Damnnn! If we continue like this, we will easily reach 1000 Powerstones this week!! This is the bonus chapter for reaching 500 Powerstones btw :)
--
Zeke sheathed his chainsword; this was within his expectations. Killing Abaddon was always going to be difficult; the dark existence behind him would not let him die easily.
The Chaos army was already losing ground, and now, without their Warmaster, they were utterly routed. Expanding from local superiority to total victory, the Blackstone Fortress had been breached by the Cadian soldiers.
Gasping for breath, Abaddon appeared aboard his flagship, the Vengeful Spirit, which was hovering near the Blackstone Fortress.
After six minutes of silence, the projection array hummed to life, and Morkath appeared.
She was trapped within Zeke's obsidian cage, but this didn't prevent her final dialogue with Abaddon.
Morkath had always felt like a child looking up to a parent, but now, she seemed more like a dog gazing at its master.
Abaddon maintained his image, trying not to let anyone see the pathetic state he was in just moments ago. However, his heaving chest betrayed that he was not as calm as he pretended to be.
Beyond the porthole, the prow of the Vengeful Spirit rammed into the center of the Blackstone Fortress.
Morkath stumbled, feeling her body tearing apart.
"Father, what are you doing?"
"You are of no use to me anymore; I might as well make use of the waste."
Abaddon gave the final order: the Vengeful Spirit was to ram the Blackstone Fortress with full power.
Those pathetic Cadian fighters wanted to seize the Blackstone Fortress? Then let them have it!
Abaddon had devised a method to destroy both the Fortress and Cadia simultaneously. By ramming his flagship into the Fortress, he would drive it directly into Cadia, obliterating them both.
Morkath read Abaddon's thoughts. She accepted her end with pleasure, even if it meant destruction. She was willing to become a stone, a burning meteor, to smash a world for her father.
The obsidian before her suddenly made a digging sound as Zeke carved out a small hole.
"Your father intends to crash you into Cadia," Zeke said as behind him, soldiers were evacuating the doomed Blackstone Fortress through a Nether Portal, just as they had arrived.
"If that is his command, I will obey," Morkath said faintly. "Father will achieve his grand goals, and my sacrifice is insignificant."
"You're quite enlightened," Zeke handed a Blueprint to Morkath. "Do as I say. Aim this Blueprint at the Blackstone Fortress beneath your feet, and think 'Copy' in your mind."
The Blueprint could only copy structures one had built personally or understood completely. Zeke definitely didn't understand the Blackstone Fortress, but the person in front of him understood it better than he did.
Morkath stared at Zeke, motionless.
Zeke sighed, grabbed the Blueprint back, and summoned a floor full of Shield Tunneling Machines.
Morkath began to tremble. She took the Blueprint with shaking hands and finally complied with Zeke's demand.
"Copy."
A structure named "Blackstone Fortress" appeared on the Blueprint. It was incomplete, representing less than a fifth of the original. Even Morkath only had a partial understanding; likely only its original builders knew it fully.
"Better than nothing," Zeke put away the Blueprint. "Have you ever considered that perhaps your father never cared about you?"
Before Morkath could answer, the Manyullyn chainsword pierced her chest.
The last thing Morkath saw before dying was the scene of her birth.
"My daughter," Abaddon had said, stroking her face.
So, it was just to use me from the very beginning? Morkath had known the answer long ago.
She fused her remaining strength into the Blackstone Fortress, accelerating its collision course with Cadia.
This is the final gift from your most beloved daughter.
Zeke felt the Blackstone Fortress tilt. If he hadn't killed Morkath, she would have continued to communicate with the Fortress, but the outcome was the same regardless.
Zeke still chose to slay this piece of Chaos trash personally.
–
Stepping through the Nether Portal, Zeke returned to Cadia.
He looked up.
The Blackstone Fortress was falling from orbit.
It was massive; even from high above, it occupied nearly half the sky.
On Cadia, everyone witnessed the falling Blackstone Fortress. It was so colossal, so suffocating. Its lower section rubbed against the atmosphere, igniting in flames.
Inside the camp, Bela was squatting by the expanded chicken coop, clutching a chick that had sensed danger and tried to flee, staring blankly at the sky.
At Kasr Kraf, Creed stood amidst the wind.
Retreat? Such a gargantuan object was unavoidable.
Evacuating Cadian soldiers to other planets might preserve some forces, but it would undeniably declare Cadia's defeat.
Zeke had long ago mentioned to Creed the possible outcome of this war.
Yes, Zeke believed the Blackstone Fortress falling was the final outcome, but he claimed to have a solution.
Trust Zeke. That was all Creed could do.
He would have a way, just like always; he would pull out various magical facilities to solve impossible problems.
Creed hadn't put all his eggs in one basket and had arranged for some soldiers to evacuate in an orderly fashion. The cold wind turned Creed's nose red.
If Zeke were here, he would surely mock Creed's current expression, saying he looked like a Grot who had its toe stepped on.
In the camp, everyone gathered around. Zeke pulled out the Blueprint.
The Mariatus Tunnel Bores were mining at full power, and crates upon crates of obsidian were stacked on the ground.
Zeke stepped forward, blocking the view of everyone behind him.
If the Blackstone Fortress fell, Cadia would shatter.
Without Cadia's containment, the Eye of Terror would expand, splitting the entire galaxy in two.
The Four Chaos Gods' plan would be complete, and the Imperium would plunge into a darker age—that was how the script was supposed to go.
Zeke raised the Blueprint. The phantom image of a super-colossal Nether Portal appeared, large enough to embrace the entire sky.
He adjusted the direction, raised it slightly higher to ensure the frame faced the center of the Fortress's descent path, and pressed "Build".
The obsidian in his backpack was instantly drained, followed by the contents of the nearby crates.
There was still surplus obsidian; the mining efficiency of the tunnel bores was as reassuring as ever.
A super-gigantic Obsidian Nether Portal appeared above Cadia.
Even from distant orbit, one could clearly see this black rectangle. It encompassed the incoming Blackstone Fortress entirely, and even framed the Eye of Terror behind it.
The Blackstone Fortress looked oppressive, but its descent speed was actually quite slow.
In the original story, Castellan Creed even had time to arrange a partial evacuation before it hit.
Zeke climbed the Pillar of Hope—the pillar where he had worked with Sergeant Victor to gather Cadia's warriors and attack the traitors.
He spent some time stacking stone blocks upward to reach the height of the Nether Portal.
Below, the crowd held their breath, looking up.
This man had created so many miracles; this time, he would surely create an even greater one.
Everyone in the camp believed this because that was what Zeke did—it was what he always did.
Cow mingled in the crowd, glanced at the Blackstone Fortress twice, and went back to dozing off.
Look at these two-legged creatures, scared witless by such a small scene. Cow thought as it had full trust in Zeke.
Zeke took out his Flint and Steel.
Go to where you belong, Blackstone Fortress, Zeke said in his heart, and then ignited the Nether Portal.
Click.
A soft sound, almost drowned out by the wind.
A spark landed on the surface of the frame.
Instantly, a purple swirling vortex filled the portal frame.
–
Aboard the Vengeful Spirit, Abaddon sat on his command throne, admiring the scene of the Blackstone Fortress crashing toward Cadia.
"Morkath has perished," the sorcerer beside him said.
Abaddon flinched, as if struck by a blow. The name seemed to stir a pain he had never realized existed.But soon, Abaddon didn't care again. I will still be the final victor, he thought, until he saw the Nether Portal.
"What are they trying to do?" A sense of unease rose in Abaddon's heart.
"Tell me, what are they trying to do!"
No one could answer Abaddon's question. Most of his troops had died on the Blackstone Fortress, and those remaining were merely broken remnants.
--
Next Goal = 600 Powerstones (Only 40 remaining)