Aboard the Pride of the Emperor, the Venetian Theatre.
The auditorium was painted in bright, vivid colors, every line edged with gold.
Six marble pillars supported the hall. The balconies were adorned with delicate plaster cameos.
The parquet floor swept out from the stage in concentric arcs. In a semi-circular alcove on one side stood statues of famous Terran artists and other, more exotic, decadent figures.
Among them were indistinct, hermaphroditic forms, their bodies adorned with jeweled horns.
Brightly colored copper cages hung from the stage's underside, releasing a sweet perfume.
Dozens of instruments, composed of pipes, bellows, and generators, were connected to towering amplifiers, recreating the wondrous tones of the Laer temple.
Colored lights and perfectly positioned prisms bathed the theatre in a blinding rainbow, illuminating the embroideries on the red velvet: Glorious battles, decadent legends, nude revels.
On the theatre's arched ceiling, the painter Serena's work depicted serpents and beasts of ancient legend moving alongside naked humans.
Tens of thousands filled the seats and boxes. Three thousand Emperor's Children, having shed their robes, wore ornate training suits.
They had just returned from constructing defensive fortifications on Isstvan V.
The company captains sat in boxes flanking the stage.
The box with the perfect view was the Phoenix's Nest, its interior decorated with gold murals.
Six hundred candles in the great chandelier illuminated Fulgrim in the Phoenix's Nest.
Clad in a purple robe, he waved to the crowd.
Thunderous applause, long and sustained, made his smile even brighter.
The defection of nearly twenty-five thousand had humiliated him before the Warmaster.
When the Warmaster had proposed he build perfect fortifications on Isstvan V, he had gladly accepted.
Now, feeling his sons' heartfelt adoration, he felt a surge of pleasure.
His gaze swept over the six thousand Remembrancers, excitedly discussing the upcoming performance of Maraviglia.
The lights dimmed. The great velvet curtains parted. A brilliant spotlight illuminated the stage.
Bequa Kynska, Terra's most talented composer, appeared in a translucent purple gown, its golden threads sparkling with star-like gems.
Her blue hair flowed, radiating a supernatural femininity that permeated the theatre.
Kynska crossed the stage and took her seat at the conductor's podium.
She picked up a strangely shaped baton, tapped it on the music stand, and began the overture to Maraviglia.
The first note, from the newly crafted instruments, exploded from the orchestra pit, its sound reaching every corner of Venice.
In the box to the left of the Phoenix's Nest, Lord Commander Akurduana of the Emperor's Children listened to the beautiful instruments, the romantic beauty and hints of the future in the music.
He gazed at Kynska, who stirred dormant masculine instincts, and thought of his Captain, Solomon Demeter.
He had not brought his captains to Venice, as his father had requested. He had left them on Isstvan V, under the pretext of constructing fortifications.
He remembered Solomon's words: "Lady Kynska is strange."
Akurduana felt a bizarre urge to laugh and cry, a terrible anger mingled with profound melancholy.
He closed his eyes, entering a meditative state, rising to the First Level of the Thelema mindstate as the joyous release swelled.
Kynska's bewitching gaze swept over Akurduana's box, then she began to sway wildly.
In the tumultuous music, Remembrancers raised their hands to their ears, writhing in agony.
Remembrancer Julius saw the slender figure of Aito Bias in the audience and lunged at the ungrateful wretch, his fists swinging.
Dozens of others joined the brawl, the bloodlust spreading like a shockwave.
The music rose like a whirlwind, building to a thunderous climax, assaulting the senses of all, captivating Remembrancers and Emperor's Children alike.
In the boxes, Captain Julius Kaesoron and others rose, staring at the stage.
The dark colors of the music projected a sense of impending tragedy. They felt, as if present, the power their father had felt upon entering the Temple of Laer.
Then, a shiver of pleasure rippled through the audience.
Akurduana remained seated, pushing his state of mind to the Second Level. A blinding golden light shot from his spine, making his purple-gold armor blaze.
Kynska's eyes shifted, her gaze lingering on Akurduana again.
Amidst the dazzling colors, a second light fell upon the stage. The slender form of Maraviglia's heroine, Coraline Aseneca, appeared.
Her soprano voice soared to new heights.
Yet her voice was not jarring. It blended perfectly with Kynska's, assaulting the Emperor's Children's senses.
Kaesoron laughed uncontrollably, clutching his head instinctively.
Eidolon was pinned to his seat, the sound of the beautiful, terrible goddess's birth-cry echoing in his ears, forcing its way into reality.
His jaw stretched to an impossible angle, as if to join Kynska and Aseneca in song.
His mouth stretched in a scream, bones cracking, hissing like a serpent.
Fulgrim leaned forward, his silver hair whipping, his black eyes burning with purple flame.
"Beautiful."
"Horus spoke of this power, but I never imagined it would be so perfect."
Akurduana frowned, about to speak.
Then Aseneca let out a shrieking high note. A thousand Remembrancers lunged at their neighbors, tearing at each other with their teeth, without reason.
Others embraced, writhing in carnal release.
A hundred Emperor's Children were consumed by the music, their fists swinging in bestial combat.
A great buzzing sound. Akurduana looked up. The painting he had seen in his father's quarters was writhing, stretching.
The "Fulgrim" depicted within was struggling to break free of its frame. A deep tunnel seemed to burn in its flaming eyes.
He pushed his Thelema mindstate to the Third Level, watching the strange instruments spew greasy flames, turning into liquid serpents of every color, pouring into reality.
Kynska's song of madness and excess followed, the Remembrancers lost in wild pleasure.
The musicians' faces twisted into hideous masks of laughter. Their hands danced over their instruments, the music keeping them moving without respite.
Crack!
Corlaine Aseneca's high note was laced with pain. She danced wildly, her limbs bending and twisting at impossible angles.
The snap of bones blended into the million melodies.
Her eyes were lifeless. Every bone was ground to dust, yet her body still sang.
Thousands of Astartes stirred. They beat Remembrancers to death with their fists, drank their blood, ate their flesh, used their broken bones to brand themselves, draped their skin over their armor like cloaks.
A triumphant smile spread across Bequa Kynska's face. She beheld her greatest work.
She struck the final note.
A terrible shriek split the rising pitch. Coraline Aseneca's "body" twisted into the air.
A wet, sucking sound consumed her. Her shattered limbs spread, becoming light and supple again.
Her flesh was pale lilac. She descended slowly onto the stage.
Her oval head was covered in needle-like hair. Her green, disc-like eyes gleamed with menace.
She parted her alluring lips, revealing a mouth full of fangs.
Each of her arms had become gleaming, red chitin, crab-like claws of moist flesh.
She tossed her hair and sang a heart-breaking siren's song.
Akurduana rose slowly. His step faltered. He was pinned in place.
He saw five members of the chorus convulse and twist like Aseneca, becoming alluring monsters.
Aseneca and the other five "people" writhed, surrounding Bequa Kynska.
A massive claw pierced Kynska's body. As she was torn apart by her own creation, an alluring hoofed claw took her.
The music stopped.
"It was wonderful, wasn't it?"
Tears streamed down Fulgrim's face. "Bequa was a blazing comet."
"Everyone stopped to watch her. She is gone."
"We will never see anything like her again. None of us will ever forget her."
His skin glowed with new vitality. His eyes blazed with new purpose.
Akurduana watched figures rush past him. Captain Marius Vairosean was the first, snatching up one of Kynska's strange instruments.
He raised the long, tube-like device, slinging it over his arm like a boltgun. His hand moved along its length, producing a roar like a chainsword's motor.
One by one, Emperor's Children ran onto the stage, taking up the instruments.
Vairosean aimed his instrument at the crowd and released a low note.
Fire erupted from his body. A blast wave shot into the crowd, the shattering noise tearing fourteen Remembrancers apart.
Their bones snapped. Their heads burst from the noise.
As Vairosean and the others prepared to unleash more noise, to kill the rest, a sharp cry cut through.
"Stop!"
Fulgrim looked at the furious Akurduana and sighed.
"My son, you should have enjoyed such beautiful music."
"Stop!" Akurduana repeated.
"Kill him. He doesn't understand music's pleasure. He is not perfect." A voice whispered in Fulgrim's mind.
"No! He is my beloved son. He will understand."
Fulgrim walked onto the stage. "Return. Meditate on the music you have heard today."
Akurduana's gaze swept over the twisted Emperor's Children, finally settling on the only one who stood still, a Palatine eviscerator at his side.
Palatine Blade, Ravasch Cario.
He and Ravasch were the only two Emperor's Children who had not succumbed to Bequa Kynska's corrupted music.
Akurduana walked past Eidolon and Kaesoron, heading straight for Ravasch.
....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
[email protected]/DaoistJinzu