it is the former Astartes laboratory. Is it true?

Maybe.

He turned his head and looked at the entrance of the Shadow Prison intently. For two hundred years, this place has remained exactly the same as he remembered.

A few minutes later, he heard the door of a secret room open, and the echoes lingering in the Shadow Prison suddenly increased, and then, the screams across time with the smell of blood split through the thick air, followed by a second filthy whisper echoing in the narrow corridor, making a noise like insects crawling through a person's brain.

Some rustling crawling sounds touched his riding boots, and he lowered his head and stretched out his right hand. The crystal snake head of the illusion stretched out from his sleeve, driving away the chaotic creatures approaching the shield guards of the imperial guards. The darkness around him moved away, as if it was dispelled by a cold light.

After the first thing was freed from the cell, the chain reaction unfolded at an extremely fast speed. The lights of the stasis field exploded one by one, and the solid walls of the shadow prison cracked with frost-like fine lines. Blood stains climbed up the weak light of the sodium lamp. The prisoners wandering in the void called, fought, and tore each other. The wind behind the curtain brought waves of scarlet stench. Sharp laughter floated and spread, and a vortex gradually formed, and the chaos only increased.

Eleven heard the raven's hoarse laughter. He frowned and did nothing.

More imprisonment was broken, and cracks on the wall spread and climbed, spreading like a spider web. Blood gathered into streams on the ground, crawling like life. The Unborn gradually tore through the barriers of reality and showed their forms. The shadows of various creatures entangled with each other, frantically tearing each other's or their own bodies. Sharp screams and painful wails mixed together, and the air was filled with the terrible smell of despair, changing its characteristics every nine seconds.

He could imagine everything that was happening inside the Shadow Prison. In the swirling ocean of souls, the matter on the edge of the vortex was pulled and crushed, and together with those powerful prohibitions and blockades, it was swept into the depths of darkness and destroyed in the endless void.

Countless items, big or small, will be lost forever in the drifting of the warp, and only one of them will ride the waves, experience nine twists and turns, and finally be washed to the shore of the ocean, and then be picked up accidentally by a suitable person.

Nemesis Blade, a cursed name.

Not long after, Omegan ran out in a panic, with many wounds on his body caused by various reasons when escaping.

"Can we go now?" he asked, panting, his eyes alight with the plan going well.

Eleven held out his hand.

His fingers began to fade, each of them turned into a crystal snake, and his nails turned into crystal snake tongues.

Then, the skin of his pale ivory-like palms became transparent, and his muscles and blood vessels gradually became translucent, and his blood turned into changing silver light, flowing in his blood vessels. Those silver scales reflected fragmented light in the deep void, and each snake scale was carved with concrete decorations. The hazy colorful light covered its body surface, slightly illuminating the dim shadow prison.

Immediately afterwards, the exquisite embroidery of snakes and eagles on its cuffs seemed to be a kind of call, and the snake part became vivid and agile. The changes spread, the silk texture of the sleeves gradually disappeared, its wide-sleeved coat and silver-buttoned gray vest gradually faded, the chest, back and abdomen turned into a snake body, the spine turned into the main trunk of the silver snake, winding up and extending to the neck, and the hair turned into frozen gold.

Finally, its facial features disappeared, and it turned into a silver snake head. Together with the two arms, the three silver snakes wrapped around Omegan's arms, and invisibly liberated and expanded its body, completely transforming into another huge existence in the void.

In the turbulent energy vortex of the Shadow Prison, it took Omegan and dived into the subspace.