Chapter 34: Brother Magnus… It's Time for treatment.
Night fell over Colchis.
A quiet knock broke the silence.
Inside his chamber, Magnus the Red looked up from his writing desk, his crimson eye narrowing slightly.
The door opened, and Ahzek Ahriman stepped inside.
"My lord," Ahriman said calmly, "your brother, Lorgar Aurelian, invites you to speak with him."
Magnus frowned.
"At this hour?"
He was about to refuse, but Ahriman hesitated, then added:
"He claims it concerns… the 'great cause' of the God-Emperor."
Magnus sighed.
That again.
He still could not comprehend what Lorgar was trying to accomplish with this… religious fervor. It ran entirely counter to the Imperial Truth.
And yet
Magnus rose to his feet.
"Very well."
Outside, Kor Phaeron stood waiting.
He smiled.
Or rather, attempted to.
Magnus paused.
Something was off.
"…Weren't your teeth intact this morning?" Magnus asked.
Kor Phaeron's smile stiffened.
"My lord," he said quickly, "Lorgar awaits."
Magnus glanced at his swollen face, the bruises, the slight limp…
…and chose not to ask further.
They walked.
Through corridors.
Across courtyards.
Into a fortress.
And finally down into its depths.
The basement chamber was dimly lit.
Warp sigils faintly scarred the stone floor.
And there stood Lorgar.
Magnus froze.
Lorgar… looked terrible.
Bruised. Bloodied. Pale.
"Cough!" Lorgar doubled over, spitting blood onto the floor.
"I'm… fine," he said weakly.
Magnus stared.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then
"My brother," Magnus said slowly, "who did this to you?"
His voice hardened.
"Tell me—and I will ensure they regret being born."
Lorgar panicked instantly.
"N-No! It's not!"
"Red King," he forced out, voice strained, "we attempted to… verify the 'entities' you described."
"…And this is the result."
Magnus blinked.
"…What?"
Lorgar raised a trembling hand, pointing upward.
High above, in the shadows of the chamber
A statue of the Emperor of Mankind loomed.
And beneath it
Erebus.
Erebus was currently suspended midair, pinned beneath an invisible force.
Golden psychic energy pressed him down relentlessly.
Every few seconds
Crack.
Another burst of power slammed into him.
Lorgar's expression turned mournful.
"My brother… endure…"
Magnus turned slowly.
"…What?"
"Foolishness!" Magnus snapped, anger rising. "Do you have any idea what you are dealing with?"
His gaze swept across the crude summoning circles carved into the floor.
"Warp entities are not toys to be summoned on a whim!"
He turned sharply.
"Ahriman."
Ahriman stepped forward.
Magnus lifted a hand.
"Allow me to demonstrate properly."
His voice took on a lecturing tone.
"What you describe are likely lesser warp entities, refractions of immaterium energy."
He gestured.
"Ahriman shows them."
Ahriman extended his hand.
The air shimmered.
Warp energy gathered.
Controlled.
Refined.
"The entity I commune with," Ahriman said calmly, "is known as Etephion, a being of higher immaterial cohesion."
"They are… luminous."
"Elegant."
"Magnificent."
He began chanting.
Ancient Prosperoan syllables filled the chamber.
The air warped.
Light fractured.
And then
It appeared.
A shifting, radiant construct of impossible color.
Energy given form.
Elegant.
Terrifying.
Lorgar staggered backward.
His face drained of color.
"…What is that?"
His voice trembled.
He looked upward
At the statue.
At the Emperor.
At Erebus.
Erebus, still suspended, weakly flailed one hand.
At one point
He slapped blindly at something.
Possibly the Emperor's leg.
Possibly something else.
Lorgar immediately panicked.
"Stop that!"
He grabbed Erebus with psychic force and yanked him down.
THUD.
Erebus hit the ground hard.
There was a pause.
Then
He raised a swollen face.
One arm is clearly broken.
And smiled.
"…What a coincidence," he croaked.
"I have one too."
Ahriman frowned.
This man is insane.
Before he could speak
Magnus raised a hand, stopping him.
His single eye fixed on Erebus.
"You… have one?"
Erebus nodded weakly.
"Of course."
Then he turned his head slightly.
"…Jarulek."
From the shadows, Jarulek entered calmly and efficiently, pushing a cart.
Inside the cart
Prisoners.
Heretics.
Barely alive.
Magnus frowned.
"…What are you doing?"
Erebus grinned.
"Watch closely."
Garrulek stepped forward.
Blade in hand.
Slash.
Blood spilled across the summoning circle.
One by one
The prisoners were executed.
Their blood feeds the ritual.
Warp energy surged.
Crude.
Violent.
Unstable.
Erebus began chanting.
Loud.
Confident.
Completely unrefined.
Ahriman's eyes widened.
"This is—this is not how."
"Silence!" Erebus snapped.
Then raised both hands dramatically.
"Servants of the Tzeentch!"
"I offer you souls of rare brilliance!"
"A gift worthy of ascension!"
"Come forth and claim them!"
A shriek split the air.
A massive winged daemon burst from the circle.
Feathers.
Warp-light.
Screaming madness.
"Yes!" it shrieked. "YES!"
"Name yourself, mortal, that I may bless"
"Erebus."
Silence.
The daemon froze.
Its expression… changed.
"…Ere…bus?"
Recognition.
Horror.
It glanced at Magnus.
Then back at Erebus.
"…No."
Its voice dropped.
"…No, not you."
"Mortal," it hissed, "you deceive me."
And then—
It dropped to its knees.
A crushing psychic pressure filled the chamber.
Something unseen pressed down upon it.
The daemon trembled violently.
"That… cursed one…"
Magnus stepped forward, intrigued.
"You recognize him?"
The daemon snapped upright.
"I am nothing!"
"I know nothing!"
"I serve the Great Architect and no other!"
Its voice rose in frantic denial.
"I will not betray the Changer of Ways!"
"Never!"
Silence fell.
Magnus stared.
Lorgar stared.
Kor Phaeron stared.
And Erebus—
Still lying on the ground—
Smiled faintly.
"…See?"
"I told you."
End of Chapter 34