Central Apothecarion. The operating table secured Mago's head and neck.
Gahlan Surlak, Chief Apothecary of the World Eaters, shaved Mago's scalp clean, applied sterilizing gel and anti-pus agents, ensuring the skin was sterile.
The medicae servitor's bionic eye projected a red laser, scanning Mago's scalp to measure and pinpoint the exact locations for the Nails' implantation. It then used the laser to make several faint, barely visible scar marks on the determined spots.
The medicae servitor withdrew, and Gahlan began the surgery.
The bone saw and drill in his hands whined as they cut through flesh and bone. With practiced skill, the Chief Apothecary removed a whole section of skull, still tinged with blood, and placed it on a tray beside the operating table.
'Praise be to my Lord.' Gahlan intoned silently, picking up the implant given by the Black Emperor and examining it once more.
The rope-like metal spikes were slightly shorter than a World Eater's palm. Each spike had a connector at its end, and at the apex, a braided bundle of wire cables was attached.
It seemed no different from what he had offered to the Black Emperor.
'My Lord commanded me to offer it, then gave it back. Surely there is profound meaning in this.'
'I am simply unable to fathom my Lord's power!'
Gahlan ceased trying to comprehend the Black Emperor's might and began the operation.
The first hammer blow was clear and crisp.
The second: the spike sinking into flesh, producing a faint tearing sound.
Next, the Chief Apothecary's movements involuntarily became slow and cautious. With short, light taps, he drove the Nail completely into Mago's skull.
As the incision ports were cut and sutured into place at the back of Mago's head, his fingers began to twitched faintly. The searing pain was overcoming the Nucerian anesthetic.
The cables extending from the upper ends of the various spikes were connected segment by segment to a single silver cable. A long metal braid formed at the back of Mago's head.
Mago's pulse quickened.
Tick, tick...
Facial muscles spasmed and contorted. His head began to twist, to tilt.
Buzz, buzz, buzz...
The cacophony maddened him. Bloodlust flooded his mind.
His nerves burned. His blood boiled.
Mago snapped back to consciousness amidst a thick, coppery reek. The growl from his throat was like a beast's roar of fury.
Gahlan caught the beast's crimson glare. A flicker of surprise crossed his gaze.
He hadn't expected the Butcher's Nail to drive even the level-headed Mago to madness.
He had no choice but to test his creation ahead of schedule.
The "Scarlet Scholar" vanished. In a blur, he retrieved the spray gun from its adamantium case.
He reappeared at the operating table, trailing an afterimage, and adjusted the selector, turning down the output frequency.
Gahlan aimed the gun, its nozzle layered like a series of gaping mouths, at Mago's head.
Based on Nephilim technology, resonant sound waves, inaudible even to Astartes, flooded Mago's mind.
The screeching subsided. The crimson faded from Mago's eyes.
His pupils reappeared, slowly focusing.
"Surlak, what have you done to me?"
"The Butcher's Nails." Gahlan's voice, filtered through his helmet's comm grill, struck Mago's ears like a thunderclap.
"No!" Mago roared.
"I will not become a beast like Angron!"
"Mago! Calm yourself!" Gahlan raised a hand, pressing down on Mago with such force that the World Eater could not move.
He held up the spray gun. "Think carefully. I used this to help restore your sanity."
Mago recalled the chaotic, blood-soaked world, the clear, resonant sound that had washed over him. He stopped struggling.
A flicker of hope appeared on his face. "You mean... you can suppress the rage of the Butcher's Nails?"
"Father..."
Gahlan shook his head. "I don't know. The ones in your head look the same as the others, but the structure is somewhat different."
"I am not certain I can control him," he said, seeing the light dim in Mago's eyes. Then, obeying the Black Emperor's command, he spoke solemnly.
"Mago, be patient. There is still a way out for us."
"Trust me!"
Suddenly, Gahlan's gaze sharpened. He seemed to see a wisp of black fog.
"Alright..." Mago's tone was soft, as if falling asleep. "You're right."
'Black fog!' Gahlan felt as if struck by lightning. A thought flashed through his mind.
'Could it be... the power my Lord has invested in the Butcher's Nails?
'The Mago who would rather kill me than submit to the gene-father Angron... was persuaded by me just like that?'
At the same moment, in the fourth layer of the Kingdom of Disorder, Nareth sat high upon his throne.
With no other major matters recently, he had been closely monitoring Gahlan's progress.
It was crucial to his plan to divide the World Eaters three ways between Khorne, Angron, and himself.
Events were unfolding even more smoothly than he remembered.
His intervention had sent Angron into a deeper sleep than in the original timeline.
Perhaps because time was tighter, Mago hadn't been able to rally one-third of the World Eaters company captains to join his doomed assassination plot, as he had in memory. Only he and Lorkhe had gone to attack the apothecary.
Nor had Mago been killed by Kharn, as in the memory.
Mago was the first to receive the Butcher's Nails, not Kharn.
Seeing that Gahlan had successfully calmed Mago's mind, Nareth felt confident that he had completed his command:
Developing a spray gun that could, to some degree, restore a World Eater's rationality.
The enraged Mago had awakened. He did not run amok on the Conqueror in uncontrollable madness, as Kharn had after his Nails were implanted.
Seeing Mago's hesitation, Nareth extended his spirituality, leveraged the power of the source, and exerted influence on the "linked" Butcher's Nail.
Mago, now somewhat "corroded," followed the will of the master of the black fog, Nareth, dispelling his final doubts and agreeing to be patient.
"The plan to divide the World Eaters three ways is essentially on track."
"World Eaters like Dreger and Mago were already clear-headed, not mindlessly loyal."
"Adding those already implanted with 'corroded' gene-seed, we have approximately twenty-three hundred."
The number he had originally "corroded" through gene-seed was much higher, but a portion of them had been decimated by Angron.
That the World Eaters now numbered only slightly over ten thousand was also due to Angron.
Although, aside from the First Legion, most Legions numbered between ten and twenty thousand when their Primarchs returned, Angron had returned in 899.
The War Hounds, recruited from Terra and modified on Luna, had numbered over twenty thousand.
But the World Eaters had been forced to complete the thirty-one-hour conquest mandate repeatedly, suffering heavy casualties and constant decimations.
Since Angron's return, their numbers had actually decreased, to just over ten thousand by the time the Butcher's Nails were perfected, just as in his memory.
The situation would change somewhat after the Nails were perfected, as Angron would finally show the World Eaters a modicum of respect.
His main contributions would be two factors that would allow the World Eaters to swell to one hundred and fifty thousand by the time of the Heresy: He began frequently donating gene-seed.
And he personally streamlined the recruitment and training processes, constantly conscripting neophytes from conquered Feudal and Feral Worlds without regard for the future of those worlds.
Unlike Mortarion, who recruited only from Barbarus, Angron had no requirement for poison ingestion.
The fact that the World Eaters grew by over one hundred and thirty thousand proved that as long as standards were set low enough, large numbers of new Astartes could be trained.
The same principle applied to Lorgar, who had the blessing of the Four after his pilgrimage to the Eye of Terror, and Dorn, who was preparing against the threat of rebellion at the time of the Heresy.
"Gahlan's power within the World Eaters will certainly increase after successfully replicating the Butcher's Nails."
"With the support of Dreger, Mago, and the others, and his positions as Chief Apothecary controlling gene-seed and Nail implantation, he should be able to offer many more gene-seeds and Nails."
"Of the future one hundred and thirty thousand, the number with double 'corrosion' should exceed fifty thousand." As Nareth pondered, he stepped into the third layer of space and picked up the Dice of Prophecy.
Information about Valhalla, which he knew, flashed through his mind.
'Segmentum Ultima, Valhalla'.
'It was once a lush paradise world of temperate forests and vast, fertile plains, but shortly before the end of the Age of Strife, a colossal comet struck the planet, forever ruining this idyllic world.'
'...'
'The main body of the comet impacted the vast ocean that spanned most of the planet. The scorching seawater, sky-obscuring vapor, and smoke shrouded the sky. The planet's ambient temperature plummeted to freezing.'
After all the information about Valhalla flashed through his mind, he sorted it over once more, then intoned silently:
'The star chart from the Kalium Gate to Valhalla.
'...'
After intoning it eleven times, he tossed the Dice of Prophecy into the air.
After memorizing the star chart and inputting it into a data crystal, he stepped back into the fourth layer of space.
He extended his spirituality, touched the glowing orb, and pulled the Chapter Master of the Fourth, Adams, into the Kingdom of Disorder.
With a thought, Nareth sent the data crystal flying towards Adams.
"You will lead a force to Valhalla immediately. It will be your Chapter's recruiting world."
Aside from the Death Pathway beyonders, whose bodies and emotions were already cold, the people of Valhalla, having grown up in brutal conditions, had an attitude of indifference towards their own lives and the lives of others. This would help them better face death and adapt to the Chapter's culture.
Of course, this indifference towards death still needed to be kept within certain limits. They could not become like the "Marauders," slaughtering civilians and looting allied forces.
"By Your Will," Adams said respectfully, then was swallowed by the black mist.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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