Far beyond the Milky Way, in a remote star system.
The war between the Tyranid swarms and Aeon raged on.
For decades, their battles had not ceased for even a single day.
Lacking the brute force of its foe, Aeon's struggle could only be described as a cycle of fighting while retreating. Every few days it was left battered and torn.
Yet compared to the early years—when it would perish once or twice daily—its resilience had greatly improved.
Both sides possessed the power of adaptive evolution. The Tyranids altered their genetic codes in response to Aeon's manifested abilities, spawning specialized bioforms. Aeon, in turn, evolved countermeasures, shaping new adaptations from its injuries and its enemy's methods.
They were natural adversaries—eternal mirrors—each exposing the other's flaws, each mending its own.
In mere decades they had undergone hundreds of evolutionary leaps. Weaknesses that would normally take millennia to uncover and refine were erased in a handful of clashes.
The path of evolution that others required countless ages to walk—
for them, a single battle sufficed.
This brutal arms race benefited both sides.
Thus, though the Hive Mind longed to dissect Aeon, it deliberately restrained its hunts, hoping this prey would reveal even greater wonders.
Today marked another purge.
A swarm three trillion strong surged from the star sea, encircling Aeon as it consumed the core of a burning sun.
Countless gravitational waves radiated from Tyranid organs, forming ripples that bound the surrounding void. Space grew a thousandfold more rigid, warping almost impossible.
Yet Aeon, deep within the star, did not stir. It continued devouring stellar fire.
The Hive Mind was not concerned. This was, after all, the customary opening move between them.
Projecting its will into a Tyranid Hive Tyrant, the Hive Mind prepared to command the swarm to shatter the obstructing star—
But then, without warning, power erupted from a far-flung dimension.
Like a sudden supernova, a cataclysmic force tore through the gravitational blockade. A spatial rift, over a million kilometers wide, ripped open beside the star.
It gaped like a black hole, devouring light. Even the star itself trembled, its blazing red plasma dragged into the abyss.
The sheer turbulence shattered hundreds of nearby worlds. Their explosive deaths, brilliant to mortal eyes, were no more than candles beside a roaring pyre.
Caught in the catastrophe, half of the three trillion Tyranids were annihilated in an instant. Another third were crippled.
Before the battle had even begun, eighty percent of the swarm's strength was gone.
Yet the Hive Mind's attention was not on its losses.
Through the colossal rift, it locked gazes with Orsaga.
"Show me your potential…"
The words echoed like a sovereign's decree, filled with crushing disdain.
Instinctively, the Hive Mind recoiled in loathing.
And then they came.
Twisted titans surged from the rift—Eldrazi.
There were not many, only several trillion. A force equal to but one Tyranid battlegroup—of which the Hive Mind commanded countless.
But each Eldrazi radiated strange, alien power. The smallest stood hundreds of meters tall; the largest spanned hundreds of kilometers. Their warped forms bore unnatural organs that stirred primal unease.
Though their abilities remained unknown, the Hive Mind swiftly calculated the scale of sacrifice required to destroy them.
Without hesitation, it issued its command.
From within a radius of five hundred light years, 27.55 quadrillion Tyranids surged toward the battlefield. It would not grant the Eldrazi time to adapt—it would crush them beneath absolute numbers.
The rift sealed with a thunderous resonance. The star beside it was torn apart, its corpse scattered into void.
From the maelstrom emerged a giant.
A humanoid figure nearly ten thousand kilometers tall, wreathed in radiance. Tides of raw energy coiled about its frame, warding off all harm, feeding its endless power.
Aeon.
After decades of unceasing war, its strength had multiplied dozens of times over.
At its emergence, the Eldrazi bowed in reverence.
Though they were Orsaga's spawn, Aeon was different—it was his avatar, the direct manifestation of his will.
Thus, command of the Eldrazi automatically shifted from their three supreme leaders to Aeon.
Yet that was not Orsaga's intent.
He did not wish to lead them through this trial himself. He sought to measure the Eldrazi's own strength.
So Aeon relinquished command, returning it to the three Eldrazi overlords—Emrakul, Ulamog, and Kozilek.
With silent authority, it instructed them: Ignore me. Fight the Tyranids by your own will.
Though the Eldrazi felt a pang of disappointment, their gaze turned to their true commanders.
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T/N:
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