Magnus conjured a sphere of Warp energy between his claws. Gerhard felt its pressure before the light appeared. It was far more twisted and potent than what he had done before.
"Roboute."
Magnus hurled it forward.
The sphere struck the overlapping dead zones of the surviving Sisters and Gerhard's null field. Its outer layers unravelled, streams of impossible colour peeled away into nothing. The remaining power detonated once more.
[Mana Shield] x10
[Space Barrier]
Gerhard's shields flashed into existence as the ground beneath them erupted. He caught fragments of bedrock upon its surface, but Guilliman was already staggering backwards, the Emperor's Sword carving a burning line through the dust.
Magnus moved before either could recover. His free hand swept across the crater.
And with that, the dead rose.
Space Marines, loyalist and traitor alike, tore free from the ground. Broken bodies struck one another as they accelerated, their armour locked together in a hideous, tumbling mass.
Some were compressed together, and others started moving on their own. Magnus manipulated their dead forms, creating larger bodies he sent forward to fight for him.
Gerhard reached for them.
[Psychokinesis]
He caught the nearest corpses and forced them apart, opening a gap in the descending wall. Magnus shifted the rest before they could react. The heap of animated corpses struck from above and both flanks.
A Sister disappeared beneath a tumbling Terminator, squashed, painting Luna's grey ground red. Another was caught by a broken breastplate across the back and driven face-first into the dust.
Gerhard's spatial barrier twisted the first impacts away from him, only for more bodies to fill the space they had left. Weight crashed down on him. His suit's remaining servos strained and popped dangerously. For an instant, his view of the battlefield vanished behind dead ceramite and dead flesh.
Then [Danger Sense] flared strongly inside him. Through [Spatial Awareness], he felt Magnus move even faster than he had in their fight. But the giant had not followed Guilliman. Instead, he had turned towards someone else.
Alaya.
She had avoided the worst of the avalanche, cutting herself free from a tangle of limbs at its edge. She still held the sword Gerhard had forged for her and her sisters. Magnus smashed into the ground beside her. The impact hurled fragments of armour across her path and made her tremble. She brought up her blade, expecting the glaive to follow.
Instead, the giant stamped upon a fallen Space Marine and kicked it forward. The corpse slid violently into her legs and took them away from under her.
Alaya fell.
Magnus raised his weapon slowly. The cruel and dangerously calculating glint in his eyes was stronger than ever. Guilliman tried to reach him, but a massive rift in space violently pulled him back, forcing the Primarch to cut through it with his father's blade.
Beneath the bodies, Gerhard stopped pushing up when he realised what would happen. Using his spatial sense, he held out his hand and pushed his newest skill to its limits. He shifted the force's direction.
[Vector Control]
The pressure crushing his suit shifted sideways. Corpses rolled over one another. A narrow opening appeared, barely wide enough for him to pass through.
[Flight] + [Vector Control]
He tore through it, manipulating his body's vectors to speed up faster than ever. In a blink, he was there.
Magnus saw him coming. That was the point.
The glaive, crackling with pink and blue Warp lightning, thrust forward. Gerhard's senses mapped its course with clarity: the blade's angle, the distance to Alaya, the fraction of a second left. He could escape still. The knowledge came without comfort. He could turn slightly upward, ignore the weapon, and strike Magnus across the throat, likely dealing a fatal blow.
Below him, Alaya tried to bring her sword into line. She would not be fast enough.
Gerhard redirected his own momentum.
[Vector Control]
His flight bent sharply downwards. The ruined Hulk Buster's chest plates peeled off as he forced himself between Alaya and the descending point. With one hand, he pushed a Mana shield against Alaya's armour and threw her clear using psychokinesis.
BOOOOOOMMM---!!
The weapon hit him.
...
For a moment, everything stopped.
...
Then the blade passed through the dense concentration of mana at his core. There was no blood, since he had a gamer's body, but he was still pierced right through his chest.
Warnings flooded his vision.
[Critical Damage]
[Mana Circulation Disrupted]
[Blank Interrupted]
The silence around him broke. Warp pressure rushed into the space it had been silenced moments before.
Alaya struck the ground several paces away and rolled onto one knee. She looked up and saw Gerhard skewered on the glaive. No spray of blood made it look worse.
Magnus lifted him. The remains of the Hulk Buster's outer frame tore away, too broken to follow. Its enormous arms struck the dust beneath Gerhard's dangling feet.
"There," the Crimson King grinned.
His eye moved from the woman below to the human impaled upon his blade.
"I wondered how many of them I would have to kill before you did that."
Gerhard's fingers tightened around the haft. Magnus leaned in closer.
"You could have evaded that."
Behind him, Guilliman was already storming forward.
"MAGNUS!!!!"
Magnus thrust out his free hand. The crater floor split before the Lord of Ultramar, slabs rising beneath his feet and gravity rose locally. Guilliman smashed through the first and vaulted the second, but the immense gravity bought Magnus the seconds he required.
"You knew where I would strike," the Daemon Primarch continued. "You saw it coming. And still you placed yourself in its path."
Gerhard tried to breathe. Something moved within the blade. Cold corruption spread through his core. His healing responded at once, mana gathering around the damage, but the energy warped.
Blue darkened to violet, then to an oily black.
[Foreign Influence Detected]
[Corruption Increasing]
Magnus watched his expression.
"Compassion," he said softly. "Such a weakness. Hehehehe."
...
Gerhard cast [Burning Spirit Principle]. Warmth reached the wound, but the blade drank it.
He tried again, directing the healing around the point of penetration. For a heartbeat, his health steadied. Then the corruption spread further.
The weapon remained in his core, renewing the damage as quickly as he repaired it. Each attempt to circulate mana carried the foreign presence into another part of him. Fine, dark lines appeared beneath his skin.
[Gamer's Mind] kept his thoughts in order, but it did nothing to lessen the pain. His existence seemed to be overwritten.
Magnus shifted his grip, bringing Gerhard closer along the haft.
"Even now, you are trying to survive. Such a fruitless endeavour. Someone would like to talk to you~"
Gerhard raised his head. Beyond the physical realm, he could see the corrupted portal. Purple and blue light shone within it. Something... looked back.
Gerhard seemed to lose consciousness for a moment and appeared somewhere else. It was dark and light at the same time. The lights flickered and changed colour in unpredictable intervals. An endlessly large, sinister, chaotic presence could be felt.
~At last.~
The words arrived without sound. Every warning in Gerhard's vision seemed suddenly very small. He knew what addressed him, logically at least. Not a sorcerer, not another daemon sent to bargain on its master's behalf.
The master itself. Of a tendril of his consciousness at least.
His attention pressed against Gerhard's defences, searching without haste.
[Gamer's Mind]
[ERROR]
[Gamer's Mind]
[ERROR]
[Gamer's Mind]
The skill held, thankfully, and Tzeentch regarded it with interest.
~S̷u̵c̴h̶ ̷a̵n̷ ̷i̸n̶t̶r̵i̵c̴a̵t̸e̶ ̷l̵i̶t̶t̶l̸e̵ ̵r̶e̸f̶u̷g̶e̷.~
Gerhard felt his left hand begin to go numb.
~Y̷̡̧o͞u̧ ͏h̷a҉̴v͝e̸ ̶͏s̛͞p̨͟͟e̴͞n͏t̴͠ ̨̧s̨̡o̴͜ ̶̛l͏͏o̸n͏g͞͡ ͏̨c͞ĺ̵o̶̶s̕i̶͝n̵͢͡g̵ ́͢d̷̡ơo̢r̕s͜.҉ ̶͏Y̵e̶̶t͏ ̵̕h̴͟͡e͜͡r̶̸e͏͜ ̢͘y͘o̵ù̧ ̛a̢r̛̛e̶,̴͢ ̧͢h̡͏o͞l̵̨d̶͞i̶̡͠n̢͢g͜ ͞͠o͠p̸̶e͜n̵ ̶͘o̵̴n͏e̶͘ ͜͜f̡̕͜o͡r̷̢͜ ̵̀à̧ǹo͏͜͞t̶̵̵h̛e͘͞r̵̨ ͘͏̡p̶ér͜s̴ơn̸'͞s͡ ̢s̴͏à͏k̸̨e̴.~
Images formed amongst the impossible structures. Alaya beneath the glaive, Lencillus broken upon the fortress floor and Hestia.
Gerhard's jaw tightened. The image remained. Her shaved scalp, the crude implants, her body convulsing against restraints she had never deserved and the gruesome things she had experienced before he found her and she died right before him.
~Y̷̢̡o͞u̷ ̛c̷o̸u͝l̕d͢ ̶h҉a̶v̶e̴ ͞t̷h̶e̸ ̛s̴t̴r͏e̶n̡g̕t̸h͜ ͘t̴o̵ ̶p̨r̶e͝v̢e̷n̴t͏ ͞t̵h͘i̵s͘.~
The voice came from everywhere the image touched.
~N̴o̷ ̶m̶o̴r̴e̴ ̴a̸r̴r̸i̶v̸i̸n̷g̶ ̶t̸o̶o̷ ̶l̶a̴t̸e̶.̷ ̶N̵o̴ ̴m̷o̷r̸e̵ ̶c̶h̶o̴o̸s̵i̴n̵g̸ ̶w̸h̷i̵c̶h̵ ̵o̷f̵ ̶t̵h̶e̵m̵ ̵t̶o̸ ̵s̷a̴v̷e̵.~
Gerhard watched Hestia's face. He remembered her weight and the look in her eyes when she saw him. The shame at how she looked. He saw her life from her perspective, like watching a movie, and saw how she had secretly watched him.
He continued.
~Y̶o̸u̸r̴ ̵p̷o̵w̶e̵r̵ ̵h̸a̵s̸ ̵n̸o̶t̵ ̵t̶a̶u̴g̵h̵t̸ ̵y̶o̴u̸ ̵e̸v̶e̴r̷y̷t̵h̴i̶n̶g̸.̵ ̵W̶a̴y̵s̴ ̵t̵o̴ ̵p̷r̷e̵s̴e̶r̴v̷e̵ ̵w̶h̵a̵t̴ ̵y̶o̴u̵ ̵v̷a̶l̶u̴e̷.̴ ̵W̸a̷y̷s̵ ̵t̶o̸ ̵r̵e̴a̵c̸h̵ ̵w̵h̶a̴t̵ ̵y̵o̸u̶ ̵b̵e̵l̶i̵e̶v̷e̵ ̶l̶o̶s̷t̶.̵ ̵W̴a̵y̵s̴ ̵t̷o̵ ̵d̵o̶ ̵w̵h̶a̵t̵ ̴y̶o̶u̶ ̵t̵h̸o̵u̵g̶h̶t̴ ̵i̶m̶p̷o̶s̵s̶i̵b̵l̵e̷.̴ ̵Y̵o̶u̸ ̵t̶h̶i̵n̴k̶ ̵y̶o̵u̶r̷s̶e̵l̴f̸ ̵s̷k̵i̶l̵l̸e̷d̴?̴ ̵S̵w̷e̵e̸t̵ ̵s̷u̶m̵m̴e̶r̴ ̵c̷h̵i̵l̷d̶.̶.̴.̴ ̴s̶o̷ ̶c̵l̷u̵e̴l̵e̶s̴s̵ ̵s̶t̵i̴l̵l̷.~
The darkness spread further from Gerhard's core, slowly corrupting his entire body. Outside, Magnus' smile widened as he saw that.
"You hear him. Do you understand the honour being offered? You couldn't hope to understand."
~Y̶o̵u̷ ̵n̷e̵e̴d̷ ̴o̵n̷l̸y̸ ̷a̵c̷c̶e̵p̶t̶.~
Gerhard spasmed, and he had lost the ability to speak almost entirely. And yet, something still made its way through.
"I..."
~Y̶e̶s̷?̶~
"...refuse."
Hestia's image remained suspended between impossible walls. Visions of millions, billions, trillions of deaths suddenly assaulted Gerhard. He saw the intricate details of how they all died, and felt the pain of hunger, thirst, torture and even more torture. It was excruciating beyond belief.
~C̷o̵n̴s̵i̷d̸e̷r̸ ̶y̴o̷u̴r̸ ̶a̷n̶s̵w̵e̴r̴ ̵c̷a̶r̴e̸f̴u̸l̵l̴y̵.̶~
"I... have."
His health fell again. Magnus twisted the glaive. He cast dozens of spells that warped space and gravity around them, slowing time around Guilliman so he wouldn't interrupt now. Gerhard's body jerked, both hands clenching involuntarily around the weapon.
~Y̶o̸u̶r̵ ̶r̷e̸f̴u̸s̴a̵l̸ ̶w̷i̵l̵l̵ ̶n̵o̷t̶ ̶p̸r̸e̸s̶e̸r̸v̸e̷ ̶y̶o̵u̸.̷ ̶Y̶o̵u̵ ̶w̷i̸l̶l̵ ̴d̵i̸e̴ ̷a̴n̷d̷ ̵I̸ ̴w̶i̸l̸l̸ ̶p̷l̷a̴y̵ ̷w̶i̴t̷h̶ ̶y̴o̷u̴ ̶a̵s̴ ̶m̶y̶ ̵t̵o̴y̵.~
"Heh... probably..."
~A̶n̶d̸ ̷s̷t̸i̷l̷l̸ ̶y̸o̷u̷ ̸r̵e̶f̴u̵s̴e̶?̵~
Gerhard looked past the visions of the wasted Imperium and the inhumane living conditions and even the image of a golden corpse on a massive throne, toward the red flesh within reach.
Gerhard let go of the haft with one hand. It took more effort than he expected. His arm felt impossibly heavy. The darkened fingers scarcely answered him.
He grinned when he found himself before Tzeentch and flipped him off.
"Fuck you, bitch!"
~Y̵o̸u̶ ̸c̶a̴n̵n̷o̴t̸ ̶l̴e̴a̸v̴e̷ ̵f̴r̸o̸m̵ ̴t̵h̸e̶r̶e̸.̶ ̶I̵ ̶w̷i̵l̵l̵ ̷h̶a̷v̶e̷ ̵i̷n̷f̷i̷n̶i̴t̴e̸ ̴t̷i̵m̵e̵ ̴t̴o̴ ̵c̶o̴n̷v̵i̵n̸c̴e̷ ̶y̵o̴u̴.~
Gerhard laughed and coughed violently.
"Getting here... was the plan."
...
Gerhard's palm touched the Crimson King's chest. Red flesh shifted beneath his fingers. There it was. He spoke to the thing standing before him in the Warp.
"You took Hestia from me... So I'm going to take something from you."
His fingers spread.
"This one."
Inside the Warp, Tzeentch suddenly 'widened' his eyes. Or he did the same as he realised what Gerhard was about to do.
[Remove Curse]
Mana flowed from Gerhard's palm. Magnus stiffened. For a heartbeat, nothing else happened. Then Gerhard felt the effects.
It was vast. The corruption did not sit upon Magnus like an infection waiting to be burned away. It ran through his essence, his entire being. It shaped the flesh beneath Gerhard's hand, sustained his presence on Luna and across the galaxy, and answered Tzeentch's will.
There was no clean separation. No simple place where the Primarch ended and the god's claim began. He was, in essence, a slave, no longer Magnus the Red, the son of the Emperor.
And yet, he was dealing with the Gamer.
Gerhard's first attempt vanished into it. His second was crushed. Pain flared up his arm as the power he had sent into Magnus recoiled towards his own damaged core.
[Remove Curse]
Something resisted. Gerhard reshaped the spell and spent massive amounts of Mana on it. The techniques were familiar. He had forced corruption from wounded flesh before. But this was entirely different.
So he adapted.
[Six-Rod Mana Restraint]
A small spark of yellow energy appeared in front of Gerhard's finger, which suddenly summoned six thin, wide beams of Mana that slammed into the staggered Magnus midsection and held them in place.
[Magical shackles of binding]
Thick, light-blue Mana shackles appeared next and wrapped around Magnus's body, restricting all movement and speech indefinitely.
[Magical shackles of binding]
[Magical shackles of binding]
[Magical shackles of binding]
[Theft] + [Mana] + [Amplify] + [Remove Curse]
A massive bright light coalesced, and a notification appeared in Gerhard's mind.
[A new skill has been created through a special action.]
[Purge Corruption]
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
~N̷̡̛̤̓O̸̢̫͋͝Ǫ̷̤̓̕O̶̡̰͆͝O̸̢̯̓̚Ǫ̷̱͒͠O̶̧̫͋͝O̸̡̤̓͠O̷̢̰͆͝!~
Magnus screamed. Tzeentch screamed as well.
Blue light split the flesh beneath Gerhard's hand. The sound crossed the vacuum through the Warp, striking every mind upon the crater floor. Guilliman staggered as he broke through the last rising slab of stone. Alaya dropped to one knee, her hands pressed against the sides of her helm.
The Daemon Primarch's wings snapped wide. For an instant, something beneath his skin pulled in two directions. He tumbled around, roaring in pain and refusal, while Tzeentch desperately tried to keep him together.
Magnus convulsed. His hand struck towards Gerhard's head. Then stopped. Half of the giant's face stared at his own fingers.
That half's expression changed so violently that Guilliman checked his advance. Fury remained; beneath it came bewilderment, then horror.
"Brother?"
The word escaped Guilliman before he could stop it. Magnus turned towards him. Half his mouth opened. Something spoke in the cadence of an older voice, raw with a feeling the Lord of Ultramar had not heard from him in ten thousand years.
"Ro...bou.."
Warp fire poured from his wounds. His hand closed around Gerhard's forearm, tore at it, loosened, then clenched again. All the while, Tzeentch sped up Gerhard's corruption.
"Get out."
Gerhard couldn't tell who he meant. Magnus drove one claw into his own breastplate.
"GET OUT!"
Gerhard's vision was turning black. He heard the voices of thirsting gods and the livid voice of Tzeentch as he promised all kinds of pain and torture for endless time, while at the same time he tried to get Magnus back under his control.
It was pandemonium.
Gerhard's health fell lower until it had reached its final digit.
He thought of Hestia, how he had been interested in her after a while and wanted to spend more time with her, before he realised where he was and that romance or love weren't good things; instead, they could be used against them.
He regretted not having acted on it at least somewhat.
...
He tried to hold on. Just a bit more, and try to make it. But not even [Blank] was helping. He had gotten his revenge, so that was something, at least. A smile appeared on his face, knowing that he had inadvertently changed the future.
...
..
.
[**** *****]
[Activated]