Chapter 12 Part 6

Chapter 12: Battlefield Kronus

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Part 6

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Victory Bay

Kronus

Metric fuck-tons of Orks landing in the middle of a fired-up crowd. Only one way this could end.

The only thing I found particularly concerning among the unfolding insanity was how banal it all was. The fountains of blood and gore erupting with every impact produced by landing Orks were just there, little more than window dressing. The screams, the coppery stench of fresh blood and shit, those were marginally more effective in affecting me.

They all paled in comparison at the sheer fury I felt at the fools running to their death, the same fools countless good men and women died to keep safe.

"Move, damn you!" I screamed as loud as I could, which wasn't very. While I wasn't exactly as weak as a kitten, I had no business getting stuck right into this mess.

Yet, this was my fucking job! It was my Emperor given duty to stand between the regular citizens of the Imperium and all the horrors who would gleefully butcher them or worse.

Like that huge, laughing enthusiast who managed to cover himself with guts and wore them like daemon bait. The fucker was coming straight at me, and I was painfully aware I had a tiny chainsword to meet him. I had a bionic arm too, which helped because I was sure otherwise my fingers would be trembling.

The Ork roared at me, the sheer power of the sound forcing me to stumble a step back. Then he looked down, where a bunch of crazed fanatics had a go at him, mostly unarmed. A quick swipe with a crude ax turned the poor bastards in mince-meat.

As if that wasn't a fuck up enough, a little kid stumbled out of the crowd, crying. Right in the way of the Ork, because someone up there hated me.

I could vaguely make Pickos cursing her people and kicking them into gear.

"Hey, ugly!" I screamed at the brute, whose tiny eyes focused on me. "Charles, get the kid. Anteas…" Another roar came from the right, then a missile flew above the crowd and slammed at something behind us.

The explosion was close enough to rattle my bones and ensure all I could hear was a dull screech.

At least Santos was on the ball and coherent light lanced at the Ork, barely fazing it. A hand grabbed at me, succeeding in holding me back. I saw Weber sprint towards the kid, all the while shooting at the Ork. The damn thing barely slowed down and at that rate, there could be only one result.

I cursed whoever pulled me back to the depth of the Warp, and speaking of it, it was like veil lifting. Suddenly, I could feel the Immaterium, and the golden cage cast over Kronus.

"Thank you, Emperor!" I muttered a prayer, and heedless for the dangers, drank deeply from the power waiting for me. It flowed into me like a river, and with the Warp came the screams of countless frenzied Daemons baying for my soul. There were large things moving over there, just beyond the barrier and every single one of them had their attention on me.

I could swear I heard hounds howling for my blood and immediately knew that I should close myself to the Immaterium. Instead, I channeled the power bubbling within me into an ethereal lighting bolt and sent it at the greenskin ponderously charging at Charles. I saw in slow motion how the Commissar dropped his pistol and skid to a painful stop beside the kid. He grabbed the child with his hand and slowly, oh so slowly, began to turn around.

He wasn't going to make it.

Thankfully, my Warp attack changed the equation. The lightning bolt struck the Ork into the chest, burning through its scrap armor. It stumbled, nearly tumbling down, yet kept standing. Las-bolts kept taking chunks off it, yet the damned mushroom refused to die.

Right, vital spots could be anywhere in the body.

The Guard finally did something useful. A multi-laser spoke and caught the brute in the leg, vaporizing most of it. The Ork finally fell, and instead of dying, it began crawling our way.

The world sped up. The pressure into my head increased, and I was about to let go of the Warp when a second, even larger and better-armored Ork exploded from the frenzied mob. The screaming upper torso of the priest flew past me and struck someone right behind me, showering me with blood.

I caught a glimpse of another missile, which flew true. A multi-laser burst cut short struck the crowd behind the charging Ork, adding to the butchery. The damned mushroom saw Charles and for some reason decided that the Commissar would make a good chew-toy. Or perhaps, it was in a battle frenzy, focusing on everything in its path.

It didn't matter. It ran at Weber, and the scattered shots hitting it merely blasted away pieces of armor.

I didn't think, just ran, pulling as much power as I could. It was right there, the cleansing light and I grabbed at it. Daemons roared, I could feel them clawing at my soul even as they burned.

Suddenly, I was in front of Charles, standing before his retreating form. The Ork slashed at me with a sword better fit for Terminator and I somehow managed to get my chainsword up just in time. Parrying the strike was a bad idea. It brought me to my knees and wrenched the weapon from my bionic grip.

The Ork roared at me in fury and I roared right back. My world was fire. It was light and pain. There was an ugly Xeno in front of me, and I wanted it to go away.

I didn't think, I couldn't. I could smell my blood boiling, a huge form roaring in triumph as its clawed fingers closed around my very soul. Something, someone, looked at me from very far away.

For the second time in my life, I beheld Divinity.

Kaurava. Aurelia.

Those words burned themselves into my soul. For a moment they were everything, the only thing keeping my mind from shattering when an impossibly powerful, familiar, and comforting presence overwhelmed everything I was.

Those words, those words, they were a price I had to repay.

A Daemon screamed at being denied and countless others chorused in an infernal cacophony.

I burned and died, only to burn again and reform. All my world was golden fire. It burned down and rebuilt my soul. Once again, I felt a fraction of the agony the Emperor experienced every single moment for the past ten thousand years. The agony and understanding of what He on Holly Terra sacrificed and continued to sacrifice for every single one of us were humbling. It was eye-opening, a lesson and a pledge engraved upon my soul.

I held a sword of golden fire, crafted of the Emperor's own power. Plunging the blade into the Ork standing frozen above me was the most reasonable and natural thing in the world.

Golden fire engulfed the Xeno and purged it from the surface of Kronus. I stared blankly at the ghostly, transparent arm holding the blade. I blinked, and it began fading away, along with the fiery sword.

The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by countless moths of fire, which flew up to become a part of the radiance surrounding Kronus. Some of them slowly changed direction and headed my way, becoming tiny silver strings connecting me to the people around. It was Faith. Pure, unthinking, faith.

It was power. I could taste it. The refined hopes and dreams of Humanity itself. It's fear and rage, its pain and cry for salvation.

I knew I wasn't worthy of it, not when it was aimed my way. I could do nothing less but answer those cries even as I basked into the faith of those crying for salvation.

What happened next was a sheer instinct. I gathered the power filling me and unleashed it, answering the cries of those nearby. Pure golden energy cascaded from my form, touching everything around me. The crowd staggered. In a single act, I vindicated their belief and proved it true. The wisps of faith feeding the Emperor, the same tiny strings now attached to my very soul, thickened a bit, becoming firmer, almost tangible. For a moment, it was a two-way street.

I poured more power into the connection. Wounds healed, shattered bones mended. And the remaining Orks? They fell upon a tide of Humanity surrounded by Divine radiance.

Whatever I just did, took almost everything I had to give. I fell on my hands and knees, staring at the blood-soaked ground. The power surging through me was too much, and I had no idea how to control it. Worse, or perhaps it was for the best, the distant beacon that was the Emperor kept looking at me. For a split second, I served as a beacon too, and a tide of his divinity clashed into the Immaterium surrounding Kronus.

Daemons beyond numbers had a mere moment to see the annihilation coming at them, and then they burned.

I was a mere pawn in a greater war. That much I knew. A war I unwittingly escalated with my presence, and now it was time to pay the piper.

The Emperor's attention waned, and I crashed hard. The shower of divine power dried out. The last thing I saw was Selene, holding a single snow-white feather. She looked straight at me, with her soulful gold-specked eyes and smiled.

My eyes closed, and I fell into an uneasy slumber.