Rosicky Czechk, using his translator, followed standard integration procedures and reached an agreement with the natives, assisting them in dealing with the invading xenos.
After fifteen solar days of fighting alongside them, he had earned their trust.
When he discovered they possessed a palm-sized, mandragora-shaped key, he immediately realized this was the world the Black Emperor had commanded him to find.
At the celebratory banquet, he asked one of the native leaders, one of the Twelve Archons.
"Archon, your key is very unique. Where did it come from?"
The Archon's body, aside from his head, was completely mechanized, reminding Rosicky of a Mechanicum Tech-Priest.
Through his observations of the natives' social strata, he had determined their status was based on the degree of their mechanization.
"Lord Rosicky, we discovered it in ancient ruins." The Archon, hoping to become the Chief Archon through negotiations with Shadows of Order, was open.
"We came to this planet a thousand years ago, struggling to survive under attacks from various xenos."
The Archons were eager to pledge fealty to the Sovereign, hoping for the protection of the powerful Shadows of Order.
"Then, two hundred thirty years ago, while exploring, we discovered a large underground complex."
"In a black chamber, we found a key shaped like a mandragora petal. After studying it, we developed this key."
Rosicky's eyes focused. He remembered the Black Emperor's data crystal mentioned that the Sautekh Dynasty's emblem was the mandragora.
'The ruins might be related to the Necron Sautekh Dynasty.'
As he speculated, the Archon said proudly.
"My grandfather was one of those who discovered the ruins." He omitted that the ancestors of the other Archons had also been part of the discovery.
"With this key, we can detect enemies and receive advice, quickly switching weapon systems to deal with different xenos threats."
"Thanks to the key, our situation improved. We went from defense to offense, killing xenos and burning their filthy nests."
"Humanity has since become the master of this planet."
Rosicky nodded. After a moment's thought, he spoke.
"Archon, I would like you to take me to these ruins."
The Archon, wanting support, agreed after a moment's thought.
"Of course. It would be my honor."
Three standard hours later, Rosicky, guided by the Archon, entered the passage to the underground complex.
His fingers brushed the smooth, black surface. The Archon immediately spoke.
"Lord Rosicky, this is a synthetic material, black marble mixed with agate and other elements, in ways we still don't understand."
His gaze deepened, looking into the passage.
"The entire complex covers approximately 36,000 square kilometers, and is at least 5.2 kilometers deep."
"This wasn't determined by any detection instrument. They are disrupted by electromagnetic interference. That's why our ancestors didn't discover it for so long."
"The area was estimated by our ancestors, based on exploring the labyrinthine ruins with the key."
Rosicky nodded. He glanced at his helmet's internal systems, which were still functioning, and stepped forward.
The Archon took out his palm-sized key and hurried to catch up.
He looked curiously at the key. A silver, needle-like rune on it wavered slightly.
"At each fork, there are varying numbers of passages. It's easy to take the wrong one."
"Even with the route map my grandfather left, I need this to avoid getting lost."
Rosicky nodded. He stopped before six dark, branching passages.
The Archon unfurled an ancient, yellowed scroll. His data slate had failed upon entering the passage.
After checking it and the key's direction, he took the third passage from the left.
The moment Rosicky stepped into the dark passage, a red rune flashed. The divination system went offline.
They wound through the complex, deeper. Communication systems, audio filters, and other systems failed one by one.
After his internal timer failed, he intuitively sensed about four standard hours had passed when the Archon spoke.
"We're here."
He looked ahead. An open black chamber.
His transhuman mind pieced together the two separate patterns.
Recognizing the abstract mandragora rune, he confirmed the ruins were indeed related to the Sautekh Dynasty.
He was not surprised. The data provided by the Black Emperor and Gabriel's records from the Ymga Monolith indicated the Sautekh Dynasty had eighty throne worlds, stretching from Attila to the Mandragoran Stars.
He stepped into the chamber, which glowed with a green light. The Archon hurried to keep up.
Seeing the giant stop before a stone slab, he spoke.
"The runes on this slab have no connection to any we know."
"Our ancestors began studying it when they discovered this place. To date, our only results have been replicating the runes found on the key."
Rosicky stared at the slab. He did not use his extraordinary abilities. Instead, he accessed the Necron script Gabriel had decoded.
Over a dozen minutes later, he turned to leave.
"Let's go back."
'Indeed, Lord Rosicky can't read it either.' The Archon was not surprised, but felt a flicker of disappointment. As he left the chamber, he looked deeper into the complex.
He shook his head, suppressing his curiosity.
His grandfather and the ancestors of the other Archons had entered there and never returned.
Aboard the Forge-Hammer, at the altar, an ethereal gate opened. Black mist swallowed Rosicky and the jellyfish xenos.
Enthroned high, Nareth glanced at the jellyfish. He immediately identified it from the Blasphemous Tablet as the main ingredient for Sequence 5 "Ocean Songster" on the Tyrant Pathway: the Jaleek.
He knew little about the Jaleek, only that they were one of the Great Crusade's many successes, one of the few races declared extinct that never reappeared.
At least until the Great Rift opened, the Jaleek had not reappeared in official Imperial records.
He knew the Jaleek were an aquatic species. They had transitioned from underwater to space based solely on intuition.
They used their intuitive advantage to become expert space pilots and tacticians.
'With the Saharduin, I now have all the ingredients for "Ocean Songster."'
'I only need to find the Obnis, and Szczesny and the others can advance to "Ocean Songster."'
The "Ocean Songster's" advancement ritual, as in his memory, required consuming the potion inside the Obnis's stomach.
As he thought, he listened to Rosicky's report.
"...My Lord, according to the stone slab, a Void Dragon shard is sealed in a Tesseract Labyrinth within the complex."
Nareth nodded. Tesseract Labyrinths were typically used to seal Transcendent C'tan. But unlike other C'tan, shattered into thousands of shards, the Void Dragon had been broken into only a hundred pieces.
Each Void Dragon shard possessed the power of a Transcendent C'tan.
'The Sautekh Dynasty was one of the most powerful Necron dynasties. It makes sense they would have a Void Dragon shard.'
'The Orphean Key was developed by the natives from Necron ruins. The Orphean Guard further developed it.'
'Then, the Orphean Guard's unusually high technological level might also be related to the Void Dragon shard, much like how the Emperor used the largest shard to guide and nurture the Mechanicum.'
He believed this was related both to technology and the shard's overflowing power, subtly increasing mechanical affinity.
After a moment's thought, he instructed the Forge Lord.
"Build a legion fortress there. Train Techmarines."
The Void Dragon shard had not escaped by the time the Great Rift opened, meaning the seal was strong. The Sautekh Dynasty was still thousands of years from awakening.
"Explore the area around the Tesseract Labyrinth. Do not enter the central zone."
He was not confident he could secure one of the most powerful C'tan's Transcendent shards. He decided not to investigate personally.
'Though I can't take it now, it's only a matter of time.'
'Golden Man, Ferrus, I now have a Void Dragon shard too.'
"By Your will." Rosicky acknowledged.
After sending him back to reality, Nareth returned to the Shadow's Sovereignty to attend the war council summoned by the Emperor.
.....
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