Aboard the Ark Mechanicum, Glory of Fire, the Magos Kivior-9 was examining a holographic projection.
Torrents of data from surrounding vid-screens cascaded across his faceplate, his logic engines operating at high speeds.
[Enemy ships are retreating rapidly//We have not gained the upper hand//Enemy behavior is illogical/unreasonable//This should be classified as a feigned retreat.]
Just as Kivior-9 prepared to issue orders, the voice of the Tech-Priest overseeing the vox array crackled through his communicator.
"Honorable Magos, I've received a communication from Tech-Priest Rosicky Czech of Altar No. 25 of Vostroya. Per The Omnissiah's Codex, Chapter V, Data Protocol IX, Management, this message requires your attention. Requesting permission to transmit data."
"Permission granted."
[Executing data reception protocols.]
Three shipboard minutes later, Kivior-9's faceplate flickered rapidly.
[Error corrected//Enemy withdrawal confirmed//Flagship captured//Initiate pursuit immediately.]
He immediately relayed commands to the waiting Tech-Priest: "Order all vessels to pursue the xenos fleet."
A new line of logic scrolled across his display
[Xenos battleship//Advanced weaponry//Research value: Extremely High.]
His faceplate glowed brightly.
Meanwhile, aboard the Fra'al people's battlecruiser, Nareth began sorting through the spoils.
While eliminating the Fra'al, he had also collected various alchemical materials.
In addition to the Night Shard, he had found 52 different types, totaling 301 pieces of ingredients.
Nareth couldn't help but admire the Fra'al; they truly lived up to their reputation as nomads of space.
Of the 52 types, 51 were Sequence 9 materials, while the remaining one, a finger-length iridescent multi colored worm known as the "Prismatic Myrmidon", listed on the Blasphemy Slate, served as the primary ingredient for the "Arbiter" pathway's Sequence 8—"Sheriff."
The Prismatic Myrmidon was also the sole "Sheriff" ingredient unobtainable on Vostroya Nareth found 247 of them.
He had discovered them in an interrogation chamber. The worms' eyes emitted blinding light, which the Fra'al harnessed by embedding one or two into specially crafted visor worn on the head.
When Nareth entered, a Fra'al, shackled to a chair, screamed in agony as blood trickled from the edges of the visor.
Nareth didn't know the origin of the Prismatic Myrmidon, but until he encountered more, they now set the upper limit for how many "Sherrif" he could train.
His greatest gain, however, was the Night Shard. He played with one between his fingers, while many others were laid out in front of him.
These shards looked like fragments of the farthest stars in the night sky, condensing infinite darkness and faint light into a delicate balance.
Each shard was a different size, some no larger than a fingertip, others as big as an open book, their surfaces shimmering with a deep, mysterious glow.
When Nareth touched the shard, he could feel a cold and subtle energy flow, neither purely chilling nor warmly comforting, but something otherworldly, beyond sensation.
'It really is a psionic material.'
Nareth keenly noticed faint threads wrapped around the shard in his hand.
'Definitely usable as a divination foci.'
Compared to other psychic disciplines, prophecy was stranger and more obscure.
Even the most potent psykers couldn't avoid the risks of misinterpretation or ambiguity in prophecy. To manage this, seers often used special "foci" to anchor and shape their visions.
In the future Empire, the most commonly used focus would be the Emperor's Tarot, capable of revealing even the God-Emperor's thoughts to those chosen.
The Night Shards were also valid foci for divination, but for Nareth, their true value lay in alchemy.
Until he met the Fra'al again, the number of Shards he had now determined the maximum number of "Bribers" he could cultivate.
'One hundred ninety-eight fragments.'
Nareth began traveling back and forth to the Kingdom of Disorder, transporting all the shards there.
On the first layer of space, he found a Gothic spire palace whose tip was shrouded by a black sky, and its cold stone walls radiated chill.
He laid out the Shards on the ground, each one spaced apart from the others.
Then, Nareth attempted to enter the second layer of the space.
With a single thought, he crossed an invisible boundary and arrived at the second layer.
As soon as he arrived, he noticed the difference.
This layer was between the first and another illusionary space—a blend of real and unreal.
'What is the purpose of this space? The illusory part represents the shadow of order,
while the first layer, which I cannot alter, represents the use of rules.'
Looking around, concepts formed in Nareth's mind:
["Kingdom of Disorder." "Black Emperor." Order. Shadow. Rule. Exploitation. Shattering.]
His eyes lit up, and with a thought, a phantom palace instantly transformed into a spring of water.
He immediately felt his psychic reserves plummet, nearly drained. His face paled slightly as he teleported to the spring.
Compared to the previous semi-illusionary state, reshaping the space according to his will made the spring much more real.
The water was crystal clear, flowing over rocks and making pleasant sounds, easing the mind.
'As expected, breaking the rules and reshaping them according to one's will.'
He pondered how best to use this second layer. Building factories or cities here would be a waste if he could do the same in the outside world.
Then a bright idea struck him: use it to cultivate potion ingredients.
Common creatures like Nest Rats weren't worth cultivating.
But beings like Chem-Hounds, Millipedes, and especially the Prismatic Myrmidon, were valuable.
Even if these magical creatures couldn't reproduce here, cultivating them would reduce the risk of others discovering his potion formulas, including the Four's scrutiny.
'This also simplifies nurturing Beyonders. I've already decided to elevate Maria Kournikova to "Assassin," but without carrying a millipede serpent due to being undecided back then., I must wait until returning to Vostroya.'
He sighed at the psyker toll, a wry smile on his face.
'This is destined to be a long process, but having power is better than having no chance at all.'
Nareth then returned to the real world. After a moment of thought, he decided to bring all Fra'al data crystals and materials back to the Kingdom of Disorder for slow research.
For normal psykers, being drained of so much energy would make even moving difficult, but as a Primarch, Nareth only felt a little discomfort.
The Fra'al had deep knowledge of the many star systems in the Segmentum Obscurus, and this would be immensely helpful for his future expansion.
Though he had only learned a bit of the Fra'al language, as a Primarch, deciphering it wouldn't be hard.
Besides, he could always nurture a "Reader".
Without delay, Nareth acted. He brought all the materials he could gather back to the Kingdom of Disorder, filling up an entire palace.
Shortly after, he received a message and went to the bridge for a briefing.