William Wood looked around. In his Spirit Vision, the surrounding Shadows of Order's eyes were filled with amazement. They erupted in enthusiastic cheers, celebrating his slaying of the powerful xenos.
The "Magician" savored the successful performance. He felt something dissolve within him, and the pleasant sensation of his psychic energy becoming lively.
Suddenly, countless fireworks exploded in his eyes, within his body.
Flesh-pink and deep purple filled his entire world.
Simultaneously, the pleasant sensation of body, mind, and spirit surged like a storm.
William felt a supernatural ecstasy swell within him. A pleasing, beautiful voice echoed in his mind.
"Pleasing performer, magnificent artist... enjoy My gift..."
William deactivated his Spirit Vision and instantly ascended to the third level of the Telema state of mind. The voice in his mind became muffled.
"William... you are fortunate... the gate to wonder..."
William felt his will unable to expel the intruding evil presence.
The brilliant colors before him shattered and scattered, like an overturned oil painting.
William's gaze was resolute. His faith was in the Black Emperor. He would not submit to a heretic's temptation.
He opened his comm channel and said in a normal tone.
"I have received urgent orders."
Fireworks erupted. The "Magician" rapidly departed through the pre-prepared pillars of flame.
William felt fortunate. Before attacking the Slaugth, he had prepared in advance, reserving an escape route within his performance stage.
If he could not defeat the Slaugth, he would lure it away, then use the other prepared escape route to shake it off.
Flames and the mingled flesh-pink and deep purple interwove in his vision.
The chaotic, seductive whispers in his mind sounded intermittently.
William felt as if he were traversing a mountain peak, filled with temptations that constantly urged him to slow down, to stop and admire.
He did not stop.
He would never submit to a heretic.
He recalled the changes on Gardinaal. He recalled the Black Emperor granting him power...
William found strength in his memories. The "Magician" emerged from a pillar of flame. The chaotic colors clinging to him temporarily vanished. He recognized this gully as the secluded spot he had prepared.
He clasped his hands and chanted the prayer in Dunnic:
"Black Emperor of the Shadows of Order..."
In the Primarch's Office, Nareth heard the ethereal whispers in his ear.
He rapidly set up the "Euclidian Runes" and went to the Kingdom of Disorder.
The "Baron of Corruption's" spirituality extended, touching the constantly contracting and expanding orb.
With William in the same system, he saw him clearly, praying to him.
'Hmm? Which of the Four has latched onto him?'
Just as Nareth was about to answer the prayer, a thought struck him. One of the green, teardrop-shaped Silent Talismans at his waist flew up.
On Taxal's surface, black mist rose. Green light blazed.
Beyond the veil, in the Palace of Pleasure.
A brilliant green light flared in the twisted mirror. Then, one by one, the images in the other mirrors vanished.
The entire palace fell into a momentary silence. The sounds of pleasurable luxury ceased.
The long, elegant hand raised. The sounds of pleasure resumed. The twisted mirrors flickered back to life with magnificent scenes.
Only one mirror showed only the uninteresting sight of rocks.
At the same moment, in the Kingdom of Disorder.
Nareth saw, the instant William was pulled in, black mist churned, enveloping him completely.
The flesh-pink and deep purple light was stripped away, shattered, turning into specks of light that finally dissipated.
'Slaanesh?'
As Nareth pondered, William felt the seductive whispers also vanish. His mind cleared.
The painting-like images in his vision shattered and completely dissipated, replaced by boundless black mist.
William looked around vigilantly. Seeing the figure enthroned high, he realized the presence that had invaded his mind had been expelled by the Black Emperor.
"My Lord, I thank You for Your rescue."
"What happened?" Nareth scrutinized William. He was astonished to find that William had digested the Sequence 7 potion in just one day.
William paused for a moment, organizing his thoughts, then spoke.
"My Lord, I..."
After hearing William's account, Nareth began to reconstruct the event's full picture in his mind.
'It is Slaanesh. It draws power from all extreme emotions.'
'The moment of life and death on the battlefield is a time of extreme emotion.'
'It thus gained power, briefly breached the veil, and infiltrated reality.'
Nareth's gaze fell on William.
'The "Magician's" performance pleased Slaanesh. Performance is part of role-playing the "Magician."'
'Receiving Slaanesh's appreciation allowed William to digest the potion after a grand performance.'
'At the moment of digestion, his body, mind, and spirit were at their most keen. Slaanesh then tried to corrupt William. Fortunately, he had mastered the Telema state of mind and was sufficiently loyal to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to save him in time.'
Nareth looked at William with some surprise, thinking to himself.
'The target of Slaanesh's corruption was not Lucius, who pursues the extreme of swordsmanship, but William, who put on a magnificent performance.'
'Hmm... Chaos is inherently unpredictable. The Four are capricious.'
'Effort does not always yield returns. This is especially true for the Four. Countless offerings might be worth less than a sudden whim.'
Nareth's thoughts diverged. He then thought.
'Potion digestion depends on relative difference in rank.'
'If it were absolute, I could simply "bribe" anyone to complete the digestion.'
'Role-playing is not about form; it requires substantive action to receive feedback.'
Nareth recalled his own time as a "Briber" as a typical example.
'Though the Emperor has not accepted his own fate, he is no less than the Four.'
'But as a Primarch, equivalent to a high sequence, the effect of bribing the Emperor once is not as good as the effect of me acknowledging a lower-sequence person, which is not as good as William, Sequence 7, performing for Slaanesh.'
Nareth reined in his thoughts and instructed William.
"If you encounter a similar situation again, pray to me."
As he spoke, the "Baron of Corruption" focused. Invisible threads extended, "linking" the orb representing William.
Then, with a thought, Nareth sent William back to Taxal, along with one Silent Talisman.
He couldn't be sure if the black mist's "Burial" would completely conceal the truth, so he added an extra safeguard.
'The Four are such a nuisance, costing me two Silent Talismans.'
With a thought, Nareth returned to reality.
He then gave the order to descend to the surface.
Slaugth were appearing across all front lines. It was time to collect potion materials and end the decisive battle.
He had also prepared enough Silent Talismans to deal with the Primarch-level Slaugth.
As Nareth's Stormbird flew towards the surface, beyond the veil, in the Empyrean.
Upon a base of bloodstained corpses and piled skulls stood a vast brass throne.
A figure with blood-red skin wore a suit of plate armor, carved with rolling runes and faces twisted in agony, screaming.
A huge winged helmet covered its head, concealing its inhuman, roaring, distorted features.
Its gaze pierced the veil, sweeping across the blood-drenched battlefield of Taxal.
In the mountains, slaughter unfolded at every moment.
Mortals, with songs of courage, wielded weapons against creatures of every shape.
In every instant, someone fell. Blood stained the earth.
Superhuman warriors in armor cut down enemies, their variously colored armor stained red with blood.
Its gaze settled on four superhuman warriors.
They were transcendent and extraordinary, heroic beyond compare
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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