912.M30.
In the fourth layer of the Kingdom of Disorder, Nareth picked up the Dice of Prophecy.
Compared to the three years and one month he had waited after the previous divination for Be'lakor and obtaining the Blade of Shadows, he had waited an additional twelve standard days, five days longer than his expected week.
'Be'lakor is stronger than expected.'
'Hmm, perhaps it's because the Blade of Shadows contained a small portion of the Four's power that he retained.'
'I'll only know for sure the next time I divine one of his relic fragments.'
With the Blade of Shadows, most closely linked to Be'lakor, as a divination focus, he expected future divinations to be easier.
Information about the Formless Wastes flashed through his mind.
'The Formless Wastes, also called the Chaos Wastes or the Place of Lost Souls, is a domain not ruled by any of the Four.'
'Every dream, nightmare, and illusion of every intelligent species is reflected in the Formless Wastes.'
'Each sub-domain is an extension of a Chaos domain, inhabited by Warp entities not belonging to the Four, like Vashtorr's Soul Forges, powerful daemons like Samus, and Daemon Princes like Be'lakor...'
After the information flashed through his mind, he silently intoned.
'Coordinates of a stable region in the Formless Wastes, outside the Soul Forges and the Darklands.'
'...'
Most of the Formless Wastes were a chaotic, random terrain. Mental streams, generated by the minds of all beings, constantly formed and dissolved.
But several regions were stable: Vashtorr's Soul Forges and Be'lakor's Darklands.
Santiago must avoid them. At least for now.
The Formless Wastes lay deep in the Warp, not in reality. To go there, one needed precise coordinates.
After intoning it eleven times, he tossed the dice.
A supernatural scene unfolded before him. It was supernatural, not within three-dimensional space.
The dazzling, colorful scene could only be seen as a blurred, indistinguishable image with the naked eye.
A psyker needed to open their mind's eye to perceive its true form.
As its other name, the Chaos Wastes, suggested, it was layered like a house of cards.
Light and shadow flickered in the Primarch's eyes. He ascended to the second level of the Enumeration, but did not release his light body, lest a powerful Warp entity sense him.
The layered pocket dimensions rapidly enlarged, twisting into 'pearls' in his vision.
The 'pearls' vaguely reflected a crimson sky, petrified forests, and endless spiraling, transparent stairs.
His mind's eye followed the dice's projection, plunging into one of the 'pearls.'
He saw crackling lightning across the dark sky. Pillars of fire shot up.
The moment his mind touched it, light and shadow flickered in his mind.
He perceived its existence through his Warp manifestation.
With a thought, a data-crystal appeared in his hand.
As light blazed, runes formed within.
In an instant, he encoded his mental perception as psychic runes on the crystal.
After a few dozen seconds, he turned the crystal and glanced at the dice.
'This time, it's not particularly dim. The cooldown probably won't increase.'
With this thought, he extended his spiritual energy, touching Santiago Borgkamp orb.
Black mist churned. Santiago was pulled into the Kingdom of Disorder.
"My Lord," he bowed and reported. "I have arranged the Chapter's affairs and am ready."
Nareth nodded. With a thought, two items materialized before Santiago.
The Flame Ring. The Nephilim Bishop's black blade.
After "linking" it, he had determined it corresponded to Sequence 3 "Ferryman" on the Death Pathway.
A "Ferryman" possessed a sliver of Death authority. This blade, engraved with tiger stripes, was just that. Those struck by it would slowly wither.
He had a mystical item corresponding to Sequence 2 "Death Consul," so he could afford to lose this blade.
Just as, possessing the "Red Priest's" uniqueness, he could afford to lose the Flame Ring, corresponding to "Iron-blooded Knight."
One offensive, one defensive mystical item, combined with the "Scribe's" varied abilities, would give him strong countermeasure capability.
He did not give him more mystical items, not only because of the risk of loss, but also because a Sequence 6 like Santiago lacked the spiritual energy to power more.
With a thought, fifty-two green teardrop Silent Talismans and one hundred six Worm Talismans materialized.
With a turn of his hand, ten ring weapons appeared.
Santiago was momentarily stunned by the psychic-laden talismans and ten ring weapons.
He knew about ring weapons. The Legion and Terran nobles had them, but he had never seen an Astartes use one.
Shadows of Order's premier psychic artisan had once examined and disassembled a ring weapon belonging to an Auxilia noble commander, hoping to understand its spell-generation principle, but had found nothing.
He had to marvel at the Old Ones' incomprehensible craft, blending psychic power and technology, allowing them to imbue Jokaeros with the instinct to manufacture ring weapons and other items from scrap.
He had ultimately abandoned the idea of making ring weapons for Astartes. He had not expected the Black Emperor to grant him ten rings.
As he thought, he knelt on one knee.
"My Lord, I thank You for Your gift."
"I said I would support you." Nareth expected that, with so many items, and as a Perpetual, Santiago should survive, unless he had the misfortune to encounter Vashtorr, Be'lakor, or the like.
After putting on the ten rings, Santiago took a box made of dual-numbered black gold and carefully arranged the talismans in layers, with spacers.
Nareth then sent the data-crystal to Santiago. "It contains the coordinates for the Formless Wastes."
"After you arrive, immediately mark them with your spiritual energy. Do not forget them."
Santiago was stunned. He asked, puzzled.
"My Lord, forgive me. Since You already have the coordinates, why do I need to mark them?"
"You must mark four locations in the Warp to receive the next bestowal. This is the necessary ritual for you to gain new power."
Hearing this, Santiago knelt again.
The Black Emperor had gone to such trouble for him.
He was the Black Emperor's chosen.
He was His favored one.
"I am grateful You have taken such care for me."
"After marking them, if possible, explore the Formless Wastes. This will help you master the new power I will grant you." With a thought, black mist churned, swallowing Santiago, returning him to the Starcaller.
Santiago returned to the Starcaller. He looked around at his six COG Drones.
He had also made preparations over the past year, including adding four new COG Drones.
He read the data-crystal. Besides the data on the Formless Wastes, he saw the functions of the ten rings.
After adjusting his gear for easy access, he took a deep breath, his eyes blazing with stars.
....
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