The final tendrils rose from the grey mist jungle, piercing the clouds.
Three immense cathedrals, their domes lined with psychic cables, rose high, constantly unleashing plasma fields into the sky, repelling the strafing aircraft.
Tens of thousands of humans were bound to neural conduits, positioned to have their skulls easily pierced, their life force slowly drained.
The first and oldest temple, its spikes piercing countless skulls, its shell-like walls long stained black with the blood of sacrifices.
Every Shadow of Order, whether Court Brother or psyker, entering the grey mist jungle heard a strange echo.
The frenzied screams of the dying echoed through the mist.
The "Listeners" of the Tenth Chapter, the first to arrive, heard the howls of billions of souls.
They ascended to the Thelema mindstate, but even that could not block the screaming vortex, the sounds they "heard."
A "Listener," his ears filled with the screams of countless souls,
his face pale, led his squad in an attack.
He struggled to maintain the second level of the Thelema mindstate, stomping on the engine.
The roaring engine slightly dulled the shrieking torment.
He hurled a krak grenade at a xenos gun emplacement.
CRASH!
As the force field detonated, the "Listener" found a moment of peace.
Then, from the rubble of the collapsed emplacement, a four-meter-tall Nephilim emerged, its translucent green flesh shimmering in the shifting light.
It opened its slime-filled maw, unleashing a piercing roar.
The terrible shriek, in both reality and the supernatural, struck simultaneously. The "Listener" tumbled off in agony.
As the vortex of molecule disintegration was about to engulf the black vehicle, a flash of gold light passed overhead.
A beam of light from the iron halo deflected the shrieking pulse, striking the ground. The slime-covered surface exploded.
The "Mentor of Disorder" raised his arm. Viscous, almost solid, transparent liquid layered over the Nephilim, encasing it in amber.
After saving his son, Nareth's wings beat, carrying him past the Shadows of Order and into the cathedral district.
The "Mentor of Disorder's" spiritual energy surged. The cathedral district fell into chaos. Shriek pulses flew erratically.
In the "Chaos," no sonic wave headed towards Nareth.
BOOM!
Psychic cables exploded. Plasma bolts shot wildly. Humans entangled in neural conduits were charred.
As ash fell, beams of golden light flashed, encasing Nephilim after Nephilim in amber.
Nareth flew over the cathedral district, landing on the steps before the temple.
The most ancient Nephilim, the Bishop who had absorbed the life force of over a hundred million, sat on an altar covered in psychic cables, its seat studded with gleaming nerve leaves.
Its scale-like skin trembled. It rose, unsteadily.
Nareth watched the translucent mountain of flesh before him, its two small black eyes buried deep in folds of damp, grey skin.
As it drew a black, pattern-engraved blade, the air around it vibrated.
"Nareth."
"You arrived before Jaghatai."
"But you will die too."
The trembling voice pierced the temple, echoing into the surrounding cathedrals.
The Nephilim sheltering within, obeying their Bishop's command, prepared to activate atomic-scale explosives.
They would burn the entire cathedral to ash. The blast would leave no trace within a fifty-kilometer radius.
Black-armored Shadows of Order, white-armored warriors who had just entered the grey mist jungle, and the Nephilim slave troops, all would be sacrificed to the god-caste.
The next instant, a "Shadow Ascetic" emerged from the shadows of each atomic bomb storage room.
"Shadow Sculpted" blades stabbed into the Nephilim's backs, freezing their bodies.
In the largest atomic bomb storage room, a grey Nephilim exploded.
Its grey flesh, like a storm, swept the area, the viscous flesh tearing through surrounding Nephilim.
The "Rose Bishop" Ramsey materialized from the flesh.
He stared at the device radiating horrific energy, his eyes deep.
He knew the Techmarines, following their gene-father's orders, had intercepted the Odex line.
They had compiled a Nephilim dictionary, revealing the xenos' death-cult philosophy.
But the sacrifice plan was not the result of Techmarines belatedly analyzing data from orbital scans combined with the auspex matrix.
The Black Emperor had revealed the xenos' self-destruct plan before they even landed on Hord.
At the same moment the Nephilim sacrifice plan failed, the Nephilim Bishop let out a deafening roar, swinging the black blade.
The terrible cry echoed in the Primarch's mind, the screams of billions of souls reverberating.
The mist of faith from billions of souls clouded the Primarch's mind.
He perceived the folly of each soul, willingly accepting death.
Invisible impacts echoed in his mind, like invisible shackles binding his thoughts.
The Bishop swung the black blade, which had reaped millions of lives. The blade cut the air, the sound waves tearing through psychic cables and nerve leaves.
The steps shattered in the rippling waves, scattering to dust.
The waves struck the black armor, meeting an invisible barrier.
Golden light blazed behind Nareth. A series of explosions sounded.
The deflected sound waves rippled through the air. The shattering of glass echoed through the temple.
The golden iron halo shattered. Shrapnel clattered against the black armor, also striking the "Mentor of Disorder's" mind.
"You cannot influence my will."
The "Mentor of Disorder's" will, like a spark, ignited his ambition.
The blazing flame of ambition spread through his mind, evaporating the screaming billions of souls.
Flames burned in the "Mentor of Disorder's" eyes. His thoughts cleared.
He raised his hand, gripping the Nephilim Bishop's wrist, wrenching the black blade from its grasp.
The "Mentor of Disorder" channeled spiritual energy into his golden gauntlet, thrusting his hand forward.
The viscous, almost solid, liquid layered over the Nephilim Bishop.
Nareth watched the Nephilim Bishop encased in golden amber, thinking to himself.
'Jaghatai would have dealt with the Nephilim Bishop more easily than I. Keener senses can sometimes be a weakness.'
'The screams of billions of dead, all perceived by me, their combined impact breached my mental defenses in an instant.'
'Without "Ambition" and the iron halo, subduing the Nephilim Bishop wouldn't have been so easy.'
He turned the black blade in his hand, examining its pale and green psychic luster.
'Though I lost the iron halo, a gift from the Emperor after the Wheel of Fire, gaining this makes it worthwhile.'
With a thought, the black blade vanished.
In the third layer of the Kingdom of Disorder, a black blade appeared.
After sending the amber-encased Nephilim to the first layer, Nareth walked towards Jaghatai Khan in his white-gold armor.
Jaghatai removed his helm, his sharp eyes, like an eagle's, fixed on Nareth.
"Nareth, you have bested me in the hunt again."
"I want them to learn from you."
Hasik, beside Jaghatai, followed the Great Khan's gaze to Lord Nareth.
His form, like a marble statue, radiated power. His black eyes were as deep as a pool.
His body was as majestic as a mountain, making the grey mist peaks seem but a backdrop.
An urge to kneel rose unbidden in Hasik's mind. He gripped his glaive, refusing to yield to instinct.
Nareth thought to himself.
'I recall Jaghatai sent Hasik to the Luna Wolves. He was heavily influenced by them and later became the leader of the rebel faction within the White Scars.'
'During the Heresy, when Jaghatai went to Prospero's surface to question a shard of Magnus, Hasik launched a rebellion, attempting to seize control of the White Scars.'
'Hmm... that means Hasik can be "corroded." Better me corroding him than him becoming a follower of Horus and failing in his rebellion.'
"Welcome, warriors of Chogoris." Nareth smiled, accepting Jaghatai's request. 'A corrodible target delivered to my door, of course, I welcome it.'
"Hasik, I want you to follow Nareth." Jaghatai turned, speaking to Hasik Noyan-Khan.
"I want you to learn from Shadows of Order, to understand how they think. Only by fighting alongside them can you truly know them."
"Do this for me. I will also send Gahuin with you."
"As you command, my Great Khan." Hasik readily agreed. He was curious about the Shadow of Order that could match the White Scars' speed.
He was honored to go and learn from Lord Nareth, who had bested the Great Khan in two hunts.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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