While Cezak was locked in battle with the Ogryn, Nareth's consciousness extended to a massive black stone gate.
The mind of an Ogryn was simple yet firm. Brute-forcing his way in psychically would work, but it would also shatter the Ogryn's mind, rendering him a drooling husk and losing any useful information in the process.
But Nareth, a Primarch who had studied psychic arts for years, had long since mastered telephatic-based psychic techniques.
In an instant, his awareness transformed into a vast, shadowy web, enveloping the entire gate.
The shadow gradually seeped into the gate, like darkness cast by unseen light.
Moments later, Nareth had the information he wanted: the local traditions of the Ogryns and the geography of Black Mountain.
The planet was home to a majestic mountain range, whose rocks contained a strange black-metal ore that shimmered faintly.
Ordinary Ogryns who ventured into the mountains never returned. But those who did, crafted black clubs and armor from the material, would rise to become tribal leaders.
Nareth also noticed that this chieftain was significantly smarter than the average Ogryn. His thoughts were surprisingly structured and organized.
As he withdrew from the Ogryn's mind, Nareth thought:
'That unscannable region holds secrets.'
He also realized that leveraging the tribal customs of the local Ogryns might provide a shortcut to planetary conquest.
As he exited the Ogryn's mind, Cezak delivered a vicious blow, beheading the tribal chieftain.
While the warriors mopped up the remaining enemies, Nareth walked over and picked up the chieftain's club.
The moment his hand touched it, his black eyes gleamed with light.
The Ogryn hadn't forged this weapon using any known technique. Instead, he had spent countless days grinding a chunk of black ore against a harder stone using brute strength.
The untouched sections of the club retained their natural texture.
Covered in a matte oxide layer, this black stone wasn't a psychic conductor, nor was it resistant to psychic energy.
Yet Nareth immediately noticed something else: besides its magnetic nature, the material held unique properties.
Along its surface were irregular white growth patterns, alternately marked with the Gothic numerals {XI} and {XXXIII}.
Some areas were dense with {XI}, others were more sparse.
Nareth took another look and saw that the chieftain's black armor also had the same strange growth patterns.
Arsena approached. He picked up a broken piece of the black armor and channeled psychic energy into it.
Moments later, after analyzing the material using knowledge from the books of the relic-classed ship, he reported:
"This magnetic metal isn't a single-structure material. Its primary components are iron, manganese, and chromium, three black metals."
"But none of them are actually black. Pure iron and chromium are silver-white, and manganese is gray-white."
"Natural magnetic metals may form in chunks, granules, or crystal structures. This one is clearly crystalline."
With growing interest, Arsena examined the armor shard.
"During crystallization, the Fe-Mn-Cr ions formed periodic bands, a structure normally only seen in synthetic barium ferrite."
"According to the books I've read, certain planetary ores can form identical growth patterns due to gravitational forces, stellar influence, or some unknown causes."
Nareth gave a small nod. That explained the strange numerical formations on the crystal's growth patterns.
"Its crystal lattice is denser than average, likely the foundation of its high magnetic properties."
Nareth stared at the mineral in his hand and thought:
'This metal… It's practically my symbol.'
'Chaotic growth lines… 11… 33… Disordered yet patterned. 'Disorder' can be tied to the Kingdom of Disorder. The true face of the Source has 33 layers, and I am the 11th Primarch.'
'Iron, manganese, and chromium, all light-colored metals, yet form black alloys. This aligns perfectly with the symbolism of the Shadow of the Black Emperor…'
His black eyes grew darker as he began drawing deeper occult associations.
'The Four Chaos Gods, though born in the Warp. have symbolic representations in reality:
Khorne (red) = 8
Tzeentch (blue) = 9
Nurgle (green) = 7
Slaanesh (purple) = 6
Their cultists integrate these numbers and colors into their sacrifices, weapons, and even armor.'
'This symbolic expression is how believers connect to their gods.'
Nareth thought of the Aeldari Pantheon, the same principle.
'The Goddess of Night is tied to the moon and silver, so her rituals often involve silver materials. The Eternal Sun God is tied to the sun and gold…'
His mind raced.
'If I design a ritual lexicon that ties this black metal to mysticism, then…'
'When Beyonder Beings use it as ritual material, paired with the proper rites, they'll link directly to me. Then I can channel power from the Kingdom of Disorder, to fulfill their prayers to some extent.'
The "Fool" and "Hermit" pathways granted ritual magic, but required invoking the attention of their patron deity.
Chaos cultists did the same, offering souls and lives to gain the gods' favor.
Lorgar sacrificed hundreds of planets and the Primarch Angron to cast a spell that cut off the Eastern galaxy.
Nareth delved deeper into the metal's potential, beyond rituals, he considered broader applications for the Kingdom of Disorder.
'Though I'm only Sequence 7, and my authority over the Kingdom of Disorder is still limited. I am a Primarch. Once I awakened my genetic memory, my rank should rival that of a high sequence Beyonder. I can tap into that power.'
'Once I finalize the ritual design, I can simplify it and share parts with select individuals. When they face corruption from the Chaos Gods, I can intercept them in time.'
Having reached this point, Nareth now regarded the black metal not as just a mineral, but a strategic resource.
There were still many technical gaps: ritual phrasing, naming conventions, ceremonial steps, but he now had a clear direction.
Nareth immediately decided to change his campaign plan and prioritize the conquest of Black Mountain.
First, he had to deal with the signal-jamming zone.
After a second's thought, he remembered the spy flies built by the Jokaero; those might work.
He opened his communicator and issued a legion-wide command:
"Company Captain, report the number of psykers in your units."
"First Company, five."
Cezak, who had been overseeing battlefield cleanup, responded immediately.
"Second Company, four."
"…"
Only the Seventh Company didn't reply; they were inside the jamming zone of Black Mountain.
As Nareth returned to the Void Hunter to retrieve the spy flies, deep within Black Mountain, Sanchez had already encountered his first group of Ogryns after entering.
The moment they met, an Ogryn wielding a black crystal club let out a bizarre shriek.
And with that shriek, a black bolt of lightning tore across the sky, striking directly at the Shadow of Order warriors from the Seventh Company.
...
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