Adams' gyrinx padded alongside him. Its orange fur made it look warm, but its body was colder than even a "Gravedigger", more like a dead cat.
Adams noticed that the decaying graveyard wasn't dark. Following the faint glow, he saw stone pillars carved with reliefs of spiders and shambling corpses.
His pitch-black pupils narrowed. He saw that each stone pillar was inlaid with several glass-like disks of varying size and number.
The light that illuminated the graveyard came from these disks, each one glowing with a different intensity.
In the areas touched by the glow, no undead dared to approach. Rusted weapons and shattered bones littered the ground.
Adams stepped closer to the nearest pillar and noticed runes etched into it.
He glanced at the corpses on the ground and quickly deduced their purpose:
The masters of the graveyard did not want to be disturbed. The runes were alarm devices; touching the pillars would stir noise, summoning hordes of undead.
The Gravedigger wisely kept his hands away. He studied the blue disk carefully; its surface was etched with dense, spider-like markings, forming intricate patterns.
Data Crystals.
Adams knew that data crystals could store vast amounts of memory, orders of magnitude greater than standard data slates.
They emitted light while storing knowledge, the brightness corresponding to the volume of data held.
The Araneus Continuity controlled the Hato star system, the primary source of such crystals. Because of that, all their most important data had always been preserved in this form.
Adams looked around. Thousands of pillars supported the graveyard, each set with anywhere from a dozen to several dozen data crystals.
This is an enormous treasure. If the Forge Lord saw this, his eyes would surely light up.
Moving deeper, Adams discovered a row of stone chambers.
One of them had its gate ajar, so he approached.
At the threshold lay scattered weapon parts. Adams crouched, inspecting them.
A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes as he thought to himself:
'Could these be atomic disintegration weapons? During the last battle, the Araneus Continuity soldiers never wielded anything this powerful.'
He stood and entered the chamber. Inside, broken weapon racks lined the floor, though five still held firearms.
He strode forward and picked up one of the metal weapons.
'It really is an atomic disintegration weapon, and preserved in working condition. Safe to use.'
'Artifacts from the Dark Age of Technology. Few remain even in legion arsenals today.'
Weapon in hand, Adams left the chamber and pressed on.
After a few dozen steps, he found spiderwebs clinging to the ground, walls, and stone chambers.
The Gravedigger immediately thought of giant spiders, but quickly realized this was different. Through his Spirit Sight, he saw faint green glimmers clinging to the webs, infused with death itself.
Peering into the distance, his Eye of Death pierced the veils of silk. Behind them, rotten spiders loomed, their compound eyes flickering blue and red.
Lowering his gaze, Adams saw at the graveyard's center a massive spider statue, with an entrance to some structure below it.
The scouting was done. Adams turned back and retraced his steps to the entrance.
Rosicky noticed the weapon in Adams' hand and hurried over. After inspecting it briefly, he spoke: "Atomic disintegration weapon, fully intact, safe for use."
"There are more inside," said the Death Lord curtly, then explained the situation to the Forge Lord.
"The outer pillars of the graveyard hold data crystals. The inner stone chambers contain relics of the Dark Age of Technology. Beneath the central spider statue lies a passage into the nobles' tombs."
The Archaeologist's eyes shone. "This is a major discovery. We must bring everything back."
The Death Lord and Forge Lord immediately began discussing how to cleanse the site. Rosicky said:
"We cannot use bolters. The blasts might shatter the crystals."
The Gravedigger added, "Nor chainswords, the roar would draw the undead."
…..
Four standard hours later, the Gravedigger led 144 Corpse Collectors into the tomb.
They wore no power armor. They advanced in silence, faces grim.
With their spirit vision, they saw clearly through decaying flesh to the undead lurking within.
In unison, they raised their swords. Power Sword flashed down, crackling with disruptive energy fields, shattering undead skulls into fragments.
Adams lifted the atomic disintegration weapon and pulled the trigger.
A beam struck an undead.
In the blink of an eye, the stinking corpse dissolved into atoms, gone without a trace.
The Gravedigger led the Corpse Collectors sector by sector, purging the tomb.
After each zone was cleansed, the Death Lord gestured orders for one Corpse Collector to remain behind.
The Forge Lord and his techmarines then entered, while Rosicky collected the brightest crystals, his men gathering the rest.
The Corpse Collectors confirmed the undead were fully destroyed, then handed the bodies to legion servitors.
Those servitors, clad in protective suits and gas masks, dragged the corpses out and burned them in furnaces erected at the tombs' gates.
Leandro Hemar did not leave. He stood tall at the entrance, awaiting his chance to serve the Death Lord.
He first saw the bodies being hauled out.
'The Shadows of Order, using only power swords, clear the tides of undead this quickly… Truly efficient, far beyond what my hunters could ever achieve.'
Then he watched as hundreds upon thousands of data crystals were carried out, hulking automata hauling them away.
His eyes widened, shining.
Every crystal preserved knowledge lost for millennia, each one worth more than a Hive City.
The recovery of the crystals lasted five entire work cycles.
When Adams once more stood before a stone chamber, he could feel it clearly; he had gained sharper control over the power his gene-father bestowed upon him.
As the sealed chambers were opened one after another, the Forge Lord beheld creations of the Dark Age of Technology.
Forty-four Shadows of Order were equipped with atomic disintegration weapons, with five more handed over to the techmarines for research.
Archaeotech pistols, once the sidearms of Imperial officers and Astartes commanders, were issued to every Corpse Collector and Techmarine.
Sixteen Savant received portable X-ray viewers, projecting 3D models of sealed stone chambers hidden behind solid walls.
…
Even the Forge Lord, who had studied on Mars itself, was stunned by how many relics of the Dark Age of Technology this graveyard contained.
Rosicky's excitement grew. 'How many priceless relics might lie in the central tomb?'
To reach them, they would have to destroy the massive rotting spiders.
While the Forge Lord's heart raced with discovery, the "Gravedigger" had already begun his hunt.
He signaled the Corpse Collectors to hold position, then advanced alone toward the nearest decayed spider.
The bloated creature, fifty meters tall, oozed reeking pus. Each drop burned holes into the stone floor.
Adams' black eyes glowed green. He stepped into the realm of spirit and death, perceiving from a higher layer of existence.
His gaze pierced the rotting flesh, revealing a green node within, a fist-sized, gray-green crystal.
'Just as Father taught: The Warp Insight." Its ability is similar when opened… I have not yet mastered it like Sánchez. My range is limited, but within it, my vision is stronger.'
He squeezed the trigger.
The beam struck the gray-green crystal.
In an instant, it was gone. The massive rotting spider collapsed into sludge, dissolving on the ground.
The Gravedigger went on to kill three more of the towering spiders. Their giant eyes never even glimpsed their killer before death claimed them.
At last, they reached the plaza at the center.
...
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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