They chose the left passage, which seemed smaller and sloped downwards.
The surrounding surfaces were still black, but now strange writing glowed a striking silver as the lights passed over it.
Soshiyan noticed his breath beginning to fog his visor, which was not a good sign, indicating a possible problem with his oxygen circulation system. The world engine was an environment where only Necrons could survive, devoid of oxygen and moisture.
"Contact."
Suddenly, Aksai, who was in front, stopped, and everyone in the squad quickly formed a combat posture.
Soshiyan, while vigilant of his surroundings, looked past Aksai's shoulder to the front, as a rustling sound, rising from the edge of his hearing, approached.
"Cease fire."
Occam's voice rang out in the comms channel.
"Everyone, don't move."
Soshiyan followed his instruction, as did the other team members, and they immediately saw what was making the noise.
In that moment, Soshiyan admitted he was indeed stunned.
Countless mechanical swarms emerged from the darkness, passing around them. They moved like liquid mercury, the light from the lamps reflecting off the exoskeletons of tens of thousands of beetle-like creatures.
They quickly overwhelmed the surrounding passage, like a moving tide covering the walls, ceiling, and floor.
Aksai was the first to be touched by them, then Soshiyan, and then the ones behind.
They separated and then converged again, filling every inch of space around them, their friction as they passed sounding like a delicate whisper.
From their appearance alone, whatever they were, they were at least not organic. Each was smaller than a Space Marine's thumb, yet entirely composed of metallic materials.
As the tide swept through the passage, each beetle perfectly mirrored the coordinated movements of its fellows.
In just half a minute, the surge became a stream, and the peak of the strange insect tide passed. They paid no heed to the motionless Space Marine.
As the rustling gradually faded, the insect swarm also disappeared into the darkness behind the squad.
Seeing millions of clicking small metal legs pass before him, Aksai finally exhaled the breath he had been holding.
"What are they?"
Aksai asked.
When Soshiyan remained silent, he turned to Occam, who shook his head.
"A blasphemous intelligence, used by these xenos as repair workers. They will attack if startled. Believe me, you don't want to know what they're like when they go berserk."
"Keep moving, stay alert."
They went lower, but now the tunnels were no longer uniform, with many sarcophagi scattered along the walls.
About twenty minutes later, they began their descent, and it was then that Soshiyan noticed something unusual in the comms channel; the irritating crackle of static filled his ears.
More critically, some of his power armor's data also began to fail—they seemed to have frozen the moment they reached the world engine's surface. Other team members reported the same issue.
Soshiyan didn't expect any answers; he knew there wouldn't be any.
Soon, the passage reached its end. Before them was a hall and two passages leading to the far end. The markings on the walls became larger silver reliefs, and the ceiling arched like a series of black spines.
"Is this place marked on the auspex, Occam?"
"Yes."
The veteran looked down at the auspex.
"It seems the left here leads to a larger hall further back."
"Good, stay compact."
They quickly moved into a larger space. Although there were signs of combat here, there were no bodies, neither Space Marine nor xeno.
In the middle of the empty hall was only a giant pedestal, with clusters of thick cables coiling around its sides like pythons, connecting it to some kind of silver-skinned statue placed on top.
At first glance, Soshiyan felt it resembled a giant, metallic spider, or an enlarged version of one of the miniature creatures they had encountered earlier.
Its shoulders were adorned with artificial crystal clusters, which glowed faintly as the light beams swept over them.
"Don't approach it."
Occam warned, and the squad members quickly took positions around the hall, aiming their weapons at the pedestal and the statue on it.
"It's in a dormant state."
The veteran added, as if that explained everything.
"Let's move on."
"Enemy approaching from the rear!"
Suddenly, Nade, who was at the back of the team, issued a warning. All the Space Marine incredibly coordinatedly turned around simultaneously, raising their Bolters to cover the archway they had just passed through.
Then they heard a noise, a series of footsteps.
It sounded much like a Space Marine walking, a heavy clanging of metal on metal, only these steps were limping and erratic.
As the light beams illuminated the dark passage, a moving shimmer appeared, like a patch of pale skin.
"What is that—"
Aksai tried to speak, but the words quickly caught in his throat.
At the same time, the figure limping towards the hall revealed itself at the edge of the archway.
It was a tall humanoid creature, but severely hunched, seemingly composed of metal, yet with some subtle differences.
For it wore bloodied human skin like a cloak, with long strips of flesh coiling over its shoulders and hanging down its back. Crimson blood soaked most of its silver exoskeleton, and its foul trophies were still dripping blood, as were the evil long talons that served as its hands.
Even more chilling, a human face hung like a nightmarish mask on its skull, with two green eyes burning in hollow sockets.
But it had not acquired its trophies without cost. Seeing its broken right foot and numerous wounds, it was clear what kind of counterattack the deceased had put up. Perhaps it was once agile, but now it was just a target.
"Fire! Destroy it!"
The xeno's footsteps were quickly drowned out by the thunder of bolter. The moment the creature dragged itself into the hall, it was engulfed by a furious torrent of bolter.
With a sound like a hammer striking an anvil, bolter slammed into its metallic body, tearing through the wet skin and the active metal beneath.
The skeletal horror rapidly disintegrated under such a fierce assault. Metal flew as circuits sparked and smoked.
It stopped its intermittent advance, one knee hitting the ground, convulsing as its systems were destroyed.
Then, a bolter struck the side of its skull and exploded, exposing a portion of damaged wiring.
Finally, it collapsed, blood still pooling around the flayed human skin of its victim.
"Die, monster."
Soshiyan approached and fired a final shot into its head, blowing it into a shower of sparks.
"What was that?"
Lowering his gun, Soshiyan stared at the remains on the ground. He recognized the shattered face; it belonged to a Warrior of the Fourth Company.
"A curse, perhaps why these Necrons have become so insane."
Occam walked over, took a look, and his voice revealed a weariness.
"A curse?"
"I've only heard rumors. It's said there's a plague-like curse among these xenos that transforms them into this state. Perhaps the master of this tomb sensed the spread of this curse and went mad..."
"Whatever the reason, they are xenos, and they must die."
With that, Soshiyan suddenly noticed an anomaly on his auspex.
"New signal?"