"Time is short, but not hopeless."
Magnus stared at the statue, unsure if this, too, was part of the plan.
But since it had happened, it probably was. He couldn't afford wishful thinking.
It wasn't that he had fallen into fate's net; rather, they had been in this net all along.
Tzeentch was the weaver of that net.
"You have a way?" Amon's voice was urgent.
"The staff fragment can be considered part of the Warp. It is both an anchor for the Warp in reality and a 'hole' connecting the two sides of the Veil."
"Since it's a hole, you can drill through it."
They would need to drill a hole here to enter the Warp, then accurately drill another hole from Tizca back to reality.
He had gained this knowledge from the fragment itself. The fragment was a 'hole' to the Warp in the material universe.
It wasn't a 'hole' existing on the Veil, but the physical manifestation of a 'hole' in reality.
Just as offcuts of cake are still cake, the fragment was one of Tzeentch's domains, and it was the Warp.
It wasn't a randomly sliced piece of bread, but a strawberry decorating the cake.
The energy it continuously released sustained the Psychneuein's existence in reality. Humans could also use it to invade the Warp for teleportation.
Mephia pressed urgently, "What are we waiting for?"
Magnus poured cold water on him. "Because this involves the Warp. If we traverse the Warp without protection, we could be lost in it forever!"
Even as a Primarch, if he became lost in the Warp, it would be nearly impossible to escape. He would only become a plaything for the Four Gods.
One of Tzeentch's goals was precisely him. For him to voluntarily enter the Warp would be like a lamb walking into the tiger's den.
Tizca was facing annihilation. Magnus was equally anxious. But was it worth the risk of him being trapped?
And he wasn't alone. He had his father with him!
The Masters fell silent. They all understood that arguing further with Magnus was pointless.
Only Magnus possessed the relevant knowledge. Only he was qualified to weigh the pros and cons.
And every second they argued here could mean hundreds or thousands of lives lost.
If anyone could persuade Magnus, it was probably only Caelan.
"Father, is all of this worth it?" Magnus murmured, a touch of bitterness in his voice.
He had never imagined he would one day find himself in such a predicament, becoming what he hated most.
Caelan spoke slowly, "Vulkan is the kindest among you. On a battlefield raging with gunfire, he would risk his life to save an innocent little girl."
"But if he died because of it, I would find it utterly worthless."
"Because he could have saved more people. Also because he is my son, and that little girl was a stranger to me."
"She was indeed pitiful. Pity is one thing. Of course, you should save her when you can. But when her life is weighed on the scales against a Primarch's, everyone except Vulkan would make the same choice."
"Both reason and emotion tell them a Primarch's sacrifice isn't worth it."
Vulkan was a Perpetual. Even if he died for it, he could come back to life.
But even so, Caelan still thought it wasn't worth it.
If the Primarch died, the little girl wouldn't survive either.
"Magnus, are the millions of people of Tizca worth you risking your life?"
Trading a Primarch for a million people.
Many would still say it wasn't worth it. So how many lives would be worth it?
Ten billion? A hundred billion?
Given the Primarch's importance, such calculations could go on indefinitely.
Only by staking all of humanity would the Primarch's sacrifice seem meaningful.
But human nature cannot withstand such tests, and lives cannot be placed on scales.
When you engage in cold calculation and weighing, no matter your choice, you have already lost.
That's why only Vulkan would risk everything to save a little girl. Other Primarchs might criticize Vulkan's recklessness, but they cannot deny Vulkan's humanity.
Because he is good.
Magnus understood his father's implication. His gaze gradually became resolute. "I must save them!"
He only needed to take a risk, but the people of Tizca were in immediate danger. He couldn't delay any longer!
"Father, please allow me to use it."
"Go ahead. Do what you need to do."
Magnus's situation was different from Vulkan's.
He was weighing not just a million lives, but Prospero itself.
Every Primarch's homeworld holds unique symbolic significance on a Warp level.
If this million people died, Prospero would effectively cease to exist. Even if people migrated there later, it would be meaningless.
Losing his homeworld would have an irreversible impact on Magnus's future fate. He had to save it.
Magnus raised his hand. The ropes binding the fragment snapped. The grey-blue cloth covering it was pulled back, revealing the colourful giant bird.
Its eyes were fixed on Magnus, as if some entity was watching the Primarch through it.
"Come close to me. Focus your minds. Banish all distractions!"
His gaze turned to Caelan. "Father, please stay here and guard this place."
Caelan smiled. "Aren't you afraid I'll be in danger here? If all the Psychneuein come to attack me, I can't handle them alone. I'd better go with you. It's safer."
Magnus fell silent. Even if all the Psychneuein in the world attacked Caelan, they couldn't harm a hair on his head.
Was staying here more dangerous than entering the Warp?
He could risk his own life, but if something happened to his father...
Not only would he regret it for life, but his brothers would never forgive him.
Magnus said in a low voice, "Stay close to me, Father."
He warned the other Masters, "If any of you become lost, I will absolutely not turn back!"
Amon said, "As long as we can save Tizca, our sacrifice will be worth it!"
Mephia nodded, "Don't worry about us. If we die, that is fate."
The nine Masters were mentally prepared. Even if they all died to save Tizca, it would be worth it.
The moment Magnus's palm touched the giant bird, the structure of reality shattered like a broken mirror.
The iridescent tides of the Warp swept everyone up, like incoming breakers pulling them into the ocean.
"Hee hee."
The tides lashed at Magnus. He seemed to hear a sinister chuckle.
"You fell into my trap."
In that instant, Magnus's vision was incredibly vast. He seemed to see a giant hand, formed of pure concepts, reaching out from the tide, trying to drag him and the fragment into the abyss!
That hand seemed woven from infinite strands of fate. Magnus felt he could glimpse the paths of destiny within it.
Endless knowledge flooded Magnus's mind, raping his brain without mercy.
The vast knowledge brought a tearing, swelling pain to his soul, forcing him to stop thinking, rendering him unable to resist.
But he still saw the future. His father had already reached their destination. He wouldn't allow any accidents to interfere with his plan.
Magnus was relieved he didn't have to worry about his father's safety, but he wouldn't give up fighting either!
He was a Primarch. He couldn't die yet!
"Give up. It is fate." He whispered.
"I am a god. I will grant you truth. You will possess an endless ocean of knowledge."
"I don't believe in fate! And you are no god!"
The raging Warp tides seemed to bend to his will, churning up towering waves that lashed at the giant hand reaching from the formless domain of fate.
But the giant hand, like an unchanging law of eternity, reached for him in a slow but irresistible manner.
It was about to seize him. It had seized him.
It seemed to be happening in the moment that was about to come, yet never would.
He would get what he wanted. This was the fate prepared for him.
What He bestowed, no one could resist.
"Hee hee." He chuckled, self-satisfied.
Just as Magnus was about to be dragged into the domain of fate, an even more immense power suddenly struck, crushing the giant hand of fate to dust.
No one could resist. But a god could.
"F*ck you."
Magnus heard that shout. A warm ripple gently caressed him, like a mother holding a newborn child, sending him towards the shallows.
Somehow, he sensed two tides colliding in the ocean.
Every drop of water in that ocean was an original annihilator.
They were endless, enough to fill the entire material universe.
But in the Warp, this was a small scene.
"Little Mag, don't be afraid. Mommy's here."
"Remember our contract? Don't be afraid to use it."
Magnus opened his eyes. He was in Tizca.
His father and the nine Masters were around him. The giant bird stood intact in the square.
As if everything that just happened had been a dream.
The accursed knowledge still stung his brain.
The knowledge was harmless. There were no traps. It was pure truth.
But there was too much of it. The young Primarch could barely contain such vast truth.
Magnus still remembered what had just happened, but his memories were blurry. The swelling pain in his soul had eased.
He was actively shielding himself from the truth.
Magnus frowned in pain, standing still, wrestling with the truth he couldn't yet digest.
But the nine Masters immediately threw themselves into battle, using psychic ripples as megaphones, shouting warnings to those around them.
"Come to us! Come to the central square! Don't run!"
Tizca was now completely dark. A black tide filled the sky over Tizca, pouring down towards the ground.
Tens of millions of Psychneuein howled as they dove towards the city, like a swarm of large, suicide drones.
The male Psychneuein, with their 2.5-meter length, could easily tear apart mortals with their sharp pincers and claws.
The females didn't harm people directly, but their frantic, insatiable urge to reproduce was devastating.
They used psychic stingers to pierce mortals' minds, implanting clutches of illusory eggs in their brains.
In the blink of an eye, thousands died. Thousands more fell to their knees in agony.
Killing wasn't the goal. Reproduction and feeding were.
This was just the beginning of the slaughter.
But the nine Masters struck back.
Mephia and Setega swung their arms. Crimson dragons of flame soared at their command.
Hundreds of Psychneuein were engulfed in flames, their bodies exploding, turning to ash.
The flames instantly turned the lower sky over the city into a blazing inferno, blocking any Psychneuein that tried to cross it, sheltering the people below.
Antep and Luzantep's psychic waves spread to the horizon. Swarms of Psychneuein suddenly stiffened, as if gripped by invisible giant hands.
Then, the hands crushed their bodies inch by inch, their remains raining down like a downpour.
Imhotep and Khastar used their psychic power to manipulate the Psychneuein's flesh, causing their bodies to convulse wildly, swell into huge lumps of meat, and finally explode with a bang.
Vennakar and Tothmes invaded the beasts' minds, glimpsing the Psychneuein's drive to implant their eggs in mortal brains to reproduce.
They delved into the Psychneuein's minds, warping their perception, making them see their own kind as suitable wombs.
Hundreds of Psychneuein suddenly began tearing at each other, ignoring the fleeing mortals entirely.
Amon foresaw fragmented images of the future. He foresaw people's deaths and the flight paths of the Psychneuein.
He could always warn the other Masters in advance, allowing them to better block the Psychneuein and save more people.
All of this stemmed from the staff fragment.
The vast knowledge they had gained from the fragment had brought them an unprecedented enlightenment!
Truth was like a flood, roughly and unstoppably sweeping them towards the ocean.
Their understanding and development of psychic power had previously been less than 1%. Now, it was at least 20%!
The nine Masters each displayed their abilities, saving tens of thousands of people amidst the ravaging swarm.
But in the wider outer districts, hundreds of thousands still suffered.
They were still insufficient.
Caelan's psychic energy swiftly swept across all of Tizca, constructing a sapphire psychic barrier beyond the city walls.
This translucent dome sheltered the entire city. As the vast Psychneuein swarm dove down, they crashed against the barrier, creating a dense thumping sound.
They caused ripples on the dome's surface but couldn't breach this psychic defence.
99% of the Psychneuein were blocked outside the city. But tens of thousands had already invaded Tizca earlier.
They were inside the barrier. Caelan couldn't finely distinguish mortals from Psychneuein. He could only roughly partition the city.
The rest had to be handled by others.
"Don't all crowd here. Go, save people!"
The nine Masters raced against time towards the outer districts, clearing every beast they encountered along the way, saving as many as they could.
In a small alley, a girl was unlucky enough to run straight into a Psychneuein at the alley's entrance.
It was a female. It didn't kill her with its stinger but implanted its eggs in her mind.
Caelan reached out from afar, crushing the Psychneuein while simultaneously grabbing the girl with his psychic power.
The cluster of eggs was obvious to Caelan's perception. With a gentle squeeze, he utterly destroyed the threat.
"Izara, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... Thank goodness you're alright."
Khayon rushed over, almost collapsing, clutching his sister who had narrowly escaped death. His choked voice trembled.
"Th... thank you."
The pale-faced girl thanked him weakly, still in shock.
Caelan had no time to respond to the girl. He was too busy.
His psychic hands continuously saved people and killed Psychneuein across the city, crushing the eggs implanted in mortals' brains.
The Psychneuein's drive to reproduce was the greatest danger to mortals. Many Tizcans had eggs implanted in their brains.
But this also spared them from attacks by other Psychneuein, allowing them to survive the first wave.
Although these eggs would eventually eat their hosts' brains, as long as they were crushed before hatching, those infested wouldn't be in danger.
Caelan's method of crushing the eggs was simple and crude. He had no time for delicate surgery, so he just crushed the eggs along with the infested part of the soul.
This would cause irreversible damage to the survivors' souls, but at least they were alive. And the soul damage could potentially be repaired.
Amon asked worriedly, "Caelan, how much longer can you hold out?"
His psychic barrier was like an inverted bowl, covering the entire city.
His psychic level was far stronger than the nine Masters', but his consumption was also much higher.
Tens of millions of Psychneuein clung to the dome's surface, relentlessly pounding it with their stingers.
The ripples spreading across the dome's surface were terrifying to behold. If this barrier broke, the people of Tizca would be in danger again.
Caelan: "I'm not sure how long I can hold out. But the consumption is very low. I think I could last at least six months."
Six months was a conservative estimate. Actually, Caelan felt he could keep this up indefinitely.
Because he didn't feel any particularly high drain, nor the weakness of being drained.
He was an Alpha-level psyker, and his power came directly from the Emperor.
The Emperor alone could power the Astronomican to illuminate the entire galaxy. His power was almost limitless.
Caelan's power came from him. Unless the Emperor was drained dry, Caelan's power would also be endless.
Even protecting this city for centuries wouldn't be difficult.
Caelan's psychic barrier was like a canopy, sheltering the entire city, keeping the Psychneuein swarm out.
But he wasn't powerless to destroy the swarm. He was just waiting for Magnus.
The Primarch still had his eyes closed. The knowledge from the fragment still stung his brain.
The mysteries of the Warp were vast. Even for a Primarch's mind, it would take a long time to process.
Even if he didn't need to digest the knowledge immediately, it would still take time to blur it.
The fragment had been covered with cloth again to prevent causing greater chaos.
Tizca had a large psyker population. The consequences of them contacting the fragment were unimaginable.
The nine Masters were also strong-willed. But others might not be.
"Khayon." Amon's gaze fell on Khayon's face. "What exactly happened here? Why was Tizca suddenly invaded?"
A bitter, self-reproaching look appeared on Khayon's face. "Master, the Libertines destroyed the psychic array and seized control of the Propaganda Department. We had no time to issue a warning."
Amon's vision went dark. He nearly fainted from the sheer absurdity of the reality.
He had thought the Psychneuein had launched a massive invasion and the psychic array couldn't withstand it, leading to this disaster.
Now, he just wanted to kill someone.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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