Chereads / A Bloody Rose Story / Chapter 16 - New Beginnings   

Chapter 16 - New Beginnings   

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The fall of Cadia year 999.m41. 

 

As that great rifting eye swallowed the world of Cadia…the wall world that held back the chaos! FELL! leaving the eyes' influence unchecked… causing countless worlds to fall into chaos… leaving behind a bloody road made of dead planets! Dead sister planets! A road so distraught, it made the route we carved from the Indomitus Crusade seem tamed! A road we later named the Road of Martyrs… In honor of all the blood spilled by our sisters… 

 

A crusade I helped lead! A crusade of vengeance! A bloody vengeance… But more than anything… A crusade of hope! A tragic hope that saw miracles beyond count! Miracles that even put the resurrection of Guilliman to shame!

I witnessed the rise and fall of many saints! Of sights beyond my understanding! By the god emperor, I thank you for these miracles… I thank you for saving artifacts of our past sisters… I thank you for preserving some of the world in the wake of destruction… And I thank you God Emperor for allowing me to live long enough to raise… HER! 

 

→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→lost pages found from Danicia missing Journal 

 

Through the heavy pelleting rain, a train roared forward. As the pitched night surrounded the trees of the jungle, they gave their silent gestures, while the vast mutating animals fled to devour each other through the soft light of the train headlight. 

But as Layla sat there in the back of the second cart nervously enjoying the cold air that brushed past her hair, she held onto a sword that shouldn't be here… while pondering on the reflection that showed her a sight, she couldn't believe... For one side of the blade shows her bright innocent side, while the other shows her horrifying old self! Her once-man self! 

 

As for Molly, she sat inside the second cart that was thrown into a mess after the vortex grenade, violent force. Forced her to go inside to seek shelter from the pull of its might! She could still hear the sound of that disturbing chorus of screaming caused by the monsters being torn apart! 

 

As for Mary, nothing was going right! Multiple system errors, a frightening scene of multiple monsters throwing themselves into the front of the train for no reason! Coupled with the fact, that the turret on top needed reloading. She was so busy trying to just keep the train going she didn't have time to think of anything else, the only thing keeping her together was the fact that she could see Layla on the back of the train playing with a weird-looking sword. 

 

But with so many system errors, Mary couldn't know that they were being followed by spying Eldar! Who in turn were being hunted by something else… 

 

Frew hours ago: 

 

In the deep cold night, with pure blackness around, stood a pulsating portal! A portal that connected the immaterium with the natural world! With the way open, a man carrying a dripping bloody staff slams it into the mud! With harsh zombie eyes, the man looks around at a scene of corpses riddled in the dirt and begins his chant.

With a red flame that the rain couldn't silence, dancing in preparation, the red symbol of Khorne plastered on his chest lit up to match the skulls hanging around his waist and shoulders! 

 

With the flame expanding in a beautiful ark that shallowed all the corpses around, the man channeled the blood collected into the portal to call forth a few Bloodletters!

As they arrived in their full glory of burning blades and red skin, the demons looked to the psyker whom their master hated but still used as a necessary contradiction to his nature. As they stood there waiting for orders, The psyker man in charge said as he sniffed the cold air: 

 

[Umm… the smell of the Eldar…Mixed with humans and… weak tyranids… excellent! This world is ripe for the taking of our master! No wonder he sent me ahead to prepare the way!] 

 

[Demons! Servants of his majesty! Let the hunt begin!] 

 

Short Neurolord POV current time 

 

In the center of the jungle stood the Neurolord after his tantrum, surrounded by destroyed trees, and dead corpses of random animals. And while his fleshy soft skin was pelleted by the rain, he stood there in deep thought. All while looking over his childish plan to steal the genes of those three human females…

when he suddenly realized after going through countless memories that lay hidden deep in his blood, that instead of killing them to add their genetic code, he simply could have made one of his many gene-stealers present one of the females with a "kiss" and go from there! But it's too late now! For the target of his desire was getting further and further away by the second, with no way to catch up with them. 

 

[Fine if I can't catch them then I won't for now… there will be other chances so long as they stay on this world...] thought the Neurolord 

 

[For now, I must quickly evolve myself to my next phase, for my lack of understanding will cost me more than I already lost! I must prepare this world for my queen! She nears… I can feel it! Faint as it is… it's still there!] continued the Neurolord 

 

Eldar short Pov 

 

As the farseer sat at the back of the Jetbike of his companies, he began to feel a pull from the ether… A call that changed his vision as he welcomed it into his mind! A vision that painted a picture of a jungle on fire! With a town ablaze and a sky covered in fear! As a terrifying demon's hound squashed an army of bugs, while the humans were caught in the middle fighting desperately to hold onto a losing world!

All while giant ravens loomed in the back, overshadowing the minute-by-minute changes! A chaotic mess of death! A war with no hope! And no light but one… a light no smaller than dim candlelight that the simplest of breezes could put out! But through the countless changing futures one thing was certain… there was only one way to win an inevitable war… and all players on the chess board wanted it dead! But a few! 

 

For the bugs wish to devour it for its code, while the demon wishes for vengeance, all while the humans wish to steal it away for their own plans! Though the raven eye stares silently curiously at it! All while we Eldar wish to persevere it, with the help of its sister lights! 

 

But this… This was a future already known to the farseer… but then he saw it… the simple change he didn't expect! 

 

Canoness short Pov 

[Lord Canoness! The situation is getting out of hand! We're getting reports that the mutation is happening outside the jungle now! It's spreading… what do we do?... Canoness?] spoke a random assistant 

 

As Lady Danica looked in silence at the gene stealer on the monitor, painful memories resurfaced their ugly head in her mind… An while saying a small prayer to the god emperor in her mind, she responded: 

 

[lock down all cities! Send out the inquisition to sniff out all cutlets! At once!] demanded Lady Danicia as she slammed her fist against the table for not realizing the situation much earlier. 

 

Scared, the assistant hurried carried out her order while thinking: 

 

[it's not your fault Lady Danicia you couldn't have known that mutation was of alien origins... After all, ever since the Great Rift opened… mutations are a common thing now.] 

 

[that not true...] spoke Danicia suddenly 

 

[ah! What do you mean lady Danicia] responded the assistant 

 

[look, I know what you're thinking, we've been together for a long time now, but you weren't there during the meat of the Indomitus Crusade! I saw many scenes similar to this and more… just how could I have forgotten such a thing… is nothing more than a failure on my part! I will need to see the servitors for a neurochip.] replied Danicia 

 

[my lady I know you didn't want us to bring this up again, but I must ask, are you really sure we should still be training the recruits at times like this?] said the assistant as she looked at the cherubs responsible for watching the girls on the train. 

 

[Just watch them and continue sending me reports on their progress… I know what I'm doing is out of the ordinary, but it must be done! Now back to work!] replied Danicia while she thought to herself 

 

[so, the Eldar really gave her that sword… along with a vortex grenade. They really did pilfer a lot of our secrets… those dam alien scum! Well, I can't be surprised after all… their farseer is an "old friend of mine"] 

 

Current time 

 

As daybreak reached over the horizon jungle trees, the train covered in guts and blood came to a slow stop in an abandoned station just outside a clearing in the jungle terrain. With cloudy skies behind them, the girls met up just outside the second cart for a brief meeting. 

 

As they gave their victory hugs, Layal was the first to ask: 

 

[Mary… how is the train? Do you think it can last us until we reach the town?] 

 

[I... Don't fully know] replied Mary shaking her head before continuing 

 

[the train itself is surely sturdy enough for the trip but the power cells are running dangerously low.] 

 

[how? Aren't these trains fitted with a self-sustaining plasma reactor?] asked Layla 

 

While blinking in shock at Layla's stupid question, Mary replied: 

 

[No! Why would there be such advanced technology used for a simple transport train of this small size? Come on now Layla! They run on regular weak power cells… in fact, we're lucky they're not running on choral or steam! You should know this! I mean didn't you talk to the machine spirit inside? 

 

Brushing off Mary's inquiry badly, Layla tried to change the subject by asking if the gun placement was still in working order, to which Mary replied: 

 

[Yes, it's fine, I just need to check on a few minor stuff… But hey you didn't answer my question!] yelled Mary with her through her cute puff cheeks 

 

[Now, now leave Layla alone… I to, didn't know that, and besides is this really worth getting upset about? Don't we have bigger things to worry about, like what were those things that attacked us last night?] interjected Molly 

 

Agreeing with Molly's sentiment, Layla said: 

[As I mentioned earlier, those things are tyranids, an alien species from outside our space, who wish nothing more than to devour… to eat their fill of genetic life…] 

 

[why?] asked Molly as Mary squinted her thoughts 

 

[simply to evolve… they are the most selfish species out in the cosmos, whose care for life is zero! They even destroy the planet as they leave for the next.] replied Layla as she remembered the scenery of the world from space. 

 

Noticing Layla's aggression towards the topic, Mary said: 

 

[in any case, right now we need to find a new power cell, or we aren't going anywhere!] 

 

[Umm. Then I guess we're just going to have to hope this abandoned station has something of use.] replied Molly 

 

{well, first I recommend we go through our supplies and help Mary fix what we can on the train before we go off searching in a dangerous old building. After all, I don't want to see another unexpected surprise like that vortex grenade!} interjected Layla as she stared into the jungle-infested metal that was once a mining check station. 

 

[aw… why? I really like that bomb! The explosion was cool, if not a little scary, I guess. However, it did prevent me from smashing that freak with my shield!] screamed Molly in the joy of remembrance 

 

Where, Mary and Layla simply rolled their eyes at Molly's childish display while stealing a passionate glimpse into each other's eyes for a second, before snapping back to reality as they all heard a strange noise coming from within the station!