As I reclined further into my chair, the flickering holoscreen before me presented an intricate dance of destruction. The Aeldari, ever resilient in their desperation, still held firm in certain sectors, their psychic defenses flaring to life as the skeletal wraith constructs of their Infinity Circuit struggled to fend off the twin threats pressing in. But their defiance was a fleeting thing. The inevitable tide of destruction would drown even their most valiant efforts.
My hand absently traced the edges of a sleek vial beside me, the toxin gleaming with a venomous allure under the dim light. Malekith, that meddler, may indeed have a way of twisting fate to his liking. It was a trait the Aeldari had long relied upon, banking on the ever-shifting tides of destiny. Yet even he, with all his so-called mastery, would find no salvation here. The strands of fate were no longer his alone to pluck. I had severed and knotted them to my will, shaping the tapestry of this moment with meticulous care.
On the screen, I observed a lone squad of Dire Avengers rallying for a final, suicidal charge against a relentless Tyranid wave. The alien horrors, all gnashing maws and blade-like appendages, surged forward, unstoppable in their hunger. The brave Aeldari fought valiantly, their shuriken catapults cutting through the first wave with precise bursts of monomolecular discs. But it was a hollow victory. For each xenos they felled, a hundred more replaced them. Soon, even their graceful movements were swallowed by the churning mass of claws and carapace.
"Their time is running out," I murmured, feeling a certain satisfaction as the tactical overlay confirmed the dwindling numbers of the Aeldari forces. There was beauty in this inevitable collapse—a perfect storm of death and ruin that transcended simple warfare.
I allowed my mind to wander again, envisioning what lay beyond this conflict. With the Aeldari crippled, their Infinity Circuit shattered, their souls would have no refuge. And when the Tyranids were done feasting on their bones, I would move in to claim the remnants, picking through the ruins for the priceless treasures left behind—their spirit stones, their ancient knowledge. All of it would be mine. Perhaps Malekith would try to salvage something from the wreckage, but by then, he would only be left with ashes to sift through.
Another chime broke the silence—this time from the comms console. I tapped the screen, revealing the visage of one of my men, his expression strained, though not with fear—no, my subordinates were too disciplined for such weakness. Rather, it was the weight of the task ahead that pressed upon him.
"Everything is in place, my lord," he said, bowing his head slightly. "The toxin will be deployed within the hour, as per your instructions. Do you have any further commands?"
"Ensure the release coincides with the height of the Tyranid's feeding frenzy," I replied smoothly. "I want the timing to be precise. Let them gorge themselves before we poison the banquet. And remind our forces to stay clear of the affected zones—I'd hate to lose valuable assets to such a work of art."
The man nodded, his image flickering off the screen as quickly as it had appeared. I returned my attention to the battle unfolding before me. There was still some life left in the Aeldari forces, but their resistance was waning.
I imagined the looks of desperation and fury etched onto their faces—their pride shattered as their once-majestic craftworld crumbled around them. They had thought themselves untouchable, hidden away in their sequestered corner of the galaxy, but they had been fools. And now they would pay the price for their hubris.
With the toxin soon to spread like a whisper of death across the battlefield, I could already envision the chaos it would sow. A slow, creeping doom that would twist their bodies and minds, leaving them vulnerable to the Tyranids' ravenous advance. The swarm, in its mindless hunger, would consume all, and when they were done, the survivors—if there were any—would be broken beyond repair.
"Soon," I whispered to myself, savoring the anticipation. "Soon, this galaxy will know the true meaning of despair."
The holoscreen pulsed again, another alert flashing across it—this time from the sector nearest the craftworld's core. It appeared that the Aeldari were rallying for one final, desperate push. They had activated a series of powerful psychic defenses, their last, most potent weaponry coming online. I couldn't help but smile at the irony.
With a sense of rising excitement, I activated the sequence for the toxin's deployment. A series of holographic displays lit up before me, each one showing the precise vectors and mechanisms by which the toxin would be unleashed. I lingered on the controls for a moment, savoring the finality of it all.
"Commence the release," I ordered, my voice a low, measured command.
A ripple of movement spread through the control panels as my command was executed. The toxin—delicate, deadly, and unseen—was unleashed into the atmosphere surrounding the craftworld. Dispersed through stealth drones and tailored delivery systems, it would drift on the winds of war, carried by the chaos of battle. The Aeldari would never see it coming, nor would they feel its touch until it was too late.
On the holoscreen, I watched as the first of the Aeldari defenders began to falter. They were still engaged in combat with the Tyranids, their movements fierce but precise—until suddenly, the precision faltered. An Exarch, leading a squad of Howling Banshees in a vicious charge, stumbled, clutching at her throat as if her lungs had suddenly constricted. Her fellow warriors slowed, confusion and panic beginning to ripple through their lines. The toxin had begun to take effect.
I leaned closer to the screen, my eyes narrowing with dark pleasure. This particular blend was not a simple killer. It would not merely snuff out lives in an instant. No, the toxin had been designed to toy with its victims, slowly unraveling their bodies and minds in a cascade of agony. The Aeldari's heightened senses, their psychic abilities, would only make the suffering more acute.
The first stage of the toxin's effects would induce a sense of disorientation, the Aeldari warriors unable to focus as their perceptions warped and twisted. Their attacks would become erratic, their defenses sloppy. And the Tyranids, ever ravenous, would capitalize on this weakness with brutal efficiency.
I watched with growing satisfaction as the Tyranids began to push harder against the now-disorganized Aeldari. A wave of gaunts swarmed a beleaguered squad of Guardians, their shimmering shields flickering out as they collapsed under the weight of the attack. In another corner of the battlefield, a mighty Wraithlord, once a towering symbol of Aeldari might, stumbled as its psychic core was destabilized, leaving it vulnerable to the swarming Tyranids.
I tapped a control, bringing up a secondary feed. The toxin's secondary effects were spreading, seeping deeper into the craftworld's environment. Even those who had taken refuge in their strongholds would not be spared. The psychic wards that protected them were flickering, growing unstable under the assault of the chemical agents. In time, even the Infinity Circuit would be infected, its delicate balance shattered by the toxin's cruel design.
A thrill of power coursed through me as I watched the Aeldari craftworld unravel. Their vaunted superiority, their psychic prowess—it all crumbled before the sheer precision of my plan. And yet, there was still more to come.
The Tyranids, sensing the weakening prey, pressed harder. Their monstrous creatures tore into the Aeldari ranks with renewed fury, the toxin adding to the chaos as the Eldar warriors could no longer coordinate their psychic defenses. Even their farseers, who sought to guide their people through the strands of fate, were now blinded by the venom that clouded their minds.
"Beautiful," I whispered, as I watched the perfect storm unfold.
The craftworld was a battlefield of madness now—Aeldari turning on one another in confusion, Tyranids tearing through their defenses, and above it all, the unseen specter of the toxin continued its relentless spread.
"Prepare the harvesting teams," I ordered coldly. "We'll collect the spoils when it's done. Not even their souls will escape this time." As I said this a flash of lightning so bright it blinded several of my holo screens.
"There's the star of the show, let us see who is stronger, Malekith. You or I." I laughed and watched as he abused his psyker powers to eviscerate the oncoming hordes. His training must have been great and his power overflowed as he began to push them back.
I began for the first time sense the presence of chaos appear in this area purple tendrils filled air around the eldari farseers and malekith the moment they appeared a sinking feeling filled my soul as I watched several farseers souls eject from their body leaving their spirit stones and catapulting towards the purple tendrils.
"Abort now!" I screamed as I used my connection to the warp to throw the toxin randomly at the parading armies of eldar and tyranid forces. I could feel the god of excess's gaze upon me like a hungering predator. It's joy at my use of the warp barely concealed by the lust of it's lecherous gaze.
"Depart from here warp spawn the hive mind will banish you soon" I wretched through clattering teeth, its eyes drawn to my suffering like an intoxicating fragrance. "Now my dear, is that any way to talk to me?" its voice was sickly sweet like the most delectable honey.
"Come dear your purpose is with me little slave" I felt a wave of coercion hit my mental defenses, several layers succumbing in moments. "You're not truly here, you wretch back to the warp with you!" I screamed out covering my ears in a vain attempt to block out the noise.
"Come little slave, it's much easier to give up how you can feel enjoyment in such small quantities when I can give you pleasures beyond compare." I could feel my will waning rapidly and in a desperate ploy to buy more time I used the light I had gathered in my soul and released all at once as a shield around myself.
"Oh how curious I have not seen this in millenia." The voice dripped with ecstasy. "I must get going, it's a pity you won't join me but your crew wasn't as lucky." I could feel the cold dread run through me as I noticed many of my elite forces gone or changed into vile abominations of flesh.
I felt its presence leave through the void the warp slowed slightly much less tumultuously as before. "DAMN YOU!" I screamed in abandoned fury as my men were either whisked away or turned to demon-touched spawn.
I let loose my power I had been bottling up and immediately struck with radiant lightning at the abominations as they ran towards me with whips and talons. Some managed to stay 'sane' enough to fight back but they too were severely weakened. I sent out the distress signal and took a brief glance at the holoview of the fight below.
Malekith was looking at it smiling while smiting his opposition's forces. The tyranids were at a loss; it appears he managed to kill a carnifex in the chaos and caused a psychic backlash on the nearby forces.
"Get us out of here now!" I yelled as he began building his warp energy and channeling it towards the ships. "Now damn it!" I screamed at this point and flooded our ship with an absurd amount of warp energy to protect the ship as we were sucked away into the webway.