The altar was constructed from the skeletal remains of twelve miners, each bone inscribed with Eldar runes. Iron Skull shoved Carlisle onto the central stone platform and drove a crystalline dagger into his palm. "By blood we bind," the Chaos Marine's voice resonated with an inhuman hum. "By pain, we unlock."
Carlisle's blood snaked across the stone, forming an astral map. The purple crystals on the ceiling shattered in response, and Eldar carvings emerged from the rock walls. They depicted the human archaeologist Laynar breaking a seal and embracing the Eldar tomb keeper, Aeslyn, under a starlit sky. Beneath their feet lay a torn Imperial banner, while the backdrop revealed a massive cluster of crystals in Blackrock's planetary core.
"Lies!" Iron Skull roared in sudden fury, swinging his chainblade at the carving. But the blade was repelled by an invisible barrier, and amethyst tears began streaming from Aeslyn's stone eyes. As the droplets hit the ground, the entire mine resonated with the hymns of the Prince of Pleasure, and the wound on Carlisle's palm began crystallizing.
"The ritual is complete," Iron Skull declared, dragging the weakened Carlisle to his feet. "Now, take me to the reactor."