Warhammer: The 11th Primarch - The Black Emperor

Nareth activated his Spirit Vision and asked Adams again to confirm that he had already full absorbed the "Corpse Collector" potion. Then he calmly said:

"Come see me in my palace office in ten minutes."

Moments later, the Primarch sat face-to-face with the Death Lord. Even without touching Adams, Nareth could clearly sense the chill radiating from the "Gravedigger's" body, cold as if buried deep underground like a corpse.

'He could lie in a heap of corpses, and no one would notice he's different. When Adams was still the Sequence 9 "Corpse Collector," his Astartes-enhanced body retained some warmth. But after ascending to Sequence 8, "Gravedigger," his body temperature dropped sharply. Is this due to the Cold Stone in the potion ingredients?'

Contemplative, Nareth spoke:

"The tombs of the Iron Lords of the Araneus Continuity are your opportunity to grasp greater power."

Adams responded calmly, "Father, I understand. I will dig up every Iron Lord's tomb and bring you all the strange artifacts I find."

"The special items I previously collected have arrived with me aboard the Throne of Sovereignty's Shadow. They'll be delivered to your palace shortly."

Nareth gave a slight nod. Not just the Fourth Chapter, but all others were offloading their special spoils.

'There should be many potion materials among them. Hopefully enough to concoct a new one.'

Once the Death Lord left, Nareth summoned Arsena.

"How is the research into mystic languages progressing?"

"My lord, we've made a major breakthrough."

"The ancient human languages found in Terra's library, the mystical script from The Book of Thelema, and the materials and findings sent by Lord Thomas, together, they've filled in the missing gaps."

The "Reader" tapped on his data slate and showed Nareth a page with eleven symbols.

Nareth recognized some of them, rune-like arrows. In the Runic Alphabet, one such symbol meant "Divine Name."

These runes, known as the Runic Alphabet or "Runes," were widely used in Imperial weaponry. Every chainsword and power sword made in Vostroya bore engraved runes.

Nareth pronounced one aloud: "Tiwaz," following Arsena's annotated phonetic guide.

The Primarch immediately sensed an invisible, yet tangible, surge of mystical power vibrating in the air as he spoke.

"Your research is correct," Nareth praised.

"My lord, I've found twelve core runes. Three of them originate from ancient Terra. Only the earliest versions contain both pronunciation and true mystical power."

"I've also discovered that, like these runes, ten more symbols are special."

"What makes them special?"

Arsena didn't answer right away. He tapped again and brought up another page, this time showing thirty-three symbols.

Nareth saw another familiar symbol, an X-shape. He read it aloud: "Gebo."

He sensed a faint stirring of energy, but it didn't surge like before.

After a moment of silent analysis, Nareth asked:

"Complete versus incomplete?"

"You see through everything, my lord. Exactly."

The silver-haired Arsena continued:

"The eleven symbols I first showed you, I call the Core Runes. Any word of power must start with one of these."

"The thirty-three on the new page are Support Runes. They can only follow a Core Rune. If a word starts with them, no mystical power will be triggered."

He kept scrolling.

"In my first compiled lexicon, I've defined 1,133 words."

Nareth scanned the list, seeing each mystic word with its definition:

, Gift.

, Offering.

…

He memorized them all instantly. His mind began forming longer phrases and sentences with the words.

'Barely enough for ritual speech… but it's too short, too vague in meaning. Not yet effective for proper invocations.'

Minutes passed before Nareth spoke:

"You're on the right track. Continue expanding and refining the lexicon."

"As you command, my lord."

After the "Reader" left, Nareth received a report from the Honor Guard: items from all Chapters had been delivered to his private vault.

The Primarch immediately set out to inspect them.

....

Meanwhile, in the Crystal Mirage, 

Thomas, who had greatly contributed to the linguistic research supporting Arsena, arrived at a strange crystal statue mentioned by the Primarch's aide.

Unlike other Chapter Masters, the Lord of Secrets had progressed slowly in conquest because he had been assigned special tasks by Nareth: researching the Crystal Mirage and neighboring systems, especially those worshipping the Heart-Slayer.

In a nearby star system, he had found six native tribes who all revered the same deity, the Heart-Slayer.

Having deciphered the local languages, Thomas documented the rituals and prayers he observed. His findings were encoded into data crystals produced in the Mirage and shipped via supply vessels to Vostroya, ultimately reaching the Primarch's aide.

Thanks to this, the occult language project made major advances.

Now, with initial results in hand, Thomas returned to a blurry, indistinct crystal statue, seeking to verify his theories.

He used the ability "Eyes of Mystery Prying". Instantly, his pupils turned dark and deep. He gazed at the statue.

In that moment, his soul force rapidly depleted. A shadowy figure appeared within his gaze, and a whisper echoed in his ears:

"Thomas, Reaper, go forth in slaughter. Offer me blood and sacrifice, and I will grant you power."

The "Mystery Pryer" pressed his fingers to his temples, resisting the mental drain.

"Not interested."

The whispers stopped for six milliseconds, then resumed, accompanied by a sudden cold wind in the cave.

"I offer knowledge, secret truths no one has ever known."

"You will see more, unlock the supernatural mysteries of the world."

Thomas's eyes flickered. Visions flashed across his gaze, insight he had never before perceived.

He felt a flicker of temptation, just as the whispering entity noticed.

"Serve me. I am the Heart-Slayer."

"I refuse."

The "Mystery Pryer" immediately shut his "Eyes of Mystery Prying" as his spirit energy ran dry. All illusions vanished.

'I will never betray my gene-father. I will never serve anyone, or anything, else. Besides, the power granted by Father far exceeds yours.'

While Thomas decisively rejected the Greater Daemon of Slaanesh, Nareth finished inspecting the battle spoils. He was especially pleased to discover a white, eye-shaped brain organ:

'A core ingredient for the Sequence 8 "Student of Ratiocination" potion. Once Arsena is promoted, as both a Master of Reason and Ritual Magic, his work on mystical language will accelerate significantly.'

The 11th Legion's fleet, after weeks of travel, finally arrived at its next target, the region controlled by the Araneus Continuity

...

If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.

[email protected]/DaoistJinzu