Chương 18: The Earth Swallows All

A few seconds later, the light in the room began to flicker before finally burning out completely. However, neither of us particularly needed it, as darkvision spells were a fairly simple Biomancy trick. I noticed that I was already holding my staff, having drawn it almost reflexively. The training hadn't been in vain.

"Do you know who could have attacked us?" I asked my mentor. I spoke calmly and confidently, showing not a sliver of doubt. Although the phenomenon that had just occurred was rather strange, it didn't yet signify certain death. After all, we were powerful psykers capable of defending ourselves, assuming this wasn't some truly apocalyptic event. Jaya, meanwhile, was gathering all her artifacts, also remaining calm and looking as focused as possible, seemingly more worried about the safety of her treasures.

My mentor had a veritable collection of various incomprehensible trinkets capable of very much. She had only demonstrated the use of these things a couple of times, but each time was impressive. I particularly remembered how a small lighter created a sphere of fire several meters in radius. But they weren't limited to simply causing harm. Inquisitors prefer more subtle methods.

"The pict-feeds are down and showing nothing. As far as I can tell, all the wiring has burned out. I also don't sense the use of the Warp, but we shouldn't discount that possibility entirely. We could be dealing with a true master of stealth, or something entirely new." She spoke quite convincingly, but for some reason, I didn't believe her. Knowing who I was dealing with, I always looked for a double bottom and had no intention of falling for her first words.

Jaya might seem like a simple old woman, but inside she was a hardened schemer. People came down to our planet a couple of times a year to deliver necessities for survival, like medical supplies, food, and water, but I had also noticed highly suspicious individuals among the arrivals who spent far too much time in her study. I was certain that the Inquisitor's presence on this planet was all part of some grand, cunning plan.

And because of that, I wasn't even entirely sure how much of what was happening right now wasn't orchestrated. Yes, it sounded paranoid, and my mentor looked no less surprised than I did, but she definitely knew more than she was telling.

"... or a Pariah assassin has come for our heads." At this phrase of mine, she frowned even deeper, clearly beginning to process this theory while simultaneously stuffing some documents into a bag.

"That option is also possible, but unlikely. Among xenos of all kinds, Blanks are practically nonexistent. Therefore, it is either a member of some organization trained similarly to the professionals from Terra, or an actual member of the Officio Assassinorum. Except the latter know how to do their jobs; they wouldn't waste time eliminating useless personnel, but would deal with us first..." The room suddenly shuddered, but it quickly stopped. More importantly, I felt the last soul in the complex extinguish.

Anger began to grow within me from the realization that some creature was just killing people like this. Yes, I hadn't interacted with them much, as we had a more professional relationship, but I knew them very well. When you are a telepath on the level of Professor Xavier from the X-Men, you start to understand people better than they understand themselves.

I didn't read their minds, but since people without psychic potential are incapable of closing off their auras, I saw their emotions practically with my own eyes. And these were ordinary people, untainted by Chaos or corruption, but with their own thoughts and dreams. They guarded this base and died doing their duty. They deserved respect for that at the very least.

"I think we'd better hurry. And where is Atreus, by the way? We could really use him right now." No matter what I was feeling at the moment, there was work ahead that needed to be done. I know when to cast aside emotions that sometimes only get in the way.

"I'm sorry, he approached me and said his mission required a slight alteration. I cannot give him orders, and he does not report to me, so I have no idea where he might be right now," my mentor answered. There it was again. Jaya spoke with a soft, even guilty intonation, but I felt as though something was wrong. I suspected this sensation was connected to my ability to see corruption in souls, but the Inquisitor's aura was closed to my sight. I could break through her defenses with sheer power, but that was...

not the most rational option. I couldn't finish the thought as the room shuddered once again, signaling the need to leave as quickly as possible. I snapped my fingers, and the artifacts and important papers began to float in the air, after which I pulled them toward me with telekinesis. The Inquisitor nodded, and we began running toward the exit of the room. I used telekinesis to open the door as well, nearly blowing it off its hinges, and only thanks to that did we manage to get out of there in time.

Once in the corridor, we saw spiked, lilac vines erupt from the floor, beginning to destroy my mentor's living quarters. But the worst part was that, standing so close to the thing, I didn't feel a single drop of Warp influence. The vines were growing rapidly, filling the room at a breakneck pace, but I decided to test my powers. I struck my staff against the ground, and the plants instantly froze, halted by my telekinesis. Except this wasn't the most useful trick, for I couldn't stop its growth this way.

I felt that a massive organism was located deep underground, and these vines were merely a tiny fraction of it. Therefore, I swung my primary weapon, and a meter-long section tore off, flying in my direction. The thing began trying more actively to break free, but I ended all its attempts by clenching my hand, instantly turning the entire piece into a block of ice. Icy vapor filled the room as hundreds of ice shards shattered onto the floor.

Then, I struck my staff against the ground again, and a wave of psychic energy passed through the remains of the giant plant. I struck with a massive torrent of pure Warp, which transformed into flame in an instant. A scream of psychic power echoed throughout the entire complex, but I continued to burn it while my mentor did her part of the job. Jaya understood what I had planned and was the first to begin studying the severed piece.

Pure power wasn't as useful for analysis, so I didn't even think about trying to outdo the Inquisitor. She had an order of magnitude more experience, and it showed. In a matter of seconds, she began to somehow transform the Warp and cast spells I hadn't even heard of. She also used an artifact resembling a rusted monocle, beginning to examine the acquisition.

"This is not a natural organism, but something altered by a foreign will. The genome was barely tampered with; only the external appearance was changed. Therefore, I am almost entirely certain this is some cunning chimera, created by an unknown psyker." I didn't just stand on the sidelines either and also tried to figure out the structure of this organism. I had to stop feeding the flames, but I had already dealt massive damage to the entity anyway. Besides, my help could still be useful.

While I didn't know as many spells as the elderly witch, I had a more precise and weighty method of verification, useful in other areas. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"I don't sense the influence of Chaos. But if you look closely... It's as if someone is feeding it on a cellular level. Not influencing or changing it, but preventing it from dying." At that moment, I heard something strike the floor, causing me to reflexively turn my head and prepare to attack. Emerging from a nearby room, someone began walking toward us. It took me a few seconds to identify this something as a former member of Jaya's group. Now the mystery of the missing chirurgeon was solved.

The former medicae was now infected with the red fungus I was already familiar with, which covered the majority of his body. Two-thirds of his skin had turned red, and even from a distance, you could see his pores covered in an actual crust. His eyes had glazed over and turned grey, while dark, almost black saliva drooled from his mouth.

"Leave. Abandon this place. We had an agreement. Leave me in peace." The monster's voice sounded inhuman and emotionless, but the power of the Warp could be felt within it. The Immaterium swirled around this walking corpse, resembling a literal storm of psychic energy. There was more energy in him than in all of Jaya's artifacts combined. Realizing what he was saying, I sighed heavily and looked over at the Inquisitor. Surprisingly, she looked particularly focused right now and was ready for a fight.

Honestly, I had never seen her so agitated before. To an outsider, it might have seemed like she was still maintaining an impenetrable mask of indifference on her face, but I had managed to figure the old woman out pretty well over ten years. And I was absolutely certain that the thing she hated losing most in her life was control.

"You attacked us first and killed my people, even daring an attempt on my life. It is you who..."

"A lie." The creature snapped its fingers and directed a torrent of psychic energy at Jaya. I had no idea what it was supposed to do, but the stream was incredibly powerful, enough to destroy our entire small town. Unfortunately for it, there was another, far more powerful psyker present, in the form of me. I swung my staff, concentrated my willpower, and a psychic barrier surrounded us, halting the attack.

The shield began to crack under the pressure of the wild power of the Sea of Souls, but I fed it with increasing amounts of energy. The entity tried to increase the pressure, but overpowering me in a clash of psychic energy was quite the task. Fortunately, Jaya knew what to do. She pulled an artifact from her belt that looked like a small straw doll. She snapped her fingers, and the figurine instantly burned up in a crimson flame.

The fire flared, and a second later, a fiery arrow composed of pure plasma flew toward our enemy. It struck our foe instantly, turning him to ash in a second. The psychic torrent instantly weakened tenfold, but did not disappear. Warp energy radiated outward in waves, causing the walls of our building to rust. Five seconds later, the building shuddered again. Only this time, the earthquake was ten times stronger, making it difficult to even stand on the ground.

I managed to concentrate, enveloping myself in telekinesis just before falling, and then lifted myself into the air. Jaya pulled off a similar trick, managing to use an artifact that looked like a black bird's feather at the last moment. Flight was an incredibly difficult technique, and even my experienced mentor couldn't pull it off without the aid of artifacts. We didn't waste time conversing in such a situation and simply flew toward the exit of the building.

It took us just over a minute, but on the bright side, we didn't encounter anyone in our path. And already dozens of meters above the ground, we watched as the earth itself swallowed our former settlement. I took a moment to catch my breath, then created a new shield around us. And then I started preparing to ask questions. But she decided to start first.

"I think I know what you are going to say, but allow me to answer first." I shook my head from side to side. It was funny, but since she was technically no longer an Inquisitor, she had no authority over me. Of course, if she wanted to, Jaya could cause me quite a bit of trouble. And she could simply hand me over to the Black Ships, but those aren't the most effective points of leverage. No matter how "understanding" I was, going to the slaughter was not in my plans. And catching me by force was quite a task.

There is only one known rogue Alpha-Plus psyker in the sector besides me, and no one has caught her yet. Which means the Imperium isn't actually that capable at capturing psykers when dealing with someone trained and cosmically powerful.

"We will move on to clarifying the reasons for everything that has happened later, because right now we need to, at the very least, not die. Are there any ways to contact someone outside the system to call for help?" Jaya wasn't bothered by how I changed the subject and answered me immediately.

"According to schedule, a new ship with provisions should arrive in a few weeks, but Warp travel can take time. Therefore, it would be best to send a vox signal to the space station near Lehida Eight. They won't be able to help us fight off the enemy, but they have ships capable of helping us get out of here. We get out of here, and then we strike this damned world with the true hammer of the Inquisition. Given the local bio-psychic threat, a full Exterminatus is necessary here."

I frowned, understanding what she was hinting at. And it wasn't just about the complete annihilation of life on an entire planet.

"Leaving without Atreus is a very bad idea," I told my mentor, keeping an eye on what was happening on the surface.

"We don't know where he is right now, or if he is even alive," the Inquisitor answered without hesitation. I simply rolled my eyes. The relationship between those two was strictly professional and even quite effective, but still, problems were inevitable. When two such experienced individuals meet, possessing different goals but a relatively equal level of authority, conflict is inevitable.

"I am certain that someone of his level is capable of defeating some flowers. Yes, the Warp attack was strong, but I am sure he has experience dealing with such things. We can find him without any problems, and then..." I tried to reason with the Inquisitor, but she interrupted me mid-sentence.

"No, we cannot take such a risk. We are not dealing with some psyker, but with something an order of magnitude more dangerous. Previously, I considered the threat level acceptable, but the situation has obviously changed." Jaya sounded as categorical as possible, not giving me a chance to utter a word of objection. But I wasn't obligated to listen to her. Right now, I needed the truth.

"I admit, I am not in the least bit surprised. I suspect the reason involves some very important psychophenomenon located on this planet that could help resurrect the Emperor?" I asked the former Inquisitor, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Thorians are united by a single goal, but we are capable of seeing the big picture. Lehida Ten is a special world. Unique in its kind, due to its calm psychic atmosphere. Can you only imagine what we could achieve if we managed to understand the local phenomenon and make all the planets of the Imperium more stable against the Immaterium? I came here to study this planet and discover the reason for the deaths of all the colonists and how the planet resisted attempts to build a civilization here."

I motioned with my eyes to the place where our small town used to be.

"No, previously everything was much more subtle. People simply died without an apparent cause after a few years of being on this world. Formally, researching this world was forbidden, but simply traveling here was not. It was especially easy to pull off for someone with my level of influence. I was trying to figure out the cause of what was happening when I encountered an entity calling itself..."

"... A God." An incredibly loud voice echoed for kilometers like thunder. Suddenly, I felt a familiar breeze in my head. It was a sign that someone had attempted to influence my mind and failed to bypass my natural defenses. I instantly went on high alert and began searching for the source of the influence, when an entity woven from pure Warp appeared before us. Power swirled around it, and it seemed like the embodiment of the Sea of Souls itself.

This entity was equal in power level to the daemon I had encountered on Scintilla. It surpassed Zerbe and Jaya combined by several times, but it was hard to compare it to myself. It would be like trying to visually compare the size of a sea to an ocean. It looked like several animal skeletons fused into one. Most prominent were two meter-long horns growing from a pristine white skull, which, judging by the long fangs, had formerly belonged to some predator. Pure darkness replaced its flesh, resembling animal fur.

Instead of eyes, this thing had two pure white lights staring at a single point. I had no idea what this was, but it definitely wasn't connected to Chaos. But you couldn't call this thing benevolent either.