Noticing the approach of the two Necrons, the twisted humanoid energy bound at the center of the hyper-dimensional labyrinth immediately began to vibrate. The magnitude of its oscillation and the sheer vastness of its energy caused the hyper-dimensional prison itself to tremble slightly.
A voice, sounding as if it had echoed from the dawn of time, rang out.
"Filthy slaves! Damned betrayers! Miserable husks!"
The Void Dragon shrieked: "You lot truly disgust me! Once I break free from this wretched seal, I shall let you witness the hatred accumulated over infinite ages!"
As it spoke, violent tides of energy surged, their intensity so great that faint ripples formed in the air. Yet, constrained by the peak of Necron technology, it remained unable to escape its extra-dimensional cage.
The two Necrons present—one a world-weary Necron Overlord and the other a Cryptek mastering ultimate technology—naturally turned a deaf ear to the Void Dragon's threats.
Was it a joke?
Do you really think you can just hop out and hit me?
The C'tan, once high and mighty "Star Gods," were now mere prisoners, making their threats seem utterly laughable.
However, for the sake of caution, Trazyn still asked, "There shouldn't be any issues with this hyper-dimensional prison of yours, right?"
Sutton gave the Overlord a strange look and replied as if it were common sense: "Of course there are no issues. This C'tan shard is very small. After all, the largest shards of the Void Dragon's main body have long been lost, likely hoarded by some other Necron dynasty."
...
Wait, I think I know where they are.
Trazyn's heart stirred. As far as he knew, a massive shard of the Void Dragon was currently sealed on Mars, guarded by that "old necron looking human" who loved playing with sorcery.
Even if Trazyn didn't have a high opinion of that fellow—who was bound to meet a disastrous end sooner or later—the Overlord had to admit he had done at least one good deed this time.
That shard on Mars was likely the largest Void Dragon fragment in the current universe, whereas the one here was different—it was merely a remnant, representing one ten-thousandth of its total power.
Even so, it was not to be underestimated.
"Then I command you, my prisoner. Immediately expel all those intruders who have invaded my Tomb World!" Sutton placed his demand without hesitation.
The horror of a C'tan was beyond the imagination of the younger races; they were essentially physical laws given sentient form, possessing the power to distort space-time and manipulate the rules of physics at will.
"Heh, I shall not lift a finger to help you rebels!" The Void Dragon, bound in hyper-space, sneered in disdain.
The prison could indeed force it to serve as a living weapon for the Necrons, but that was only through a degree of guidance. It could never achieve total brainwashing or make a C'tan shard, brimming with hatred for the Necrons, behave obediently. Many operations ultimately required the shard to act of its own volition to achieve the best effect.
Right now, those unknown races advancing into the depths of the Tomb World hadn't even appeared before its eyes yet! The Void Dragon was very confident.
If you force me to attack, aren't you afraid that I'll "accidentally" let the aftershocks drift a bit and level half your Tomb World?
"Then, according to the contract, you have one opportunity to fight for me," Sutton replied coldly. "You must honor the pact."
"A contract?" Trazyn was surprised to hear those words.
Establishing a contract with a C'tan shard? Haven't we been burned badly enough as a race?
During the ancient War in Heaven, the Silent King, leader of the Necrons, was seduced by the promise of an immortal future and made a fatal decision. With the help of the C'tan, they underwent bio-transference, achieving "eternal sublimation" for the entire race.
The C'tan did fulfill their promise, but there was a slight "deviation." As facts later proved, it was nothing more than a race-wide suicide. Their original bodies and souls were devoured by the C'tan, leaving the surviving Necrons as little more than living tombstones retaining memories and personalities.
"A contract?" The Void Dragon seemed to recall something. "Has the Overlord of this dynasty fallen?"
"Correct. That Overlord perished during the long ages of slumber; his engrammatic core was completely corrupted, and he has fallen into eternal sleep. But even so, the conditions are met. You must fulfill your promise," Sutton interjected immediately.
Good grief, that's a lot of information to process.
Trazyn was genuinely shocked. Isn't this operation a bit too out of line? Signing a contract with a C'tan shard to receive payment upon the Overlord's death... If such a scandal got out, Sutton's reputation among the Necrons would probably be on par with Szeras the Illuminator.
Is this guy going to try and kill me to keep me quiet?
Oh, wait. I'm just a proxy body this time. Never mind.
Sutton didn't care what Trazyn was thinking. After all, given Trazyn's own reputation, no Necron would believe him no matter how much he swore it was true.
"Well? It is merely keeping a promise. Surely a grand C'tan wouldn't be unable to manage such a small task?"
"Heh, reverse psychology again," the Void Dragon said dismissively. "But, this is the last time."
Naturally, in the fine tradition of the C'tan, it was only expected to add a little of its own "interpretation" to the contract.
You want me to expel the invaders? Well, you didn't say WHERE to expel them, did you?
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Tomb World.
After delivering finishing blows to the fallen Necrons—preventing them from getting back up via Resurrection Protocols—Adam surveyed the surroundings.
"Everyone, stay alert," Adam said. "This is different from a standard exploration. This Necron dynasty has clearly entered a phase of full awakening. We must be extremely careful; they could pull out powerful technological relics at any moment to stop our advance."
"Don't worry, we will..."
Before the others could respond, a sudden anomaly occurred.
A massive surge of distorted light and shadow emerged, instantly filling every inch of space around Adam . Silently and without warning, all sound and light receded rapidly. A violent torrent of space-time turbulence washed over Adam like a void tide.
Even so, with the reaction speed of a Reality Bender, Adam managed to react in time.
"Negate."
He whispered the thought in his mind. Such was the power of a Reality Bender; as long as he could perceive an anomaly—even if he couldn't understand what was happening—the ability would faithfully respond to his will.
The violent void turbulence vanished instantly. Adam stood straight, remaining in the same spot without having moved an inch.
However, the people around him had vanished.
Well, not everyone was gone. Archmagos Cawl also stood straight, looking at the suddenly empty ground with a face full of bewilderment and a deeply furrowed brow.
"What happened?" He looked at Adam, both of them staring at each other in confusion. "What is going on?"
"It's just the necrons thinking this is a Saw movie" Adam chuckled.
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Ah, I feel so full, Christmas is just great, gonna watch Vinland Saga now
Merry Xmas!