What is a person's deepest fear?
The Necron "Primal Fear Inducer" works by triggering the most profound terrors within a target's heart, rendering them frozen and immobile.
As an Adeptus Custodes, Leonardo's greatest fear was being controlled by Warp malevolence during the boarding of the Vengeful Spirit ten thousand years ago, forced to raise his weapon against the Emperor he had followed his entire life.
So, what was the fear inside his own heart?
Adam truly couldn't figure it out.
There were simply too many possibilities.
His experiences in his previous life had exposed him to countless horrors that should have only existed in nightmares. In that world, only the cautious—those who understood awe and fear—survived. Fools who didn't even know how to be afraid had no place there.
However, Adam soon discovered exactly what he feared.
The scene shifted, and the vision before his eyes gradually became clear.
Adam was currently lying on a mobile gurney in a hospital, staring blankly up at the white ceiling. Cold fluorescent light hit his skin, and a rustling sound filled his ears. He could feel a hole near his temple—as if it were leaking air—followed by a surge of sharp pain and a chilling sensation pouring into his brain.
"Whose body is this?" an old man's voice asked.
"Not sure. It was sent over by the Global Occult Coalition; looks like they were pretty rough. Heard it was a Reality Bender hit by a Hume Export Round—you know, the kind that drains Green-types' reality strength to weaken their abilities. Caught him right in the temple. Instant death. It was a messy way to go."
"Poor bastard..."
A younger voice responded.
"Sigh, those people are still so reckless," the old man sighed, seemingly mourning something. "Never mind. Push him to Research Lab 2. His body can still be put to use; we can turn him into a Scranton Reality Anchor..."
"Yes, Professor."
As they spoke, Adam, lying on the gurney, began to move.
Am I dead?
But if I'm dead, why is my consciousness still clear?
Adam fell silent. A distinct realization surfaced from the depths of his soul.
Oh, I see—
This is "What Comes After"!
Regarding the name "What Comes After"—it didn't refer to a thing, but a specific anomalous phenomenon.
Within humanity's collective unconscious, there existed an anomalous entity that fed on the suffering of all mankind.
To gain more sustenance, this entity triggered the phenomenon known as "What Comes After."
After death, humans would not find eternal peace. Instead, their consciousness would persist in the world forever, clearly feeling every subsequent pain—including, but not limited to, the agony of being cremated, decomposed by microbes, and slowly rotting away.
This pain never ended. Even if the remains scattered into basic particles, it wouldn't stop; in fact, the more the remains scattered, the more intense the pain became.
Adam remembered clearly that after realizing he had veen reborn into the world of the SCP Foundation, he had immediately sent a report to the Foundation with the mindset that if he had to die, he wanted to die "completely."
Fortunately, subsequent reactions and his experiences exploring other universes suggested that, at least in the universe he occupied, "What Comes After" did not exist.
He never expected to experience it in this way.
Adam took a deep breath. The double-edged nature of reality-bending abilities manifested now.
His own fear was being materialized by his powers, binding him tightly. Adam tried to tell himself this wasn't real, but he couldn't break free immediately.
He had to stop thinking and overcome this fear.
"Calm down. Calm down. Wake up."
In reality:
The Tomb World Hall.
The battlefield, which had been in a state of intense combat, suddenly fell into a strange standstill. The high-intensity fire stopped temporarily. Commanders from both sides had fallen silent after a bizarre series of mutual strikes; they both needed a moment to recover.
"What should we do?" Archmagos Cawl asked, frowning as he looked at the Necron artifact that had been reduced to scrap. "Lord Adam cannot be allowed to suffer any mishaps."
"—Let me."
Like a violent hurricane, Lucia arrived at Adam's side in an instant, her eyes filled with anxiety.
At this moment, the Living Saint's power-armor was wreathed in golden light, her presence growing stronger by the second, emitting a radiance like a brilliant star.
It wasn't just her own anxiety. Lucia felt a perception—the One upon the Throne was also casting His gaze here.
With that gaze, the power granted by the Emperor swelled within her, her violent psychic energy nearly sweeping across the entire surrounding space. This exaggerated scale of Imperial Holy Energy caused even Sybilla, who was capable of sensing it, to show a hint of shock.
The sound of shattering glass echoed.
A stumbling, skeletal figure appeared in everyone's sight. The Deathmark slowly raised its head, looking around with a core of logic filled with disbelief.
This isn't scientific!
I was hiding in a pocket dimension. You primitives shouldn't have seen a trace, nor could you have the technology. How did you drag me out and drop me back into normal dimensions?
The Deathmark knew exactly what kind of "cheating" was happening.
In the next moment, before it could even leave a last word, the Deathmark was vaporized by concentrated fire, reduced to scrap that even a Reanimation Protocol couldn't save.
Lucia ignored the clownish interruption and went straight to Adam. She caught the falling Adam, slowly laying him flat and gently cradling the back of his head.
Instantly, the wings on Lucia's back turned into light, surging in size and enveloping Adam's body. Ethereal, holy feathers drifted down like raindrops.
Adam's expression slowly became peaceful.
It was true. The Primal Fear Inducer didn't involve any Warp psychic power; it represented the peak of Necron technology in the mental field.
But as the saying goes: "You have technology, I have faith. And my fauth is stronger"
When you Necrons try to discuss scientific theory with me, I have no choice but to discuss religious theology with you.
No matter the clever tricks, they cannot stand against the Way of the Ecclesiarchy!
Within the illusion:
Adam clearly felt the pain in his mind receding. It smoothed out quickly, as if he had been plunged into a warm embrace, the intense agony thoroughly neutralized.
He finally breathed a sigh of relief, his inner fear dissipating.
"Alright, it's time to wake up."
The next moment, web-like cracks spread across his entire field of vision, ending in a flash of pure white.
Adam opened his eyes once more. The scene before him had returned to normal.
"Fine, Trazyn. So this is how you want to play?"
Adam, annoyed at being caught by such a trick, was deeply displeased.
"Well then, it looks like I'll have to turn up the heat on you."