"It's coming," the Mimic said, gesturing to the illusion it had conjured.
The Nightbringer had descended deep beneath the planet's surface, entering a necropolis where the dormant Necrons lay entombed. This crypt seemed long-since ravaged, its defenses flickering unpredictably between function and failure.
The Nightbringer's form shifted into a shadowy apparition, gliding through the tomb without hindrance. It observed various Necrons drifting aimlessly within the ruins, oblivious to the shard of their former master in their midst. As the Nightbringer drifted past each Necron, the machinery holding their forms together shattered, their living metal trembling as though it wished to heal, but unable to initiate its resurrection protocols.
For the Necrons, the true enemy had always been time. Some tombs lay unclaimed by Mechanicus excavators or other alien hands, merely broken down by the inexorable decay of centuries. Entire dynasties awoke only to forget their own identities.
"Hahaha! You are not C'tan, you cannot resist the erosion of time!"
"A pitiful slave race, presuming to equal us?"
"Don't get so arrogant. We've been lucky. If we'd encountered the likes of the Mephrit Dynasty, they'd have claimed us by now."
Continuing its solitary monologue, the Nightbringer flitted through the crypt, dismantling each Necron it encountered as walls and debris proved no barrier. At last, it reached the tomb's innermost chamber, where a stasis device lay inert, bearing a hypercube-like maze upon its surface.
The hypercube seemed no larger than the tip of the Nightbringer's finger, a faint green glow surrounding it.
Manipulating the maze, the Nightbringer broke through its barriers with ancient skill. The maze shattered in a burst of energy, releasing a bound presence it could no longer contain.
The Mimic was free.
"Consume it!"
"We need its power!"
"Less talk, more action. What if it escapes?"
The Nightbringer's scythe slashed at the Mimic, coming within millimeters of its form.
"Hurry up!" the Mimic shouted.
In an instant, it vanished before the scythe's edge, a blue rift opening as it slipped through a dimensional channel beyond reach.
The Nightbringer saw only a faint blue fissure where it had been, instantly recognizing this as a form of dimensional warp technology. It realized the true Mimic had slipped away.
"Blue fissure…"
"The Forging Dimension! The Forge still lives!"
"It's still tracking the Mimic. Hurry, pursue it!"
The Nightbringer shot upwards, piercing through earth and stone, emerging onto the planet's surface. Its gaze shifted to the poles, noting construction underway at the northern and southern poles—a swift assembly of colossal structures by long, flexible metallic arms.
As its sight extended beyond, it saw a satellite-like object suspended in orbit around the planet.
Within moments, the polar structures were complete, and the entire planet's atmosphere became shrouded in an expanding blue energy.
…
Inside the *Leviathan*.
Qin Mo was engrossed in operating the Overworld Canopy, the Mimic's core nearby.
"You're not going to eradicate a C'tan shard with that," the Mimic observed, recognizing the Canopy's inner workings and purpose.
"I know." Qin Mo nodded. "Just as the Nightbringer cannot obliterate us with a mere glance."
Despite his response, Qin Mo closed his eyes, attempting to detect the shard's presence on the planet below through the Canopy's augmented vision.
He could perceive every fragment of the planet's crust, but the shard's presence eluded him.
Qin Mo opened his eyes, focusing on the planet's surface where he could plainly see the towering Nightbringer, though it seemed beyond his grasp.
The Mimic looked on with faint exasperation, sensing his persistence despite an unyielding barrier.
"It doesn't matter. I intend only to use the Canopy to shape a battlefield." Qin Mo withdrew his hands from the Canopy's interface, issuing his command. "Bring the Cosmic Engine here. Begin bombardment of the Nightbringer."
With this command, the primary intelligences prepared for activation, channeling their resources to calculate a precise transport point.
In the blink of an eye, the Cosmic Engine materialized outside the planet's orbit.
Two vast metal satellites, each five hundred kilometers in diameter, orbited the incomplete artificial planet, unleashing particle spears upon the Nightbringer below.
Thousands of particle beams from each satellite converged into a colossal lance of energy, piercing the Nightbringer as it rose from the planet's surface, engulfing it in a searing vortex of light.
Within the *Leviathan*, Qin Mo and the Mimic watched as the Nightbringer's scythe vaporized instantly, its form shrouded in the obliterating radiance.
"It lives," the Mimic murmured, still sensing the shard's existence.
Qin Mo remained intently focused on the Overworld Canopy, waiting in silent anticipation.
The Cosmic Engine's bombardment continued for ten relentless minutes.
The immense particle spear tore through the crust and mantle, reaching the planet's core. In an instant, the world splintered and crumbled into fragments.
As the Cosmic Engine's assault ended, the beams dissipated into scarlet embers.
"Transfer the Cosmic Engine to the nearby star for recharging," Qin Mo commanded, manipulating the Canopy to restore the broken world.
The Nightbringer survived, its structure shattered but held together as if bound by an unseen force, resembling a humanoid form.
"Forgelord!" the Nightbringer bellowed into the stars, its gaze piercing the void towards the *Leviathan*.
"I am here." Qin Mo nodded, activating a switch beside the Canopy.
Thousands of Iron Men, stored within the *Leviathan*, were instantly transported to the planet's surface, swarming across the Nightbringer's territory. Infantry surrounded it, advancing with gunfire while support units and giants rained down an unending bombardment.
The Mimic glanced at Qin Mo, sensing the strategy unfolding.
An attritional assault.
The Cosmic Engine would bombard the target until depleted, returning to the star to recharge while the Iron Men contained the Nightbringer. The Canopy ensured a battlefield impervious to destruction.
"Why not let me recharge at the Engine?" the Mimic asked.
"After millennia in the maze, you're weak and need the energy. But you still have a critical role—conserve your strength." Qin Mo replied firmly.