The Silent King sat upon his throne, his expression utterly unchanged, as though someone else were about to be surrounded.
He knew that the Lord of Hope's interference had made the evacuation plan impossible to carry out.
His only remaining choice was to stay and defeat the Lord of Hope, no matter what forbidden measures he had to employ.
Even if doing so brought irreversible consequences.
"Soon, the Necrons will remember why I, Szarekh, ruled both their people and the galaxy for tens of millions of years. Even the gods could not defeat me..."
The Silent King transmitted his will through his proxy phaerons. Commanding the Dais of Dominion, the unique Catacomb Command Barge that served as his throne, he advanced toward the region occupied by the Lord of Hope.
He carried himself not as a warrior heading into battle, but as a sovereign inspecting his subjects.
The distinctive energy signature and majesty of his royal conveyance drew the attention of every Necron present. It even stirred fear within them.
"The Silent King... has come!" the ancient phaeron said in a trembling voice as he stared at the Dais of Dominion.
This was the first time the supreme ruler had left the Sepulchral Hall since his return.
Even those who no longer acknowledged his authority were shaken by his majesty. An oppressive force spread outward without restraint.
The towering figure remained seated upon the Dais of Dominion, as silent and unmoving as ever.
More importantly, the ancient throne-barge had revealed its true form.
Its frame was composed of dark sepulchral stone, wreathed in dense void energy as it floated effortlessly through the air. Patterns of ghostly green flame flowed across its exterior, drawing two levitating Triarchal Menhirs behind it.
Bound above the Silent King's crown were the broken remains of several C'tan.
They wailed amid flashing arcs of electricity, continually releasing energy to power the throne while feeding lethal power into the Menhirs.
Wherever the Dais of Dominion passed, the Necrons who had been simmering with discontent and preparing to rebel fell silent. Profound fear appeared in their eyes.
They remembered that the Silent King had once defeated terrifying gods, the ravenous C'tan themselves, before fashioning the fragments of their shattered bodies into weapons.
Hum!
Under the awed gazes of the Necrons, the Silent King lightly raised his sceptre.
Several Annihilator Beams erupted from the Menhirs, erasing everything disrespectful enough to remain in his path instead of immediately yielding and bowing before him.
Rebellious phaerons aboard their command barges, Seraptek Heavy Constructs, Canoptek Doomstalkers, and entire formations of royal guards were all swept away.
None of them even had time to scream before the beams' unimaginable heat reduced them to atomic dust.
This was the power of the Silent King. Godlike and unstoppable.
There was no proclamation, accusation, or rebuke.
The Silent King simply destroyed the defiant Necrons as though he had dealt with something utterly insignificant.
His terrifying majesty silenced the entire region as wordless fear spread through the ranks.
Ahead of him, the Necrons who had gathered to storm the Dais of Dominion began moving aside, one after another, opening a path through their ranks.
It was almost as though they were welcoming the Silent King's arrival.
They could not challenge the supreme ruler. They did not even possess the courage to face him directly.
The Silent King's irresistible majesty, combined with the pressure radiating from the remains of the C'tan, was not something any Necron, not even a phaeron, could withstand. The fear had been carved into the deepest layers of their data-logic.
So long as the supreme ruler lived and remained seated upon the Dais of Dominion, the Necrons would never be able to end his reign.
"Lord of Hope, pitiful slave of a false god, these wretched traitors will never shake the Dais of Dominion.
"Are you prepared to face the great Szarekh?"
Hapthatra the Radiant's courage surged as he felt the Silent King's majesty.
As the Silent King's mouthpiece, he once again hurled insults at the Lord of Hope.
Judging by the current situation, they still had a chance to turn everything around.
All they had to do was kill the Lord of Hope. Once he died, the Necrons would never dare assault the Dais of Dominion again, nor would they possess the strength to do so.
The Silent King slowly raised his head and looked down upon the distant Lord of Hope. Not the slightest flicker of emotion appeared within his eye sockets.
This was the proper posture for confronting an enemy. His confidence in victory was absolute.
It was nothing more than a duel between a true king and a would-be usurper.
"Damn. This isn't looking good..."
Eden stared at the Necrons retreating in fear before the slowly approaching Dais of Dominion and felt an intense sense of danger.
His original plan had been to exploit the discontent buried in the hearts of the Necrons, gathering enough armed forces to overwhelm the Dais of Dominion in a single charge.
No matter how powerful the Silent King might be, even he could not have stopped dozens, perhaps more than a hundred, high-ranking phaerons and the countless Necron nobles accompanying them.
But now, that plan appeared ready to fall apart.
The Silent King's majesty had been seared too deeply into the minds of his people, and he commanded power on the level of a god. One by one, the Necrons lost the nerve to advance.
Unless Eden demonstrated that he truly possessed the strength to defeat the Silent King, they would hesitate in the face of death, no matter how dissatisfied they were with Szarekh or how strongly they supported Eden.
Of course, that did not apply to everyone.
Zabok, Zahndrekh, and several other phaerons would still charge the Silent King at Eden's side without hesitation.
But there were far too few of them, and the danger was immense. One mistake could wipe them all out.
Gradually, the Necrons withdrew and gathered around the perimeter, watching the final battle unfold.
Many of them hoped that the Lord of Hope would emerge victorious. They were even willing to contribute their strength at a decisive moment.
But only if he truly possessed the power to challenge the Silent King, rather than being effortlessly annihilated by the Dais of Dominion.
The factions within the region became clearly divided. The wavering Necrons gathered around the outskirts, observing the Dais of Dominion and the Lord of Hope's forces.
"This is a duel between kings. Beings such as us are not qualified to interfere," the ancient phaeron murmured.
He knew this would be one of the most important duels in the history of the Infinite Empire.
Its outcome would determine whether the Necrons continued along their present path or welcomed a new supreme ruler and a new future.
"Perhaps the great Szarekh will destroy every last dissenter and bring this rebellion to an end. We may finally achieve a unity unlike anything we have known before..."
Several phaerons who remained loyal to the Silent King entertained such thoughts.
As the conflict among the Silent King, Imotekh the Stormlord, and the Lord of Hope intensified, the Necron dynasties scattered across the galaxy had gradually converged upon the Pariah Nexus. Their gathering had finally ended a state of widespread isolation that had lasted tens of millions of years.
Imotekh had now been utterly defeated.
If the Lord of Hope also fell, the Silent King could execute every remaining dissenter and rapidly bring the strength of all the dynasties under his control.
Countless thoughts and calculations flowed through the region. The authority the Silent King had once lost showed signs of gathering around him again.
"It looks like I'll have to make a statement, or all the advantages I worked so hard to build will disappear..."
Eden also recognized the seriousness of the situation.
He had no choice but to accept this duel between rulers, and he could not allow the Silent King to overwhelm him in either power or presence.
He turned toward Zabok.
"Tell the Crypteks to move faster. Get that thing in here as soon as possible!"
That was the real problem.
At present, Eden did not have a large vehicle or command barge capable of withstanding the Dais of Dominion.
If he could not produce an equally powerful royal conveyance, there was no way for him to confront the Silent King. This was not merely about maintaining the majesty expected of a ruler. It was also a matter of personal safety.
He could hardly charge an ancient war machine like the Dais of Dominion with nothing but his bare body.
The throne contained the power of several C'tan. No individual in the galaxy could withstand it directly.
It would be like running headfirst into the Silent King's vintage Ferrari. Eden would probably end up scattered across the battlefield in pieces.
If he went in as he was, the Annihilator Beams would most likely leave him screaming bloody murder. Even his cloned metal body might be destroyed.
Then he would be completely screwed.
Fortunately, Eden had made preparations.
He had already poured a truly painful quantity of resources into constructing an extravagant Catacomb Command Barge of his own.
He had incorporated numerous C'tan shards into its design and installed the Machine Goddess as its core system, allowing her to balance the power of those fragments.
Eden believed his command barge would not fall too far behind the Dais of Dominion. At the very least, he had thrown so many resources into the thing that sheer brute force ought to give it a fighting chance.
The only problem was the veil the Silent King had created around the core region using a dimensional relic. It made phase teleportation extremely difficult for Eden's extravagant ride.
Otherwise, he would have entered atop his luxurious command barge from the very beginning.
"I just hope the Crypteks can get the command barge inside without any trouble. Otherwise, we might have to face the Dais of Dominion directly..."
Eden sighed.
It was not as though he had no trump cards. If he drew upon a new source of power and accepted the destruction of his cloned metal body, he might still have a chance to bring down the Dais of Dominion.
The odds would probably be fifty-fifty.
But that was an option of last resort, something he would attempt only when every other path had been closed.
Zabok, Zahndrekh, and the others stared at him in utter confusion.
They had been preparing to persuade the Lord of Hope to retreat for the time being and look for another opportunity to counterattack.
It might damage his prestige, but at least it would preserve his chance to challenge the Silent King again.
Yet the Lord of Hope had just said that if the command barge containing the power of the C'tan could not be brought inside, he would personally charge into battle.
To a Necron, that sounded as absurd as a Space Marine announcing that he intended to single-handedly charge a Custodes Psi-Titan.
It was simply inconceivable.
"May the New God protect us!" Zabok exclaimed, showing no fear.
The Lord of Hope possessed such confidence because the New God must have granted him some form of divine favor and power.
At present, only a little over thirty of the most loyal and resolute phaerons were willing to risk their lives alongside Eden in an assault on the Dais of Dominion.
That could not be helped.
He had been spreading his faith for far too short a time. Worse still, he had been doing so during a total war, when the situation could transform from one moment to the next.
If Eden had been given a hundred years, he was certain that he could have made his Necron followers far more loyal, every one of them as devoted as Zabok.
He could even have completely reshaped the thought patterns of the entire Necron species, transforming them into a peaceful people and the galaxy's guardians of the environment.
The Emperor had accomplished something similar when he unified Terra and reshaped the thoughts and beliefs of humanity, even if that had not been his intention.
Eden was confident that he could do a better job.
This was his professional specialty as a deity of the Warp.
Of course, securing the absolute loyalty of dozens of phaerons and their dynasties in such a short time was already astonishing. It proved the immense strength of his influence.
Not even the Silent King could summon so many absolutely loyal phaerons. Most of Szarekh's rule relied upon force and fear.
Even so, Eden knew that his handful of followers would not be enough to give him the advantage in the coming battle.
Several phaerons who had originally remained loyal to the Silent King had noticed the restored majesty of the Dais of Dominion and were gradually gathering around Szarekh.
They intended to help the Silent King defeat Eden, the Lord of Hope, then receive Szarekh's forgiveness and claim a generous share of the spoils.
After all, once the rebellious phaerons had been destroyed, someone would need to inherit their dynastic legacies and legions of living metal.
The potential rewards were enormous.
More and more phaerons gathered around the Silent King with renewed aggression, and their movement began influencing the other Necrons.
"Damn it. I can't wait any longer."
After seeing how quickly the core region was changing, Eden knew he had to step forward and confront the Silent King immediately.
Otherwise, the roaring cries of "Capture the Silent King alive!" that he had worked so hard to inspire would soon become "Capture the Lord of Hope alive!"
The mood was already beginning to turn.
Eden could feel the faint hostility in the gazes coming from every direction. Most belonged to Necrons he had intimidated or coerced into joining his advance.
Now that they realized the Silent King was there to support them, they were beginning to stir again. They wanted to answer Hapthatra the Radiant's call, restore the old order, and crush the rebellion.
Hum...
Just as Eden prepared to charge in without his barge, the surrounding space rippled with the energy of phase teleportation.
Countless gazes turned toward the disturbance.
When the teleportation sequence ended, a unique and extravagant Catacomb Command Barge several hundred meters long appeared before the Necrons, gleaming from prow to stern in brilliant gold.
It was blinding.
Even the Necrons had to adjust their optical sensors against the sheer intensity of that pure golden radiance.
This command barge was completely different from the bare black hulls of the other barges, including the Dais of Dominion.
It could only be described as dazzling.
Its exterior was covered in Eden-gold plating, an ornamental coating from the most glorious era of the Infinite Empire. One glance was enough to tell anyone that it was both extravagant and ruinously expensive.
It immediately stood apart from every other command barge in the region.
After the War in Heaven and biotransference, most of the Necrons' industrial systems had been destroyed. The production of decorative luxuries, in particular, had ceased almost overnight.
Having lost their souls and been condemned to the torment of eternal emptiness, they no longer possessed the energy or desire to pursue such things.
All that remained to the Necrons was endless war and immeasurably long slumber.
During the tens of millions of years they had spent asleep, even their living metal had grown dull. Combined with the blackstone used throughout their constructions, everything they possessed now looked as though it had just been dug out of the ground.
It all appeared incredibly ancient.
Then Eden suddenly produced a gaudy golden command barge that practically blinded every Necron who looked at it.
It was unique, overwhelming, and utterly magnificent.
Compared to it, even the Silent King's dark and gloomy Dais of Dominion seemed to be missing something.
More importantly, the extravagant command barge was not merely covered in gold. It was also one size larger than the Dais of Dominion and radiated the same terrifying power of the C'tan.
It inspired genuine fear.
This was the extravagant royal conveyance that Eden, the Lord of Hope, had personally supervised and designed for one specific purpose: to outshine the Silent King.
"Szarekh, accept my challenge. There can be only one king of the Necrons!"
The moment his extravagant chariot arrived, Eden transferred himself aboard and sat upon the throne at its center.
He slowly raised his head toward the approaching Dais of Dominion and issued a formal challenge in accordance with the ancient codes.
This would be a duel between two kings, witnessed by every Necron phaeron and noble present.
Eden knew that the Silent King could not refuse under these circumstances. If he did, the royal authority he had only just managed to restore would crumble once again.
"What majesty!"
When Eden's luxurious command barge rose into the air, the ancient phaeron could not suppress his amazement.
He was not alone. Countless phaerons and nobles reacted in the same way.
All of them were shaken by the overwhelming presence of the extravagant command barge.
It surpassed anything the Necrons had imagined.
Even the Dais of Dominion was drawn by two high-ranking Necrons bound into the platform as its operators.
But the beings pulling the Lord of Hope's barge were five separate avatars formed from five different C'tan shards.
The gods who had once enslaved the Necrons, now bound into fragmentary manifestations.
The Nightbringer, the Deceiver, the Void Forger, and others crawled forward in their former divine forms, dragging the Lord of Hope's magnificent command barge and throne like lowly slaves.
The Lord of Hope had harnessed C'tan to pull his chariot.
Even if they were merely avatars of their shattered fragments, the spectacle was shocking beyond belief.
These were the beings that had once enslaved the Necrons. Now they had been reduced to such a lowly state, serving as draft animals for the Lord of Hope's throne.
In sheer grandeur, Eden had instantly surpassed the Dais of Dominion.
The Silent King stared at the extravagant command barge, his gaze lingering on the five C'tan avatars pulling it.
At last, his composure shattered.
(End of Chapter)
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