Under the relentless logistics of the Guardian-class mechanical vessels, the Imperium's chronically depleted materiel reserves began to swell with unprecedented abundance. Across the vast territories of the God-Emperor's domain, numerous war zones received a bounty of supplies they had not seen in centuries. This era marked the lowest ship-loss rate in the history of the League of Black Ships, yet it simultaneously saw the highest turnover rate for Planetary Governors in living memory.
It was not only the Imperial tithe-armies that reaped the benefits of this influx.
Aboard the Titan-class vessel Void Sword, nearly a million psykers had been sequestered. To forestall any unforeseen catastrophes, Axion commanded the Void Sword and its attendant escort fleet to navigate the galactic rim, eventually arriving at a desolate region on the fringes of Segmentum Ultima.
A short distance away lay the still-active Pariah Nexus. Although the previous engagement had temporarily halted the Necrons' expansion of the zone, its original perimeter remained intact. Imperial records confirmed that the Pariah Nexus possessed a potent inhibitory effect on psychic phenomena; should any warp-anomaly manifest, Axion intended to plunge the Void Sword headlong into this "Null-field" to smother the breach.
To Axion, this was the ultimate laboratory.
The Psychic Crystals forged from the simultaneous extraction of hundreds or thousands of psykers were limited in scale. He had come here to conduct a high-risk feasibility test: the synchronized extraction of a million souls to construct a Mega-Psychic Crystal. If successful, the colossal weapons arrays of the Void Sword would, for the first time, undergo a total energy-substitution trial. Only after solving the fundamental power constraints could the subsequent phase, the "Psionic-conversion" of the ship's weaponry, commence.
Axion's urgency in developing warp-killing armaments stemmed from Khorne's repeated interference in his operations. Rather than waiting for the Blood God to orchestrate further sabotage, he intended to forge weapons powerful enough to breach the Immaterium and deliver a devastating strike against those twisted gestalt energies.
Had Roboute Guilliman known that his "payment" of psykers would lead to such an audacity, he might have reconsidered his bargain with the Iron Men.
The silver fleet hung suspended in the lightless void. Every vessel maintained a significant distance from the Void Sword. No one, not even the calculated prognostications of the Sapient Machine, could definitively predict the outcome of such a massive energy harvest. However, the mechanical entities cared nothing for the potential cost.
Deep within the gargantuan hull of the Void Sword, a million psykers noticed the metal collars they had worn since their arrival beginning to pulse with a faint, rhythmic light. Over the past weeks, they had grown accustomed to this sensation. Since these devices had been fitted, the persistent, maddening whispers from the void had been silenced. Occasionally, they felt a hollow, draining lethality, a phantom weakness in their limbs, but they attributed it to the lingering trauma of their brutal lives in the hives.
For most, this was their first time aboard a void-ship. Yet the scale of the Void Sword was so vast, comparable to a small planet, that the typical claustrophobia of shipboard life was non-existent. There were soaring arches, vaulted ceilings that mimicked the sky, and chambers the size of continents, complete with artificial suns and simulated weather patterns.
Pure air, clean water, for the refugees and dregs of the Imperium, this was a paradise. There was no back-breaking labor; every individual was assigned private quarters and ample rations. Even medical care was provided without cost, curing diseases that had plagued them since birth in the underhives. To many, it felt as though they had bypassed the Golden Throne and arrived directly in the Emperor's Realm.
To ensure the potency of their psychic resonance, Axion had cross-referenced data from the Adeptus Astra Telepathica and the Hollow Mountain, subjecting the psykers to rigorous "ascension" training and physical conditioning to extend their durability as "biological batteries."
Axion required no labor from them as machines were more efficient. The psykers spent their days exercising, eating, and offering fervent prayers before gargantuan icons of the Emperor. Once their liturgical duties were met, the ship's vast recreational facilities were opened to them. They lived in a state of grace.
However, compared to the Aeldari, these human psykers were fragile vessels. Despite Axion's surgical precision in siphoning their power, few would survive more than a few years. Psychic power is the very essence of the soul bleeding into the materium. Although the extraction arrays were refined to minimize the drain on vital force, the reality was inescapable: a weakening soul leads to the irreversible decay of the flesh. Eventually, they would become like the "hollow men" found within the Pariah Nexus, shuffling husks of humanity.
But from the moment the Imperium signed them over as "currency" to the Iron Men, they had ceased to be people; they were merely high-grade biological fuel. Axion's only mercy was ensuring their lives were better than the squalor of the hives before their souls finally flickered out.
Slowly, the psychic output of a million souls was drawn. The staggering energies were funneled through the Void Sword's conduits toward a kilometer-high compression apparatus. Psionic power flooded into the containment fields. Anti-matter Cores roared, increasing output to ensure the volatile energy did not breach the magnetic bottle.
Searing bolts of psychic lightning lanced across the chamber, hammering against the compression housing. Psionics are not merely energy; they are the manifestation of raw emotion. Even the Watchers in the Dark who follow the Dark Angels utilize psionic resonance as a form of communication.
In this moment, the psychic residue of a million souls, laden with grief, fleeting joy, and fanatic devotion, coalesced into a singular, volatile reactive mass.
As the outer containment fields surged to maximum power to finalize the compression, a catastrophic Psychic Shockwave breached the constraints.
The wave tore through the hull of the Void Sword, sweeping across the entire fleet and radiating out into the deep void. Aboard the Titan-ship, a million psykers were instantly plunged into a state of terminal, manic fury, the final, violent reflex of a dying organism. Then, in silent unison, they collapsed. Life signs vanished across the entire deck-sector. One million souls had been extinguished in a single heartbeat.
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