You nod, holding out your hand. Khalid grabs you by the hand, and stares into your eyes.


"This'll be simple enough. Just don't resist. Understood?"


"Got it," you say.


"With the Dark Gods, the Corpse-Emperor himself and anyone else out their with the power to oversee this bargain, I pledge these two souls together by the binding contract, that we will remain allies into all ways possible. Should we break this contract, let our souls be forfeit."


You hear the chattering of thousands of daemonic voices as they watch your deal. You feel your mind be flooded into by Khalid's, as consciousness, in the way normal humans feel it, fade.


You find yourself floating in a void, surrounded by an ever-shifting mass of golden energy, that seem to make up Khalid. You look around, as you see his thoughts floating around you. You reach out your hand, touching the thought screams as you hear Khalid's voice boom.


"Is the big freak literate? Is it even sentient? I would think not. If I had to look at that face in the mirror every morning I'd kill myself."


You frown, touching another.


"Is the dumbass seriously using Kyros' former lieutenants, those who enslaved his people, as his lieutenants? He saw them betray Kyros! And now the dumbass is reading your thoughts, no doubt learning that while I'll remain loyal to him, he's a fucking wanker."


You touch another one.


"You, Karth Uwais, are ugly. See? I'm not even slightly lying."


Well, you've got what you need from his thoughts. Still, in the golden fog of energy, you can see what you assume are memories drifting around. You see his staff floating through the void before disappearing, before you see a wolf bound through the fog. You can hear distant screams emanate through the fog from some horrifying memory. You see Kyros march across the fog and step back nervously despite knowing he's only a memory.

You leave Khalid's soul

You release your grasp on Khalid's soul, wincing as you take a deep breath. You open your eyes, glancing around the room and seeing your lieutenants, alongside Khalid, Narmer and the second Rubric Marine.


"Ah, finished. Good," Khalid says. "You didn't see anything too incriminating in my mind, did you? Didn't see my perverted thoughts about your sexy little girlfriend, huh? I spent my entire time perusing through your memories of the tribal bitch naked."


You feel a surge of anger, before pausing. Space marines barely have genitalia, let alone a libido. If you're going to become partners, you need to stop letting him get a rise out of you.

You spit a mean barb

"I saw a wolf catching its prey. I saw men turn to dust. I saw you fail," you reply. 


Khalid the Despised looks at you, his eyes filling with sorrow before he brushes it off and smiles.


"Well then, you're the one who allied with the failure. I love the tattoo, by the way."


You raise an eyebrow, before noticing that there's a black ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail, burnt into your robes, going around your arm at the bicep.


"Lift it up," Khalid says.


You lift up your sleeve, seeing that the ouroboros has burned into your skin, a black brand.


"A little reminder of our deal. It happens during these," Khalid says, tapping his armor, where you notice a Uwais tribal tattoo now raps around his arm. You recognize the glyphs for "Witch" mixed in with traditional hunting glyphs.


"I like yours," you respond.


"Alright, it's best you receive the grand tour, then. If we're to be allies, I'll show you what we're working with."

You begin the tour

"Terrific," you reply.


With that, Khalid stands, and begins walking down the hall. You quickly follow him down the hallway, and you approach a set of massive bronze doors with the Thousand Sons Ouroboros on it.


"This is the Khalidic Academy," Khalid says. "Through recruiting from various worlds, rescuing Psykers from the Black Ships that transport them to be sacrificed to the Corpse-Emperor, buying or liberating enslaved psykers or many other ways, I find myself with a huge pool of psykers. Those who are over around twenty five work for me as soldiers, join the warband of the Children of Apep. Those below join the academy."


The door slowly opens inwards, and you immediately find yourself in a massive library. You walk into the library, staring at the endless rows of books. The room is packed with people from barely able to walk waddling around to look at books to young men reading tomes. There's everything from young Astartes Space Marines to horribly deformed mutants and Xenos, all seemingly content with the books around them.


"This is the library, my true pride," Khalid says, his snark and cruelty seemingly replaced by pride.


"Come, follow, follow."


You follow him off to the side of the library where the hallway leads to dozens of classrooms. Your peer inside all of them, seeing how varied the classes our. Students study ancient tomes, give speeches, practice daemonic bindings, prepare for horrifying rituals and endlessly more.


"Knowledge is everything. Here, I spread it. I'm raising a new generation of Psykers, to lead mankind to a new age!"


A little boy, barely older than seven covered in horrible scabs with four eyes, carrying a small dog.


"Jer, is it?" Khalid says, stopping.


"Yes, sir?" the boy responds.


"Tell my nitwit guest what you're going to go do now. Show him an example of the fine teaching we do here."


"I'm going to go to the bathroom, sir," the boy replies without missing a beat, as you giggle like a child.


"What class do you have next?" Khalid says, sighing.


"Mr Nitfli is teaching us how to utilize our familiars," the boy responds.


"Terrific. Get to class now, Jer," Khalid says. "We pick our children for psychic ability, not raw intelligence."


The boy nods, and runs off quickly.


"This is really all I have to show," Khalid admits. "It's about time you get the fuck off my ship."


"Well, this was good for both of us," you say. "I'll see you soon, Khalid."


"And I you, Karth," he replies.


With that, you take your lieutenants, and lead them off the ship.