As the Shadow's Sovereignty's lances rained down on the daemon world, Nareth went to the seventh layer of the Kingdom of Disorder. He looked at the spinning greatsword.
It was vastly different from what he had seen before.
Without its shroud of dark light, it looked like a simple broadsword, far larger than normal.
The blade had bulges and depressions on both sides.
Near the hilt, on one side, three blades of decreasing length jutted out; on the other, one long and two short blades.
He could see even more without activating his Spirit Vision.
Clumps of grey, condensed into runes of various sizes and shapes, surrounded four differently colored points of light.
A claw, the size of a child's palm, gripped a large cluster of light. Another cluster, a sphere covered in shadow patterns, spun...
The points of light were scattered across the blade, but concentrated in four areas:
At the tip and edges, red; within the blade, green; at the hilt, purple; within the markings, blue.
After a moment's thought, drawing on his memory, he guessed their corresponding powers.
The blade's main component was grey: Be'lakor's shadow power.
The four colored points were the remnants of the Four's gifts to Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince.
Perhaps not all of what he had retained, but at least significant fragments.
Red: Khorne's power, making the Blade of Shadows sharper.
Blue: Tzeentch's power, amplifying shadow spells.
Green: Nurgle's power, making the blade more resilient.
Purple: Slaanesh's power, making the Blade of Shadows more agile and swift.
He stared at the Blade of Shadows, sighing.
"I must admit, Be'lakor, the Dark Master, has some skill."
"But this may not be good for me."
He understood, from concocting potions, that the ingredients provided the necessary characteristics.
If the potion required only shadow power, then the Four's power would be "impurities," potentially rendering the potion useless.
He would have to have the "Prometheus" Tierney "steal" the Four's power, crafting it into a containment artifact.
But there was another possibility. Be'lakor may have become the Dark Master after becoming the Daemon Prince of Chaos Undivided, when he already possessed great power.
The Four's power might have merged with him, inseparable.
Each relic fragment might contain both shadow power and the Four's power, just not as much as was deliberately sealed in the Blade of Shadows.
He looked at the Blade of Shadows. After a moment's thought, he decided:
When he found the next relic fragment, he would examine it for the Four's power and divine it. Then he would decide.
With this thought, he stepped forward, not to the twelfth layer, but to the shadow side.
He passed through layers of space filled with gleaming orbs, reaching a new layer.
The moment he arrived, he saw it was filled with shadows:
Shadows from the majestic dome. Concealed shadows from golden light...
His eyes deepened. The previous layers, when unlocked, had corresponded to abilities and belonged to the "real" side.
This layer was formless, a space of shadows.
He did not need to guess. With his increased authority, the layer's information appeared in his mind.
This layer was the shadow power that the "Earl of the Fallen" would command.
He was surprised. In his memory, the "Earl of the Fallen" did not command shadow power.
"This is the source's self-completion."
"That is why Be'lakor's relic fragment is required."
"I have unlocked this layer early."
He immediately realized that, like the eleventh layer, unlocked early due to his unique Perpetual transformation, this new layer was unlocked early as a consequence.
Now, he had unlocked another new layer.
He recalled the brief tremor in the black-misted realm when the Blade of Shadows entered.
"Perhaps the twelfth layer would have unlocked, or the second shadow layer. But because I obtained the Blade of Shadows, it became this shadow space."
After pondering the cause, he considered the layer's effect:
He could sign contracts, witnessed by their shadows, directly linking their souls.
Violation would harm the shadow's spirit, a powerful curse.
As the master of this layer, he could, using symbolic shadow power, secretly modify key clauses the moment the contract was signed, giving the other party less or making them pay more.
He immediately thought of similar daemonic contracts. Ordo Malleus Inquisitors could make binding contracts with certain daemons.
The most famous and binding was the Malus Codicium of the future Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn, which could bind powerful daemon hosts.
The contracts on Iskandar Khayon's tarot cards were unbreakable, compelling obedience.
"The strongest are the contracts of Vashtorr, the Master of the Soul Forges, with the Four's daemons."
He knew Vashtorr, the Warp's greatest arms dealer, supplied resources for the Four's Great Game.
The Four's daemons, unable to fulfill their contracts in exchange for powerful daemon engines, were bound and forced to serve Vashtorr.
Even though Vashtorr was the Warp's rare god of honesty, daemons, by their chaotic nature, repeatedly broke their promises and were repeatedly bound.
He considered other abilities. He first thought of the Sun Pathway's Sequence 6 "Notary."
"The main difference from the 'Notary's' 'Contract' is the parties involved. The 'Notary' acts as a third party, creating 'Contracts' for the transacting parties."
"In a 'Shadow Contract,' I must be one of the parties."
"But I can secretly modify the terms without the other party knowing, taking extra profit."
He then thought of the Death Pathway's necromantic contracts.
"Necromantic contracts are limited to spirits. I can make 'Shadow Contracts' with various living beings."
"But a 'Spirit Guide' can use 'Words of the Dead' to directly enslave spirits of similar or slightly higher power."
"A 'Shadow Contract' cannot compel. The compulsion depends on my power and the target's will."
He felt a slight disappointment. If he could force a "Shadow Contract," he could now choose a few Primarchs, defeat them, and bring them here to sign one.
The binding was based on their souls. It could bind any target, as the target's power itself formed part of the 'chain,' stacking with his own.
"For targets clearly weaker than me, the binding force comes mainly from my soul."
"For those of similar strength, it is stacked."
"For stronger targets, it comes mainly from the target, stacked with my power."
He thought of the demigod-level abilities he would gain as "Earl of the Fallen," and the new layers.
"I hope I will have the ability to win over Perturabo then."
He looked around. "At least I can now make 'Shadow Contracts' with some beings."
He thought of the shadow power the "Earl of the Fallen" would surely command. "Be'lakor, it seems I will take not only your relic fragments, but also your throne as Dark Master."
With this thought, he returned to reality.
Fourteen solar days later, the planet shattered in a sudden, blinding flash.
As the Shadow's Sovereignty departed the shattered world, Nareth's psychic projection crossed the void, arriving at Terra's Golden Palace.
He glanced around. Not only Angron was absent. Hannibal was also missing.
He sat silently. The subject of this war council was already apparent.
The other Primarchs were also silent. Even Horus, the good elder brother, did not speak.
.....
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