Aboard the Tau Command Vessel "Tidecaster"
Shas'O Kais'Var stood motionless, hands clasped behind his back, his golden battlesuit looming over the holographic display. The images flickered, showing grainy recordings of the battlefield—Imperial forces routed, Fire Warriors holding the line, and then… it.
A towering, impossible form.
Something beyond comprehension.
A presence that had silenced their communications, disrupted their targeting systems, and shattered their morale before a single shot had even been fired at it.
Kais'Var's jaw tightened as he analyzed the figures scrolling across the display. Battle formations, engagement protocols, expected casualties. And yet, none of it mattered. All calculations had become meaningless the moment it arrived.
The Archivist.
The name had been plucked from intercepted human transmissions, whispered in fear by surviving guardsmen. The Gue'la did not understand what had come for them, only that it was something beyond the scope of their war. And the Tau?
The Tau understood even less.
Shas'El Doran, his second-in-command, cleared his throat. "We have failed to establish contact. Our probes were neutralized the moment they entered its proximity. No discernible energy signature matches known xenos technologies. It is not Necron. It is not Eldar. It is…"
He hesitated.
Kais'Var turned his head. "Speak freely, Shas'El."
Doran exhaled. "It is outside our understanding."
The admission sent a ripple of unease through the command bridge. For all their doctrine of the Greater Good, for all their meticulous study of the universe, the Tau had never encountered a presence that defied analysis. Even the monstrous forces of Chaos, spoken of only in hushed tones, had identifiable patterns, energy readings, distortions.
This?
Nothing.
No thermal signature. No warp resonance. No logic.
Shas'O Kais'Var spoke at last. "We are leaving this world."
A murmur spread through the gathered officers. One stepped forward hesitantly. "Commander, we have yet to—"
He raised a hand, silencing them.
"There is no battle to be won here. This… Archivist is not an enemy we can quantify, nor one we can reason with. The Gue'la do not understand it, and we understand even less. We came to bring this world under the Greater Good, but we have instead walked into the domain of something far older than either of our races. This war is over."
Doran nodded solemnly. "The fleet is already preparing for withdrawal. But the Ethereals will demand an explanation."
"They will receive the truth." Kais'Var turned, his gaze distant. "The galaxy is vast, and there are forces beyond even our understanding. The Tau must choose their battles wisely."
He let his words linger before adding, "And this is not a battle we can win."
Imperial Encampment, Surface of Hekron IV
Sergeant Dain stood rigid as the flickering holo-display crackled to life before him. The Imperium's response had been swift—though the details of their survival remained unclear to high command, one truth was evident: the Tau had abandoned the planet.
He should have been relieved.
Instead, he felt… watched.
The feeling had not left him since the battle. Since it had spoken to him. Since the power had sunk its claws into his mind.
Across from him, an Imperial officer's distorted form projected in blue light, his voice sharp and authoritative.
"You and your remaining forces will regroup with reinforcements at Hive Bastion Omega. We are fortifying the planet in the wake of the xenos retreat. You are to report any anomalies encountered during the engagement. The Inquisition has already taken interest."
Dain felt his fingers twitch involuntarily at the mention of the Inquisition.
They know something is wrong.
His voice remained steady. "Understood, sir."
The officer's image flickered. "There are also reports of anomalous battlefield disturbances. Do you have anything to report?"
A pause.
Dain's muscles tensed. He could tell them. He could reveal the truth, confess the cursed power the thing had forced upon him.
And be executed as a heretic.
"No anomalies, sir."
The officer studied him, unreadable, then nodded. "Good. The Emperor protects, Sergeant."
"The Emperor protects."
The transmission cut out.
Dain exhaled slowly, the tension in his shoulders refusing to fade. He was lying to his superiors, to the Imperium, to himself. He was keeping something he did not want.
And yet, as the holo-display faded, the damnable text reappeared in his mind's eye.
---
[New Orders Received]
[Imperial Objective: Regroup and Fortify Hive Bastion Omega]
[Secondary Objective: The Inquisition Is Watching]
[Hidden Objective: The Path Unfolds]
---
Dain clenched his fists.
Damn you.
The Archivist's will had entwined itself within him, whether he had wanted it or not. The Tau had fled before its presence, and now the Imperium was moving blindly toward another battle—one they didn't yet realize had already begun.
He could feel it. The game had changed.
And he had been made a player against his will.