The Wayward Son

Ferrus and Seiras

As their alien shuttle flew them closer towards Vect's imposing ziggurat, Seiras was beginning to have doubts about things going as smoothly as Ferrus expected. While he believed that the primarch would succeed one way or another, a part of him still felt a strange anxiousness about the whole thing.

He saw firsthand what this ziggurat could do. Although if they did have to steal the Blackstone Fortress, Vect wouldn't really be able to destroy it. Part of him felt a strange measure of confusion as to why Vect had absolutely no issues with them killing Faelan. The subservient Archon had been wholly loyal from what he could tell. Though Eldar politics was a painful and unnecessarily complicated game. Perhaps Vect sought to sacrifice Faelan's forces just for the chance to get this Blackstone Fortress. Part of him wondered if it had been his plan all along.

While he had a decent measure of trust for Melisara, he found it a bit unusual that she was concerned about Vect when she clearly stated that they were friends. Recalling his post resurrection, the librarian distinctly remembered that Melisara said she was politically untouchable in Commorragh. Considering that her goals and Vect's weren't entirely contrasting, a small part of him believed that she might have orchestrated this entire thing just so she could help fool Malys and simultaneously help them.

Given Vect's unusual personality and supposed willingness to let them go, it seemed quite clear that the archon was very unpredictable. Pushing those doubts aside, Seiras was also concerned about Ahzek Ahriman seeing him. He knew that certain psykers had the ability to detect scrying, but it was the first time anything like this had ever occurred in one of his visions.

He already knew without any doubt that they were going to cross paths. That seemed inevitable at this point. The librarian sighed silently as he prayed for this nightmare in the webway to end soon. Though his time here was mostly brief, he genuinely felt as if it had changed him for the worst. Seiras was also still trying to rationalize some of the unusual decisions he had made as well. Namely saving Maeralya's slaves.

'What was I thinking saving those women? In the past I would have killed them immediately and not given it a second thought. Am I still lingering on those pathetic thoughts of my dream? I'm not human…I shouldn't think this way. What would my brothers think if they ever found out? What would Lord Ferrus think? I pray he doesn't find out about what these wyches did to me either…I don't think he would ever look at me the same again,' Seiras thought sadly.

Ferrus seemed to have some empathic awareness that the librarian was bothered by something and broke their long silence, "What is troubling you, Seiras? Are you having doubts about the plan?"

"No, my lord…it's not that. I was just thinking about the shame I've endured being a slave here. Being treated like a pet. It doesn't even make me angry…it makes me feel embarrassment and disgusted with myself. What I've done in this place is considered the ultimate heresy in the modern imperium. I swore I'd pay any price to see you returned…but I never thought about what it would be like when we actually escaped. I've simply been pondering our reception once we return to the Imperium. I don't expect it will go smoothly even with your word," the Blood Raven admitted somewhat honestly.

Part of him didn't want to show this kind of mental weakness to the primarch, but another part of him hoped that maybe Ferrus would purge his feelings or share his own thoughts.

The Gorgon had his helmet on still, so Seiras couldn't really get a read on his expression. The primarch responded after a brief silence with his usual stoic intensity, "You did what you had to do. While I'm not the type to praise others, I recognize the sacrifice you made to bring me back. It means you're reliable and that your loyalty to mankind is greater than your loyalty to yourself and your own pride. If you're concerned about how you're going to explain this collaboration with xenos and the like, then listen closely. The only people who need to know the details about what you and I have experienced here is Guilliman…and maybe Khan. I won't let some bureaucrats, or the Inquisition waste our time with interrogations. I will take responsibility for this, and I will silence any nonsense about 'heresy.' I'll be the judge of whether you've done something wrong…not a smug politician sitting halfway across the galaxy or an Inquisitor that has never had their loyalty truly tested. I will never ask what you went through, and I don't expect you to tell anyone else either. It's in the past now. What's important is that you succeeded and that we now have our path laid before us. I hope you'll continue to prove yourself useful in the coming years in helping me to fix this disgusting excuse for an empire. If you seek atonement, then that is where you will find it. Purge your mind of doubts and remember why you made the decisions you did. I wouldn't be here if you didn't."

"When we go to Terra…" Seiras paused as he pondered over the best way to word his sentence, "are you going to see the Emperor at the Imperial Palace? I imagine you probably want to talk to him, yes?"

"That is my intention. I assume Guilliman is likely there as well. Knowing him, he has probably taken up a position of leadership to fix the stagnancy of the Imperium. If the Custodes allow it, I'll bring you with me…though I doubt they'll let you see the Emperor in person. They might not even let me. I'm certain they'll allow you into the palace though. They'll probably want an explanation from you about what happened," Ferrus stated.

"I've already seen the Emperor through one of Melisara's memories. I would never brazenly expect an audience. I am unworthy of such a grand honour. Honestly, I don't even want to see the Custodes or the palace. I get the feeling they're not going to like me. They'll probably know I'm the librarian who tried to contact the Emperor psychically through that amplifier Melisara built into the Golden Throne. They might see my actions as…impetuous. I'll explain what happened to them, but I'd prefer to not linger in the palace," Seiras replied.

Ferrus shrugged, "I wouldn't be so sure about them disliking you. The Custodes are individually minded much like yourself. Some might respect your actions, but they'll certainly be wary of you initially. If you don't wish to wait at the palace, then you can go tour Terra while I speak to the Emperor. Have you ever been to Terra before?"

"No, I've only been to Titan…you would allow me time to see Terra?" Seiras asked a bit disbelievingly.

The primarch shook his head, "It's not a vacation, but if you don't want to remain at the palace, you can do that until I'm ready to leave. We'll probably be there for a while until enough forces are recalled anyways. Besides, there are many political things Guilliman and I need to handle before I launch any crusades. If Guilliman isn't there, then we will wait for him to return."

"What's the plan when we get out of the webway? Are we going to Medusa first or to Terra first?" Seiras asked.

"I'd prefer to go to Medusa first, but It would be better to go to Terra as soon as possible. I'll let you know when I've decided. It mostly just depends on how things play out," Ferrus answered.

"So you knew Ahzek Ahriman? What was he like?" Seiras changed the subject after an unspoken minute of silence.

"If he was less obsessed about mastering psychic power, then he wouldn't be very different from you. You share his curiosity for the unknown…though the bulk of his interest focused on the arcane and in gaining power. Your pursuit of knowledge seems humbler than his. You're a scholar first and a psyker second. You seem almost more interested in the materium than the immaterium, which is something I rarely see in psykers. The things you ask about aren't even relevant in most cases. They give you no advantage to know and yet you seem interested in learning about them anyways. Many of my brothers would probably dislike you for being so brazen and asking questions all the time. I know for a fact that Dorn would not like you. Lion certainly wouldn't either. Khan might, but I don't really know for sure. Vulkan and Corax would like you. Guilliman definitely will. He encouraged Astartes to be more…human and to think for themselves. You said your chapter gets along with his sons? That will help in gaining his trust." Ferrus ended his explanation with a question.

"The Blood Ravens have always been on good terms with the Ultramarines and some of their successor chapters. We don't have many allies though. My chapter has had issues in recent centuries that might have soured the wider imperium's view of us. Our former chapter master turned to chaos along with all the librarians in his inner circle. It caused a civil war and ended in a third of the chapter being purged and multiple planets being destroyed in our home system of Sub-Sector Aurelia. I was in the Deathwatch at the time, so I wasn't there initially. I was granted leave to help my loyalist brothers purge the traitors…but after it was over, they told me to return to return to the Deathwatch. That was a few decades ago. My brothers now don't entirely trust me since I was the only librarian of that inner circle who didn't fall to Chaos. Our former first captain became a chaplain to atone for his mistaken loyalty, and most of my fellow brothers from the fourth company that fought in the Aurelian conflict were sent on a penance crusade. Beyond that I don't know what has happened since. I've sent them many relics and messages over the years, but they've never responded to me. Hopefully, your return will earn me some measure of redemption in their eyes," Seiras explained.

Ferrus shook his helmeted head, "They are right to be suspicious of you considering that situation. I will vouch for you if that's what it takes. I will need all the Astartes I can muster for the days to come. Not just Astartes…but Imperial soldiers, tanks, titans, ships…everything."

"There is a possibility that your return might frighten some of the more knowledgeable people in the Imperium. The Inquisition knows you died in the heresy…and so do the high lords and most Astartes chapters. They will have a hard time believing you're actually Ferrus Manus. They'll also probably think I'm some insane heretic psyker trying to fool them. It's probably best if we don't mention Melisara's help to anyone but Lord Guilliman. If they know a xenos or a traitor tampered with you, then they'll never trust you," Seiras followed up.

The Gorgon sighed, "I assumed as much. That is why it is best we reach Guilliman before anything else. Proving my identity to him will be paramount. It is fortunate that Leman Russ gave you his Rune Seal. That will add a lot of credence to your claims of resurrecting me. All of the primarchs know that Rune Seal. Russ likely realized they wouldn't believe I was really me and I think it's the main reason why he gave it to you."

"That's a good point, my lord…but what should we tell everyone else?" Seiras nodded.

"That the 'God-Emperor' resurrected me," Ferrus responded a bit begrudgingly. Seiras could tell it pained the primarch to refer to the Emperor as such.

The librarian tilted his head in confusion, "You think that's what we should tell them?"

"It's the more logical option given the cult-like behavior modern humans seem to have. It's also true that the Emperor brought me back to life through you. If they see him as some deity then it conveniently explains away my return with vague mysticism. Obviously, I had no intention of telling them things they do not need to know such as my new body being made by Fabius Bile and the like," Ferrus remarked.

Seiras nodded in approval, "Well it's good to know you've already given thought to that issue."

"The thing I'm most concerned about right now is how the Inquisition and these High Lords of Terra will react to a primarch taking over the Imperium. From the way you've described these bureaucrats, I imagine they care more about their own comfort and power over the Imperium as a whole. They will likely object to someone holding them accountable. That is the main reason I want to reassemble my legion immediately. These petulant politicians will undoubtedly try to assert some type of control or leverage over us. I know Guilliman won't let them, but his assertion over what's left of humanity will have a far stronger reach if other primarchs return. That is why I hope Khan is on this zigguarat as well. It will take more than just a few of us to purge the cancer that has infested the Imperium's culture. I once trusted in my father's decree that we would turn power over to the mortal humans after the Great Crusade…but I can't trust them to do what's necessary now. Ten and a half thousand years they've held power…and what do they have to show for it? A decaying Imperial Cult? They care more about their own titles than the Emperor's vision…that much is obvious if they brazenly worship him as a god. I imagine they try to vicariously deify themselves by claiming they speak for him. Rest assured Seiras…I will not allow any Inquisitors or Lords to waste our time with petty schemes and mundane aspirations for power. I will do what I can to gain the favor of the mortal humans though. Their opinion of us will carry a great political weight. It is imperative that we win the people over. I am not very charismatic compared to my brothers, but I suppose it's necessary that I find a way to improve the average citizen's way of life. Gaining the trust of the masses will make these bureaucrats too afraid to challenge us. I will start by making better equipment for the Imperial Army soldiers, securing the support of Mars, and rebuilding my legion," Ferrus shared his thoughts.

"Well throwing civilians into walls isn't going to help win people over. I know their worship of you is insulting, but it can also benefit us if we seize the support of the Ecclesiarchy. You are the Emperor's son…and if they truly believe him to be a god, then they have to acknowledge you're worthy enough to follow." Seiras said slowly. Part of him was nervous even mentioning this to the primarch, but he felt he had to do it.

"I will forgive your bold remark only because you're right. As much as it disgusts me…I'll even tolerate this 'holy archangel' nonsense if it wins over the people. Religion is pathetic and useless, but if that's the tool I must use to achieve my short-term goals…then so be it. Plus, it's like you said…there's nothing we can really do to change it overnight. It will take many centuries to correct the way people think. The most important thing right now is to maintain the unity of the human race and rebuild our forces. I am fortunate enough that you seem to enjoy talking to people…I will take full advantage of that in the events to come. Personally, I can't stomach the idea of talking to some…priest. I'll trust you to say the right things to them," Ferrus concluded.

"The Ecclesiarchy is worth winning over, Lord Ferrus. Not only do they carry great political weight, but they also have a powerful military. Due to an ancient law that forbid the church to arm men, they have an all-female military called the Adepta Sororitas. Sisters of Battle as they are more commonly called in low gothic. They're religious zealots, but they carry some of the Imperium's best wargear…including female power armour, bolters, and so on," Seiras added.

The primarch was silent for a moment before responding, "I was wondering what Sororitas were when you mentioned the High Lords of Terra. Are they genetically enhanced? They sound like female space marines."

"No, but they have wargear to rival Astartes and they are far more numerous than we are. Sisters are extreme religious zealots, and they are capable of killing space marines. Some see us as angels, but most of them don't like Astartes. I've encountered a few that believe Astartes are mutants. It's possible they might see primarchs the same way, but I truly don't know. Humoring their delusions of your sanctity would alleviate some of that prejudice. Regardless, having them on our side would be very beneficial. They also have a very strong resistance to chaos since they are fanatical worshippers of the Emperor. Their faith shields them from the warp and from daemons…as strange as it sounds. I've never heard of one betraying the Imperium. They are dependable allies even if they are delusional religious fanatics," Seiras answered.

"Duly noted, Seiras. We'll continue this conversation later. It looks like we're about to land. Contact me psychically after you've put the second beacon on that Blackstone Fortress or if you encounter any variables," Ferrus commanded as their shuttle finally landed in the hanger bay of Vect's ziggurat.

It was eerily empty as the two superhumans exited the alien shuttle and walked through the hanger. True to Vect's words though, lights lit up further along the wall towards a door showing them where to go.

They walked in silence for a few minutes as they followed it, but Seiras had a very bad feeling about how empty and eerily quiet the ziggurat had been. Even knowing Vect was going to pretend to betray them did little to alleviate his concern that something was wrong about this entire situation.

A few steps later, Seiras stopped in his tracks as a psychic vision filled his senses. It was brief, but he sensed a major warp fluctuation and could hear someone's voice yelling at someone. The vision was completely incoherent and undecipherable, but it ended with him seeing a recognizable towering figure in cataphractii armour. The warp echoed dozens of times as he heard the words: Heart of Asuryan over and over again.

Upon his vision ending, he noticed Ferrus stoically and patiently staring at him. The Gorgon spoke calmly, "What did you see?"

"Perturabo…he was talking to something or someone. I heard the words, 'Heart of Asuryan.' Beyond that I can't really make sense of it," the librarian answered.

Ferrus seemed a bit concerned now as he walked over and grabbed Seiras' wrist and pulled the librarian's hand towards his head, "Show me."

The librarian nodded as he recalled the vision in perfect clarity and recreated it for Ferrus to see. About a minute later, Ferrus let go of his wrist and seemed concerned, "Heart of Asuryan? What is that and why is he after it?"

"Hard to say...that vision didn't make any sense to me," Seiras replied grimly.

The Gorgon let out a heavy sigh, "Ask Vect what the Heart of Asuryan is if you get the chance. Stay focused on our current objectives for now. We'll deal with that situation once we're out of this mess."

Seiras nodded and followed behind Ferrus as they continued towards some alien elevator lift. A short ride up later, they proceeded down a massive corridor and into what was presumably the heart of the Ziggurat.

Upon entering, they saw countless dark eldar awaiting within. This included many kabalites and dozens of incubi guarding the chamber. At the far end of the chamber, they saw a throne descending from a sealed off room and down onto some type of large balcony. Sitting on it was none other than Asdrubael Vect himself.

He looked like your typical archon minus the extremely ornate helmet, but Seiras didn't really get the chance to look at him this closely before. Like many trueborn, he had black scleras. His irises were a bright silver colour and seemed sinister and knowing. While his helmet had a red mane, Vect's actual hair was black from what Seiras could see of it. He looked quite good despite his ancient age and seemed to be in good spirits.

As they approached him, the dark eldar in the chamber cleared a path for the primarch and the librarian to get closer. Many incubi formed up around them and readied their weapons as if they expected to attack at a moment's notice.

Vect addressed them casually as they stopped a few meters beneath his balcony throne, "Ah, Ferrus Manus…thank you for coming to meet me on my ziggurat."

"Where is my brother?" Ferrus asked bluntly.

"Ah yes…Jaghatai Khan. You will be seeing him soon enough, primarch," Vect chuckled with sinister enthusiasm.

"I suppose now is the time to play along with his ruse," Seiras psychically spoke to Ferrus.

"I do hope for your sake that you're not going to try betraying us. None of your feeble warriors are a match for me," Ferrus spat angrily.

Seiras followed up with his own comment, "I don't think the Khan is actually here, Lord Ferrus."

"How intriguing it is…that Melisara proved her brilliance yet again by resurrecting a dead primarch. What do you make of that, Urien? I know you two are rivals…she's one upped you yet again." Vect asked a nearby haemonculus.

The bald multi-limbed eldar seemed a bit begrudging, "If anyone could do it…the Revenant certainly could. She even resurrected that librarian. It should be impossible to resurrect psykers. She never shared that secret with anyone. A shame really…because I shared some of my secrets with her. I suppose it's no surprise that Melisara would betray you in the end. I always knew she was too ambitious."

"Yes, our old friend will have much to explain once we capture her. We'll use these projects of hers to lure her out of hiding," Vect noted casually.

"You have three seconds to tell me where Khan is before I destroy this ship and kill every last one of you," Ferrus threatened with stoic calmness.

Vect smirked at them as he pressed a button on his throne causing the gravity beneath them to amplify twentyfold.

Seiras felt himself immediately sink to his knees, but Ferrus remained standing for a few seconds before falling to one.

"Get the stasis fields and move them into pods. I want a psionic collar on both of them, Urien," Vect commanded with a condescending flick of his wrist.

As several eldar attempted to drag over some type of stasis device to further subdue them, the turrets on Ferrus' servo arms opened up at Vect.

The assault cannons did practically no damage to it, and neither did the plasma cannon. The necron gauss weapon however did manage to pierce the forcefield protecting Vect. The archon nimbly dodged the shot and had a look of shock on his face, "Necron weaponry?! Did Melisara give you that too?!"

Ferrus' assault cannons then aimed at the nearby eldar around them as they opened fire blowing swathes of them into chunklets of gore.

Straining heavily against the intense gravity holding him down, Ferrus began to start punching the floor as hard as he could. His necrodermis fists didn't take long to dent a huge hole in it. Ferrus then stabbed his sword into a now open hole and it seemed to successfully damage the gravity field holding him and Seiras down.

The librarian was surprised to see Ferrus' sword Phoenix Reaper unleash a massive burst of flames completely damaging the ground. By this point, dozens of incubi began to swarm around them attempting to attack the two.

Ferrus tore through the first wave of them with his sword causing superheated streams of promethium flames to arc off and immolate everyone in its path. His four servo arm mounted turrets then opened up in all directions as they easily began to massacre the Eldar all around them.

Seiras assisted by psychically obliterating all the nearby eldar he could with lightning and sheer telekinetic force. Despite their losses, many of the incubi and kabalites made desperate attempts to land a hit on either one of them. It seemed in vain however as the primarch and the librarian mercilessly continued their butchery.

Ferrus moved even faster than Seiras thought possible for his size as he began to hack through Vect's honour guards with real hatred. Seiras took this opportunity to maneuver away and climb the balcony to Vect's throne as he attempted to break through its forcefield.

Many incubi and trueborn moved to try and stop him, but Ferrus took advantage of the distraction by actually jumping onto the balcony. The fact that he could jump like that in power armour was astonishing to Seiras, but he remained focused as he kept Vect's honour guards busy.

Ferrus punched against the forcefield violently causing it to flicker wildly against his intensive attacks. Aiming the gauss cannon at closer range now, the Gorgon proceeded to obliterate the throne which caused Vect to press a button on his wrist and teleport to the far end of the chamber along with Urien.

"Well I must say…I didn't expect you could actually break inside my throne platform. No matter…I had something special planned for dealing with you in case of any…variables. Let's see how you fare against an Avatar of Khaine," Vect stated calmly as a massive flaming figure walked behind him through an opening door and into the chamber.

"Good luck getting out of this room by the way…hahaha!" Vect laughed as he then activated a powerful forcefield all around the room, locking them both inside. The supreme archon quickly departed afterwards.

"I'll deal with this thing…find a way out of here, Seiras!" the primarch commanded as he finished off what was left of the dark eldar unfortunate enough to still be in the chamber.

The librarian nodded as he distanced himself from Ferrus and the encroaching Avatar of Khaine. Seiras then turned his vox back on and waited for a moment to see if Vect would speak to him.

Fortunately, the archon did, "It's a good thing you're monkeigh or nobody would have believed you were dumb enough to walk in here like that. Alright, so behind my throne there's a shaft that can lead you out. Follow it to the third door and then you'll get to an empty chamber. Urien will remotely open it for you once you're inside and you'll see the webway portal. Tahril and Velatha will be waiting there for you along with his forces. They're expecting you. Malys' ships are already on route."

Seiras proceeded to look around the chamber as he worked to find a way to get out of the room. He made sure to exaggerate and fake his distress as he tried to psychically assail various exits and destroy panels in the room to attempt deactivating the force field.

Meanwhile, Ferrus was now locked in a deadly swordfight with the Avatar of Khaine. Both of their blades released huge swathes of flame in all directions and scorched the chamber in fire.

Nothing exceptionally notable had occurred during their fight for the first two minutes, but Seiras finally decided to search Vect's throne where he found the shaft out of it. He quickly announced it to Ferrus, "I found a way out!"

"Get this forcefield down, Seiras!" the primarch commanded him as he dodged the massive flaming blade of the avatar and delivered one of his own across the avatar's chest. Ferrus' cannons then opened fire on the monstrosity staggering it further as he violently hacked away at its molten skin.

Vect's voice sounded on a broadcast throughout the zigguarat, "The librarian found a way out! Stop him! NOW! Reinforce the generators!"

Several moments passed as Seiras proceeded through the shaft and headed for the direction Vect instructed. Shortly after Vect's announcement, someone else's voice broadcasted through the ship, "Ah, dearest Vect…you might have actually bitten off more than you can chew this time."

"Malys?! How are you speaking into my ship's broadcast?!" Vect feigned surprise.

"Even as smart as you are, you didn't think I had agents on your ziggurat? No…you knew that. You just didn't expect it was Tahril." She asked with condescending and rhetorical pride.

'Wait…what?! I thought Tahril was on Vect's side,' Seiras thought confused.

"He's already deactivated your shields…hahaha!" Malys childishly laughed as the ziggurat began to shake violently from what could only be weapon's fire.

"Vect…is Tahril actually on your side?" Seiras couldn't help but ask in the vox.

Vect responded with complete calmness, "He is. I'm opening the portals now for the fleets to attack."

"Wait! I have one more question before you go. What is the Heart of Asuryan?" Seiras asked.

The archon spoke slowly in response, "You really like asking questions, don't you? I don't know what it's for…but I know what it is. The heart is a power source. Some say it's a massive soulstone. I imagine it's probably locked in the black library or buried on a crone world. Enough questions monkeigh…play your part well and we'll all walk away from this happier."

"Where is Khan though…is he actually on your ship?" Seiras followed up.

"You'll see him once I have what I want. I don't want you trying to pull a fast one on me," Vect responded before ending the vox call.

Seiras sighed in frustration, 'Somehow it wouldn't surprise me if the Khan wasn't even here.'

The librarian continued on his path until he found the location Vect specified. True to the archon's instructions, a hidden chamber door opened up for him once he reached it. Upon stepping inside he saw none other than Archon Tahril and a massive host of incubi. Archon Velatha was also present with several of her own incubi.

Seiras remembered that Vect captured her during the Kabal spire battle but was surprised to see she was already working on this secret subterfuge so quickly.

Tahril smirked at him when he approached, "Ah, we meet again…Seiras was your name, correct?"

"You knew this entire time I could understand your language…didn't you?" Seiras asked.

The archon nodded, "Was I that obvious? Well…my silence served you quite well did it not? Thank you for killing Faelan by the way. He was getting a bit too powerful for my tastes. I was relieved when Lord Vect told me that he was to be sacrificed for this plan of his."

"You're quite cunning to play the double agent between Malys and Vect so well. They both think you're their ally…but you truly serve neither. I don't even have to read your mind to know that you aren't trustworthy," Seiras stated coldly.

Tahril nodded, "Indeed…you never know who people really are."

Velatha who had been silent the entire exchange, finally spoke up, "This was Faelan's pet space marine? He can speak our language? How?"

"Good question…though he's clearly somewhat intelligent if Melisara liked him. I'd wager he has the mental capacity of an Eldar child. That's transcendently exceptional for a monkeigh," Tahril chuckled.

Seiras glanced at Velatha now, "You were certainly quick to change sides."

"Don't you dare speak to me like that, you filthy animal!" Velatha hissed as she brandished Sunfang at him.

The librarian stared at the sword briefly during her posturing, 'I'm stealing that sword…with Lord Ferrus admonishing me, I wouldn't have to give it to the Inquisition. It might make a useful trade item down the line for the Eldar. Regardless, I certainly can't let Velatha keep it.'

"Attention to all Astartes nearby. The primarch Jaghatai Khan is being held prisoner aboard Asdrubael Vect's ziggurat. I request your assistance immediately!" Ferrus commanded into an open vox broadcast.

A shocked response followed a few seconds later, "Who are you?! Identify yourself!"

Seiras recognized the voice of the Ultramarine captain from his journey in mid-commorragh and decided to chime in, "I told you I found a primarch, captain. We found the Khan as well. Help us brothers. The ziggurat's shields are down!"

"You're that librarian, Seiras?! Hmph…very well then. We're deploying at once to back you up. Which primarch are we being commanded by?" the ultramarine captain responded.

"You'll see soon enough," Seiras responded. He didn't really want to tell them a supposedly dead primarch gave the order. He figured it would be best if they saw Ferrus for themselves.

The archons and incubi present couldn't hear the vox call, but they seemed aware that Seiras was distracted.

"This is taking too long! Why is Vect waiting?!" Velatha demanded angrily.

Tahril sighed with boredom, "I guess we just wait until Urien opens the portal for us. You know how Vect is with his perfect timing and all."

The ziggurat soon began to shake from what was undoubtedly heavy weapons fire.

A few awkward seconds passed before the webway behind them opened. Tahril defused the silent tension as he spoke up optimistically, "Well it seems that's our cue to go."

Upon passing through the webway portal, Seiras and the two archons walked along a short trail and out another opening portal at the far side. They soon found themselves dead center inside of the Blackstone fortress.

Looking around for any signs of tactical information, Seiras was surprised to see that nobody was nearby. The incubi quickly followed them out of the webway before it automatically closed behind them. The librarian glanced at Tahril cautiously, "Where is everyone? Wasn't there supposed to be an agent in here? I don't even see defenses or guards."

Tahril seemed especially concerned as he gestured for Seiras to shut up. The archon focused a subtle glance around the chamber before pointing to a dark passageway not far from them. The group moved towards it as quickly and stealthily as they could. Seiras even made sure to psychically dampen the sounds of his armoured footsteps as they bolted to cover.

Once they were out of the open, Tahril glanced between the librarian and Velatha, "This is a trap. That agent likely set us up. I expect Malys knows about the plan now."

"Damn it…" Velatha gritted her teeth aggressively.

"Why didn't they just ambush us out of the portal then?" Seiras wondered.

Tahril shook his head, "I don't know…tactically that would been the best option to eliminate us right away. Malys is very cunning. She likely has a more elaborate trap set up for us. That or she's trying to draw Vect's hand sooner than her own."

"Right as always, Tahril…" Malys' voice sounded through a nearby speaker catching all of them off guard.

"Lady Malys…a pleasure as always," Tahril kept his cool as he responded.

Malys' voice chuckled through several nearby speakers, "You clearly underestimate me if you thought I would fall for this plan of yours so easily."

The librarian immediately spoke into his private vox cast, "Vect…Malys set up a trap for us. She knows about your plan."

Vect responded immediately, "I know…just keep going. I have a surprise waiting for her."

Moments later the hallway they were in exploded with a massive bomb launching them all apart. Tahril went down the hallway along with most of his incubi while Seiras and Velatha were launched back into the main chamber. The doors then began to seal them apart before hosts of kabalites and Ynnari descended from all directions.

Splinter, shuriken, and shredder rounds pelted their location as several platoons of enemies began to surround them. Deciding this was his best chance to kill Velatha and her bodyguards, Seiras telekinetically lifted the surrounding Incubi and the archon off the ground to shield himself from the incoming fire.

They barely had a chance to process what had just happened as their inability to move left them helpless to the enemy fire. Seiras then proceeded to charge up a psychic tempest of electrical power and launched the shield of bodies in all directions exploding with violent psychic energy.

This practically killed all of Velatha's unsuspecting bodyguards and wounded the archon herself. The librarian wasted no time running over towards the confused and wounded archon as he jabbed his halberd violently into her head killing her immediately.

The enemy eldar seemed equally as confused by what had just happened as well and ceased fire momentarily to look through the haze of residual psychic power and weapons' fire. They were then greeted by the sight of Seiras picking up Sunfang and strapping it to his armour.

Seiran didn't bother trying to fight the enemy eldar as he bolted the opposite direction out of cover as he made his way for another corridor. The doors were sealing as he ran much to his concern. Nevertheless, he unleashed waves of psychic attacks at it in attempt to damage or slow it.

While it was partially successful, he just barely managed to dive through the bottom of the door as it sealed fully shut. The librarian wasted no time for reprieve as he was practically on his feet running again in mere seconds.

The strange blackstone corridors of the alien ship were confusing like some type of twisted labyrinth. The walls themselves even seemed to react to his psychic presence as they lit up along his sprinting path.

Weaving and winding around the halls, he was quick to realize that certain parts were sealing and opening for him. This made it apparent that he was being intentionally led somewhere. He soon found himself at a dead end before a side door opened for him to continue.

The librarian decided not to follow it as he remained still and thought about what to do. Psychically focusing on the other end of the sealed door in front of him, he visualized its layout and decided to teleport himself through it.

Deciding now was a good time to check in with the primarch, Seiras psychically messaged him, "Lord Ferrus, how are things on your end?"

"I'm still fighting this Avatar. The ship is shaking from a lot of weapons' fire. Did you reach the generator yet?" he asked.

"No, Malys had a trap laid out for us. I got separated from Vect's troops. I'm searching for the generator now though," the librarian replied.

"My sensors are picking up a lot of drop pods landing on the ziggurat. Hurry up and get those shields down. Don't forget to put the beacon on the bridge too," Ferrus commanded.

Seiras cut off the link without responding as he proceeded to teleport through another sealed door. This continued on for a few minutes as he made sure to go his own way instead of the way he was being led. His psychic powers greatly aided in navigating the labyrinth as he tried to sense a large power source. This eventually led him to what he assumed was the generator.

Upon teleporting into the next chamber, he wasn't surprised to see it heavily reinforced with countless guards. They ranged from trueborn, ynnari aspect warriors, to even wraith constructs. Seiras swiftly took cover before he could be spotted and surveyed the situation, 'At least a hundred enemies…eight wraithguards and one turret. Wait…are those cult of strife wyches?'

Lady Malys' voice then sounded over the speaker, "The librarian is at the generator, send reinforcements immediately!"

Seiras wasn't even going to wonder how Malys knew where he was, but he now found himself in a bind as the defenders in the room began to fortify all of the entrances.

Vect's voice came through the personal vox channel a moment later, "Good work both of you. Malys' entire fleet has left the blackstone fortress unguarded and they are heavily bombarding my ziggurat now. Time for phase two of the plan."

"Where did that Avatar go? It just disappeared!" Ferrus asked confused.

"Alright, you've done your part Ferrus Manus. Khan is near the lower slave chamber of the ship. I'm going to guide you there to retrieve him. As for you, Seiras…you've done your part as well. Watch this…" Vect chuckled.

A few moments later the lights flickered off followed by a massive explosion. Though he could see in the dark thanks to his helmet's HUD, Seiras was shocked to see that the shield generator had been destroyed.

"What was that?! Our shields just went down!" Malys demanded angrily over the speakers.

"Did you seriously think I was going to rely on a space marine and two questionably loyal archons to destroy it for me?" Vect taunted her over her own ship's speakers now.

"How?!" Malys howled angrily.

"They made excellent distractions while my real agents did the deed. Amateur mistake, Malys…and here I thought I was going to have to use my ace to beat you," Vect chuckled.

"You're awfully cocky for someone who's ziggurat is completely helpless! You won't be able to teleport enough troops on here in time to capture my Talisman of Vaul before your flagship is gone! All ships focus fire on it! Kill Vect!" Malys seemed a bit panicked.

"That's it? That's your big finale, Malys? Truly I'm disappointed in your lack of creativity. Alas, this has been an amusing game, but the Talisman of Vaul is now mine," Vect responded casually.

Moments later Seiras felt the Blackstone Fortress rock and shake violently. He had no idea what just happened, but it seemed to evoke hysteria in Malys as she growled into the broadcast, "What did you just do, Vect?!"

"All ships seize the Talisman of Vaul immediately!" Vect announced cheerily.

'What is Terra is going on right now?' Seiras thought bewildered as he passed by the burning generator chamber. He could see a number of panicked crew members scattering everywhere as some kind of siren went off on the ship.

Those that spotted him opened fire but were pathetically unequipped to stop him as Seiras easily killed his way closer to the bridge of the ship.

Several minutes passed as he proceeded through various checkpoints and chambers until he finally reached the final door to the bridge. To his surprise, he saw Archon Tahril was there along with his incubi attempting to bypass the door.

They seemed to perk up anxiously as Seiras approached. Tahril turned around and eyed him curiously as the librarian reached the group.

"Was that you who blew up the generator?" Seiras asked the archon.

Tahril chuckled lightly as he glanced between Seiras and the incubi working on prying through the door, "Sadly no…Lord Vect did not even tell me about all of the agents he employed for this mission. I believe he had multiple ones acting independently in order to confuse Malys. We were the distraction."

"Is Lady Malys in there?" Seiras asked.

Archon Tahril shrugged, "I doubt it…but securing the bridge is a priority. What became of Archon Velatha by the way?"

"She died," Seiras answered emotionlessly without any follow up explanation.

Tahril glanced at Sunfang which was now strapped to Seiras' side and smirked, "How unfortunate, but alas the mission must go on. We're almost through the door now. Help me clear the bridge and we'll be done here."

"As you say," the librarian nodded. He then jabbed the nemesis force halberd into the side of the door as he began to start cleaving an opening through it. Thanks to its upgraded paragon tech, the weapon managed to pierce through the heavy blast door. The incubi all stepped back as Seiras began to slowly get it opened.

After twenty or so seconds, the door was carved apart which allowed for him to telekinetically blast it off. The blast door went hurdling through the now open bridge at high speed as it smashed into command consoles and killed crew members.

Focusing a psychic ward, Seiras alertly scanned the room for priority targets to dispatch. He and Tahril's group were met with heavy weapons' fire and strange xenos traps and bombs.

It caught a few unlucky incubi off guard, but Seiras was fortunate enough to have a psychic shield which negated most of the damage. He proceeded to cautiously shoot down all the enemies in the chamber. He was especially careful about not damaging the majority of the bridge systems in case they had to hijack it later.

Once the bridge was clear, Tahril spoke into a comm device on his wrist, "Lord Vect, it's Tahril…the space marine and I have the bridge."

Vect's voice came through loud enough for Seiras to hear a moment later, "Shut down the engines, lock open all of the doors, and then destroy all the bridge systems and control panels. We'll repair it after we've secured the Fortress."

'Damn it…Vect really is tactical. He wants the fortress completely shut down. Did he expect we would try to hijack it? He couldn't have…is he really that intelligent?' Seiras thought disbelievingly.

He quickly alerted Ferrus on the situation through a psychic link, "Lord Ferrus…Vect is ordering his men to completely disable the blackstone fortress and destroy its navigation systems on the bridge. I think he anticipated us possibly attempting to steal it."

"Put the beacon on it anyways. We'll see if he honours his word. If not we'll destroy the fortress ourselves and teleport back to the others," Ferrus ordered.

"Yes my lord," Seiras responded psychically.

Tahril eyed Seiras suspiciously as he and his incubi went about disabling the blackstone fortress and destroying its command consoles. Seiras did not move as he watched them perform the task.

'I can't drop that beacon with them watching me this closely. I'm not sure if an illusion will fool them or if Tahril has some type of warp resistance. He could possibly have necron tech to negate it,' Seiras thought over how he was going to do his task.

Thankfully his helmet was on so the Eldar couldn't see his eyes glow as the librarian cast a subtle illusion over the chamber. It was of him standing still and not moving. Muffling his sound now, Seiras snuck away to drop off the beacon in a very obscure corner of the bridge. Roughly it took about a minute, but it might as well have been an hour to him as he held his breath during the entire ordeal.

Once it was done, he returned to his original position and released the illusion the moment Tahril glanced out the window.

"It's done Lord Ferrus…the beacon is hidden on the bridge. How are you faring right now?" Seiras contacted the primarch psychically again.

"I'm making my way down into the Slave Chamber as we speak. I believe Khan is in the central vault at the bott-," Ferrus answered before the psychic link cut off.

Seiras was confused about the psychic link cutting off until he sensed something behind him. Tahril and all of the incubi raised their weapons as they ran over to face whatever was behind Seiras.

Turning around, Seiras now saw a dozen or so harlequins. They included the shadowseer, Mokaela's father, and even Mokaela herself.

Tahril spoke up slowly, "Harlequins?! What are you doing here?!"

"We're here for the space marine…I am not here to oppose your master," Sylandri spoke up as she took a step closer.

To Seiras' complete surprise, Tahril seemed to be concerned as he spoke into his comm device, "Lord Vect…Harlequins are here for the space marine. What are your orders?"

Tahril placed a hand on his ear as he nodded shortly afterwards, "As you say, Lord Vect."

The harlequins were now surrounding the group as they all had their blades out and weapons primed. Seiras took this opportunity to glance at Mokaela who seemed to be eyeing him cautiously. To his complete disbelief, she actually had nothing to say for once. None of the harlequins said a word as an uncomfortable silence followed.

Finally Sylandri spoke, "I am glad to see Vect is reasonable enough to compensate us."

Tahril smirked as he looked at Seiras, "Indeed…"

The following three seconds were the most bizarre twist of fate Seiras had ever experienced. Instead of predictably betraying him and turning Seiras over, Tahril transformed right in front of him. Seiras and all of the incubi took a step back when it was revealed to be Aenaria herself. She was still wearing Tahril's armour, but had her creepy horned mask on.

Even the shadowseer Sylandri appeared to be caught off guard as she spoke in disbelief, "Impossible…I didn't sense you!"

"Where is Archon Tahril?!" one of the incubi demanded seriously.

Aenaria responded in a monotone voice, "Tahril never left the ziggurat. He was kind enough to give me his armour though. He's alive, incubus."

The solitaire glanced between Sylandri and Seiras now, "You know she's here to capture you. Do you know why?"

"Don't listen to her, Seiras! We're here to help you! If I don't intervene in this vision then you will bring untold doom upon billions!" Sylandri protested.

"Your vision is false…just like the farseer's. The future you fear must come to be," Aenaria countered.

Sylandri hissed with annoyance at her, "You're a fool, Aenaria! Has your pathetic infatuation blinded you to the calamity he's bringing!? We serve Cegorach…have you forgotten that?!"

"This is Cegorach's will…it is you who arrogantly denies it. You are a coward who can't see the big picture or the neccessary sacrifices we must make." Aenaria stated coldly.

"Listen to me, Seiras! We're not going to kill or imprison you…but we can't let you proceed unguided on this path! We need your help and you need ours!"

"What are you talking about?! Aenaria told me you wanted to bring me to the Black Library…why?!" Seiras demanded.

"I admit we do want to take you there…but it wouldn't be permanent. My vision tells me that you and Ferrus Manus could stop a coming doom if you go there! You can stop the trials." Sylandri answered seriously.

"Trials? Can you be a little less vague?!" He demanded.

Sylandri shook her head, "For everyone's sake it's best that you know as little as possible."

Aenaria shook her head, "She has no intention of letting you go, Seiras. She can't see past the initial disaster of her vision. The future Sylandri fears is only the beginning. She doesn't see where it will lead and why it must occur."

"Think about it, Seiras…if you were beyond helping we would have killed you already. We can still stop the events to come. Your survival is paramount for the best future outcome…but if you follow her path it will lead to doom," Sylandri tried to reason.

The solitaire crossed her arms and responded emotionlessly, "What she fails to tell you is that you're not meant to die yet. She still intends for you to die once you've done what they wanted you to. I do not want you to die. Not only because I like you, but because you are the only one who can reason with Aikatsu."

"What?! Who is Aikatsu?!" Seiras demanded.

The shadowseer spoke with complete horror in her voice, "You truly are mad. Is that the future you aspire to shape, Aenaria?! It's too dangerous! I won't allow it!"

"Here you stand at the fork in the road, Seiras…faced with a manipulative liar and an honest ally. What will you choose I wonder?" Aenaria stated.

Seiras decided this was not a situation he wanted to be in as he finally managed to break through the psychic disruption and contact Ferrus psychically, "Teleport me off this ship, Lord Ferrus…harlequins just showed up on the bridge for me."

"Stand by, Seiras," the primarch responded calmly.

"It's clear to me that you're both liars who can't be trusted…I choose my own path. Your prophecies be damned! I'm done with this cryptic Eldar nonsense!" Seiras growled.

Before anyone could respond or make a move, Seiras was immediately teleported off the Blackstone Fortress.

He soon found himself next to Ferrus back on Vect's ziggurat. The primarch was presumably in the bowels of the ship and was tearing through something akin to an onboard slave chamber.

Ferrus stopped briefly to speak to him, "Khan should be in the massive vault up ahead."

"Have you encountered any Astartes yet, my lord?" Seiras asked.

The Gorgon shook his head, "Not yet, but I left a pretty clear trail of destruction in my wake. I imagine they have likely been following it. A servo skull did intercept me three minutes ago."

"Well let's hurry up and get Khan so we can leave. Those harlequins are most likely going to try boarding our ship. We can't waste time," Seiras noted.

Ferrus nodded as he walked up to the vault door, "Cover the rear while I break this thing down, Seiras. It should only take a minute."

The librarian nodded as he moved to cover the rear. In the brief wait that followed, he decided to wrap up and conceal Sunfang. The last thing he wanted was the Eldar to see it when they teleported back to the ship. It seemed to be just in time too as a company's worth of kabalites were storming down the corridor firing all manner of weapons.

Seiras ignited the path with warpfire as he emptied the rest of his storm bolter's ammunition into the desperate drukhari. Even in spite of his attacks, more continued to charge almost suicidally. It seemed quite apparent that they were more scared of failing Vect than dying.

When his bolter ran out of ammunition, he drew the Night Lord plasma pistol that he looted a while back. The librarian hadn't tested the weapon out yet, but started firing slow shots with it. To his surprise, the longer barrel seemed to have some type of advanced heat sink as it allowed for a higher rate of fire. Supplementing it with psychic attacks, he maintained his ranged position as he slaughtered the enemies funneling in.

'This plasma pistol is useful…why don't they make all of them like this? I've never fired one that had such an advanced heat sink before,' the librarian thought as he fired three shots back to back.

As the librarian held off the enemies, Ferrus has managed to punch a hole through the door and was working on prying it apart with his iron hands. He grimaced and growled loudly as he used his full strength to literally peel away massive strips of alien metal.

Once he made a big enough hole, he stuck his sword through and started to carve it open. Seiras was now getting swarmed as dozens of kabalites and other enemies continued pouring in behind them with massive weapon's platforms and even a talos pain engine. The plasma pistol came in handy against the alien monstrosity as he fired it until it overheated at the engine.

All retaliatory enemy fire was psychically redirected, but some shots were starting to get through as several dark lance shots grazed the librarian. Relief came mere moments later as bolter fire came from behind the aliens.

Seiras watched with relief as about a dozen tactical marines and a terminator squad caught the enemy off guard. Their heavy firepower made quick work of the enemy force as multiple marines moved to secure positions around the chamber and watch for more enemies. The force consisted of mostly White Scars, but the terminator squad were Ultramarines.

The apparent leaders of this group approached Seiras and Ferrus now with caution. Almost all of them were staring at Ferrus as the primarch repeatedly punched what was left of the blast door off to make a bigger hole.

Ferrus slowly turned around and looked at Seiras without even acknowledging the newly arrived Astartes, "Clear the room Seiras…in case he has some way to trap me in stasis."

"Yes my lord," Seiras nodded as he immediately went through the opening into the room. As he proceeded through, Ferrus glanced over the White Scars and Ultramarines.

One of the Ultramarine terminators finally spoke up, "It's the Gorgon…"

"Impossible," another one followed up.

A nearby White Scar quickly chimed in when he saw Ferrus' necrodermis arms, "Are you Ferrus Manus? Primarch of the Iron Hands?"

"Yes, and I was dead until recently. The Emperor resurrected me," Ferrus explained vaguely. It seemed to be enough to draw the Astartes out of their disbelieving stupor as they relaxed slightly.

"It's an honour, lord primarch…I am Captain Kor'sarro Khan of the Third Brotherhood. I lead the White Scars with our fleet. I was tasked by Lord Guilliman to find the Great Khan," he stated.

Ferrus nodded before turning around, "Is it clear, Seiras?!"

"It is, my lord," the librarian answered as he approached a stasis restraint where an unconscious warrior was being held in suspended animation.

Seiras began to start the override so he could shut it off as the others walked into the prison chamber. The rest of the newly arrived Astartes followed them in. The White Scars stared with awe at the sight of their unconscious primarch being held there.

"The Great Khan…I can't believe we actually found him." Kor'sarro said slowly.

"I found him," Ferrus corrected the White Scars captain.

"What is he doing?! We don't know how that alien device works! Stand back librarian!" another white scar protested Seiras' tampering with the stasis device.

"I'm shutting it down now, Lord Ferrus," Seiras announced unfazed.

Ferrus nodded as the stasis field shut off. He quickly worked to remove the psionic collar as Seiras opened up the restraints.

One of the ultramarine terminators spotted Jaghatai Khan's wargear nearby, "Retrieve the Khan's armour and relics. I assume that's them over there."

The White Scars Astartes were quick to pick up everything in the chamber that was remotely related to their primarch as they packed it on or held it in their hands. Some were apparently in a state of awe still as they were still processing the sight of two primarchs in front of them.

As Khan's collar finally came off, the primarch slumped forward in a groggy state as he opened his eyes. He blinked several times slowly when he saw Ferrus had caught him.

"Ferrus? Am I dead?" Khan said incoherently as if he was seeing things. He blinked a few times before his alert nature returned to him. He immediately forced himself out Ferrus' proximity as he pushed the Gorgon back and got into the fighting stance.

Khan reflexively retrieved his sword from a nearby White Scar faster than almost anyone could process. In a following blur, Khan held up the blade to Ferrus in sheer disbelief.

"Relax, brother…we're here to rescue you. This is Asdrubael Vect' ziggurat. We're in Commorragh and we're breaking out," Ferrus stated with rational calmness.

"Ferrus?! Am I seeing things? No…you're dead! Is this some illusion? A xenos trick?!" Khan growled angrily as his eyes lit up with psychic radiance.

"I am very much alive, Khan," Ferrus replied calmly as he showed his necrodermis arms to Jaghatai.

The White Scars primarch was equally as impressive as every other primarch Seiras had seen up until this point. His trademark red lightning bolt marking on his face and the Black hightail were also quite iconically distinguishable.

"We don't have time for this, Lord Ferrus…we need to get back to the ship immediately! Can we teleport out?!" Seiras interrupted the awkward silence that followed.

The Gorgon glanced at Khan, "Listen, I'll explain everything shortly, but I assure you that it is me, brother."

Khan slightly lowered his sword as he looked around at the Ultramarines and White Scars in the chamber. He spoke to Kor'sarro, the obvious ranking Astartes in the room, "Does he speak truly my son?"

"We don't really know, Great Khan…we arrived shortly before the Gorgon and that librarian broke down the door to your chamber. Our forces encountered the librarian a few weeks ago and he said he found a primarch in Commorragh…it appears he was telling the truth," Kor'sarro answered.

"It's him, Great Khan. I have the Wolf King's Rune Seal to prove it. Leman Russ was there when the Emperor resurrected him…and he gave me his Rune Seal to prove it," Seiras interjected as he showed the seal to Jaghatai.

Khan stared at it surprised as he lowered his sword, "So Russ lives? That is definitely his rune seal."

One of the Ultramarines spoke up disbelievingly, "You saw the Wolf King too?!"

"Yes…at Khaine's Gate. He defended us against an army of daemons," Seiras answered.

"I believe you," Khan finally defused the tension, "but now is not the time for talk. We should move quickly and leave this wretched ship."

Ferrus looked down at a device on his wrist which showed blue still, "I'll explain everything once we're out of here."

"What are you doing?!" Kor'sarro demanded as a bright light extended outward about ten meters.

"Everyone get close, I'm teleporting us. Don't shoot the aliens when we get back to the bridge!" Ferrus commanded.

It only took a few seconds before all of them in the chamber were teleported off Vect's ziggurat. They shortly reappeared on the bridge of the ship they hijacked along with all of the Astartes that were in the chamber with them.

The craftworlders on the bridge almost seemed panicked when they saw Ferrus, Seiras, Khan, and fifteen other Astartes appear on the bridge of the ship.

The Astartes all raised their weapons on the Eldar before Ferrus stopped them, "Hold your fire!"

Khan seemed to calm down somewhat as he looked around the bridge and out the window of the ship. He glanced at Ferrus again and spoke in disbelief, "Has the Imperium invented new teleportation technology?"

Nobody answered him in the tense silence that followed. The White Scars captain Kor'sarro had his sword drawn as he looked around hatefully at the Eldar, "What is the meaning of this?!"

"We're escaping right now along with these craftworlders," Ferrus answered.

"Are these Ynnari?" one of the three Ultramarine terminators asked.

Seiras quickly answered, "No, they're Iybraesil captives."

"So…you found him after all?" Tallath seemed to be in disbelief at the sight of a second primarch now present.

"We don't have time to waste anymore…there's only so much maneuvering I can do," Atharen interrupted, "tell the Astartes fleet to follow us."

Kor'sarro spoke with unfiltered hostility, "We are returning to our ship!"

"How do you intend to leave the webway? From what I understand, you were trapped in there. We can open the webway and lead you out. Now order that fleet to follow us!" Ferrus commanded.

Kor'sarro quickly glanced at Khan undoubtedly awaiting his command. Jaghatai simply nodded, "Do it."

"This is Kor'sarro Khan…we have the Great Khan with us. Uploading my tracking beacon now…we're aboard an eldar ship. Follow us out!" The White Scars captain ordered.

As if on cue, Vect's voice broadcasted to all nearby fleets not long after on all human and alien comm frequencies, "Warriors cease fire on the monkeigh. We have the Talisman of Vaul. Focus on Malys' fleet and secure it!"

From the bridge window, everyone watched with confusion as the Eldar ships pulled back to surround the Blackstone Fortress.

"Are there any space marines left on that Ziggurat?" Ferrus asked the astartes.

Kor'sarro shook his head, "No…our boarding parties cleared out after the Blackstone Fortress started firing on it. We were the only platoon left aboard."

"Good…let's go," Ferrus stated as he glanced at Atharen.

The warp spider exarch nodded as he flew the ship to the webway gate in the distance. It quickly opened for them to pass through. The Astartes fleet wasted no time withdrawing its forces as they all followed behind with feverish fervor.

"Vect is letting us go?" Khan asked disbelievingly.

Ferrus nodded, "He said he would if we gave him that Blackstone Fortress."

"You made a deal with him?" Khan seemed surprised by the notion.

"The final space marine ship is passing through the gate, shutting it off," Atharen exhaled somewhat relieved as they were now clear of Vect and Malys' fleets.

With the situation a bit more relaxed now, Ferrus glanced at Khan, "I will explain the situation to you in detail, brother…the Emperor resurrected me from the dead. Seiras is the librarian here responsible for making it possible."

"What year is it?" Jaghatai asked curiously as he looked around.

"It is M42.047…December 23rd," one of the White Scars answered.

Khan looked away almost shamefully, "It's been that long…"

"Much has happened in your absence, Great Khan…if you'll permit, I will update you on the Imperium's current status," Kor'sarro added.

Jaghatai glanced over the craftworlders now, "You can tell me in private. Where are we going exactly?"

"The craftworlders are bringing us to a hive world called Corun where I was initially captured by the dark eldar. It's in the Armageddon Sector and sub-sector Justicar," Seiras answered.

"We've honoured our agreement primarch…so would you kindly get these space marines off the bridge?" Atharen asked annoyed.

The Astartes seemed a bit angry at the alien's tone, but Ferrus nodded, "Of course…Seiras remain on the bridge. I will speak to Khan in private about what has happened. The rest of the Astartes can wait in the chamber below. Do not kill or attack any of the aliens there. They have proven their merit in this escape."

Seiras simply watched as the two primarchs and the rest of the other Astartes descended down the elevator. The librarian could only imagine how shocking their appearance in the chamber would be. Once they were gone Seiras let out an audible sigh of relief.

Ashera quickly spoke to him, "You're lucky they didn't start shooting us…"

"You made a deal with Vect?! That's dangerous…though I'm shocked he actually honoured his deal," Tallath noted.

"Me too…I appreciate you waiting for us," Seiras replied.

The exarchs exchanged looks with one another but didn't say anything in response to his gratitude. Atharen was quick to change the subject, "Well, now that I don't have to stress a bolter round in the back, we have another problem to deal with. A lot of the webway paths up ahead are going red. Someone is sealing them off."

"It might be the harlequins. They tried to corner me over there," Seiras said seriously.

"It's quite fortunate that the Revenant's teleporter worked then. Do you know what they want from you? I imagine they're probably terrified of you freeing two primarchs back into the Imperium," Tallath interjected.

"They kept talking about something strange…the shadowseer and the solitaire both had a disagreement about a future vision involving me. The Shadowseer wanted me to go to the Black Library…but I don't really know what the solitaire wanted. Apparently I'm destined to cause a great calamity," Seiras explained.

"I suppose it's no coincidence that you had a vision of Ahzek Ahriman there as well. This is bad…all of the paths I was going to take are sealed. The only path forward is through the harlequin trail. It seems we'll have to pass close by the Black Library to escape," Atharen spat with annoyance.

"Iruna said I would meet her again when I last saw her…so I don't know if she believes in the visions these harlequins have," Seiras added.

Tallath crossed his arms, "Well, I trust Iruna's vision above that of a duplicitous masque of harlequins. Obviously, Iruna's vision was the best to follow since it appears it will lead to a mutual cooperation between Iybraesil and your Imperium."

"Do any of you know what the Heart of Asuryan is? I had a vision on Vect's ship where Perturabo was talking about it." Seiras asked.

"The Heart of Asuryan?!" Sorellia perked up seriously, "that's a legend."

"What's it about?" he asked curiously.

"I…don't think it's appropriate for us to tell you. Ask Iruna," Sorellia stopped herself after getting a sharp head turn from Tallath.

Ashera took off her helmet and glanced at Tallath disapprovingly, "I'm going to tell him. The Heart of Asuryan is a legend about the death of Asuryan. Supposedly it's a soulstone that holds Asuryan's soul. Some believe he wasn't consumed by She-Who-Thirsts. That's all we really know about it."

"A spirit stone that holds the soul of a god?!" Seiras asked shocked by the idea.

"It's a preposterous legend made to inspire hope that the Phoenix King can be reborn. There has never been any proof of its existence. Not even the radicals of Biel'Tan and Ulthwé believe in such nonsense," Atharen followed up.

"Well, from what I could see of my vision, it seems Perturabo was looking for it regardless," Seiras shook his head grimly.

"Inform Iruna of it when we see her. Perhaps she can discern any meaning or truth in your vision," Tallath sighed.

"So long as we didn't get any unwanted passengers, the worst of this journey should be behind us. Do we have any status updates from the aspect warriors?" Atharen asked a nearby Eldar.

The eldar nodded, "The aspect warriors have been sweeping the ship consistently, exarch. So far we've had no sign of infiltration. The Monkeigh fleet is keeping pace with our ship as well."

"Good…" Atharen nodded as he zoomed in the webway map and pressed a few buttons causing it to recalibrate several times.

The map looked like a complete maze, but the green light following particular trails seemed to indicate their path. Seiras watched curiously as paths randomly started to flicker red as the ship continued on its course.

Every time they approached what looked to be an ideal path, they were automatically redirected further and further into the maze. Atharen was obviously stressed from ordeal as he continuously readjusted.