V3 Chapter 88: Trazyn, Just Give Me the Fulgrim Clone Instead
"What exactly was that power you just used?"
Trazyn stepped slowly out of the shadows nearby, leaning on the Empathic Obliterator. His tone stayed even, though a trace of surprise crept through that he couldn't quite hide.
"You even brought this Warp-warped projection space back to where it was always meant to be."
Hearing that, Duvette noticed, for the first time, the new change that had appeared beneath the command throne.
A dried brass pool of blood now sat at the edge of the dais, and a deep, smooth-edged pit had opened at the center of the command bridge. That was exactly the hollow Trazyn had left behind when he'd taken Kosorax and part of the deck along with him.
The two command bridges, once overlapping across different layers of space, had merged back into one.
Well, now.
Had he repaired the warped space along the way while purifying the core machine spirit?
The thought crossed Duvette's mind, though nothing showed on his face. He simply steadied his breathing and looked toward the ancient Necron standing before the shadows.
"I still haven't asked you why you took my prisoner."
Trazyn raised his head slightly.
"Strictly speaking, he became part of my collection before you ever arrived."
"Order of events matters a great deal, Duvette."
"Lady Tarasha Euten was a courtesy gift, meant to establish a long-term trading relationship. That doesn't count as a formal transaction already completed between us." Duvette said. By now he'd recovered some of his strength.
He raised a hand, signalling Markus and the others not to grow too tense, and simply to stay behind him. Then he walked slowly down from the dais, stopping a short distance from Trazyn.
"So you owe me one now."
"How cunning." Trazyn's voice carried a note of mockery. "I once assumed you only looked human. It seems you've thoroughly mastered even this kind of baseless claim as well."
Duvette laughed once.
"I never said I was only an ordinary human."
The green light within Trazyn's skull flickered faintly.
"Like your so-called... Emperor, is that it?"
Duvette let his expression go indifferent and gave a light shrug. He didn't pursue that thread any further, and instead said directly, "I need to take one piece from your collection, to make up for the loss caused by you taking Kosorax ahead of schedule."
"And what is it you want to take from my collection this time?" Trazyn's tone had clearly turned impatient.
Duvette looked at him and named a target he'd had in mind for a long while already.
"A Primarch."
Trazyn didn't move.
Duvette went on. "To be precise, the Fulgrim clone Fabius Bile made."
The bridge fell silent.
Trazyn and Duvette held each other's gaze for a long moment.
Duvette was fairly certain the old thief was cursing him internally right now. After all, the Fulgrim clone was, without question, one of the most precious pieces in all of Solemnace.
"Exactly how much do you know about what I've collected?"
Trazyn finally spoke, clear displeasure in his tone.
"Going by what I know of your life's course, you weren't even born yet when Fabius handed that piece over to you."
Duvette let his expression settle back into the one that made the other guess for himself.
"Foresight, perhaps. Or a psychic vision."
"I also know you're holding a Custodian, an Inquisitor, and the preserved head of Sebastian Thor, once a Saint and Ecclesiarch of the Imperial Creed."
"Beyond that, there's a Hive Tyrant, a complete Tyranid display, and an Ork from some ancient age..."
"Enough."
Trazyn cut him off, before Duvette could finish reciting his collection back to him like an inventory list.
He was already starting to regret ever agreeing to deal with this man.
The one standing in front of him knew far too much he had no business knowing. Trazyn had genuinely considered putting him straight into a display case then and there, but the risk of acting here bore no reasonable proportion to whatever he might gain from it.
Not to mention the thirteen white-armoured Astartes standing right behind Duvette.
"A soon-to-be-failed Chaos warlord isn't worth nearly enough to trade for a near-perfect Primarch clone."
Trazyn delivered his verdict.
Duvette only smiled.
A willingness to discuss value meant the deal still had a chance of going through.
"Weren't you curious about my power just now?"
Trazyn didn't answer.
Duvette continued. "I won't tell you exactly what it is. But you've already seen what it can do with your own eyes."
"I reclaimed the core machine spirit of a Gloriana-class battleship, corroded by Chaos for ten thousand years, and purified its most critical control systems."
"From this point on, whatever I've fully purified won't fall to Chaos corruption again."
Trazyn's fingers shifted slightly around the Empathic Obliterator.
The motion was small, but it didn't escape Duvette's notice.
"Your collection must hold pieces that are extremely precious."
"Items that once carried great historical value, but lost their original form to Chaos corruption. You can't bring yourself to destroy them, and you can't safely display them either, so all that's left is to seal them away in the deepest reaches, forever."
Duvette slowed his words, letting a tempting edge creep in. "I can help you, once."
"Hand over the Fulgrim clone, and I'll purify one Chaos-corrupted target for you in return. Living or object, either is fine, but the target has to be confirmed by both of us beforehand, and it has to fall within what my ability can handle."
"You may only ask me to strip away the Chaos corruption. I won't repair physical damage for you, and I won't release whatever dangerous thing might be sealed inside it."
"Five times."
Trazyn answered without hesitation.
The corner of Duvette's mouth twitched.
"Are you dreaming? Five times?"
"Was your Primarch clone bartered for the Emperor himself?"
"He carries historical value that can never be replicated." Trazyn said evenly. "Your offer falls well short."
"Three times." Duvette fixed his eyes on him. "Purifying a target on that scale would cost me an enormous price. Three is the most I'll agree to, and I confirm every single target myself, in advance."
"Fine." Trazyn answered at once. "Deal."
The speed of it suggested he'd already been waiting for Duvette to land on that exact number.
Duvette fell silent for a couple of seconds.
Seemed like he'd opened a little too high after all.
Still, three purification sessions meant a cost of at least tens of thousands of points of Emperor's Wrath, and quite possibly more in practice. Trading that price for a near-complete Primarch clone was still worth it.
Once the Fulgrim clone was actually in his hands, Duvette meant to use [Purification] on him first, before anything else.
Whether Fabius had left behind some hidden scheme, whether Slaanesh had already planted some danger inside that Primarch's body, all of it would need a thorough check.
And after [Purification], the Fulgrim clone would keep his own consciousness and judgment intact. He would only grow, on some subconscious level, more inclined to trust Duvette, more willing to accept his command.
Markus and the others were the clearest example of that.
These ten-thousand-year veterans still held onto their own will, and yet they remained willing, without fail, to follow Duvette. Without that inexplicable sense of loyalty, given their history and their temperament, they would long since have gone their own way.
"There is, however, something you'll need to do for me first."
Trazyn spoke again, suddenly.
Duvette raised his head.
"Only once you've fulfilled the first part of our arrangement will I hand the Fulgrim clone over to you."
Trazyn tapped the Empathic Obliterator in his hand.
"My sincerity here is already considerable, Duvette. Kosorax is already part of my collection, and the Primarch clone will remain intact."
Duvette didn't answer right away.
Heavy footsteps were already sounding from the corridor in the distance.
Guilliman and his Honour Guard were closing in on the bridge.
Duvette glanced toward the sound, then looked back to Trazyn.
"Let me confirm the clone is still alive first. And still intact."
"A reasonable request."
Trazyn answered.
Duvette held out his hand.
"Pleasure doing business, Trazyn."
The Infinite looked down at the offered hand, but didn't reach out to take it.
"I'll take that as the deal formally concluded."
Duvette smiled and drew his hand back.
"Take it however you like."