Cegorach's laughter was endless.
The last survivor of the ancient Eldar Pantheon was guiding the Death Guard with his mocking laughter.
The Harlequins of the Midnight Mourning Troupe danced the famous play 'The Fall of the Eldar,' recounting the sorrow and pain of the Eldar's demise, while also following Cegorach's laughter. The Webway paths appeared in their dance.
The Harlequins of the Curtain Path Troupe sometimes laughed, sometimes wept, fickle and unpredictable, while Hilandri Weimuxingzhe, who led them, moved with graceful posture. Light and shadow constantly shifted on her mask, revealing various eerie prophecies.
Many years ago, the Eldar's debauchery awakened the slumbering God of Hunger, Slaanesh. Her first cry destroyed the entire Eldar Empire, and subsequently, the Eldar Pantheon fell. The gods once worshipped by the Eldar were devoured by Slaanesh: the fire of the Phoenix King Asuryan was extinguished, the fate of the old crone Morai-Heg was shattered, and the maiden Lileath was defiled.
The only three survivors were the Lord of Murder, Kaen Bloodhand; Isha, the goddess of recovery, fertility, and harvest; and the Laughing God, Cegorach.
But the Lord of Murder, Kaen Bloodhand, was shattered into thousands of fragments in the struggle between Slaanesh and Khorne.
Isha was abducted by Nurgle and is now imprisoned deep within Nurgle's Garden.
Only the Laughing God, Cegorach, truly survived. This Harlequin God hid deep within the Black Library in the Webway.
And the Eldar Harlequin Troupes are the embodiment of his will.
But today, not only the Harlequins followed Cegorach's guidance; the Dark Eldar, the Aeldari, and the pirates—these previously scattered Eldar—all gathered together, acting as a single force.
This was because a new Eldar deity was awakening: the Eldar Death God Ynnead was about to awaken. He blessed Yvraine, bringing this Daughter of Shadows back from the dead, and brought Ynnead's teachings to the Eldar.
If the Eldar Pantheon still existed, if the Eldar had other gods, Cegorach probably would not have chosen the gloomy and sinister Ynnead, whose birth even required the complete sacrifice of the entire Eldar race, as an ally.
But the Death God is better than Slaanesh. Any power that can fight against the God of Hunger is precious, and besides, Cegorach had no choice.
Thus, the new Eldar Pantheon was formed, a Pantheon with only three gods.
Khaine, whose fragments could occasionally be summoned, represented destruction and slaughter. Ynnead was the Lord of Death and Souls, and Cegorach was responsible for balancing the power between the two.
The composition of this Pantheon was extremely unbalanced; at least in the eyes of the Harlequins, Kaen was a mentally broken, antisocial madman, and Ynnead was always melancholic.
Of course, conversely, in the eyes of the other two gods, Cegorach was also an inferior Harlequin and actor. The Harlequins believed Cegorach was self-aware of this.
But the Eldar were already in such a sorry state; everyone just had to make do.
Only a portion of the Death Guard chose to pay homage to the three gods of the Pantheon in thought, action, and flamboyant attire simultaneously.
But fortunately, most of the Death Guard were willing to accept the combined guidance of Cegorach and Ynnead, and proceeded through the Webway to the prophetic icy planet, the Ice Moon Krasus.
The leader of the Death Guard, Yvraine, wielded the old crone sword in her hand. A burst of Psyker fire erupted from the sword, formed from the finger bone of the Eldar old crone god, and the Webway gate opened.
The cold air of Krasus surged in, and the Death Guard rushed out of the Webway gate, facing the cold wind.
They were able to see death.
According to the prophecy, the Imperial humans were clashing with the Black Legion, and the hounds of Chaos were tearing at the flesh of these mortals.
How foolish and stubborn they were, completely unaware that they had no chance of winning.
Though only a group of mortals remained, they dared to face the Black Legion, blessed by Chaos.
They foolishly formed battle lines, desperately resisting an enemy they could never defeat.
The Eldar guessed their objective was the Webway gate, but they did not know that they were already so close to their goal.
Just then, a flash of teleportation light exploded in the Imperial human lines.
The Harlequins let out a sigh, as if lamenting the impending heroic sacrifice.
The Dark Eldar let out a cackle of joyful laughter, seemingly unable to resist seeing the upcoming tragedy.
The Aeldari, however, looked on with disgust and a hint of fear, watching the Great Despoiler Abaddon emerge from the teleportation light.
That Warp entity almost fell under Abaddon's sword; that somewhat capable psyker tried to save her.
But unfortunately, an psyker of this level was not enough to match the Great Despoiler, who was blessed by the Four Gods.
Look, besides that psyker, another mortal emerged, attempting to stop Abaddon.
Why are humans always so foolish and overconfident?
The Great Despoiler was not only the avatar of Chaos power in the mortal realm but also wielded the Demon Sword Drach'nyen.
The demon within that sword was born from humanity's first murder, intimately connected with the human race.
Now that humans occupied most of the galaxy, the power of that Demon Sword had reached its peak, not to mention that the sword was also the bane of humanity.
But what happened next defied the Eldar's understanding.
The Harlequins, who had intended to lament death and sacrifice, were silenced.
The malicious laughter of the Dark Eldar also suddenly stopped.
The Aeldari also let out confused hums at the sight of something not in their prophecies.
That mortal, wielding a toy sword, effortlessly blocked the Demon Sword Drach'nyen.
Confusion appeared in the eyes of the Eldar, whether Harlequins, Aeldari, or Dark Eldar, all the same.
Only Yvraine's eyes faintly shimmered with the light of death, seemingly catching a glimpse of the truth.
"Competitor on the Empyrean path."
A whisper echoed in Yvraine's ear; it was the reverberation of the God of the Dead:
"Human Death God."
Yvraine looked at the mortal fighting Abaddon, her eyes filled with a hint of surprise.
Then, something even more shocking to the Eldar happened: from a pocket on that mortal's belly, a figure clad in a flaxen robe emerged.
The figure was enveloped in a thick shroud of mystery; even the most excellent Spiritseers and Farseers among the Eldar could not see through it.
But everyone felt the aura emanating from that figure.
Among this Death Guard, there were Eldar whose lifespans exceeded ten thousand years, Eldar who had witnessed the era of the Great Crusade.
They felt the aura flowing from that figure.
The aura released by the flaxen-robed figure was like... like that former Human Warmaster.
"The Human God of the Dead," Yvraine whispered softly, her gaze falling slightly on the seemingly mortal being, on the pocket on his belly.
Just then, the Eldar noticed a teleportation light flash on Abaddon; the Great Despoiler had fled!
Then that mortal turned his head and said something to the Black Legion.
After that, the Black Legion turned their heads and ran...
Ran towards their direction?!
Greyfax watched with surprise as the battle erupted on the mountaintop.
The blasphemous Eldar xenos leaped and danced among the Black Legion; these agile warriors in flamboyant armor bounced among the Astartes, their blades constantly reaping lives.
The Harlequins were more like dancers than warriors; they performed disgusting xenos song and dance, each step erupting with strangeness and grace, their dancing sword light cutting the Great Despoiler Abaddon's subordinates into pieces.
Furthermore, the Dark Eldar of Commorragh, the warriors of the Craftworlds, the pirates of the stars... Eldar of different identities, factions, and Craftworlds gathered together, all receiving commands from a woman in an ornate robe.
This made Greyfax feel danger. The scattered Eldar were actually beginning to act under unified command?
And behind this group of strange Eldar, a Webway gate was swirling and roaring.
What was their purpose here? What exactly did they want to do?
What was the relationship between the False Saint Celestine and the mysterious Alexander and this group of Eldar?
Especially since Greyfax had just heard Abaddon call the robed person... Father?
Too many mysteries occupied Greyfax's mind.
Moreover, Reyna's relationship with Alexander seemed very close, which caused Greyfax concern.
She was now practically fighting alone.
Reyna stood with Alexander, the Knights stood with Archmagos Belisarius Cawl, and the Battle Sisters followed Celestine.
She, Greyfax, theoretically at the pinnacle of the Imperial power structure, had become a lone fighter.
And now Archmagos Belisarius Cawl was deceived by the False Saint, and Alexander was vaguely shrouded in a layer of blasphemous secrets.
How she wished a group of loyal Stormtroopers or Astartes were standing beside her now.
Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded on the snowy ground.
Greyfax and the Expeditionary Force members quickly turned their heads.
They saw a team of Astartes warriors in blood-red power armor walking up from the foot of the mountain behind them.
The leading warrior was Captain Karlaen of the Blood Angels.
Greyfax immediately felt immense joy. The Emperor truly had not abandoned his loyal servant.
Captain Karlaen had actually endured the Black Legion's offensive!
Hmm?
Suddenly, Greyfax noticed something strange.
Why were the faces of the Blood Angels accompanying Captain Karlaen somewhat unfamiliar?
Also, why were these Astartes not wearing Terminator power armor?
Captain Karlaen's elite First Company were clearly all Terminator warriors, weren't they?
Then, Greyfax's attention as an Inquisitor made her notice something was wrong.
Captain Karlaen and the unfamiliar Astartes had one shoulder pad painted blue; Captain Karlaen's seemed to be a temporary paint job.
Under Greyfax's bewildered gaze, Captain Karlaen slowly walked up to Alexander, knelt on one knee, and placed the holy relic weapon Baal's Wrath between Alexander and himself.
"My Lord," Captain Karlaen bowed his head, "In the name of Sanguinius, I swear my loyalty to you as I would to my father."
Greyfax instantly felt her vision go black.