As The Empyrean stirred, the countless emotions surrounding The Seeker began to surge, much like a slowly opening floodgate.
The Warp's influence entrenched within the Calculation Array was drawn away as the Souls scattered. Countless streams of data corrupted by The Warp were swept up by the Souls, shooting out in all directions.
Everyone faced the torrent of information head-on, countless visions flashing through their minds.
Kong Nue evaluated the tides of war across thousands of battlefields, Tzeentch peered into the ethereal and elusive future, Slaanesh savored the utmost extres of agony, and Nurgle calculated the spread of infections to expand the new mbers of his garden.
Through this colossal machine in the material universe, they were all attempting to seize what they desired, both on this planet and across the Galaxy.
They were all trying to claim more.
Yet, there was no sign of the answer The Seeker sought.
"No—"
His head detached from his body, radiating a four-colored light. A piercing shriek originating from his very soul echoed from his still-gaping mouth, before his consciousness plunged into eternal darkness.
As the core of the ritual, The Seeker was annihilated in the despair of his shattered illusions.
Arthur, however, had no ti to consider whether such a swift death was too rciful for the man. Instead, he stared with a grave expression at the headless corpse, whose surface was gradually being fractured by the four-colored light.
The shattering of the ritual's core ant that it would advance to the next stage.
The opening of the Rift!
The collective emotions of trillions of Souls crowded against the encroaching shadows. Even the predators from beyond the Galaxy could not shake the grip of The Warp's influence that now entrenched the entire star system.
This entire planet would be dragged into The Warp.
Such a conclusion drove the Great Devourer to even greater frenzy.
Out in the void of space, excluding the hive ships and biological cruisers, millions of remaining Tyranid vessels madly crashed into the atmosphere. Ignoring the combined fleet's artillery fire, they plumted directly toward the Forge World.
It was exactly like a hunter who had starved for three days and nights in the wilderness, sprinting in desperation toward a cart of food right before it was dumped into a cesspit.
"This is..."
Aglaia clutched her forehead. Under the sheer impact of such a massive data stream, simply thinking had beco incredibly difficult for Mortals.
Moreover, she was certain that if it weren't for an unseen Divine Protection shielding them, every single one of these mortal bodies would have exploded into Chaos Spawn the mont those blasphemous visions entered their minds.
"A Warp Rift..."
Her ears were filled with agonized groans as a terrifying torrent of Souls converged. When she looked up, a four-colored eight-pointed star was manifesting right in the center of the Chaos Ritual.
They were too late. The Sacrificial Ritual to tear open the Warp Rift had already been completed. The Seeker's supposed bargaining was rely a stepping stone for the Four Gods to reap greater interest.
Now, all of them—these outsiders—were going to be trapped here.
Aglaia thought to herself, tightening her grip on the black hole grenade forged from forbidden technology.
She had been too slow. The Old Geezer had already finished gathering the populace, sacrificing six Dark Eldar Kabals along with himself to serve as the core. The Four Gods had fixed their gaze upon this place long ago. Her efforts had been in vain.
High above the planet, a massive void tore through the sky obscured by dense layers of clouds. The swirling vortex turned slowly, radiating a majestic, terrifying power that left the fleet observers trembling uncontrollably.
What... what in the world was that?
[Warp influence detected. Disengaging from the Xenos fleet. Maintaining distance.]
[Activating Geller Field generators. Sealing the bridge. Keeping electronic observation viewports online.]
The fleet commanders listened to the reports streaming over the vox-channels and rapidly issued orders. While they were still reorganizing the fleet, the swirling clouds spun faster and faster, siphoning up countless streams of exhaust and forming an indescribable, colossal gray expanse.
Its diater spanned thousands of kiloters. When the eight gaping chasms forming within the vortex linked together, the fleet commander shot up from his command throne as if struck by lightning.
"Notify the lords to evacuate imdiately!"
Staring at the torn shadows, watching countless chaotic portals manifest across the planet like puddles forming in the rain, the Four Gods all reached out, desiring to let the rift of The Empyrean devour this world entirely.
The situation was far more severe than anyone had anticipated.
The Four Gods seemingly had no intention of allowing the Transmigrators a chance to Exchange Pieces. Instead, they planned to swallow the entire chessboard whole.
Was everything predestined from the very beginning?
Could the efforts of the Transmigrators truly change nothing?
"Arthur!"
As the Rift expanded to the height of a man, Rases held back the Inquisitor who was ready to charge forward and detonate herself, and shouted, "Go in!"
He offered no explanation, and his companion had no intention of listening for one anyway.
"..."
The black knight didn't even glance back. Swinging his sword, he severed the countless claws already reaching into the material realm. Still able to move freely within the torrent of Souls, he leaped directly into the Rift.
"Rases!"
Romulus, who had been closely monitoring the battlefield, didn't even have ti to react before watching his childhood friend disappear.
"You have every right to be angry, but please, trust ."
Bright light shimred within Rases's golden eyes. He kept his gaze locked on the fluctuating state of The Warp.
"Under normal circumstances, this ritual cannot be interrupted. But Arthur is the exception. His unique traits can sever the pathway of Souls, jamming the ritual's progression. Afterward, if the Four Gods want to exert influence over reality, they'll have to carve out an entirely new channel."
"In layman's terms, the floodgate is clogged. If they want to pour water through, they either have to build a new gate or clear the blockage. And the amount of power a gate can release at any one ti has a strict limit."
"But I've lost contact with him!"
Romulus was practically exploding with fury. Was The Warp a place any sane person would willingly enter? Could one man alone hold off a Greater Daemon, let alone several?
"You're about to lose contact with , too."
Rases replied swiftly. "Listen. Ti flows differently in The Warp compared to reality, but I can exert a certain degree of interference. A fleeting mont inside might equate to days passing on the outside. We won't be in danger for very long."
"Arthur has stalled the ritual. I will do everything in my power to redirect the areas where the Four Gods project their strength into reality, forcing them to clash with the Tyranids. You all need to hold the line! The Imperium's reinforcents are already on the way. Once you win, don't forget to fish us out."
"Trust my professional expertise. My uniqueness allows to study the unknown in the safest manner possible. What I know is far more accurate than the accumulated wisdom humanity has scraped together through ten millennia of sacrifice and conjecture."
"Now, it is ti to put it to use!"
Thoom—
A muffled boom echoed.
The Souls gathered by the Chaos Ritual, right on the verge of being cast into The Empyrean, seemingly smashed into an invisible barrier and shattered completely. The Rift, having expanded to roughly three ters, finally ceased its growth.
The mbers of the Inquisition and the warriors of the Nesis Chapter were finally able to stand amidst the crashing torrent.
With a casual wave, Rases conjured a sarcophagus and ignited the daemon contained within, stabilizing the surrounding reality by mimicking the chanics of a Geller Field generator.
"I need a vanguard to guard this location. Stop any daemons attempting to restart the ritual, and protect this sarcophagus with your lives. Its ability to anchor reality will last for exactly three months."
Rases tore open a few more rifts, dropping several heavy vehicles to fill the vast, empty expanse of the Calculation Array, providing defensive cover for the defenders.
Aglaia surveyed her surroundings. The Sisters of the Bloody Rose and the Astartes of the Nesis Chapter all turned their gazes toward her.
The Sororitas and the Adeptus Astartes tightened their grips on their weapons in perfect unison, radiating an aura that practically scread, 'If you dare make stay behind, I'll end you.'
"...Swearing upon this na of Honor passed down from ancient myth, I shall shoulder this burden."
Ultimately, Aglaia suppressed her burning desire to charge into the glorious battlefield and accepted Rases's orders.
"Good."
Rases nodded, then strode purposefully toward the Rift.
To be completely honest, he didn't even know what was going through his own mind. Faced with such a dire situation, rather than thinking about how to run away, he was actually planning to go all-in with his friends' lives on the line.
Just like Arthur, when it was ti to move, he simply moved.
Rases shook his head.
aning and logic didn't matter anymore. They would stand against the crushing tide of Chaos, and they would erge victorious, throwing up the very first middle finger at this pitch-black universe.
Even though they didn't know what the future held, even though they had flaws, made mistakes, and had their limits.
But they were the only ones in this Galaxy he truly trusted, and that was more than enough.
Throwing caution to the wind, the sorcerer stepped straight into the Rift.
He believed his comrades would win, just as surely as he believed in himself.
"???"
Romulus stared blankly at the backs of the Sororitas and Space Marines as they charged away, bellowing cries of "Vengeance!"
He had absolutely no idea where Rases found his confidence, and Arthur—the only person who truly understood what a Thousand Sons sorcerer was ever thinking—had already disconnected first.
After confirming that neither of his two companions could reply anymore, Romulus slamd his fist furiously against the console.
Could they really hold the line? Just how high was the risk factor of this operation? And what exactly did 'jamming the ritual' even an?
A rapid-fire series of questions flooded his mind.
He felt a twinge of regret.
Romulus genuinely felt that he should have forced Rases to write him a comprehensive manual on Warp knowledge, so he wouldn't be left pacing here in agonizing suspense.
"Restrain yourself,"
Karna comforted him. "Since they intend to buy us this opportunity, if we actually fail, that would truly tarnish their sacrifice."
"I know."
Romulus nodded. He then adjusted his vox-channel, switching it over to Cawl's frequency.
"Archmagos, has the computational capacity of the chanicus Sanctum been restored?"
"It has been restored."
Cawl's crisp reply transmitted back almost instantly.
"Give three months."
The swirling vortex in the sky continued to gather, but it seed to have been blocked by so unseen force. It rely rotated sluggishly, completely unable to bring the power of The Empyrean crashing down.
"Three months, huh?"
Romulus watched the Tyranid ships violently plumting onto the Forge World and revealed a faintly bitter smile. He felt that the situation had completely spiraled out of their control.
But what else was there to say?
Since they had already committed to it, they might as well give it everything they had.
"Notify all units. The assault squad has destroyed the Chaos Ritual, but the war is far from over. Rapidly scout the movents of the swarm and the daemons. Tighten our defensive lines. Protecting the assets of humanity is our duty and our Honor!"
Romulus's speech swiftly echoed through the vox-network, reaching everyone's ears.
"Now, let us fulfill our duty."
"Yes, my lord!"
Over a hundred personnel in the command center stood up and saluted in unison, before imdiately sitting back down to dive into their frantic, demanding work.
Romulus watched everyone's morale surge, yet an uncomfortable feeling lingered in his chest. Looking up at the Great Rift dominating the sky, and then glancing at the two disconnected signals on his comms panel, his eyes were filled with profound helplessness.
The ritual of the Four Gods had been interrupted, but the bugs had acquired more Biomass. While a one-sided slaughter had been prevented, the sheer intensity of the war was likely going to double.
Playing the hero really wasn't an easy job at all.
Gathering the intelligence relayed by the scouts, Romulus began running simulations of the battlefield inside his head, striving to secure the best possible outco.
"I just hope this planet can hold on."
Seeing that his comrade had settled into his rhythm, Karna turned around and headed toward the front lines. He intended to use his very presence to inspire the conviction to fight in all of them.
They each had their own lines of thought, yet not a single one of them had spoken of giving up and abandoning the fight—
Perhaps it was precisely for this reason that this profoundly extraordinary journey had chosen them in the first place.
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