Sol System, Mars,
544.M32
Sanguinius
He took a closer look at his interlocutor. The woman clearly had ties to the Mechanicus or was even one of the Red Priests of Mars. But despite the cybernetic replacements and augmentations, most of her body, at least from what he could see, was surprisingly human.
This might suggest that even if she were part of the brotherhood, she wasn't of high rank, as virtually every higher-ranking member of the Mechanicus resembled machines more than humans.
The same couldn't be said for her companion, for Rho-Mu 31 resembled other Protectors, true hybrids of flesh and steel. The stark contrast between the two figures struck him, revealing the complexities of their allegiance and status. He wondered what secrets lay behind her human facade and whether her loyalty to the Mechanicus was as unwavering as that of her companion.
He addressed the man, "Rise, there's no need for such formalities."
He then took a few steps toward the woman, his posture relaxing significantly, though he also had to make an effort to silence the whispers of the Shard of Void Dragon pressing into his mind, like thousands of needles piercing his mental defences.
The fact that he already possessed smaller fragments of Mag'ladroth didn't help, as they made him more susceptible to the influence of their far more powerful relative.
"Dalia Cyhera, you say?" He turned to the woman, his calm voice refusing to reflect the inner turmoil that had arisen at her words. "What else can you tell me about my father's plans? Has this Semyon said anything more?"
The woman shook her head slightly, remarkably calm despite being in his overwhelming presence. Although the fact that she called herself the guardian of this place suggested her mind must have been resilient enough.
"No, my Lord, or at least nothing of significance," she replied with a distinct sadness in her voice, as if the fact that she couldn't give him more information was painful.
He knew he couldn't waste time talking, as he had too little of it at the moment, but he would gladly listen to what the two had to say.
"Since you know why I came here, and that once I take the Shard, your mission will be complete, what do you plan to do next? I can offer you a place in my court and an ambitious goal for the future," he proposed, earning a wary glance from the others.
"It would be an honour, Lord Sanguinius," the woman replied, her tone suggesting a heavy burden had been lifted from her. After so many centuries of fulfilling one task, it is natural for her to find it difficult to discover a new purpose.
"Good," he nodded with satisfaction, then added, "I would be happy to speak with you again, but for now, it is time to take the Shard from here. So stand aside, for I doubt the C'tan will be at peace when I open his prison."
He then approached a massive gate, made of Necron living metal but additionally secured by runes of pure psychic energy woven into the very fabric of the material at the most fundamental level. As he reached out to touch the gate, a surge of energy pulsed through the air, crackling with tension.
He felt the living metal and the wards within, as well as the psychic runes placed by Vaul, resist his attempt to open it with telekinesis.
It felt as if he were trying to move a mountain. In response, he pressed against the C'tan prison's defences with all his psychic power, combined with the Void, as much as he could control without losing control.
The energy surged around him, crackling with raw potential as he pushed deeper into the metaphysical barrier. With each pulse of his will, he could sense the prison's resistance wavering, a flicker of determination igniting within him.
As he focused intently, the air thickened with tension, and he could almost hear the whispers of the fragment of the Star God within. It was a daunting task, yet the thought of reward spurred him on, compelling him to summon every ounce of strength he possessed.
Suddenly, the Void poured out of him and struck the gate, combining with his psychic energy in a devastating impact that seemed to tear apart space itself. The runes began to shatter, and the living metal crumbled into dust.
The sight brought a smile to his face. Although regaining control of the Void was arduous, the satisfaction of its growing power far outweighed it.
As the massive gates dissolved, his eyes were met with a vast chamber stretching for miles below, and whatever lay within was lost in the darkness, pulsing with a greenish light, somewhere in that abyss of blackness.
Dragon's presence grew even more powerful, the whispers louder and more insistent, piercing his mind with even greater intensity. Space itself, or rather, matter itself, seemed to be on the verge of collapse, held together by a confluence of spells and rituals cast millennia ago.
He held out his hand, and a blinding light shot out like a projector, illuminating the chamber, though not to the extent he had hoped or expected. Something was limiting his psychic powers, as if draining them.
He knew it was the Void, but used in a way he didn't know. Not to destroy the warp energy, but to absorb it. The tendrils of darkness coiled around his essence, sapping his strength with each passing moment. Desperation surged within him, urging him to find a way to counteract the sinister force that sought to consume him entirely.
Now that he was in the crosshairs of this power, instead of directing it at his enemies, he felt how truly dreadful the Void was and, seeing the power of a mere shard of its true strength, how powerful Mag'ladroth was.
He plunged down toward the light, wings beating through the destabilised matter while his mind struggled to keep his manifested body intact under the onslaught of this power.
The journey down took longer than he expected, almost a minute, making him realise just how vast this chamber, or rather, the cell in which the C'tan was confined, was.
When he landed before a contorted figure, undoubtedly made of living metal, glowing with green light, he could tell he wasn't disappointed. The power emanating from this Shard was incomparably greater than any other he had seen.
Furthermore, this fragment of Mag'ladroth contained a large portion of the Star God's torso. Sanguinius flew closer and hovered a few metres from his target.
It was then that his plans began to unravel, and he could forget about the relatively peaceful transference of the Shard, as it began to tremble as if resonating with something, and in response, misty strands of Void began to emanate from his body, involuntarily directing themselves towards the metal body of the god fragment.
Sanguinius immediately flew back dozens of metres, but the Void, as if guided by an alien will, shot out behind him like a wave, instantly flooding the Shard, from which a sound so intense began to emanate that it pierced not only his ears but his very soul.
Sanguinius threw his own will against Mag'ladroth's will, desperately trying to wrest control of the Void from the other's hands, but he could feel that the god fragment was so desperate, sensing a chance for release, that it was beginning to dominate the Primarch in this fight.
Without hesitation, he unleashed the full force of his psyker might upon the C'tan, and his body lit up like a golden star. A lash of psychic energy struck the Dragon, staggering under the blow. For, as his three ancient mentors had repeatedly emphasised, their only weakness, albeit a powerful one, was their inability to understand the Immaterium and the absurd energies permeating it.
And while Mag'ladroth, thanks to his powers, was in a better position than the other Star Gods, Sanguinius was dealing with only a fragment of the former. He also knew that his father had himself used the power of the warp to defeat the Dragon of the Void.
Under the pressure of these clashing energies and the utterly opposing forces, where matter and immaterium collided, an explosion occurred, engulfing not only the Shard but the entire C'tan prison.
Sanguinius managed to teleport to the surface at the last moment, though he lost one of his wings. He held Dalia and Protector in each hand, floating several kilometres above the surface, which at that very moment exploded, sending billions of tonnes of rock and dust into the air, dozens of kilometres into the air.
Sanguinius shielded them with a psychic shield, and with a thought, he compressed all the ejected matter into a sphere just over a kilometre in diameter and hurled it toward the centre of the resulting massive crater.
A split second later, he sensed a threat approaching from the crater. He teleported the two he held to one of the Titans, then launched himself down to meet the Dragon of the Void, which was heading towards him.
With his last thought, he ordered all forces to withdraw. He feared that nothing might remain of Mars after this battle.
They collided in an impact that not only created a powerful shockwave but also tore apart space-time around them. The energies of the visible world and the Empyrean energies existing on various metaphysical planes caused matter to disintegrate.
Sanguinius felt that not only was he in a losing position here, but also that unless he figured something out, the planet and his forces would face destruction. He had to find a way to draw the Dragon into the Webway, where not only would he lose his advantage, but Sanguinius would gain his own, thanks to the Old Ones' help.
A race against time began, but also a fight for his own life. He had no doubt that the power of Mag'ladroth's Void could destroy him forever.