The mountain shook violently from the wrath of a C'tan.
It was clear that the collapse of the Emperor's Scythes' fortress-monastery was the work of the Transcendent Zahulash.
Zahulash was once the oldest entity in the Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) universe, subsisting by devouring stars.
He later cooperated with the Necron, and along with other C'tan, consumed the souls and flesh of the Necron, turning them into Necronss constructed from living metal.
After the Paradise War, the Necronss, taking advantage of the C'tan's weakness, betrayed them.
The Transcendent Zahulash was also shattered into pieces by that betrayal.
One of his fragments was imprisoned by the Necronss in the Pharos Lighthouse, serving as a battery and stabilizer.
To guard him, the Necronss also left a large army of constructs.
Normally, Zahulash should have been well-contained within a dimensional cube.
Initially, he indeed was.
This C'tan fragment had been imprisoned for an unknown number of years,
until during the Horus Heresy, Dantioch of the Iron Warriors, to counter the Midnight Lord,
overloaded the Pharos Lighthouse, destroying its main base station.
Later, it was subjected to demolition by Guilliman's forces.
This series of actions, while not completely destroying the Pharos Lighthouse,
did lead to the damage of certain critical components, creating a flaw in the dimensional cube.
Zahulash seized the opportunity to break through part of the dimensional cube's restraints.
And just as the Pharos Lighthouse had utilized its self-repair function to mend the damaged areas, it was met with a Tyranids invasion.
After plundering Sotha's biomass, the Tyranids had dug downwards, erupting into fierce conflict with the Necrons jailers guarding Zahulash.
Those underground passages connecting the metal maze were the handiwork of the Tyranids / Tyranid worker strains.
Both sides battled for a long time.
Until the Tyranids / Tyranid realized that this war was entirely unprofitable for them,
because the Necrons constructs contained no organic matter, providing them with no replenishment.
The Tyranids suffered immense losses, but Zahulash once again seized this opportunity to break free from the dimensional cube's restraints.
Confirming the time was ripe, he used his power to continuously impact the restraining light wall formed by the matrix, seeking to regain his freedom.
The impacts caused a massive overflow of power,
causing the dilapidated Emperor's Scythes fortress-monastery to collapse,
leading Alex and his group here.
Zahulash sensed Cortana's presence and guided her to his side.
Seeing his newborn kin, Zahulash was exceptionally joyful.
The Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) universe ultimately belonged to the C'tan.
Those damned traitors would one day pay the price for their past betrayal.
However, when he saw his newborn kin refer to a carbon-based monkey as her master, he was utterly enraged.
How could a noble god take a human as her master?
He repeatedly slammed against the restraining matrix light wall,
only to break through his cage and tear that damned mortal to shreds.
"This C'tan fragment must have received Khorne's blessing; his enraged state is terrifying!!"
Wan Lao, wielding a battle axe, chopped at the Necrons constructs pouring in from the corridor.
The commotion caused by Zahulash dramatically increased the number of awakened Necrons constructs.
They initiated their purge protocols, intending to eliminate all intruders.
"This is the fury of the wronged party, a fury that will only stop when the world is burned to ashes."
Brother Pian, controlling an exoskeleton suit and destroying a scorpion-like construct, quipped.
"For the God-Emperor."
Little Alpaca swung his two-handed greatsword,
and with a single sweep, cut several Necrons soldiers in half at the waist.
Scattered Necrons remains crackled with electrical sparks and splattered lubricant.
An exaggeratedly sized Iron Rider-type servitor, equipped with a track chassis, blocked the corridor entrance.
Its autocannon roared incessantly, sweeping at the incoming Necrons constructs.
The Players and members of the Adeptus Mechanicus blocked the entrances and exits of various corridors, engaging in fierce combat with the Necrons constructs.
Cawl connected to the drone control system, using them to scan the entire maze.
Over ten thousand years, Cawl had not only forged the Armor of Fate and Primaris Space Marines, but also searched for STCs and researched xenos technology.
Necronss were also within his scope of study.
He had even conversed with Trazyn the Infinite, exchanging knowledge about Necrons language and culture.
Using his accumulated knowledge,
Cawl quickly found a suspected main control unit, a house-sized spherical core,
the surface of which was covered in silver xeno runes, emanating a faint green light.
"Take Cortana there," Alex told Cawl, "Cortana will reverse-engineer the Pharos Lighthouse and then reshape it."
"And you, Guide?" Cawl asked.
"I will hold him off first," Alex said, looking at Zahulash, who was imprisoned in the matrix.
Cawl nodded, "Praise the omnissiah, this is the optimal course of action."
Alex looked at Cortana, "Follow Cawl, gain control of the Pharos Lighthouse, and reverse-engineer the relevant technology."
"Understood, Master, Cortana will take control of the Pharos Lighthouse as quickly as possible."
After Cortana's confident assurance, she followed Cawl and several Skitarii members, leaving the prison hall along a corridor.
A group of Players moved with them, providing fire support.
Cawl activated a force field projector to protect himself and Cortana from being hit by the Necrons gauss weapons.
Although Cortana was a C'tan, her body was ultimately mortal, and could easily be destroyed.
The Skitarii fired at full power, shooting down Necrons constructs along the way,
using their laser guns and melta guns to clear a path.
They successfully reached the room where the Pharos core was located.
Cortana walked up and placed her hand on the core, establishing a connection with the Pharos.
Cawl, meanwhile, defended with the Skitarii, preventing Necrons interference.
As a Fabricator General, Cawl's combat power was not to be underestimated.
Wielding a long-handled power axe, a casual strike from him could smash a Necrons to pieces.
Various weapons extended from his back, numerous in type and immense in power.
His firepower alone was enough to rival a legion.
"Damn, this is the correct way for an Adeptus Mechanicus to operate!"
Old Bird, who was moving with them, saw this scene and his eyes lit up.
He wished he could immediately equip himself with those weapons.
"This set of equipment probably isn't cheap," Wu Mou said.
"But the output is fierce! If we had such firepower, the battlefield MVP would definitely be ours."
Old Bird, holding a pulse gun, blasted a Necrons construct away before continuing,
"Who says an Adeptus Mechanicus can't snatch MVP? We need to break this prejudice."
"Putting everything else aside, we'll immediately pool money for modifications. We'll abandon frail flesh and embrace mechanical ascension."
"..."
Over at the Prison Hall,
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Zahurash furiously slammed into the matrix. Each impact made the mountain shake, and space itself groaned under the strain.
Bang!
After another impact, a cracking sound echoed.
Cracks appeared on the black matrix device.
Finally, with a loud boom, it shattered directly, sending countless fragments flying.
The imprisoned Zahurash revealed his appearance to the world.
He possessed shimmering silver skin, a stern face, and facial angles more exaggerated than ordinary humans.
His head was long, his appearance somewhere between human and Aeldari, cold and cruel, devoid of any biological emotion.
Arcs of power crackled around his body.
A terrifying energy surged forth from the glowing core in his chest.
"Tremble, you humble lesser beings, for the Overlord Zahurash once again walks among the stars."
Little Fatty saw the Overlord Zahurash break free and quipped,
"Now, the Guide will have to face the wrath of his old Star God father."
Zahurash looked at the humans before him, an indescribable fury erupting from his body.
He made a gesture, and a bladed staff shimmered into existence in his left hand, while the crown atop his head gradually materialized.
Both were crafted from active silver metal, flowing with the destructive light of a star.
"I am the embodiment of law, the ruler of the Holy Terra (Earth/Reality) universe."
Alex took out the Staff of Divine Retribution, and surging psychic power flowed into his body.
It made his body glow, and his aura was in no way inferior to his opponent's.
"You are no longer needed here. Go protect Cortana and Cawl."
Alex's voice echoed in the minds of the Players and the Adeptus Mechanicus members.
"Looks like it's time for a boss fight. Let's retreat, brothers."
"The epic battle between the Blondie and the wronged party."
"Brother Pian, stop being so glib."
"..."
The Players acted very quickly.
However, the Skitarii and Servitors showed confusion.
Alex's command conflicted with their original directives.
Their logic modules couldn't determine which had priority.
"This is the will of the omnissiah. Abandon your previous tasks and go protect the Fabricator General."
Alex added, and only then did the Skitarii and Servitors withdraw to Cawl's location.
With no Players or Adeptus Mechanicus to impede them,
A large number of Necrons constructs poured into the hall.
There were Scarabs, Canoptek Spyders, and swarms of murder drones like locusts.
They ignored Alex, their gaze entirely focused on Zahurash.
Countless Necrons constructs surged like a tide towards the Star God, vowing to prevent their prisoner from escaping.
Zahurash waved his staff, and hordes of Necrons constructs shattered into shimmering dust clouds, unable to recover even with their self-repair capabilities.
However, as one group of Necrons constructs was destroyed, another replaced it, endlessly.
"Overestimating yourselves. I am a god, an invincible god."
Zahurash continuously released bright energy pulses, pulverizing the Necrons constructs in his path.
Alex also seized the opportunity to attack. He unleashed torrents of raging psychic lightning, striking Zahurash's metallic body.
Several arc-moon shaped drones whizzed past.
Their metallic jaws opened, extending a long metal needle.
The tip released a crackling annihilation field.
These Necrons constructs, before Zahurash could eliminate them,
Stabbed the long needles, covered in the annihilation field, fiercely into his metallic body,
Making the Star God let out a furious roar.
Zahurash unleashed his furious power,
Destroying all nearby Necrons constructs.
Immediately after, a burning spear of starlight appeared in his hand and was directly hurled.
Accompanied by a deafening explosion, the mountain was pierced through, and a path to the outside was opened.
Zahurash charged at Alex, clamping him tightly with his metallic arm, and smashed him out through the opening.
The Necrons constructs followed closely, gushing out like a tide, and the battlefield shifted to the outside.
Meanwhile, in the core server room,
Cortana was breaking through the Pharos core protocol's protection.
Necrons technology originated from the Star Gods.
Even though they claimed they were no longer slaves to the Star Gods,
Their technology still bore the Star Gods' imprint, which could not be erased.
Cortana easily decrypted the encryptions and protections, gaining access to the Pharos's most core database.
A large amount of data flooded into her memory core.
Using her abilities, she easily acquired the data and control permissions for the Pharos Lighthouse.
When she reopened her eyes, everything was complete.
The Pharos Lighthouse was hers.