Orsellio Moon V. The House Orsellio's domain occupied nearly a quarter of the entire moon.
Within the opulent villa, Nareth sipped the delicious black tea served by an attendant. Murmuring voices echoed in his ears.
'Ramsey?'
"Leave me. I wish to rest for a while."
Arsena bowed slightly. Before leaving, he reminded: "My Lord, the banquet House Orsellio hosts for you begins in two hours."
"Understood."
Watching his aide depart, and with the Dionysian Spear left aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, he decided to proceed directly to the Kingdom of Disorder.
The "Baron of Corruption" drew the Sword of Vaul. Spirituality extended and using "Concept Swap" made it an ordinary blade.
The Primarch flicked his wrist, swiftly tapping a convoluted symbol onto the floor.
In an instant, he completed tracing the Sothmes Sigil, creating a sealed space within the two-hundred-square-meter suite for rest.
The "Baron of Corruption" sheathed the sword while surveying his surroundings. In his vision, the entire space created by the Sothmes Sigil was composed of countless shapes of different colors: grey inverted equilateral triangles, green squares…
Through repeated use and deconstruction, combined with studying the patterns, the "Baron of Corruption" had deconstructed the Sothmes Sigil from his perspective.
The grey inverted equilateral triangles served to suppress psychic power. It was this that allowed Magnus to sever all Thousand Sons' connection to the Warp during the First Council.
'I have a preliminary understanding of the runes composing the Sothmes Sigil and the lines of law only I can see. I can begin attempting to construct sigils traced with spirituality.'
As Nareth pondered, a thought carried him to the "Kingdom of Disorder."
In the shadow aspect, he found an additional shimmering dark crimson orb, constantly expanding and contracting.
The "Baron of Corruption" then proceeded to the fourth layered space. With a thought, his spirituality extended, instantly linking this layer with the dark crimson orb in the shadow aspect and Ramsey.
After advancing to "Baron of Corruption," his authority within previously opened spaces also increased somewhat. Manipulating them was smoother than before.
Aboard the Shadow's Sovereignty, within the Librarium's restricted inner sanctum, black mist surged upon the altar.
The "Secrets Suppliant" felt an inner boiling and burning. He slightly raised his head, seeing a wind generate from nothing, swirling up the five crystal bottles filled with Siren's Dust, flying toward the door.
"My Lord, during the collection of Siren's Dust, I made discoveries. Please heed."
Black mist enveloped the "Secrets Suppliant's" body, swallowing it. Simultaneously, he felt something within rapidly dissolving.
Ramsey regained his senses, finding himself in a mysterious, unknown space.
The "Secrets Suppliant" discovered his inspiration was useless here. He could only clearly see within a two-meter radius around him.
Deep within the black mist, a majestic figure sat upon a throne.
"Ramsey, well done. You collected Siren's Dust for me."
The "Secrets Suppliant" maintained his clasped hands, inverted gesture.
"My Lord, I boarded the transport ship, arriving at the area dense with Siren's Dust…"
As he spoke, the "Secrets Suppliant" continuously felt an inner burning boil, something accelerating dissolution.
"I heard an intermittent voice telling me, 'I am a god of the material realm…'"
"Combined with the information your aide gave me before departure, I believe the C'tan shard that invaded the Elysian Gate is bound somewhere. It wants to compel me to liberate it."
Nareth nodded slightly. "When the appropriate time comes, I shall deal with it."
He judged that C'tan shard was likely a Transcendent C'tan composed of around ten shards.
Without confidence to secure it yet, he decided to take no immediate action.
The Black Emperor's concise words stirred huge waves within the "Secrets Suppliant." Ramsey felt as if stars were shattering within.
'I have become a true "Secrets Suppliant."'
The "Baron of Corruption" also noticed Ramsey's change. His inner aspect became a unified dark crimson.
'Indeed, performing rituals, praying to me, and receiving feedback nearly equivalent to the "Black Emperor" within the "Kingdom of Disorder," Ramsey digested the "Secrets Suppliant" potion.'
"You have mastered the power I bestowed. After I return you to the altar, I shall bestow new power upon you."
"After becoming a 'Listener,' you shall return to that area. Perhaps you will gain power from the voices."
"But be cautious. If you feel your will being encroached upon, immediately elevate to the third layer of the Thelema mindstate and cease. You must pray to me daily. I will decide whether you continue."
"Listener" is among all Sequence 8s, possibly the one with the highest potential ceiling. They might even acquire abilities far surpassing those of higher sequence beyonder individuals.
Their strength entirely depends on abilities gained from unknown entities. Mid-sequence or even high-sequence beyonder abilities are not impossible.
But obtaining powerful abilities comes at a cost. "Listeners" may have their minds twisted by the whispers they "listen" to, even driven mad.
Using powerful abilities is both a burden on the body and a test of the spirit.
Nareth still allowed Ramsey to proceed because the Transcendent C'tan was clearly bound somewhere, its influence limited. Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn't have allowed the Imperium to use the Elysian Gate as one of the Sol System's two major inter-system travel hubs, with no major disasters erupting until the Great Rift opened.
More crucially, Ramsey differed from ordinary "Listeners." An Astartes' mind was more resilient than an ordinary beyonder individual's. Moreover, he had long tempered his will, mastering the third layer of the Thelema mindstate.
"As you command, my Lord. I will strictly remember your instructions." Ramsey replied.
After returning Ramsey to the Shadow's Sovereignty, Nareth went to the first layered space, ordering theJokaeros to prepare the Sequence 8 "Listener" potion using materials like the Monocular Night Owl's Ear.
Moments later, a bottle of black-red potion flew from the gate, landing in Ramsey's hand.
"Thank you for the gift, my Lord."
Ramsey thanked the Black Emperor. Without hesitation, he lifted the black-red, ear-like gelatinous potion to his mouth and drank.
Dense whispers immediately filled his ears.
Ramsey strictly followed Legion psychic codices. As an neophyte, he had found his Warp symbol: a crimson door.
Now, the door was pushed open. From beyond came a chaotic babble of voices.
"I tell you, a great battle once erupted at the Elysian Gate. Heh, the existing records are incomplete…" A playful voice sounded beyond the door.
"I will tell you a story, a secret story."
"…"
Ramsey reined in his thoughts. His willpower training enabled him to overcome curiosity, resisting temptation.
He focused on containing the potion's dissipating power, thinking to himself.
'After becoming a "Listener," my inspiration has further increased. I can hear even more voices.'
'I can now even be considered a divination-type psyker.'
From the Fla'al data-crystal, Ramsey knew divination-type psykers received revelations from the Warp through various methods. Listening to whispers was one of them.
'My Lord also warned me to be cautious about "listening."'
....
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