The situation was spiraling out of control.
Inquisitor Borlais felt mentally and physically exhausted. In the initial months, blinded by his daughter's involvement, he had mistakenly believed Yuki was merely using extreme measures to prolong his own life. But as time progressed, he realized Yuki's influence far exceeded his imagination.
The sector had been cut off from the outside world for half a year, yet there were zero traces of Chaos incursion. The enemy was clear: the Tyranids.
Borlais knew how troublesome these xenos were. He had to seek help from the Imperium; this was likely the vanguard of the next Tyranid War. Although the Genestealers on this planet had not yet revolted—at least according to reports from the Underhive military outposts—the Cult was staying suspiciously quiet.
"Sino, we need more power now. The Underhive gangs cannot place their interests above those of the entire Imperium," he told the Planetary Governor. "I don't care what mistakes you've made in the past, but at least you haven't been tainted by Chaos or xenos. I can give you a chance to live. Take the lead now; unite all armed forces on the planet. We are going to integrate the Underhive."
Angel's safety had to be set aside for now. Borlais had to fulfill his duty.
"But, my Lord... the Genestealer Cult... they are hiding. If we enter a direct conflict, we will only suffer losses," Sino stammered.
Borlais gave a cold snort. "I will handle that."
The Inquisitor left the Spire palace and returned to his own tower. His warships had entered planetary orbit, but they couldn't be used for large-scale bombardment against the Underhive. According to Imperial records, Genestealers were vanguards meant to assist the Tyranids in seizing worlds, and the Tyranids' sole purpose was the planet's organic matter. In other words, if necessary, they would preserve as much biomass as possible under the noses of other factions.
Borlais made a decision. Even if the discovery of this act meant his total destruction, he would see his duty through.
"Daemon, I need you."
"Need my foot. I can't even stabilize my own form right now," a voice hissed.
"Do you have a way to open a rift between the Warp and the material world?"
"What are you planning?"
"I'm going to send the information about the Tyranids out. If I can cause a collision between Chaos daemons and the Tyranids, so be it."
"Hilarious. Tyranids have no souls. We gain nothing from fighting those things."
Borlais understood the stance of the daemon he had captured, and he knew the creature was merely waiting for him to offer a price.
"The Underhive... those people can be yours. Besides, your Master has wanted to reap the harvest here for a long time, hasn't he?"
"Tsk, tsk. What a cruel fellow. But even I cannot return to the Warp right now. What will you do?"
Borlais hardened his heart and pulled a small, glowing raw stone from his pocket.
"Oooooh... the power within that is mesmerizing."
"It contains a sliver of your Master's breath. With this, you should be able to re-establish contact with the Warp, shouldn't you?"
"Naturally."
Borlais released the stone. In the material world, pushing against the crushing pressure of the Shadow in the Warp, a crack was forcibly torn open. Humans could not perceive this rift, but the Tzeentchian daemon saw it. Cackling, it crawled out of its container, leaving the Inquisitor it had accompanied for decades.
Next came the waiting.
...
"What the hell is going on? There's less than three months until the Swarm arrives—how did a Chaos contamination suddenly explode?"
Yuki couldn't figure it out. Worse, the entire sector was supposed to be under Yuno's Shadow in the Warp. Who had acted to forcibly tear a hole in that veil? It couldn't be that the Four in the Warp had actually teamed up to plot against him, could it?
Yuno's brow was furrowed. She found the rift that had breached her Shadow. The problem was, it wasn't just a simple breach; a power of this magnitude required the direct intervention of a Chaos God.
Yuki took a deep breath and asked Yuno, "Can we patch that area with the Shadow in the Warp now?"
"It's difficult. Those ones in the Warp played a trick; they used a massive amount of psychic energy to drag that area into the Warp. Strictly speaking, that sector no longer belongs to the material world. Time and space are twisting within it."
"Dammit. Didn't I strictly suppress all Chaos influence? If this turns into a massive war, all that surplus biomass we worked so hard to cultivate will be lost."
"Even worse is the Inquisitor's side," Yuno added. "They are probably waiting for us to fall into chaos... well, strictly speaking, the Inquisitor's side doesn't matter. Even if corpses rot, they are still biomass. But if the Warp eats them, there's nothing left."
Yuki understood. "We need to drive Chaos out first."
"Yes. I suspect maintaining such a region within the Shadow is taxing even for them. If you go and decapitate their highest commander, it should break the balance."
"Me? The opponent is at least a Greater Daemon!"
Yuno thought seriously, then reached out. A massive coffin flew toward them. She tossed it to Yuki. Sensing what was inside, Yuki's expression turned surprised.
"This is... when did you make this?"
"I've been making it quietly over the years. I thought you hadn't fully mastered mental techniques yet, but given the circumstances, you'll have to test it in battle."
Yuki said nothing more. Hermit was missing, Eleven lacked the resistance to face Chaos, and relying on Genestealers to repel a Daemonic Incursion was pure fantasy. Yuno had to focus on controlling the Hive Fleet and guiding the Shadow to seal the rift.
"Then I'm going."
"Wait. One last thing."
Yuno grabbed Yuki's collar, and their lips met. In that instant, Yuki's mind connected with the Hive Mind. The sheer impact and power nearly shattered his brain. Seconds later, Yuki was bleeding from his eyes, nose, and ears, but he managed to remain standing.
"This..."
"You can now temporarily utilize the psychic power of the fleet. The entire Hive Fleet is your backing. This should make things easier."
...
"Dammit, something's not right."
Khorne never cared whose head he took, as long as blood flowed and people were cut down. Even if it was Tzeentch's scheme, Khorne was happy to send his legions to test their blades.
However, this planet felt entirely different. No matter how many people his daemonic legions slaughtered, these humans didn't scream. Even their souls were filled with defiance. When did the Imperium of Man have so many steadfast civilians?
Furthermore, the Warp here was strange. As the legions advanced, the surrounding scenery felt familiar to Khorne. Finally, when he noticed the dark shadow in the sky that only Warp entities could see, he ceased to be excited.
"Goddammit, this planet is marked by the Great Devourer. You multi-headed bird, I am so done with you."