Before stepping onto the field, User114514 checked his weapons one last time: a power sword painted crimson, solid and steady in his grip, and a fully loaded bolt pistol engraved with the insignia of the Blood Angels.
It was the standard pairing of melee and ranged weapons, perfectly suited to the Blood Angels' ideals of honor and direct confrontation. He drew a deep breath, adjusted the settings of his power armor, and prepared himself to face an unknown opponent.
Yet when he truly entered the arena and saw the figure opposite him, clad in the blue-and-red armor of the Thousand Sons and holding a psychic staff, along with the unmistakable ID floating above his head, [See You Tomorrow], his entire body went rigid.
His eyes widened behind his visor. For a moment, he even wondered whether the system had made an error.
"Holy shit!" His uncontrollable exclamation burst through the local vox channel, laden with disbelief. "See You Tomorrow? Aren't you that... that Chosen of Tzeentch?! How can you participate in an event for the Imperial faction?!"
The revelation was simply too shocking. User114514 had naturally heard of this infamous Chosen of Tzeentch. He had even caught distant glimpses of See You Tomorrow in several chaotic battles, manipulating psychic power through strange and insidious methods to sow confusion.
He could not understand how a player whose soul had long since been bound to a Chaos God could appear at such a "pure" occasion, one that symbolized the Imperium's golden age, where the Primarchs and loyal Legions had gathered together.
See You Tomorrow did not seem surprised by his reaction. His face was hidden behind his helmet, and only his usual flat, almost cold voice could be heard.
"What is the problem? The rules permit it, and the system made the selection. I meet the qualifications for the Thousand Sons Legion, so naturally I can represent them in battle. Is there an issue?"
"..."
User114514 was left momentarily speechless. On closer consideration, the event rules had never explicitly forbidden the Chosen of Chaos from participating, and the system's evaluation had indeed produced this result.
Even so, the powerful sense of incongruity and the instinctive hostility born from their opposing factions still left him uneasy. He steadied himself, suppressed his doubts and the faint unease stirring in his heart, then said in a low voice, "No issue. Since we're both standing here, there's nothing more to say. Let's begin."
Conviction returned to his voice. Chosen or not, the figure standing before him was now a warrior of the Thousand Sons, an opponent he had to defeat in this honorable duel.
The glory of the Blood Angels could not be tarnished, nor could he allow his resolve to waver in the slightest because of his opponent's identity.
The battle began!
See You Tomorrow did not hesitate. The gemstone at the tip of his staff erupted with dazzling psychic radiance.
Several thick bolts of eerie blue-violet psychic lightning sprang forth like living creatures. Rather than traveling in straight lines, they curved through the air along unnatural trajectories, striking at User114514 from multiple angles.
The sharp crackle of ionized air rang out as blackened trenches were instantly carved across the sand.
User114514's heart tightened.
He could clearly sense that the psychic power See You Tomorrow now commanded was on an entirely different level from that of any psyker he had encountered before, whether player or AI. Its strength and precision were incomparable.
This Thousand Sons Astartes body had not only granted See You Tomorrow strength, speed, and endurance far beyond mortal limits, but had also raised his psychic reserves and control to a terrifying degree.
"I can't take that head-on!"
Every battle instinct in User114514's body screamed a warning. He launched himself explosively backward and to the side, the servos of his power armor whining at full output.
The psychic lightning passed so close to his heels that it nearly grazed them, blasting a shallow crater where he had stood.
Before his feet could touch the ground, See You Tomorrow's second attack had already arrived.
This time, it was not lightning, but an invisible psychic shock wave, broader in range and faster in speed, intended to disrupt his balance and senses. At the same time, See You Tomorrow began moving swiftly. As he swept his staff through the air, countless tiny psychic missiles scattered outward like a swarm of insects, sealing off every possible route User114514 could take to evade.
User114514 was forced onto the defensive.
He could only rely on the Blood Angels' extraordinary reflexes and mobility, weaving through the dense psychic bombardment like a crimson phantom. He occasionally returned fire with his bolt pistol, but every round was either deflected by a psychic shield or avoided through advance prediction.
He tried to close the distance, but See You Tomorrow maintained the perfect range at all times, using an unending barrage of psychic attacks to keep him pinned at the perimeter.
In the stands, Magnus's single eye gleamed with approval. He spoke quietly to his brother Leman Russ beside him.
"Look. Precise control, efficient attack cycles, perfect command of the battlefield. This new son of mine possesses an understanding of the nature of power far beyond that of an ordinary warrior."
Sanguinius, meanwhile, drew his flawless brows together slightly, his golden wings giving an unconscious tremor.
It was not that he failed to appreciate the skill of the Thousand Sons. Rather, this method of fighting, relying entirely on suppression through long-range firepower, was far removed from the passionate and honorable close-quarters combat treasured by the Blood Angels.
His greater concern was how his own son would break the deadlock.
On the field, several blackened marks had already appeared across User114514's armor. The concussive force of the psychic attacks left his organs throbbing with dull pain.
Yet the fire in his eyes only burned brighter.
He realized that if he continued to passively endure the assault, it was only a matter of time before he was worn down and killed.
"I have to get close! Even if I have to take a hit, I have to close the distance!"
The thought flashed through his mind like lightning.
When the next concentrated volley of psychic lightning came hurtling toward him, User114514 made an extremely dangerous decision.
Instead of devoting everything to evasion, he calculated the tiny gaps between the bolts, raised his power sword across his body, and charged straight into the attack with no thought for survival.
"Bzzzt!"
One bolt skimmed across his pauldron, instantly melting through the outer layer of armor. The searing heat sent agony surging through the tissue beneath.
Another bolt was deflected at the last possible instant by his power sword. The energy field flowing across the blade collided violently with the psychic force, producing a shriek that set his teeth on edge.
But he had broken through!
At the cost of a minor wound, he had closed half the distance in an instant.
See You Tomorrow clearly had not expected such ferocity from his opponent. He immediately changed tactics, slamming the base of his staff into the ground as he attempted to unleash a powerful area-wide psychic shock wave that would either drive User114514 back or stun him.
Now!
User114514 had already transferred his bolt pistol to his left hand during the charge. Now he held his power sword one-handed in his right, raised his left arm, and unleashed deadly fire from point-blank range.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three bolt rounds shot toward See You Tomorrow's head and chest in a triangular pattern. User114514 did not expect them to penetrate the heavy armor of a Thousand Sons warrior. He only needed them to disrupt his opponent's concentration.
See You Tomorrow was forced to divide his attention and construct a psychic shield to deflect the rounds.
That momentary delay was all User114514 needed.
The crimson figure crashed into the blue-armored sorcerer like an artillery shell.
User114514 thrust his power sword forward with the full strength of his body and all the momentum of his charge.
"Clang!"
The tip of the sword slammed violently into the shaft of the staff that See You Tomorrow had raised in haste.
The defenses of the Thousand Sons power armor and the staff's durable material saved his life, but the enormous impact still sent him staggering backward. The carefully maintained rhythm of his psychic attacks shattered completely.
The tide of battle reversed in an instant.
Once the Blood Angel had forced him into close combat, the fight entered User114514's area of greatest expertise.
He gave See You Tomorrow no opportunity to regain his footing or open the distance again.
The power sword became a storm of crimson steel, hacking, slashing, thrusting, and sweeping upward. Every strike carried tremendous force and was aimed precisely at vulnerable areas such as joints, armor seams, and the power pack.
The superhuman agility, strength, and combat instincts encoded in the Blood Angels' gene-seed were now displayed in full.
See You Tomorrow was forced to block with his staff and power sword. He occasionally attempted to drive his opponent back with short bursts of psychic force, but User114514 clung to him relentlessly, shredding every counterattack with greater speed and fiercer aggression.
No matter how powerful a Thousand Sons warrior's psychic abilities might be, in close-quarters combat, neither his melee technique nor his explosive strength could match a Blood Angel who specialized in exactly that form of warfare.
Sparks erupted wildly between them. The crash of metal and the hum of clashing energy fields merged into a continuous roar.
Countless cuts and dents rapidly appeared across See You Tomorrow's blue armor, and his movements began to slow.
At last, after a violent collision between their weapons, User114514 seized upon the brief moment of exhaustion that followed See You Tomorrow's block.
He drove one foot brutally into the sorcerer's abdomen, sending him reeling backward and nearly knocking him off balance.
User114514 did not pursue with another sword strike.
Instead, his left hand snapped upward with lightning speed.
The bolt pistol he had kept ready in his grasp throughout the fight was now pressed firmly against the center of See You Tomorrow's helmet, directly between the eyes.
Both men froze.
The roaring arena seemed to fall silent in an instant.
User114514's breathing was slightly ragged behind his visor. His crimson armor was covered in smoke stains and battle scars, but the hand holding the pistol remained as steady as stone.
Through his visor, he stared directly into the helmet of the Chosen of Tzeentch standing inches away.
See You Tomorrow stood rigidly in place, his staff and power sword hanging limply at his sides.
He could feel the lethal threat of the bolt pistol's muzzle, along with the undisguised pressure radiating from the victor before him.
Neither spoke.
After a brief, deathly silence, the judge raised the flag.
[Winner: Blood Angels Legion, User114514!]
Cheers erupted from the Blood Angels' section of the stands.
A relieved and proud smile appeared on Sanguinius's handsome face, as though he were saying:
Look. This is my son, defending honor through courage and skill.