"Bring to this hall all members of the Slaanesh worship cult who are on this planet.” - I expressed my wish.

"It will be done.” - The daemon nodded, and then hid back in the portal. A second later, people started to appear in the hall. Someone was thrown out from the already open portal, and someone was 'honored' by personal movement through Warp.

The cultist with a sword was not confused and began to run around the hall, cutting off the heads of their 'associates'. It seemed that he had realized that this cell had been compromised and their entire plan had failed, so he was now clearing all traces, since I had given him the opportunity to do so. The cultists screamed and ran back and forth, but they could not escape the bloody retribution.

I glanced to my 'boss' and made sure that he didn't have even a second to distract himself. The polices were completely stuck at the entrance to the building, where there was a fierce gun firing. Looks like I need to interfere.

I twisted the sword, reinforced the blade with magic and rushed to the cultist, who now resembled a knife in a blender, chopping people to pieces. Blood and guts flew around the room, creating an infernal spectacle. A simple man could not have done such a thing. The cultist had obviously received some sort of gift from the Slaanesh and was drawing power directly from the Warp.

There started a sword fight between us. The opponent was a good swordsman, and I even a couple of minutes just chopped with him to copy his sword skill. I controlled movements of my sword by in high speed with my consciousness and a with special computer program that analyzed the picture of the fight and made recommendations for striking, taking into account the limitations of human physiology. If I wanted to, I could easily kill the cultist in a one millisecond, but I held back myself, pretending to be a simple swordsman.

Finally, I got tired of waving this iron and I used a cunning trick, to knock out the sword of the enemy’s hands. Of course, in fact, the reason for the success of this technique was not in its cunning, but in the banal force of the blow. Even a reinforced human hand could not hold the sword. The iron flew to the other end of the hall, and the cultist froze, trying to figure out what to do next.

I whirled my sword and aimed it at my opponent's face, feigning mock superiority. But the cultist was able to surprise me. He used some sort of psi ability, and I was knocked back by the force wave. After that, the daemon-worshipper pulled an incomprehensible device from his pocket and began pumping it with the power of the Warp. I did not wait for the result of this action, but simply threw my sword at the enemy. It hit the artifact directly, and then the cumulated force exploded. The cultist was thrown back and slammed against the wall, whereupon he lost consciousness and slid down, leaving a trail of blood on the wall.

The explosion didn't just affect my opponent. It scattered the usual cultists who were in the hall, freeing the center of the hall from the bodies of the living and the dead. Also, the blast wave hit the second cultist, and Erebus was able to take advantage in his battle, literally cutting his enemy in half at waist level. But this cultist was not easy. The upper half of the body rushed at the space marine to hold him back, and the lower half... just ran into open portal.

For the next three hours, we were busy crushing the remnants of the resistance and arresting the cultists who had more than two hundred in the building. At the same time, most of them were brought here by the daemon according to my order. Astartes looked at me suspiciously, but he had to admit that only thanks to me the whole cult had been completely exposed and defused in just one day.

Finally, the active part of the operation was completed, and I was able to approach my 'boss' to talk without extra ears.

"Erebus, I helped you to neutralize the daemon-worshipping sect. Now I want you to help me with something, too.”

"What do you want?" - He asked me grumpily.

"I need access to the public part of the Imperial library.” - I expressed my wish.

Although the library was called the public library, it was impossible to get into it just like that. Access was granted only when it was necessary for the state or by special permission.

"What do you want to find there?"

"I'm writing a research paper about Eldar culture at the institute. And I need access to reliable material on them. I do not trust to the information which can be found in Internet.”

The representative of the Night's Watch paused for a moment, then reluctantly agreed.

“Good. I'll give you access to one visit with restrictions of the subject.”

"Thank you!" - I exclaimed joyfully.

“Are you ready to go to the library right now? I need to personally go to the Legion Command to provide a report. So, I'm running out of time.”

“Ok. I am ready.” - I agreed, depicting doubts in my voice.

“Let’s go”

We went outside and took a seat in one of the police cars. The space marine's authority was so high that no one even dared ask him where he was going. And no one paid any attention to me as his companion.

The local library was a branch of the Central Imperial library. Most of the books were stored in electronic format, so it was possible to simply order them from a catalog and then wait until an electronic copy was received.

After a surprisingly quick resolving with the local bureaucracy, I got access to a reading terminal, and for one curious librarian in the library, who was trying to figure out what I wanted to find here. The Astartes went about his business pretty quickly, leaving me alone, which was more than fine to me.

I looked at the list of books on the history and culture of the Eldar. There weren't many of them. After all, people were at war with the Eldars, so much of the information on them was classified. I quickly started going through the books, literally digitizing each page, and then feeding the text to an analytical computer that extracted all the reliable information on the Eldar and Necrons. I was interested in worlds where members of these races might live.

After reviewing all the books available to me, I found in one of them a link to another book dedicated to the Necrons. There was mention of a battle between Eldar and Empire’s Exploration fleet, the cause of which was the prediction of the awakening of the Necrons on the planet Mardex. I was able to convince the librarian to give me access to this book by mentally brainwashing him.

The necessary book told in detail about how this battle with the Eldar took place, and about the subsequent diplomatic settlement of this conflict. Later, Explorers again visited Mardex and found there the remains of Necrons structures, as well as a certain device of the Eldar, protected by a force shield, through which they were not able to penetrate.

I couldn't find any other leads, so I focused on this story. I remembered the name and coordinates of the planet, but I still had to figure out where it was. In other words, I needed a map of the galaxy and a route. However, all this could be found outside the library, so I thanked the staff for their help and went to Theodore’s home. There I planned to go online and try to download the information I needed from open sources.

I didn't have my car anymore, because it was parked outside of the police department. So, I decided to go for a little run, since Theodore lived not too far away. I took the shortest route through the maze of streets, cutting corners through courtyards and squares. But when remained only a couple of blocks to home, a man dressed in strange-looking armor came out of an alley to meet me. Judging by the appearance, it was the armor created by the daemons. Because it was the color of fresh meat and fundamentally sought to break the symmetry of the human body wherever possible.

"So, I found you.” - The cultist, whom I recognized as the space marine's opponent, spoke to me.

"You`ve been cut in half." - I expressed my surprise.

“Yes, and in revenge for it, I will cut you in half.” - With that, he drew his sword and attacked me.

Fortunately, when I left the site of the assault, I still had my sword, so I simply drew it from its scabbard and entered the fight. Apparently, the cultist was going to beat me at the expense of speed of movement, focusing on the level that I demonstrated in the last battle. But I easily accelerated to his level, which is ten times higher than the capabilities of a simple person, even if trained.

"Who are you?" - The cultist croaked. He jumped to the side and pulled out the gun and tried to shoot me. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't a shotgun at all, so I easily blocked a series of shots with my sword. - "Human can't move in such speed.”

"What about you also?" - I switched the question.

"I'm not human. I'm already a daemon.” - With that, he transformed, increasing his height to three meters. In this form, the curved armor looked more organic, because it neutralized the asymmetry of the daemon's body.

We continued fight again, but this time the daemon was throwing spells at me. I had to speed up even more and chop the daemon to pieces. The daemon tried to escape into the Warp again, but I tore soul from its body of flesh and tore its astral body to pieces, destroying even the slightest chance of rebirth.

"Fuhh-hh, that was fun.” - I spoke, looking at the street covered with pieces of daemon.

But before I could continue on my way, I heard sirens wailing, and five patrol cars came around the corner of the nearest house. Police officers poured out of them and immediately began to run in different directions, cordoning off the scene. In addition, at least a dozen law enforcement officers pointed their weapons at me.

"Where were you when I fought the daemon?" - I asked their commander. – “Waiting to see how it would end, on the next street?”

"Drop your sword!" - He shouted back. - "Lie down on the ground, hands behind your head.”

"Are you freaking?" - I asked culturally, slinging my sword over my shoulder.

"You're accused of having links to daemons.” - The cop shouted, without risking to approach. - "We watched your fight through street surveillance cameras. Even Astartes are not able to move at this speed.”

"Are you really such stupid?" - I asked, rushing to them. In a one millisecond I reached the police commander and put my sword to his neck. He didn't even have time to blink, so it looked like teleportation to those around him. - "If I'm that fast, what will stop me from chopping you all to pieces, and then the entire population of the city? Believe me, it won't take five minutes at my speed.”

The policeman turned pale, sweated, and began to make inarticulate grunts and cackles.

"Well. Now, I'm going about my business right now, and you're stopping spying on me and you forget about my existence. And if I see you trying to stop me in any way, I will simply destroy this city. Is everything clear?”

“Yeah.” - The policeman swallowed.

"Then what are you standing here?!!” - I barked. - "Get the hell out of here so I can't see you!"

The cops immediately ran to the cars and drove away even faster than they had arrived. I chuckled complacently and ran in the opposite direction, to Theodore’s home.

When I got to the coveted Internet, I began to study maps of the galaxy. I was able to download a complete model of the galaxy to my laptop, after which I uploaded the file to the computer in my body and completely decrypt it. After that, I connected to one of the official sites of the Imperial Navigation Corps, where I calculated the route from my current planet to Mardex.

With that, I considered my mission here complete. I cast a disguise spell on myself and got out of the apartment through the window and flew in the direction of the spaceport. There I found a cargo spaceship preparing for departure, and I decided to check the correctness of data which previously I had received.

Having penetrated on board, I subdued the Navigator and gave him the task to calculate the course to the desired planet. To my surprise, the course was almost twice long and went quite differently from the one I saw on the site, although it ended at the same point in space. After inquiring about these differences from the Navigator, I found that the 'official' course offered to me went straight through the Eye of Chaos - the area of space where reality intersected with the Warp. Roughly speaking, they sent me straight into the jaws of the daemons.

To be honest, I was upset by this attitude. I saved them from a daemons’ invasion, but they decided to arrest me and kill me. Well, my revenge will be terrible.

I got out of the ship and teleported to the place where the orcs’ ships still hung in space. It looks like I'll have to help them with repairs and make sure they keep going as planned.

When I entered the flagship of this 'fleet', I was surprised to find out that the orcs quantity on the ship decreased twice. And instead of them there were other 'rats'. It turns out that when I dumped the body of a necromorph, I did not pay attention to the fact that it was still 'alive', if you can say so about this form of existence. After lying down for a couple of hours, my previous body started hunting orcs and even achieved some success in this. Well, then I will send not one gift, but two to the recipients. And since the necromorphs are my creatures, we will assume that I am one of the sides of this game. Even if I leave here, the game will continue. Who knows, maybe I can even win with a minimum of effort.

Using my knowledge, as well as banal magic, I was able to repair the reactor and the ship's engines in half an hour. After that, I teleported orcs from four other ships to it, stuffing them like herrings in a barrel, and then set the ship's flight program. In twenty-four hours, it should land on the planet and bring orcs and necromorphs to there. Let’s the locals people have fun.

After finishing my revenge, I teleported into outer space and headed for the planet Mardex. I knew the route, so I teleported in 'small' steps of five light-years, moving in the right direction. This mode of travel was not particularly fast, but I had nowhere to hurry.

After coming out of another jump, I suddenly faced a daemon. More precisely, not exactly nose to nose, but the distance of twenty meters on the scale of the galaxy was negligible. Before me in space hung an ugly cross between a human, a dragon and an eagle. The daemon didn't seem to be aggressive, so I decided to start a dialogue.

"What do you want, sick?" - I said to him, using telepathy.

“The great of God Chaos, the Architect of Fate, Tzeentch wants to meet with you.” – The messenger said.

"Okay. I'll look at him when I have time.”

With these words I made the next leap, leaving the daemon alone. It will be necessary to take into account in the future that my actions may be influenced by this cunning god. Too much honor for him to meet me.

After a couple of days, I finally got to the right planet. In its orbit was a guard space station and a battleship-class spacecraft. Apparently, the Empire didn't want outsiders on this planet. All right, let them continue guard it. But before I could begin my descent, the active radars of both ships were aimed at me. It looks like they're going to attack me. How they were able to notice me under the cover of invisibility?

The battleship launched a swarm of fighters, and the space station began to accumulate energy in its weapons. Moreover, it was the energy of the Warp, so it should have been a big hit. So, I didn't hold back and hit him first. Space is primarily a huge distance, so I struck my blow with laser gamma ray. The target was a battleship whose defense simply could not cope with such power. The ship glowed with a ghostly green light and its hull was torn apart by multiple internal explosions. This one is ready. After such dose of radiation, nothing alive can live inside anymore.

Immediately after the shot, I teleported and found myself near the station. The launched bijudama was stopped by the shields, although a series of small explosions from the collapsed deflectors of the shield went through the hull. Without pausing, I leaped to the side again, and a moment later dozens of explosions bloomed in the area which I was.

It looks like my location is being determined by a psykers. I surrounded myself with an astral shield that prevented reading information, and teleported again and again. A couple more times. Then formed another shot of gamma radiation. The station didn't explode after that, but it was suspiciously quiet. And to make sure I didn't have to worry about it, I made another similar test shot, only ten times more powerful. Now it was obvious how heated and melted the outer shell of the station. These are no longer living residents.

For this fight I spent all my reserves of magical energy, which I have accumulated in crystals since the creation of the vritras body. When I was sure that I was no longer in any danger, and that the fighters were circling aimlessly, trying to find me, I went to land on the planet.

The book described the place where the battle of the Eldar and Necrons took place. As I circled in orbit, I found an area literally melted to magma. Such an anomaly did not pass without a trace for the rest of the planet, so the weather there was still bad. A little away from the destruction zone, I found a structure that looked like a tower a couple of kilometers high. It seems to have been exactly the same Eldar structure that the Empire could not reach.

As I descended into the atmosphere, I began to scan the surface of the planet in all the ranges available to me, especially on the astral level. A few hours later, I was able to locate two clusters of sentient souls. One was in the tower, and the other was under an unremarkable ground.

For research, I chose the second location, suggesting that it might be one of the Necron shelters. The cluster of souls was more than a kilometer deep, so I had to spend another hour to find the tunnels leading there from the surface. Of course, they did not come out on the surface, but to dig a passage inland for a kilometer or a hundred meters - the difference is still there

Chosen passage was an endless staircase that descended steeply into the depths of the unknown. If you step wrong, you will roll down to the bottom. I didn't walk like a mere mortal, but used levitation to plan smoothly.

At the very bottom I cracked the next doors and went out into the big hall, illuminated by green light. The source of light was lamps, which work due to the decay of radioactive material. I was not lazy to study the device of one of them and found out that the half-decay period is twenty million years, so now the lamps shone eight times worse than when the shelter was built sixty million years ago.

Given the duration of the 'sleep', this planet was probably chosen due to the lack of tectonic activity. This gave confidence that even after so many years the base will not be on the seabed or on top of the crumbling mountain.

On the opposite side of the empty hall was a raised platform. I flew up to it and found a sarcophagus on top of it, with a Necron inside. Time stasis field held a body inside. I had to spend fifteen minutes studying the sarcophagus before I figured out how to turn it off.

The greenish glow of the sarcophagus faded, and a green light flickered in the Necron's eyes. He turned his head and stared at me.