Nareth looked at the noble ghost and asked:
"What lies within that xenos ruin?"
The noble ghost recalled for a moment before replying:
"Mechanical eagles, golden mechanical eagles."
Golden?
Nareth frowned slightly. He knew the Iron Hands had a kind of mechanical eagle called the Garuda, but those were forged of gray steel and brass.
A spark of insight flickered in his mind, giving rise to a guess.
"You attempted to imitate the mechanical eagles?"
The noble ghost glanced at the black-armored giant in shock. "Yes, we tried to imitate them."
"My artificers studied the mechanical eagles for more than ten years, yet they still could not uncover their principles of manufacture or their functions, not even the materials they were made of."
"Later, I ordered them to dismantle their bodies and attempt crude imitation."
"My artificers, using gray steel and brass, forged mechanical birds. Since they resembled the Garuda of myth, we gave them that name."
Nareth gave a slight nod. His guess had been correct, Garuda did indeed originate there.
"What else was there?"
The noble ghost thought hard, then said:
"I recall nothing else of particular note."
Nareth turned to the "Spirit Mediun": "Conduct spirit communion with him."
A human's conscious mind is only a small fragment; many secrets lie buried deep in the psyche. That was the domain of psychic disciplines and the "Visionary" pathway, but the Spirit Medium's powers extended into it as well.
With humans, the Spirit Medium required hypnosis and gentle means to probe hidden memories without harm.
With ghosts, it was simpler, more direct; their very state was spirit.
The Spirit Medium's eyes grew deep, his black pupils shining with a gray-green glow. His spirituality enfolded the ghost as he whispered with an ethereal tone:
"Tell me… what lies within that ruin?"
"Tell me…"
Over and over the Spirit Medium murmured. The noble ghost looked around in confusion as everything blurred and swayed, as if wrapped in layers of fog. Even his body seemed to waver and dissolve.
In an instant, the mists shifted. He seemed transported back inside the alien ruin, and he spoke in a drifting tone:
"I see golden mechanical eagles."
"The ruin was strange, no lumen-globes, no power sources, yet the whole place was brilliantly lit."
"The moment I stepped inside, I felt heat all over me, sweat dripping down."
"…."
The noble ghost recounted a dozen more memories his spirit retained, though his mind had forgotten.
Light. Heat…
Nareth's thoughts raced, then a flash of realization struck him.
'All of these are tied to flame! Yes, and related to this, Medusa's "Land of Shadows" magma lakes are far too abnormal!'
'If Asirnoth was indeed a shard of a C'tan, even Ferrus Manus could not slay him after battling for days. Why then was he destroyed the moment he fell into the magma lake?'
'What kind of magma could kill a fragment of a C'tan, and even carbonize a Primarch's hand, leaving permanent scars?'
Nareth felt a strong intuition: that ruin was somehow linked to Medusa's annihilating magma.
'Perhaps the greatest secret hidden on Medusa lies within that xeno ruin. It could be the most valuable of them all!'
His eyes gleamed. But beyond its value, he also perceived its peril.
'Such destructive power'
He looked down at his right hand, then at two artifacts in his possession: a blood-red necklace from the "Moon" pathway that greatly enhanced his regeneration, and a ring of the "Red Priest" path that allowed him to incarnate as fire, lessening flame's harm.
'Both are Sequence 4 items, one strengthens my recovery, the other lets me become fire itself. Even if danger awaits, I should be able to escape.'
With that resolve, Nareth decided to explore that xeno ruin, after they breached the newly found one.
He returned with his honor guard and the Deathlord to the great gate.
The "Archaeologist" and the "Savants" were furiously working on the codes.
"The code evolved!" one Savant exclaimed in awe.
Every code detected by his probe he had memorized, yet just now the entire sequence shifted in an instant.
"It reacts like a living thing to our intrusion, its ancient soul battling us!"
The Archaeologist halted his probe and spoke:
"Our effort wasn't wasted. Though the code has changed, I've discerned a pattern."
"Yes, it evolves, but I've found the logic beneath it. The seal's structure is founded on a billion individual codes."
"By extrapolating from these, as long as my calculation speed exceeds its rate of evolution, I can break through."
Having found a method, Gabriel turned to the Primarch:
"Estimated time to breach: thirty stellar days."
Nareth frowned. 'That was too long. The Emperor might not that be patient.'
After a moment's thought, he said:
"I will assist, and Arsena as well."
The Primarch gave assignments:
"You and the Tech-adepts, run diagnostics."
"You give me the formulas, I will do the calculations."
"Arsena will handle extrapolation."
Then Nareth extended his will, linking their minds.
The Tech-adepts were awash in warmth at the fleeting brush of their father's psyche.
Moments later, they stood at the terminal, probes whirring.
From Gabriel's mind, Nareth drew the cracking formulas, then flooded them with code and calculated at superhuman speed.
Streams of data roared through his brain, his speed outpacing all his sons combined.
He sent the results to the Reasoner, who extrapolated further. Through the link, Nareth monitored both extrapolations and diagnostics in real time.
Their simulations outstripped the defense system's evolutions. With every cycle the gap widened.
An hour later, Gabriel's hands flew across the terminal.
In the span of a breath, he entered sixteen sequences, the last pressing upon the High Gothic letter "O."
With a boom, hinges and pistons hissed.
The first gate, a meter thick, slowly opened.
The second was tougher, taking one and one-fifth stellar hours to crack.
The third, one and a quarter.
…
After ten gates, they stepped into the ancient ruin.
At once, Nareth smelled ozone in the air.
Through a translucent bubble-like energy field, he saw a facility the size of a cruiser.
Cables tangled like webs, linking great machines.
At its heart was a silver control dais, beside which flared a blinding reactor.
Gabriel led the team, lowering the void shield and studying the logs and devices. Excited, he hurried to Nareth.
"Father, preliminary checks reveal a Punisher-class reactor and an auto-recharging void shield!"
Nareth gave a satisfied nod, thinking:
'So, both technologies on the Iron Hands' void ships may have come from this ruin.'
'Even among Medusa's secrets, this is a monumental discovery.'
"Well done."
The Archaeologist basked in the Primarch's praise, his spirit and body feeling light, as if melting.
Just then, the Death Lord spoke:
"Father, something is approaching."
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu