Within that corrupt world, two uninvited guests, Axis and the laughing god Cegorach, appeared abruptly in the rotting paradise of the Plaguefather.
The ground beneath their feet was a cloying, viscous humus that reeked of sweet decay, and the air was thick with the scent of putrescence and bacterial spores.
Great pustules swelled like mountain ranges, oozing iridescent toxins, while countless grotesquely cheerful Nurglings tumbled and played in the muck. In the distance, the drone of Plague-fly swarms was enough to make one's skin crawl.
Axis furrowed his brow.
The stench was truly vile. If he had to describe the place, he would say it was unfit for any sentient life in any universe.
The sheer concentration of plague energy was overwhelming. To put it bluntly, it was so potent that not just a mortal, but even a Space Marine, would be corrupted into a faithful servant of Nurgle the very instant they set foot here.
A shimmering, golden-green aura ignited around Axis as he activated the protective shield of a Legendary Super Saiyan, forming a massive barrier. He layered a mantle of psychic power over the aura for good measure, only then feeling defended enough from the corrupting miasma to walk freely.
Even so, Axis dared not breathe the air.
For Axis, of all the domains of the Four Chaos Gods, Nurgle's realm was the most dangerous and deadly. He knew that some of the viruses and plagues brewed by the Grandfather could infect even him, a Legendary Super Saiyan.
After all, a certain famed hero named Goku had once succumbed to a simple heart virus, and Axis had never underestimated the lethality of such pathogens. The Saiyan immune system was not particularly robust in that regard.
However, thanks to the modifications the Emperor had made to his body, Axis's own immunity was far superior to that of an ordinary Saiyan. In a sense, besides being a Legendary Super Saiyan, he was also the Primarch of the Saiyan race.
"Aha! Welcome to the Grandfather's back garden, old friend! Isn't it just… bursting with life?" Cegorach exclaimed, pinching his nose with a dramatic grimace.
Once, this had been a place he wouldn't have dared to visit even in his dreams. The realms of the Four Chaos Gods, be it the Palace of Pleasure, Nurgle's Garden, or the Brass Citadel, were all forbidden territory.
Anyone who dared step inside would be instantly discovered, seized by an enraged Chaos God, and tormented without mercy. But who could have imagined that Axis and Khorne would concoct such a terrifying plan to deceive Nurgle?
"Bursting with life, indeed," Axis replied. "Everything here seems to be alive, though I cannot say I approve of their method of existence."
Cegorach grinned. "So, Plan A: a graceful, stealthy rescue. Or Plan B: raise hell and tear Nurgle's Garden apart. Which do you choose?"
"Under normal circumstances, I would choose Plan B," Axis said. "But for now, we had best stick with Plan A."
It was imperative that they remain undetected. Causing a commotion would likely draw the Grandfather himself back to the garden, and that would be disastrous.
It had taken the four Chaos Gods and Horus combined to force the Emperor onto the Golden Throne. If one of them had been absent from that fight, the Emperor might well have turned the tables and achieved victory.
"Hahaha! Your call then! We shall play at secret infiltration," Cegorach declared, "First, allow this Clown to provide us with a little protection." The jester god produced two playing cards and flicked them into the air. A cascade of colored light washed over them, masking the auras of Axis and Cegorach until they appeared identical to the surrounding Nurglings and other daemons.
"Done," Cegorach announced, "To those slimy, disgusting monsters, we now look no different from the local inhabitants. Do not try to speak with any of them. We will head directly for our target."
As the god most skilled in stealth and self-preservation in the entire universe, he had a few special tricks up his sleeve.
His illusions might not fool the Ruinous Powers themselves, but deceiving their daemonic underlings, even a Greater Daemon, was no great challenge.
"Well done. Bringing you was the right choice," Axis said, "So, how do we find the Goddess of Life? This place is rather large." He gazed out at the seemingly endless expanse of decay.
Though it was called a garden, its sheer scale defied conventional understanding. If Nurgle willed it, this realm could contain entire galaxies.
Finding a single person here would be an incredibly difficult task. They couldn't possibly search it inch by inch. Axis wondered where the Plaguefather had hidden the Aeldari goddess, Isha.
"An excellent question, my friend!" the Laughing God said, "I plan to emanate a sliver of my divine power. As soon as Isha senses it, she will resonate with her own. Once I feel that resonance, I can lead us right to her."
"Are you sure that power won't attract any Greater Daemons?" Axis asked, "Or, worse, alert the Grandfather himself? We cannot risk exposure."
"Of course, I understand the risks," Cegorach replied reassuringly, "But don't forget, Isha and I are both gods of the Aeldari. We share a special bond. Trust me, there won't be any problems."
"Then let's begin," Axis urged, "We don't have much time."
The Laughing God nodded, sat cross-legged on the foul ground, and carefully began to broadcast his power. A subtle ripple of divine Aeldari energy, faint as a whisper, spread out across Nurgle's Garden.
The pulse was so weak that it failed to attract the attention of even the common Nurglings. All remained tranquil in that wonderfully, disgustingly corrupt domain.
An unknown amount of time passed before the divine ripple sent by Cegorach seemed to receive a response.
It was like a single drop of water striking a vast, silent pond, sending out a faint wave. It was an answering pulse, uniquely of the Aeldari pantheon, and utterly discreet.
The Laughing God caught it instantly.
"Found her," he said, his eyes snapping open with excitement, "Follow me." He grabbed Axis by the arm and started moving towards their target's location.
Axis nodded and kept close behind the Aeldari god. The concept of time did not exist in the Warp, so Axis had no idea how long they had traveled.
Finally, the two of them stopped in a relatively quiet area. There were no clamouring daemons here, only a thick, imposing wall of putrescent vines, covered in writhing moss and oozing slime.
In the centre of the wall was a massive, heavy, sealed door forged from withered bone, rusted metal, and congealed pus.
The door was covered in blasphemous, writhing runes that pulsed with a powerful warding energy, sealing what was within from the corruption without. From a crack in the door, a faint yet incredibly resilient emerald glimmer shone, completely at odds with its foul surroundings.
Cegorach immediately pressed his ear against the door and, with a specific rhythm, knocked very gently three times.
Knock... knock... knock...
After a brief silence, an equally faint but clear response came from within.
Knock... knock... knock...
The rhythm carried an indescribable sense of excitement and hope.
"This is the place, my friend. Isha is inside," Cegorach whispered, "Now we just need to figure out how to break this seal."
"Can you handle it?" Axis asked, "If not, I can try to break it by force."
"No, don't! This is where the big green fellow keeps his most prized possession. If we break it by force, the results won't be pretty," Cegorach insisted.
"Don't you worry! Lock-picking is a fundamental skill for any proper jester. This sealed door may be a challenge for any other, but it is nothing for this Clown." The Laughing God puffed out his chest with a look of absolute confidence, then sauntered slyly to the sealed door, pulled out a set of tools, and began to pick the lock.
"So, your grand plan for breaking a divine seal is just... picking the lock?"
"That is only what you perceive on the surface. You are not a god, Axis," Cegorach replied impatiently as he worked, "I am engaged in a very delicate process. I am using my divine power to communicate with this door, find its conceptual core, and then carefully persuade it to open. It is tremendously difficult work. All you can see is a clown picking a lock."
That was the difference between a god and a mortal. What a god perceived and what a mortal saw existed on two entirely different planes of reality.
After some time, the Laughing God seemed to find the weakness he was looking for. With a soft twist of his tool, a quiet click echoed from the door.
With a deep, rumbling groan, the great sealed door swung open.
An indescribable torrent of fresh, pure, vibrant life force surged from the opening like a warm flood.
It violently washed over the foul air outside, and where it passed, the corrupt vines seemed to shrink back, their slimy coatings briefly losing their vitality.
Azure skies. Fluffy white clouds.
Towering ancient trees, their leaves a lush and vibrant green, reached for the heavens. A soft meadow of emerald grass, dotted with a hundred different kinds of strange and beautiful wildflowers, stretched into the distance. A crystal-clear stream babbled peacefully, feeding a waterfall that shimmered with a rainbow of colors in the sunlight. Adorable, fluffy little animals frolicked freely in the grass and among the trees.
This was no prison. This was a mythical wonderland, the only way Axis could describe it. It was a stark contrast, like heaven to the hellish filth of Nurgle's Garden outside. The pure essence of life here was so powerful, so warm.
"Cegorach… is it really you? Have you come to save me?" an ethereal and melodious female voice called out.
Axis looked up, and what he saw was not an Aeldari but a mythical elf straight from legend.
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ps?