Chapter 924 - 923: Nareth: Ulthran, Do Not Meet Fulgrim in Person

Craftworld Ulthwé.

Farseer Eldrad Ulthran extended his consciousness toward the Shadow's Sovereignty, touching the Gothic war machine.

'An utterly graceless vessel.'

With this assessment, he swept across its hull, projecting himself to its highest point.

His consciousness penetrated the steel shell, suppressing the discomfort of the asymmetrical structure's violation of balance.

He sensed the loathsome black hole, standing at the palace gate.

'A Blank.'

Ulthran's black hair rippled from his delicate, pointed ears. As his consciousness spun to avoid the black hole, his body rose from the ground.

His right hand pressed against a shimmering tree. The power of the departed Farseers flowed into him.

His consciousness glowed faintly, like an arrow spinning to evade the Blank, shooting into the palace.

Boom!

Suddenly, countless complex geometric symbols appeared: tilted triangles, upright squares, spinning circles.

Ulthran's eyes narrowed. Power surged into him, his consciousness shining like crystal. In an instant, he launched a thousand assaults upon the runic array.

Bang, bang, bang!

Each arrow of consciousness was deflected. The geometric array was flawless.

Ulthran's eyes blazed. He let his arrows of consciousness spiral and project.

Whoosh!

The invisible barrier vanished, startling him.

He could still feel the Blank's black hole, like a collapsing earth, gnawing at his power. The crystal trees dimmed, one by one.

He seized the moment, projecting a mental pulse.

"Primarch of the Shadows of Order, Nareth. I am Eldrad Ulthran of Craftworld Ulthwé. I offer you my greetings."

"Although this is the first time we have communicated in this manner, a century ago I warned your forces about the danger hidden within the region you call the Sak'Trada Deeps."

"Now-"

Ulthran suddenly felt tendrils wrap around his consciousness.

A cold and ravenous sensation spread rapidly through him, seeping into his body.

'A Khrave. No, a Khrave Progenitor.'

'Impossible?!'

'Hadn't Nareth exterminated this vile predatory race?'

Since the Fall, Ulthran had walked in darkness, guiding his craftworld and his people.

For centuries, the first good news he'd heard was of Nareth's destruction of the Khrave.

Since the birth of the Aeldari, they had been prey to the Khrave.

Progenitors had led their kind, parasitizing one Aeldari after another, devouring hundreds of Aeldari worlds.

News of the Khrave's destruction, one of the galaxy's oldest races, had spread across all the craftworlds, and through captured slaves, even to Commorragh.

The removal of the Khrave threat was a boon to all races.

Now, the Khrave had reappeared. And they seemed to be controlled by Nareth.

'Impossible!'

Ulthran's thought began, then he cut it off.

A Khrave Progenitor could not be enslaved or controlled by anyone.

'A coincidence?'

'A surviving Progenitor, seeking revenge on Nareth at this very moment. This is an opportunity to show goodwill.'

As he thought, he projected a mental pulse.

"Nareth, I will fight alongside you against-"

His thoughts froze. The Khrave Progenitor's tendrils had gripped him tightly.

Within the crystal dome, the statue he touched was coated in frost, crackling.

Ulthran held his state of mind, resisting the predator's infiltration, with no strength left to send pulses.

As he struggled, a black shadow flickered.

Ulthran seized the opportunity. He was about to join Nareth in a mental assault on the Khrave Progenitor, when he sensed the black shadow pass effortlessly through the gaps in the tendrils, striking his arrow of consciousness.

Bang!

The crystal statue shattered, fragments flying.

His state of mind was broken.

His consciousness, dimming rapidly, was entangled in black shadow.

Blood seeped from Ulthran's narrow, round eyes. He staggered back.

A low voice sounded: "Thank you for the information."

"I also offer you a warning: do not meet Fulgrim in person."

Ulthran leaned on his staff. It was a long time before he could gather his shattered consciousness and regain his thoughts.

'Nareth broke through my mental defenses. His psychic power is actually this formidable.'

'The psychic pulse he sent shows that he already learned what I intended to tell him.'

'His methods are… domineering.'

'And he knows that I intend to meet Fulgrim. Why would he warn me?'

Ulthran wondered, feeling the cold in his body recede.

'The Khrave Progenitor should hate Nareth more. Why did it cling to me?'

'Could it really be controlled by Nareth? How could that be possible...?'

As Ulthran wrestled with these questions, Nareth said to Arsena, "He has been repelled."

Arsena felt the Black Emperor's unyielding will. "Praise my Lord. None may spy upon you."

Nareth nodded. Sensing the invading consciousness, he had immediately relayed information to the Khrave Progenitor, Ulman, with whom he had a mental link, and together they launched a mental attack.

Though the other's psychic power was immense, and augmented by some force, Nareth and Ulman had broken through his defenses.

He had not only identified the other party, the most powerful Aeldari Farseer, Eldrad Ulthran, but also learned the information he was trying to convey.

He also noted that Ulthran intended to meet Fulgrim on Tarsus.

His memory stirred. Ulthran, in that meeting, warned Fulgrim of Horus's betrayal but Fulgrim, under the influence of the Blade of the Laer, attacked.

The Wraithlord Khiraen Goldhelm blocked the fatal blow aimed at Ulthran, but would pay the price of having his soul devoured by Slaanesh.

Realizing Fulgrim had fallen, Ulthran awakened the avatar of Khaine, the Wrath of Khaine.

But with the Keeper of Secrets' power, Fulgrim slew the avatar and ordered the use of virus bombs to destroy the Aeldari maiden worlds.

In the present Imperium, only the Warmaster could authorize the use of virus bombs.

However, Fulgrim, as he was now, wouldn't adhere to Imperial doctrine. The whispers of the Keeper of Secrets would make him relish the pleasure of destroying the maiden worlds.

Nareth warned the Farseer, not out of concern for him, but because he had also learned from Ulthran's mind the coordinates of the Aeldari maiden worlds in the Perdus Anomaly.

The Perdus Anomaly was the domain of Ulthran's craftworld. That was why he had chosen one of its worlds, Tarsus, to meet Fulgrim.

Nareth warned Ulthran to prevent the precious maiden worlds from being destroyed.

Though he now possessed the most extensive domains among the Primarchs, the Tanist system, with its five planets, remained a crown jewel at the system level.

The Mechanicum would have developed mineral-rich Tanist Prime into a Forge World, with Tanist II, IV, and V becoming three Knight Worlds.

But Nareth, having taken Tanist early, had developed the entire system to Forge World-level productivity, producing rare resources like mandrake, without the industrial pollution that consumed other Imperial Forge and industrial worlds. All five planets met the standards of paradise worlds.

The twelve maiden worlds of the Serpents Cradle, under the various Chapters' development, were also growing rapidly, their productivity steadily increasing.

From Ulthran's mind, Nareth learned there were fifteen such precious worlds in the Perdus Anomaly, more than he had known.

He had only known of three maiden worlds in the Perdus Anomaly. Fulgrim had intended to develop the region for the Imperium.

But after hearing Ulthran's warning, he abandoned further exploration and later went to meet Horus.

Under the corruption of the Blade of Laer and the Warmaster's flattering words, Fulgrim ultimately sided with Horus.

Given the approaching Heresy, Nareth had not intended to venture into the chaotic Perdus region.

It would be difficult to develop, would disperse his forces, and entering Ulthwé's domain might make enemies of both the Aeldari and Fulgrim.

But now, the meal was being served. I'd be a fool not to take it!

Nareth's eyes gleamed.

Fifteen Maiden Worlds.

The difference between fifteen and three was immense.

'I can mobilize up to six hundred thousand warriors. I have the means, the strength, to invest in the Perdus Anomaly.'

He opened a drawer, taking out a data crystal.

He input the information from his memory and from Ulthran's mind.

The crystal grew brighter, blazing with light.

Light and shadow flickered in the Primarch's eyes. His telekinesis lifted the crystal, floating it before Arsena.

"Order Santiago to analyze the coordinates immediately and plot a course to the Perdus Anomaly."

"I will board the Deus Ex and go with him."

Nareth decided to rely on the Deus Ex's stealth capabilities, avoiding conflict with Fulgrim if possible.

Even from tens of thousands of light-years away, he could, through the Tuchulcha Engine, "linked" in the third layer of the Kingdom of Disorder, rapidly transport the fleet around the Shadow's Sovereignty to Tarsus.

The anomalies of the Perdus Anomaly would not hinder the Tuchulcha Engine, unless it encountered a storm of Ruinstorm magnitude, which it could not breach.

'Ulthran, I hope you take my advice. It will save me a lot of trouble.'

....

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