บท 7: Aftermath
(Iuchanth Felleye POV)
"Is this accurate?" I ask and my old friend Taldocan Yhial nods his head. We have been fighting in this war, dubbed 'the War in Heaven' for millennia now and it seems to be over ... finally.
"After all these years ... it is finally over?"
"I wouldn't be so certain. The Old Ones might be defeated and killed, but the C'tan aren't finished just yet. This could be our chance."
"Our chance to do what?"
"To finish it."
"You mean to destroy the remaining Necrons?" I ask Taldocan. He has always hated the Necrons and thought them unworthy to hold such powerful technology. He saw them as slaves. Slaves to the despicable beings calling themselves the C'tan.
"Yes. Fighting the C'tan will inevitably weaken them and give us a window of attack. If we wait for them to regroup, we will only make things hard for us."
"Taldocan, you were always eager to defeat the Necrons. Now that they have decided to abandon this war against all that lives, you want to seek it yourself. Why is that?"
"You know why, Iuchanth."
Indeed I know. Taldocan's sister died in the war. It was quite a few years ago when we thought the infighting of the C'tan made the Necrons weaker and divided. We attacked the Prakasri Dynasty, the worst possible Dynasty to attack as it turned out. Not only were they not weakened, but their numbers seem to have bolstered. It was a terrible loss for us. The Phaeron of the Prakasri Dynasty, Hasyn also called the Relentless, outmanoeuvred us and positioned his troops in ways that I wasn't ready for.
As a Farseer, I am used to using the divination discipline and as the strongest among the Aeldari in terms of divination, I priced myself in managing to outclass every battle and see the end before it starts. But Hasyn the Relentless proved to be worthy of his title and managed to not only win that battle, he also crush us thoroughly.
"What happened that day, Taldocan was my fault. Don't take your anger out on others when it is me you wish to take revenge on. I sent her out there to fight. It was my choice," I say in pain. Taldocan's sister Nuelinyn was to be my bride.
"No. I know that you didn't want to send her. But no one could stop Nuelinyn when she set something into her head. She was just headstrong that way. I don't blame you, Iuchanth. I blame myself and that darn machine for killing her."
"I know. But Hasyn the Relentless was a Necron Overlord when he defeated the Ryoni Army. He attacked a Fortress World of an Old One, defended against a Krork attack, by using battle tactics alone, destroyed the Old Ones' biggest part of the fleet that was there to support us and then defeated the Avatar of Kaela Mensha Khaine in single combat! Only to then go ahead and destroy the Old One as well.
That was when he was an Overlord. With this report, he has transcended all that we thought possible. He overcame his limitations and slaver status and slayed a C'tan Overlord ... ON HIS OWN."
I breathe heavily after saying all that. Hasyn the Relentless is a ridiculous Necron. There is nothing I can think of that would allow us to win at this point. I have already tried to look into millions of potential futures but haven't found a way yet.
"I know that. But I still want to try. Every time he fought, he made sure that it was on his terms. Now, that they are weak, we could strike. No one is undefeatable. We have a chance if we use all our forces at once. A strategic strike when he won't expect it, will allow us to do tremendous damage. We could use the Webway for quick attacks and then disappear again. The Dolmen Gates are trash compared to what we have access to. The Necrons can't use the Immaterium, that is our strength."
"I don't think that I could warrant such an attack on the Phaeron. The other Farseers are angry with me and the loss we suffered that day. The amount of death was unprecedented and caused the Immaterium to shift dangerously. The Old Ones have gone too far with the potential of those young races. We have experience at least, but have to worry about the potential risks for the 'Enslavers'."
"Please, Iuchanth. For me. At least have a look again and try to use my tactics."
*Sigh*
"Very well, Taldocan. I'll do it."
I sit on the ground and delve into the Immaterium. The dimension of pure psychic energy that grants us our powers. I start to do what I have done so many times in my life. The future starts to be laid out for me. I look at the future of the Prakasri Dynasty. I see the great fight with a C'tan. The Phaeron Hasyn is locked in battle against another Space God and the destruction of planets.
Then I see the corruption of the Immaterium and the denizens acting out and flooding into the Webway.
I see more Aeldari attacking the Prakasri Dynasty and the countless deaths on both sides. But the Necrons have been changed and instead of death, only replacements appear and start to hold our forces back. So much death and agony. I feel the pain and the hatred from the exchange. Then I see a powerful force that extinguishes all enemy forces.
I look at this more and more. I try to see variations and try to implement the tactics Taldocan suggested. The hit-and-run tactics seem to hold some merit and minor success, but only initially. The Necrons are very adaptable and use their most vile technology, the Blackstone Pylons to remove the influence of the Immaterium on the material realm.
I don't see a chance for the Aeldari if we are the ones to attack. I try to find other ways to win this war and look at other Dynasties. I have never used this much power and delved this deep into the future, but it is necessary to lead my people into the future. I observe other dynasties and try to implement the tactics we used against the Prakasri Dynasty and surprisingly, they are working rather well. The lack of faster-than-light travel of the Necrons gives us a clear advantage.
But then I see something else. I see the anger of Szarekh, the Silent King as he calls us dishonourable and unleashes devastating technology. All I see after that is death and destruction on both sides.
I try again, go through millions upon millions of tactics and look how we fare against the Necrons and then suddenly see something interesting ... a chance. A great silence and the Necrons disappear from the face of the galaxy. They enter tombs and go to sleep, trying to sleep through our reign. This could be it, the chance we have been waiting for and that we could use. If the Necrons disappear on their own, then we wouldn't have to do anything and could focus on the brighter things in life.
In my excitement, I look further and further and see the Aeldari thrive. I see them create better technology, conquer world after world and delve into the pleasures of the flesh. I see millions of years of prosperity lead to stagnation and ... boredom. Just as I am about to continue and look at this strange development, I see a strange eye and I feel my soul suddenly shake terribly ... and everything turns dark.
"Iuchanth, Iuchanth ... are you alright?" I hear Taldocan shout while he is shaking me. I can see the eagerness and hope in his eyes.
"Taldocan, what happened?"
"You started to spasm and bleed. And then I thought you died for a second. Thankfully, you are still alive. So what happened?"
"I saw it ... I saw what would happen. We need to stop fighting. Our people are in danger."
"What? Why, what happened?"
"I saw our decline and then ... darkness."
"So? What about the Necrons?"
"Forget the Necrons, Taldocan. They will enter a form of stasis on their own and you can have your revenge then. We should focus on this threat that will come far into the future."
"Stasis? Why would they do something like that?"
"The Silent King has commanded them to do so. So that they might recover from the terrible losses incurred by their revolt against the C'tan."
"I see..."
I can tell that Taldocan is not content with this explanation and will want to get his revenge in other ways.
.
.
(Szarekh POV)
It is done. Our revolt against the C'tan was a success, even if it cost us dearly, shattering them into shards and imprisoning them in our extradimensional devices, the Tesseract Labyrinths. The betrayal cost many lives of my people and has damaged our Necron Empire, weakening it.
This leaves us with the question of what to do now. The war against the Old Ones was won thanks to the C'tan, and we have taken revenge for the C'tan betrayal and deception. The galaxy is still not under our command though and the Aeldari are advancing at an incredible speed. We have lost our way of travelling faster-than-light and are at a clear disadvantage against the psychically gifted Aeldari and their technology which enables them to use the Webway. I am certain that our Crypteks could come up with a way to reach faster-than-light speed for travelling, but it would take very long. And the Aeldari wouldn't wait for us to recover.
That is why I have ordered all of the Necron dynasties to enter the Great Sleep and hibernate in stasis until the threat of the Aeldari is over and we can calmly reclaim the galaxy. I ordered the remaining Necron cities to be transformed into great tomb complexes threaded with stasis crypts. After the Tomb Worlds are created, slowly all the Necrons enter into their stasis as I observe them. With this final order, I sever the command protocols that allow me to control my subjects directly. This leaves me with one final task before I go into a self-imposed exile in the intergalactic void as a form of penance, there to carve out vast new celestial territories for our people to claim once the galaxy is ours again.
I enter my Doom Scythe and start to fly towards the Prakasri Dynasty. The planet Amohtep, the Crownworld of the Prakasri Dynasty. I see that the command has been realised and that the world has been transformed into a Tomb World. But I can also tell that there are various defences in place that protect the world from unwanted guests and enemies.
My goal for coming here is simple. The Prakasri Dynasty has been a thorn in my side of ruling the Necron Empire. I was hoping they would see reason and that the C'tan would put Hasyn in his place. However, that didn't happen. On the contrary, the Burning One encouraged Hasyn and promoted him from Lord to Overlord and then to Phaeron. His ambition was only surpassed by his incredible acumen for battle strategy and technological accomplishments. There was nothing I could do to stop his rise.
However, now the time is here for me to do something about him. I haven't gotten rid of the command protocols on him yet. My dream is to unite the Necrons under one cause as I could during our first war against the Old Ones. Despite being met with terrible failure, we were united for a time. That is but a dream now.
My failure has cost the Necrontyr everything. I will find another way to regain what we once lost.
.
My feet land on the ground. I can tell that the defensive mechanisms target me but are turned off in the next moment. From the ground a tomb emerges and from it, Hasyn steps out.
He has changed from the first time I saw him. I can feel the energy signature of a C'tan shard ... or multiple, I am unsure inside him. He has weaponised the C'tan shard, just like I have. Some are inside the Tesseract Labyrinths while I have created the Dias of Dominion with 'the Enchained'. But to enter it into his own Necrodermis ... that has to leave him in a critical state.
"I knew you would come here, Szarekh. It was inevitable."
"Was it? Why?"
"Your hubris that caused all of this debacle and started the events and wars, are to blame as much as the Old Ones and the C'tan."
He hits where it hurts.
"You will cease your arrogance and know your place, Hasyn. I am the Silent King and-"
"Not anymore. Your wish for immortality and power has clouded your judgment. You wanted to rule all the Necrontyr and for that power decided that the Old Ones were a good target for a unified Necrontyr. Gather us all behind one common goal. But you were wrong. Why did you ask for immortality, when we could have asked for the means to cure our crippling cancer and our diseases? You were arrogant and greedy. And look where that got us."
"I did what I did for the good of our race! You know nothing of what it means to care for billions of lives. When I called for arms against the C'tan, you did not follow my calls. You were weak and now believe yourself superior. You are just as much led by greed for power and supremacy as I was."
"Nonsense. I did the absolute best with what I had. I improved our technology, created better means of travel and looked for ways to save our race's lives. I implemented changes and studied the battle tactics of hundreds of races to reduce the loss of Necrons to almost nil. I am more than you will ever be. So you better adhere to your name, Silent King."
"You arrogant creature. Do you believe that those battles you won have made you a god? That the stolen power you hold with the C'tan shard makes you more than me? Your processors are malfunctioning if that is the case. You deserve to be punished."
I summon the Sceptre of Eternal Glory. It glows with green energy, parts of which are caused by the small C'tan shards I had the Crypteks imbue to it. The power it holds transcends any other handheld weapon we Necrons possess. The ability to not only cut through dimensions and sever all bonds but also to manipulate the fundamental forces to fire devastating beams of energy.
I swing the Sceptre of Eternal Glory towards Hasyn but something I never expected happens. Instead of dodging or fighting back, he grabs the blade of my Sceptre ... with his bare hand.
*TING*
"Impossible!"
"You, like most of the Necrons, lack something fundamental which I managed to retain, Szarekh. Imagination."
He rips the Sceptre of Eternal Glory out of my hands and swings it around. With fluidity that I have grown accustomed to when fighting the Aeldari and thought impossible for a Necron's Necrodermis body. He suddenly stabs forward and impales me with my own Sceptre.
...
"You see, Szarekh when the time has come, I will be the one to lead the Necrnos to eternal glory like we were meant to. And not because I want more power, but because I am just that good and suited for the position. The Necrons may decide on their own, but I will lead my people into the future."
He puts his Necrodermis hand on my head and says the final words I will probably ever hear.
"Stand proud, Szarekh. Your existence influenced the galaxy."
----
______________________
There you go. Canon lore is thrown out of the window. I hope you like the twist at the end. And if you wonder how Hasyn could do that, then remember that the Essence grants him control over any technology.
I will see whether we go to another universe or if he stays in Warhammer 40k for a while until the Great Crusade.
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