From his vantage aboard the Astral Engine, Qin Mo watched as the two Blackstone Fortresses began their retreat. While the chaotic fleet had already withdrawn from the star system, the fortresses continued their slow approach toward the rift, exchanging heavy fire with the Astral Engine. Both sides, however, remained at an impasse.
As the Astral Engine unleashed its immense particle lance, colliding with the warp energy torrent from the fortresses' vortex cannons, two holographic figures suddenly materialized on the bridge. One was Grey; the other was a Chaos Space Marine whom Grey had scanned. Qin Mo cast a brief glance at the marine before his gaze lingered, intrigued.
Twin blades.
A pallid, mask-like face.
Skulls hanging from his waist.
These traits confirmed his identity: Terenon Laira, handpicked by Abaddon himself, one of the Chaos Warlord's few trusted lieutenants—a soul privy to the name of the Warlord.
"He appears to be a high-ranking enemy. How should we handle him?" Grey inquired.
Qin Mo weighed his decision carefully. As a leader of the Black Legion, Laira would undoubtedly possess extensive knowledge, perhaps even secrets spanning the millennia. Yet precisely due to his rank, any confinement would carry a dangerous risk of his escape. Even severed limbs posed little challenge for someone like Laira. After a moment's thought, Qin Mo settled on the safer path: to eliminate this threat rather than harvest its knowledge.
Closing his eyes, Qin Mo reached out, connecting with the sentinel power armor. Among the numerous modifications he had once made to the sentinel armor, he had introduced a medium that could channel the power of the Star Gods—now was the time to put it to use.
Grey, still within the Blackstone Fortress, suddenly noticed his right hand lifting involuntarily, blue currents of energy crackling along his armguard. As lightning surged forth, the temperature within the fortress doubled; Laira's body, struck by the bolt, dissolved into scattered ashes, which disintegrated into nothingness. The last trace of Laira in the material universe was thus erased.
Grey, slightly bewildered, turned to Foros, who glanced at Sarl, who in turn raised the spirit bone device to lead the way. The group pressed forward.
With time, the device's radiance intensified, indicating they were nearing the core.
Then a crucial question surfaced. "Once we've located the core, how will we destroy it?" Grey asked Sarl. "Perhaps you plan to disable it rather than obliterate it, but how would we even accomplish that?"
Sarl held the spirit bone device up to Grey's eyes, replying as Grey's optical sensors automatically adjusted to the brightness, "Simply insert this into the core, and leave the rest to you all. Doesn't your iron planet shatter stars?"
"Good, looks like we won't need to blow up the entire Blackstone Fortress after all." Grey exhaled, his initial intention to draft a defensive strategy to protect Sarl until the core was destroyed no longer necessary.
As they conversed, the spirit bone device emitted a sudden reaction, casting the entire fortress layout as a hologram upon the ground, pinpointing a glowing node inscribed with Eldar glyphs.
"There! That's the core!" Sarl exclaimed, gesturing to the glyphs with fervor. "These exquisite symbols mean something like 'central node,' or 'focus'... that's the core."
Grey and Foros studied the projection briefly, then resumed their advance in silence.
…
Moments later, the vast command bridge of the Astral Engine filled with fissures, and the entire group was transported back from the Blackstone Fortress *Eternal Will*.
"It's done." Sarl, catching his breath, sat upon a console, gesturing to *Eternal Will*. "You're clear to destroy it."
Gazing at the holographic image of *Eternal Will*, Qin Mo nodded with silent satisfaction. If his living metal visage could express emotion, his face would now reveal a smile.
With only one Blackstone Fortress remaining, the twin satellite arrays of the Astral Engine unleashed their particle lances alternately. The remaining fortress, as though it sought to avenge its companion, halted its retreat and fired back fiercely. Its vortex cannons struggled against the two colossal lances, and even the warp energy enveloping it began to falter. Gradually, the fortress succumbed to disintegration.
Though Sarl possessed a second spirit bone device, its use was no longer necessary.
…
Aboard the last Blackstone Fortress, the adepts of the Dark Mechanicum found themselves helpless in the face of mounting calamity. Numerous attempts had been made, from restarting propulsion to installing additional thrusters, yet all efforts were thwarted by severe interference.
The warlord's fleet had already left the star system, and there was no aid to call upon. A fate of entombment within the crumbling fortress now seemed inevitable.
As the tech-priests resigned themselves to prayer, a faint rustling emerged from the shadows of the control room.
One of the priests looked up, his neural implants staving off the horror that threatened to overwhelm him. A ghastly figure stepped out from the dark.
It bore metallic bones wrapped in taut muscle fibers that served as ligaments, resembling the conveyors powering a machine's operation. In its left hand, it held a forge hammer; its right hand ended in deadly iron claws. Twin black horns crowned its menacing skull.
The priest's terror soon gave way to worship as he knelt before this dark entity.
"This construct is like an untamed beast—it remains imperfect, unable to obey its master like a true machine."
The being's ethereal voice reverberated throughout the control room, each syllable resonating like an incantation. With its final words, the propulsion of the entire Blackstone Fortress surged to full power, propelling the fortress at breakneck speed into the rift.