"Welcome to my Realm of Ruin, Isha~"
The Great Horned Rat was clearly in high spirits after his victory over Slaanesh. Having assumed the guise of a black-robed human once more, he offered Isha a welcoming gesture, punctuating it with a phrase in flawless, Ancient Terran English.
"What in the Warp is a 'Welcome'?" Isha wanted to retort, but the sight of the Realm of Ruin before her was so desolate that it stifled any urge for dry wit.
Sensing the return of their god, the ubiquitous vermin of the realm erupted into a cacophony of chittering. Their filthy paws left grime-streaked trails across priceless artifacts and treasures plundered from across the galaxy. Among the hoard, Isha spotted a massive, crystalline sarcophagus, a captured Infinity Circuit from a lost Craftworld, its depths shimmering with countless stolen Spirit Stones.
"What... what do you want? Speak," Isha asked, struggling to suppress her grief. To any observer, the Mother Goddess looked very much like a tragic queen resigned to a dark fate.
"Heh, no need to rush. We have all the time in the universe to talk," Lucius clapped his hands. Several Eshin Verminherders emerged from the shadows with silent, spectral grace. They carried an Egyptian-styled circular table and chairs, relics that, judging by their ornate craftsmanship, had been scavenged from some ancient Necron tomb.
Soon, an array of spoils was laid out: vintage wines liberated from the vaults of the Adeptus Terra and delicacies crafted from rare ingredients stolen from the private larders of Asdrubael Vect in Commorragh.
Lucius sat down casually, helping himself to the plundered feast. Isha looked down at the spread; she hadn't tasted anything other than Nurgle's "gifts" for over ten thousand years. Mechanically, she began to eat.
Ever the child of ancient Terra, Lucius maintained the habit of talking over a meal. "You're likely wondering if I intend to use you. Well... you're half right. But this will only benefit you."
"I can offer you sanctuary. I can let you return to your Aeldari children. I can even help you stand against She Who Thirsts. But there is a condition..." Lucius leaned in. "You must belong to me."
Isha froze. She looked up, her expression a mix of fury and sheer disbelief. Her initial anger flared, but it was quickly eclipsed by the realization that the terms were... suspiciously generous.
"Are you... are you serious? Why would you do this?" Isha didn't believe for a second that a Ruinous Power of this magnitude cared for her form or her divinity, such things were trivial for a being who had just humbled a Chaos God.
"Haha! Because I like it, of course! Khorne wants blood, Tzeentch wants change and schemes, Slaanesh wants excess and pleasure... and I? I simply do what I want. The Aeldari are currently too weak, and that doesn't fit the vision I have for this galaxy."
Lucius stared into Isha's eyes, which shimmered like captured starlight. She searched his unremarkable human face but found no trace of his true intentions.
"And what is it that you want?"
I want the full power of the Chaos Eight-Fold Path to dominate the Warp, and then I want to turn this entire galaxy into my personal tabletop wargame where I move the pieces as I please. But am I going to tell you that?
Lucius kept those thoughts to himself. He smiled warmly. "You'll find out in time, dearest Isha."
Every instinct told Isha that the Great Horned Rat was weaving a web of treachery. Yet, the longing to return to her children, to end the cycle of tragedy she had witnessed for millennia, was overwhelming. After a long silence, she nodded with a heavy, tragic resolve. "Fine."
Lucius let out a triumphant laugh. "Excellent! Relax. You'll find my hospitality far superior to Nurgle's Garden."
As for whether Isha would eventually betray him? Lucius wasn't worried. As the God of Treachery, any betrayal she might attempt would only feed his own power.
"Very well... when can I see my children?" Isha asked. She had no immediate plans for rebellion; her only priority was saving her race.
"Anytime... but simply showing up now would make the Great Horned Rat's grace seem too cheap." Lucius rubbed his beardless chin thoughtfully. "Let your children work for it. I've spent so much time stirring the pot; it's about time the Emperor's Imperium saw some fresh faces in the meat grinder. Heh heh heh..."
With a casual wave of his hand, Lucius tucked Isha away into a forgotten corner of history. To a Chaos God, manipulating time was a mere parlor trick.
…
In the Materium – Craftworld Iyanden.
"You must be mad to speak such blasphemy, Yvraine."
Iyanna Arienal, the Angel of Iyanden, glared at Yvraine, the Visarch, and Eldrad Ulthran with simmering fury. It was understandable; the Ynnari had been silent for far too long after the final Cronesword was lost to the Palace of Slaanesh. To any Aeldari, their sudden reappearance felt like a cruel joke.
"No, this is no falsehood, Iyanna. We need your aid... we must gather every soul. The return of Isha is at hand!" Yvraine grasped Iyanna's hand, her gaze burning with conviction.
For Iyanna, this was an unthinkable gamble. The Ynnari brought hope, yes, but they also brought death. Iyanden, once a Craftworld that dreamed of restoring the Aeldari Empire, was now a ghost-ship, a realm of the dead forced to rely on Ghost Warriors after the devastations of Hive Fleet Tyranid.
To trust the Ynnari now felt like staking the very survival of Iyanden's remaining souls on a whim.
"Fine. Tell me then, how do we save her? Do we march into the Garden of Contagion to reclaim our Mother Goddess? If you have that kind of strength, why not march into the chambers of the Dark Prince and take back the last Cronesword?"
In response, Eldrad Ulthran stepped forward. With a flick of his wrist, he projected a psychic prophecy before her eyes.
The image was blurred and hazy. It showed a black figure stepping out of the Garden of Contagion, carrying a spark of starlight. It depicted a clash between the Eternal Enemy and this shadowed entity. Crucially, it showed their Mother Goddess being spirited away from that place of despair and hidden from the galaxy.
Eldrad himself did not know exactly where she had been sequestered, but he knew one thing for certain: she was no longer beyond their reach.
"This... this is..." Iyanna stammered as the vision faded.
No faction among the Aeldari craved Isha's return more than Iyanden. They desperately needed the Mother's blessing to produce new life and ensure the survival of their species. Finally, meeting Yvraine's pleading, hopeful gaze, Iyanna gave a slow, solemn nod.
"I will trust you... one last time."
"And I shall not fail that trust," Yvraine replied, offering a formal Aeldari salute.
She had many more places to visit and many more factions to court. Without further delay, the Emissary of Ynnead departed Iyanden.
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