My Life as A Death Guard
Act III · Prologue: "The Fool's Scarlet Heart"
The prophecy was true.
Magnus was right.
But those willing to believe in his soul had long since fallen into slumber.
Chapter 459: The Lord of the Underworld Comes for You
If you do not seek the Lord of the Underworld, then the Lord of the Underworld will come for you.
Such is the truth.
. . .
Terra — Nine Months Earlier
Within a dimly lit chamber, the Emperor pondered in silence. His gaze lingered on the shattered blackstone statue in the room as he sank into thought.
The variable was still him.
Cadia.
The Emperor reflected: as long as "the Deceased" was not dead, Chaos's primary target would remain "the Deceased."
Once "the Deceased" was truly sealed, Chaos would have countless opportunities to redirect the course of fate.
And now… that was exactly what they were doing.
But…
Where had something gone wrong?
The Emperor mused. Though he excelled at using psychic power to glimpse the future, when it came to matters involving "the Deceased," he often made misjudgments similar to those of Chaos.
"The Deceased" had not yet been completely sealed—meaning there was still a chance.
However…
With the power of Chaos, if they were willing to cooperate, they could confine the strength of "the Deceased" within the Eye of Terror.
Though internal strife among Chaos could not be ruled out, when it came to "the Deceased," they had long made their greatest concessions and compromises with one another.
Golden candlelight flickered, illuminating the Emperor's expressionless face. At this moment, he urgently needed to return to the construction of the Webway—this was the final step, and no mistakes could be allowed.
The Emperor stepped forward, approaching the shattered statue of "the Deceased," gazing into the vaguely shaped eyes that had never truly been carved.
—Having devoured portions of the Four Gods' power, "the Deceased" had grown deeper, more unfathomable—and was no longer confined within the Eye of Terror.
The answer was already obvious.
"Extinguish the Astronomican." The Emperor spoke.
Within the Warp, at this very moment, the Astronomican on Terra was the brightest beacon.
Its light, unlike the Pharos Beacon later activated by Guilliman—which illuminated only a single sector—shone across every corner of the Imperium of Man.
In other words, it was the most conspicuous point in the Warp.
And something would be drawn to that light.
—That monster which had lost control.
"Extinguish the Astronomican," the Emperor repeated. The Custodian behind him hurriedly departed.
The Emperor fell silent. Extinguishing the Astronomican would plunge the Imperium back into chaos—but Terra must not fall. Within the Warp, it was humanity's origin; its loss would mean humanity's extinction.
The Emperor sighed and shook his head.
It was not that he could not deal with "the Deceased." But even he could no longer determine… what kind of monster Chaos had nurtured on Cadia.
Originally, the Emperor had diverted a portion of his faith-power to feed "the Deceased." As long as what he gave was less than what he gained in return, he could suppress it.
But now—
Just how much had Chaos poured into "the Deceased" on Cadia?!
On this matter alone, the Emperor held an extremely ominous suspicion.
Even if he could suppress "the Deceased," it would mean injury—and the Webway itself was a Warp-based construct.
At this moment, injury meant death—the other gods were all watching like tigers stalking prey.
Such a scheme… such a mutually destructive stratagem…
The Emperor realized—only it could have done this.
The other gods would never have allowed such a thing… it was intentional.
It was intentional!
Though the chamber was brightly lit, impenetrable shadows covered the Emperor's face, leaving only those blazing golden eyes burning with fury.
At that moment, the Master of Mankind seemed to feel the same wrath the Four Gods had once felt when he fed "the Deceased."
Tzeentch!!!
His roar sent ripples surging through the Warp.
From beginning to end, the Changer of Ways had cooperated with him in feeding that monster—nurturing it until it was powerful enough to kill any of them.
That had been Tzeentch's true objective all along.
The ever-changing god had even been willing to risk his own end.
If the Astronomican remained lit, the shadow of "the Deceased" could reach Terra at any moment.
But if it were extinguished, the already fragile Imperium would further fracture and collapse.
No matter what choice the Emperor made, the Imperium would bleed.
In a daze, the Emperor seemed to hear a shrill, gloating scream echoing from the Warp.
Raging darkness surged up from beneath the Master of Mankind's feet, its edges gleaming with radiant gold, rising slowly in rhythm with his increasingly furious breaths… Tzeentch… how dare it… how dare it?!
As "the Deceased" entered the Eye of Terror, the Warp currents there severed the Emperor's connection to his finger bone.
Of course, even if that link had not been cut, he would no longer recklessly expend faith-power. What he needed now was strength—balanced precisely at the threshold between man and god.
He could feel it—flowing from the Warp, from the future—faith far more intense than he had anticipated.
Something darker was swelling. How dare it… "the Deceased" belonged to humanity, belonged to the Imperium. Only humanity could accept "the Deceased," and yet it…
An overwhelming pressure began to descend. The small chamber seemed to tremble—
The Emperor closed his eyes. A moment later, everything returned to stillness.
He must not be impatient.
Silently, the Emperor turned away. The king and pieces upon the chessboard could not be moved lightly. He would return to the construction of the Webway. Once completed, the path from Terra to other worlds could truly begin.
He had left the Great Crusade for this—to complete the Webway. This was the decisive move.
Only…
May the others remain safe.
"The Deceased"… the Emperor thought inwardly. Wake soon. Wake soon!
. . .
[ Hrafnkel ]
"Damn it—by the Allfather, what do you mean the Astronomican's gone out?!"
The Wolf King strode forward, cursing. He frowned, staring in disbelief out the viewport. Within the warped tides of the Immaterium, the beacon's position was indeed nowhere to be seen.
"What did the Navigators say?"
A mortal crewman stepped forward and reported in full—the Navigators had collapsed. So far, their survival rate was roughly one in ten.
The Wolf King lowered his head and cursed again.
"Where are we closest to right now? We just set out—can we turn back to Terra?"
Leman Russ gripped the axe at his waist, baring his fangs. Not surprising, he thought. He knew there was a major problem aboard his ship—this voyage going wrong had been almost inevitable.
But he hadn't expected the problem to come from Terra itself.
No, Russ thought. The Allfather is on Terra—the Astronomican wouldn't just fail. This was likely part of his plan. But if the Allfather hadn't informed him before departure, then something must have gone wrong unexpectedly.
The best course of action now would be to return to Terra and find out what had happened.
But the surviving Navigators told him that was no longer realistic. His poor, half-mad crew needed rest before they could recalibrate the course.
"Kid, where are we closest to right now?"
Russ exhaled heavily. His keen instincts told him that the Warp was not a place to linger.
Unexpectedly, he received an answer.
At present, the Space Wolves fleet was hovering near their homeworld—Fenris.
"…Fine. Bring us in! Bring us in!" the Wolf King roared.
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Side Scene:
+Oh, he's just like his red-haired brat!+
+You should've seen his face when he got angry—just a little more—by the gods, just a little more—and we wouldn't have had to work so hard!+
+We're all beings of the Warp—did he think he was special? Did he think he could escape punishment?!+
+Oh—my dear, future Dark King, watch closely!+
+—Lord of the Underworld! Over here—look at me! Lord of the Underworld! Come here! Good boy—come on now!!+
+Hahahahahahahahaha!+
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Note:
In short, Hades is like an unchained beast that has lost it's mind, going to the throat of the brightest light (Warp), and if the Emperor didn't shut down the Astronomican, there's a high chance he will go to Terra, and if that happen, the Emperor had a real chance of dying, which would lead humanity to extinction.
By turning off the Astranomicon, Hades is now wandering around Cadia.
Also, the reason why Hades is mentioned as 'the Deceased' is because name has power; if any of the 4 Gods or Emperors calls upon either [Hades] or [Lord of the Underworld], he will take notice.
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+—Lord of the Underworld! Over here—look at me! Lord of the Underworld! Come here! Good boy—come on now!!+
For this part, one of the Chaos Gods is calling upon Hades name to gain his attention, think of it like pulling out a bone on a feral dog.
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