...
Two minutes later, the freshly prepared Thirteenth Regiment was transported to the garrison of the 112th Regiment.
All eyes from the stationed Cadia soldiers turned to the sudden appearance of Talon troops on the open grounds.
These one hundred and one soldiers wore the standard Talon military power armor, yet each bore distinct long spears and shields of refined adamantite, with ranged weaponry integrated onto their shoulders or forearms.
"You all—"
"Ugh..."
An officer stepped forward to greet the newly arrived allies, only to collapse to the ground, vomiting before he could complete his words.
Every Cadia soldier felt a wave of intense nausea that worsened the closer they drew to the soldiers of the Thirteenth Regiment. Some even experienced immediate bowel distress.
At that moment, the Cadia soldiers realized that their "allies" were untouchables. The sound of retching and distress became pervasive.
"We're here to assist, damn it!" a captain from the Thirteenth Regiment shouted at the retreating Cadia soldiers, who covered their noses in distress.
"They're not trying to avoid you," Yawen, the captain, replied. "Everyone, follow me."
The Thirteenth Regiment immediately made their way toward the source of the psychic gate, while the Cadia soldiers shrank away as if evading a plague.
When the untouchables of the Thirteenth Regiment drew within twenty meters of the psychic gate, it began to shrink. The temperature across the entire station rose by six degrees.
"Ensure no one escapes through that gate before it closes," Yawen commanded.
The Thirteenth Regiment promptly formed a defensive perimeter around the gate, each soldier gripping adamantite shields in their right hands, while their left arms raised energy weapons embedded in their armor, all pointed toward the prison realm beyond the gate.
As the soldiers secured their positions, Yawen monitored the Astral Engine through his command armor's information network.
The Astral Engine had just entered the stellar orbit of the prison world, and the Stone Giant had begun executing the extermination protocol.
The first phase involved scanning the target world for any remaining allies or friendly personnel.
A wave of sensors from the Astral Engine swept over the entire prison world, identifying each form of life. The Cadia soldiers stationed there were found en masse, lying lifeless as though meticulously poisoned, a death that could only be explained by psychic contamination.
After confirming no rescue targets remained, the Stone Giant resumed the protocol, with the array of photon lances mounted on the orbiting satellite structure charging to full power.
On the prison world below, prisoners noticed only a sudden darkening of the sky and continued desecrating the corpses of security personnel, oblivious to the doom approaching.
In each facility, psychics sensed a vision of the world's imminent destruction, spreading panic among the prisoners. But most were trapped within the confines of the prison world, with only those close to the psychic gate able to attempt an escape toward the fortress world.
Before long, Yawen observed a mass of prisoners gathered within the psychic gate, staring fearfully at the world beyond. Indecision held them back from being the first to face certain death.
"Open fire," Yawen commanded over the comms.
The Thirteenth Regiment unleashed a storm of energy, creating an impenetrable wall of laser fire that felled countless prisoners within moments.
More and more prisoners crowded the gate, using any means possible to escape—some clambered over others as makeshift shields, some crawled along the ground praying to remain unseen, and others commandeered tanks. But these tactics were futile.
The photon lances fired.
A colossal beam of particles crashed into the prison world's surface, and from the vantage of the psychic gate, Yawen saw the entire sky flush red, pierced by a distant pillar of light.
The following moment, a tidal wave of flames swept across the prison world from the impact point, though this was only residual damage as the lance began drilling toward the core.
Yawen witnessed none of the prison world's final destruction, for as the inferno neared, the psychic gate shrank to an invisible point, then vanished completely.
The prison world of Saint Justman was reduced to fragments, while swarms of logistical drones descended from the Astral Engine to gather the debris, constructing a transdimensional barrier on the eastern and western sides of the shattered remnants.
The Cadia system would continue, as if the prison world and its multitude of inmates and psychics had never existed.
"Although our presence here was brief, it appears the mission is complete." Yawen turned to his soldiers. "Prepare for transport. We're heading back."
Upon learning of the impending departure of the Thirteenth Regiment, the soldiers of the 112th Regiment felt an immense relief. They held no grudge against their allies, but the oppressive presence of so many untouchables was nearly unbearable.
...
In the Warp.
Within the crystalline realms, Carlos the Grand Weaver of Tzeentch stood surrounded by an endless legion of blood-thirsting fiends. Yet his gaze lingered not on the battlefield but on a distant galaxy within the material universe.
Carlos had two heads.
One looked into the past, where he saw an individual known as Eli, a psychic from the planet Cadia, who had been corrupted by deception.
The other head observed the future—a time when no war marred the stars, and none of the people on these worlds would raise their eyes to behold the menacing light of the Eye of Terror.
Gazing into both past and future, Carlos realized a minor disruption in his plans.
Originally, he intended to use the dying burst of psychic energy released by Eli to link Cadia and Saint Justman, allowing the psychics from the prison world to enter Cadia and serve as "entrances."
"They think closing the gate will end it…" Carlos murmured. "As I anticipated."
He mused on his scheme, even as a towering Bloodthirster burst through a line of mutated changelings, charging straight toward him.
In the midst of his reverie, one of his heads foresaw a vision: a Bloodthirster cleaving it from his shoulders.
Carlos tightened his grip on his staff, unleashing a spell that incinerated the oncoming fiend into ashes.
The battle raged on.
Around the edge of the crystalline realm, rivers of blood flowed toward brass citadels as countless Bloodletters pressed forward, seeking to storm the crystalline fortress and offer a gift to their master.
To Carlos, their courage seemed not valiant but foolish.
In his contemplation, a gaze from afar fell upon the battlefield. Carlos shivered, instantly bowing in reverence.
The gaze soon withdrew, scanning the vastness of the Warp to locate a lone soul blazing brightly.
"My master…" Carlos trembled violently, for he saw a vision of his master's intervention in that soul's future.
A psychic would emerge on Cadia, one destined to become the entrance.
As Carlos beheld this future, he sensed his master's gaze retract, resuming the endless battle with his fellow dark gods.