Chapter 70: To Strike at the Heart of Darkness
Silence descended upon the assembled Primarchs like a shroud, broken only by the distant mechanical hymns of the Palace's industrial complex.
Within the Imperium, the gene-sons represented the apex of martial prowess, living weapons forged by the Emperor's own hand.
Yet according to the Ravens' assessment, they remained too weak even for knowledge of their true enemies.
After long, thoughtful moments, Sanguinius, the first to break from his thoughts, stepped forward.
Though his perfect features tried to hide it, it was clear as day to Raven, Emperor, and Valdor that his mark was one of wounded pride.
"Are we truly so weak, Father, Raven? That we lack the worthiness even to know the truth of our enemies?"
"Yes, you are a child," the Raven replied without hesitation.
Though his voice was gentle, as if he was soothing kids who had been denied their favourite toys, and not God among men.
"Understand this, my little bird: there is always a time for certain things; their premature revelation would only harm you."
"Children, you all get it through your head, there is no need for excuses here; you are simply too weak in both will and strength."
"Few beings within the entire Imperium could defeat us in combat, Lord Raven," Angron protested, his scarred features betraying inner turmoil.
"How can such power be called too weak even to know the truth of our foes?"
"Too weak~," the Raven repeated, rhyming his words.
"All of you, every single one, no exceptions, that is why neither the Emperor nor I share these truths freely."
Raven fixed his gaze on Angron with a piercing stare, making him want to avoid direct eye contact, though he stopped himself.
"Dear Angron, can you manipulate the temporal flows of time?"
"Can you extinguish the stellar fires of stars?"
"Can you bend the space like a piece of fabric to your will?"
"Can you? Tell ME." Raven asked, with each question his rising in weight that seems to dwarf all primarchs in their might.
As if he were not asking questions, but crushing their very mind under the weight of a thousand mountains.
Three questions struck like hammer blows, leaving Angron speechless before he managed to utter two words.
"I... cannot."
"You CANNOT!!, yet our enemies possess such abilities. They can twist entire galaxies, trample universal constants, and disregard causality itself."
"Stretch your imagination to its absolute limits regarding enemy capabilities. Even then, what you conceive represents merely the smallest fraction of a billionth or even trillionth of their true power."
"When you speak their names, they know it immediately, learning of your existence, probing your thoughts, discovering weaknesses in your minds, and corrupting your essence entirely."
"They are ancient beyond any measure, eternal, above the concept of space and time, immortal and indestructible."
"Their dreams birth countless universes during slumber in their domain. Upon awakening, those same realities crumbled to dust."
"With casual gestures, they tear through past and present, cutting through time as if it were merely a river, they obliterate causality, and shatter natural laws."
The Raven's rhetoric grew increasingly dramatic, weaving elaborate exaggerations that left the Primarchs staring in bewilderment.
Even the Emperor and Valdor exchanged knowing glances.
While Raven's words held truth, his tendency toward exaggerated presentation exceeded all reasonable bounds.
"Facing such overwhelming adversaries," the Raven concluded with theatrical gravity.
"Tell me, my children, are you truly prepared?"
Angron regarded his own hands with newfound weakness.
He could not even rend Titans bare-handed; how could he contend with entities capable of plucking stars and shattering reality itself?
"Forgive us, Father, Master Raven," Horus took it upon himself to apologise for their collective scepticism of their Father's action.
They couldn't even hope to defeat their Father, or Raven, or even Head Custodian Valdor and Sigillite Malcador.
Yet when such beings refused to talk about their true enemies, they, in their brazen ego, questioned their decision.
'Truly, we are still a long way from standing on the same ground as them'
Horus apologised humbly. "Our impatience was foolish of us."
If his father and Rven said they were not ready, then they were not.
"Think nothing of it," the Raven replied, surveying all assembled gene-sons.
"Your potential knows no bounds, and you all are destined to reach heights where you can challenge those enemies."
"However, remember this lesson from me to you all: anyone who whispers in your ears to show you universal truths seeks your destruction."
"Their singular purpose is your corruption and ruin."
"To me, so-called cosmic revelations hold less value than properly prepared fried potatoes."
"When you prove ready to bear such knowledge, I could share it for a single serving of fries."
"If I refuse to speak, only one possibility exists: you lack sufficient strength to endure such truth."
This preemptive warning against Chaos deception served its purpose.
The Primarchs must not mistake honeyed whispers for enlightenment.
Convinced by the Raven's verbal assault, the gene-sons abandoned any further questions.
"Come," the creature announced.
"Let us proceed to the feast hall and celebrate the reunion of your newest brothers."
Treasure these moments together; soon, duty will scatter you across the galaxy's breadth. Such family moments will become even rarer."
The Raven had successfully redirected their attention, as all Primarchs took their leave and headed for the feast hall.
Within the vast hangar, only he and the Emperor remained.
Valdor and his Custodians maintained a respectful distance.
"You should not have made such promises," the Emperor remarked, His gaze piercing the viewport to survey the depth of stars.
His enhanced perception detected the Warp's colossal tides, filthy self-proclaimed gods raging in eternal fury, coveting the material realm with predatory hunger, intent upon destroying everything He had built.
"You must treat them as individuals, not tools," the Raven countered.
"They possess the right to understand their origins."
"When they know everything, they will comprehend your actions and stand with you against those creditors of yours."
The stern-faced Master of Mankind twitched his eyelids as he felt unexpected emotion at the words he heard.
"Creditors? What Creditors"
"Hmm? Did you not rob those four blind? They will certainly demand repayment eventually."
The Raven shrugged with characteristic nonchalance. "Well, it doesn't matter, in this age, debtors hold all the advantage; they even forget they have any credit."
"Besides, why should we return what we have acquired through legitimate conquest?"
"If they have any objection, we will simply defeat them again and continue our credit and debit relationship."
"What if they are Chaos Gods? It's their fault they got robb—cough, I mean, they didn't understand advanced business tactics"
"If it happens again, we can simply drain the warp dry."
The Emperor, for the first time since the Iron Rebellion, found himself speechless.
His Millennia of experience meant nothing before the honeyed shamelessness of Raven.
The way he spoke, with that tone and face, made him seem almost naïve, as if he wasn't talking about robbing warp but being the most trusted merchant.
At that moment, Valdor approached them, bearing a data slate.
"My Lord, according to the intelligence provided by Rakarth, our fleets have located a Webway portal leading to Commorragh. Should we begin the military deployment?"
The Emperor took the data slate in his hand as he analysed thousands of lines of reports in seconds.
After contemplative silence, the Emperor spoke.
"Transmit coordinates to the bridge. Relay my orders, the fleet shall depart for Commorragh as soon as possible. I shall personally cleanse Commorragh of its filth."
"My Lord, our current expeditionary forces lack sufficient strength to destroy Commorragh entirely," Valdor observed.
"This assault seeks not destruction, but education, Valdor," the Emperor clarified.
"We shall teach those xenos that humanity has returned to reclaim its birthright; anyone who comes between humanity and its destiny shall be turned to dust."
"Excellent strategy!" the Raven exclaimed with obvious delight. "Where enemies tread, the Imperium follows!"
"When we capture Dark Eldar, we will assign them to labour endlessly on agricultural worlds, with overseers applying corrective discipline with Whips that break the sound barrier with each hit."
"And, we can organise them into competing groups; the least productive team will face sacrifice to the filthy prince of debauchery."
"Oh, perhaps we should also capture cultists of the Prince of debauchery and force summoning rituals within Commorragh itself?"
"This way, the judgment plan shall achieve perfect symmetry on all levels. What do you say, Big guy, Corn Cob, isn't it perfect?"
"Mu-ha-ha-haa, I know, I know, sometimes my intelligence even terrifies me"
Raven finished presenting his master plan as he, with no trace of shame, continued to boast about his genius.
The Emperor and Valdor exchanged glances of shared disbelief.
Even daemons of warp would flee from the Raven's malicious creativity.
How did the creature devise such vindictive schemes while maintaining such cheerful delivery?
It's hard to imagine such a vicious and creatively malevolent creature drooling over some fries and food delicacy.
Imperial Fleet Command Bridge
Coordinates transmitted to navigation systems, sailing orders bearing the Emperor's seal reached every vessel.
"Engage the engines! All ships achieve maximum velocity toward designated coordinates!"
The captain rose from his command throne, augmented displays casting harsh illumination across his weathered features.
Communication officers relayed orders throughout the fleet.
Accompanied by Mechanicus hymnal chanting, warship after warship ignited plasma drives, azure flames erupting from massive thruster arrays.
The assembled fleet, maintaining perfect formation, was sailing toward the Webway portal coordinates.
For all the crimes these xenos did against humanity.
The Imperium would carry out its righteous judgment on the Dark City.