The Kingdom of Disorder, fourth-layer space.
When Nareth stepped in, all he saw was endless black mist filling the entire layer of space.
Other than that, there was nothing.
His gaze deepened as he opened his Warp Insight and Spirit Vision to observe everything around him.
After more than ten seconds, nothing had changed.
Nareth was in no hurry. He spread his consciousness throughout the fourth layer, carefully discerning.
His mind merged with the boundless fog, and immediately, he sensed something different.
There were faint, intangible threads, somewhat similar to those of the third layer of space, yet different.
The third layer's space was a single one-way thread, connected only to him.
The fourth layer, however, was a two-way thread. One end tied to himself, the other drifting without an anchor.
Nareth's heart stirred, and he thought:
'The third layer represents the "Briber" in terms of 'connection.' If the fourth layer is also a reflection of 'connection,' then its role must also be to establish links. But this time… it's two-way.'
A sudden realization flashed in his mind.
'When Sanchez prayed to me before, the 'signal' was weak across the galaxy, and I only heard a blurred plea.'
'That was because my authority wasn't strong enough. I couldn't fix it in the short term.
But… if I, the "Black Emperor," had a close enough bond with him, perhaps I could hear his prayers clearly.
Looking again into the gray fog before him, the phantom sanctum of the Iron Hands he had seen earlier flashed in his mind. A bold thought came to him.
'Maybe… not just cross-galaxy communication, but even cross-galaxy conferences, the Black Duke's Court meetings, could be possible.'
Once the idea formed, Nareth decided to test it at once.
With a thought, his spirituality burned rapidly, and from the mist emerged a black throne.
In a single stride, he appeared before it, sitting upon the massive, ancient, pitch-black seat.
The blood-red chain on his right little finger shimmered, restoring his drained spirit.
Looking down from the throne, Nareth murmured:
"Let's try this first."
In a blink, he shifted from the throne to stand below it.
Using Arsena's body as the standard, he gathered the invisible threads of the area.
Under his will, the threads condensed into a thick black cable.
The cable extended outward with him, reaching into the shadow-side of the Kingdom of Disorder.
There, it tied itself around a pure white glowing orb, the spiritual core of Arsena Dunn.
In another flicker, Nareth returned to the fourth layer.
Now, before him floated an extra orb of pure white, flickering with invisible radiance.
Nareth couldn't let his Primarch-attendant vanish from reality, so he extended his spiritual essence to touch the orb.
At once, he saw Arsena in his palace office, with five "Readers" at his side, each holding data slates and reporting to him.
Only the Primarch's Aide had a permanent office in the palace.
The five "Readers", selected beyonder individuals who had passed Nareth's tests, were responsible for organizing legion reports into five categories: military, economic, technological, logistical, and diplomatic.
With their help, Arsena managed the legion's increasingly heavy burdens.
Still, Nareth hesitated. If he failed, it would lower his dignity as the "Black Emperor." So instead of directly speaking through the orb, he returned to reality.
Pressing his communication bead, he sent Arsena a simple order:
"Ten minutes later, meeting."
At that moment, Arsena had just escorted Ferrus Manus to his guest palace and was working through accumulated matters with his aides.
When his communicator chimed, Arsena listened to his Primarch's message, then turned to the Readers:
"That's enough for today. You may leave."
As the silver-haired aide tidied his reports, a sudden mist rose before his eyes.
It felt like when he prayed to the "Black Emperor."
He saw the towering figure seated high on a throne, then in the next instant, the fog swallowed him, and he vanished from his office.
When Arsena regained his senses, he found himself in the thick black mist, standing upon a stone seat.
His long blue eyes scanned his surroundings.
And there, above, he saw the colossal figure upon the throne.
"Lord Nareth," Arsena breathed, both shocked and secretly vindicated.
"You are the Black Emperor!"
Looking down, Nareth answered calmly:
"That's right, but that title is restricted to this place alone."
He wasn't yet strong enough; he still needed the Empire as his platform.
"My lord, your will be obeyed."
Arsena's eyes roamed curiously. "This place… what is it?"
"This," Nareth replied evenly, "is an independent realm under my control. Only I, and those I permit, may set foot here."
Arsena shuddered. Only a god could possess such a secret domain.
After eleven seconds of awe, he steadied himself, remembering his duty.
"My lord, the reports from the Wheel of Fire campaign have been compiled."
"In total, the legion lost 7,013 warriors, of whom 524 were interred into Dreadnoughts."
Thanks to Triken's growth and their pact with the Forge World of Graia, the 11th Legion's supply capacity had risen greatly, enough to field Dreadnoughts on such a scale.
Nareth's eyes dimmed with sorrow, though he had expected losses. After all, his legion had borne the brunt of the campaign.
They captured the Ork Attack Moons and cleansed four planets. Only the 2nd Legion joined them on one planet to seize certain strongholds.
On the primary world of the Wheel of Fire, the 11th Legion's achievements even exceeded those of the 2nd and 6th Legions combined.
While he mourned, Arsena continued:
"The 2nd Legion lost about 1,500 men."
"The 6th Legion's numbers are uncertain, but estimates put their losses well above 10,000."
Because Nareth was mentoring Hannibal, the 2nd Legion's reports also passed to Arsena, keeping him informed.
But the Space Wolves had strained ties with the Shadows of Order, and Leman Russ had no duty to report to Nareth, so his knowledge of the 6th Legion remained vague.
Recovering from grief, Nareth thought:
'So overall, about 20,000 Astartes died in the Wheel of Flame.'
'My legion, though leading the assault, lost fewer than the Wolves; that's acceptable.'
Arsena pressed on:
"The heaviest-hit chapter was the 2nd Chapter of our 11th Legion, with 2,014 Shadows of Order fallen."
"Most died on the primary world, in battles against the Ork Warlord's armies.
"Graia's Legio Astraman also lost five Warlord-class, two Reaver-class, and one Scout Titan in battle."
After reporting losses, he moved on:
"Over the past four Terran years, all chapters have received varying numbers of new recruits."
"The 3rd Chapter, two months ago, received the first batch of recruits from Mordian, numbering 3,582."
"They now count 6,305 Shadows of Order, five full companies and two understrength."
"The 1st and 11th Chapters' second batches of recruits are expected in two months."
"The 7th Chapter's first batch is still undergoing transformation surgeries, expected to finish in two years."
"The other eight chapters have received 5,941 recruits. Apart from the 2nd, all chapters have fully replenished their Wheel of Fire losses."
Before the campaign, the XI Legion had numbered about 85,000.
In an instant, Nareth did the math: their current strength stood at around 85,510.
'Yes… after such a great war, our numbers have not shrunk, but even risen slightly.'
'Compared to the Space Wolves, who suffered over 10,000 losses, my legion stands in far better condition.'
'The Space Wolves did cut their casualties by at least 10,000 thanks to my intervention, and the war ended two years earlier, with far less cost.'
Satisfied, Nareth severed his link with Arsena's orb.
Arsena watched as the fog swallowed him, and when it cleared, he was back in his office.
The silver-haired psyker scanned the room. No trace of warp-energy remained.
Shock filled his blue eyes as he thought silently:
'Such a thing… I have never experienced this before. I was pulled into that realm without even a chance to resist.'
'Only a god could wield such power.'
'Lord Nareth truly is the Black Emperor.'
He gazed reverently toward the Primarch's palace.
Back in the real world, Nareth sent a summons to Adams and Gabriel on Medusa, ordering them to temporarily return.
For Adams, Medusa was a treasure.
The Warp was the ultimate resting place of most souls across the galaxy. They twisted endlessly within its currents, many devoured by daemons.
Ghosts were born of obsession and special conditions.
But Medusa, so close to the Eye of Terror, was unique; its surface held far more ghosts than most worlds.
Adams, not yet capable of creating spirits, stayed on Medusa to commune with them and master the gifts of the Gene-Father.
Nareth decided they would remain on Medusa IV. Adams would extract relic-locations from the ghosts, then explore them alongside Gabriel and the Iron Hands.
To maintain contact, they would naturally need to perform rituals, after which he could bind them into the fourth layer.
As Adams and Gabriel began constructing an altar, Nareth was already preparing to push the experiment further.
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu