"The Kingdom of Disorder," Eighth Layer of Space.
The moment Nareth set foot here, he immediately saw threads of rules coalescing into various shapes.
Towering golden peaks, gray bands...
Every object formed by these threads of rules could be associated with one of two words: majesty and submission.
So the first layer of space opened by the "Mentor of Disorder" was related to "Majesty."
A surge of joy rose in Nareth's heart. He was about to head to the fifth layer of space to bring Slau Dha over.
Suddenly, black fog surged, and the Aeldari Autarch appeared before him.
'Hmm?' Nareth pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up.
'A further manifestation of increased authority.'
'I'm becoming more and more like the master of the "Kingdom of Disorder," no need to rush about.'
As Nareth contemplated, Slau Dha's body trembled, as if something was pressing down on him.
The spirituality of the "Mentor of Disorder" surged forth, "Will Suppression" bearing down on Slau Dha.
Bang!
Slau Dha crashed onto the pitch-black ground, blood seeping from his head.
Slau Dha felt the Mon-keigh before him stretch its body.
It grew increasingly majestic, like a deity in a pantheon.
Slau Dha felt as if he had returned to his youth, kneeling before the statue of the Asuryan, praying for a way to save his kin.
He recalled the laughing deity he encountered in the tunnels when visiting the Black Library.
He remembered walking into the Temple of Khaine under the witness of various branch sect bishops, gaining recognition, and taking up one of the Hundred Swords of Vaul, forged by the God of Smiths, Vaul.
"Tell me the method you used to transform John Grammaticus into an perpetual."
Slau Dha tightly shut his eyes, attempting to enter a state of inner stillness, but found that the mountain-like pressure existed not only in this world of surging black fog but also within the realm of his spirit.
He silently repeated to himself: "He is not a god, he is just a Mon-keigh."
Light and shadow flickered in the Primarch's eyes. Pure spiritual power radiated, and a stream of light flew toward Slau Dha's psyche.
"You... are... a Mon-keigh... you... don't think..."
Slau Dha's psyche was under pressure like a mirror, on the verge of shattering at any moment.
A flicker of surprise crossed Nareth's gaze. Slau Dha could still resist.
'Having just advanced to "Mentor of Disorder," the effect of "Will Suppression" is still somewhat lacking. Even in the eighth layer of space, I can't overcome Slau Dha's final resistance.'
'But I won't wait any longer. The potion will digest, and my power will increase.'
"Open your eyes."
The "Mentor of Disorder" commanded, and at the same time, with a thought, the flagpole from the third layer of space appeared in his right hand.
Slau Dha kept his eyes tightly shut, but his mental resistance was not firm.
After his eyes flickered open and shut six times, they finally widened.
"Tell me the method you used to transform John Grammaticus into an perpetual."
"Serpents Cradle... spring water... gemstone..." Slau Dha stammered out three words before suddenly realizing what he had said.
"Mon-keigh... you... don't think..."
"I already know." Nareth coldly interrupted him, having obtained the answer from Slau Dha's psyche.
The psyche is truer than language, even truer than the brain.
Language can deceive, and false memories can be fabricated in the brain, but for an Aeldari War Leader, that was not difficult.
But consciousness is like a mirror; it reflects everything truthfully.
'The ritual for transforming perpetuals is not difficult. I have already mastered the runic symbols.'
'The difficulty lies in the materials: the spring water and gemstones from the Serpent's Cradle.'
'So the rumors about the Serpent's Cradle in the future were not unfounded.'
Nareth knew that in the future, both Havenport and Wanderport would have rumors about the Serpent's Cradle:
The spring water was sweet and could cure all diseases.
Gemstones the size of palms were scattered everywhere, easy to pick up.
'I originally thought it was a false lure spread by the Slaanesh faction to bait people.'
'Turns out, it wasn't fake.'
'It's just that the only survivor who went there was Sebastian Winterscale.'
Nareth thought it unlikely that the King in Yellow had visited that remote star system.
'The Aeldari method of transforming perpetuals seems different from the King in Yellow's.'
'The King in Yellow couldn't possibly tell Erebus the method of transformation. His method for transforming the survivor of the Perfect City, Cyrene Valantion, might also be different.'
Nareth frowned slightly. Obtaining the materials for pepertuals wouldn't be easy.
The Serpent's Cradle was a dangerous place.
The twin stars of the Serpent's Cradle, Serpentis Alpha and Serpentis Beta, likely harbored Slaaneshi daemons lying in wait to prey.
The twelve planets orbiting the twin serpents were all precious Aeldari maiden worlds, but all had been abandoned.
'Perhaps this is why Slau Dha and the Cabal produced only a limited number of perpetuals.'
'After Slaanesh seized the twin serpents, the spring water and gemstones they could take away were limited.'
Compared to the Cabal's goal of manipulating the galaxy's situation, their number of perpetuals was still too small.
Slaanesh alone wasn't too big a problem.
Nareth could lead the Sun Pathway beyonders and the Librarians, wielding the "Gryphon's Roar" to cleanse the Serpent's Cradle of daemons.
The Sun Pathway beyonders could also purify the spring water of Slaanesh's corruption, even more effectively than the future purification rituals of the Ecclesiarchy.
More crucially, it was the region of the Koronus Expanse.
From the perspective of the starry sky, the future Calixis Sector and the Koronus Expanse were originally one.
When Rogue Trader Solomon Haarlock discovered it, he named it the Calyx Expanse.
But until the Great Rift unfolded, the Imperium had barely formed a real government in the Koronus Expanse.
The decisive factor was the lack of a stable Warp route between the Calixis Sector and the Koronus Expanse.
It wasn't until 997.M40 that Rogue Trader Purity Lathimon discovered the only 'safe' route, the Maw, accompanied by the disappearance of dozens of rogue trader dynasties.
Soon after, in 999.M40, Rogue Trader Juno Dach'man's Sceptre'd Rose became one of the first ships to traverse the Maw, but also vanished en route.
Nareth knew that powerful Warp storms had long surrounded the Maw.
There was no place for fleets to anchor within the Maw, and even the 'safe havens' were more dangerous than the Warp storms themselves.
'Even if my fleet can be teleported to the Serpents Cradle through the Kalium Gate, on the return journey, we must traverse the Maw.'
'Even using the Dice of Prophecy to divine a 'safe passage' doesn't guarantee true safety.'
After a few seconds of silence, Nareth figured out a way to return safely.
Retrieve the Tuchulcha in advance.
The Tuchulcha, created by the Old Ones, was a Warp artifact capable of efficient and precise Warp jumps.
Nareth's original plan was to retrieve it before the Heresy, because he knew that after Lion El'Jonson led the Dark Angels and Calas Typhon led the Death Guard to reconquer the Perditus system, they hadn't realized the Tuchulcha's value.
After the battle, the Tuchulcha was placed on Perditus Prime for research at the newly established Forge World.
It wasn't until the Thramas Crusade, after Lion El'Jonson dueled Konrad Curze on Tsagualsa and was tricked by Perturabo into using his Legion's cannons against the Imperium, that he decided to change his passive situation.
Just then, he learned of the Death Guard's movement toward Perditus and realized they were after that strange artifact.
He went to Perditus, trusting no one, and seized the Tuchulcha from the conflicting Death Guard and Iron Hands.
Although the Tuchulcha couldn't meet the Lion's requirements to break through the Ruinstorm and reach Terra.
It still allowed the Lion to breach smaller Warp storms and raid the homeworlds of the traitor Primarchs.
Because before the Heresy, the Tuchulcha would remain on Perditus.
He just needed to go there before the Heresy, use his identity as a Primarch to take the Tuchulcha, and save himself the trouble.
But to return safely, he had to go to Perditus early and intercept the Tuchulcha.
That way, even if they encountered Warp storms while traversing the Maw, the fleet could return safely.
'This is good. It avoids the butterfly effect and any unforeseen changes.'
'And I gain a resource-rich world.'
Perditus could develop into a Forge World rather than just a research station, indicating it had abundant mineral resources.
With this in mind, Nareth formulated his next plan:
Participate in the 884 war against the Nephilim, then in 885 use the Dice of Prophecy to divine the Tuchulcha.
After that, divine the star charts for the route to the Serpent's Cradle and the Maw.
'Hmm, since I'm heading to the Koronus Expanse, I might as well have the 4th Company occupy that world full of undead to facilitate the "Spirit Guide" roleplay.'
Having finalized his plan, Nareth looked at Slau Dha before him.
He knelt on the ground, his eyes flickering with hatred, sorrow, and a hint of reverence.
Nareth asked in a deep voice, "Tell me about the Black Library."
"Mon-keigh... you... don't even think..." Slau Dha resisted.
The stream of consciousness Nareth had seeped into the depths of Slau Dha's psyche suddenly felt mist rising around it.
He cautiously withdrew from Slau Dha's psyche, thinking to himself.
'His communion with the Laughing God is an even more important secret.'
"I will find out."
Slau Dha couldn't escape; he would know sooner or later.
With a thought, Nareth returned to the real space.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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