You grab a rock, swinging it forward and smashing it into the side of the Gretchen's face. It smacks into the ground, and you climb atop it and smack it into the creature's skull again and again. The Gretchen's head is crushed, and you let out a relieved sigh. The relief is short-lived, though, as the orks continue to charge forward, swinging hastily-made weapons. The number of Azajaja survivors grows much smaller, as your tribesmen attempt to rescue both them and you whilst surviving the onslaught of Greenskin, but there's just too many. Hands grab your shoulders and pull you up, just out of the path of an oncoming spear. You turn, to see the face of a young girl, barely older than you, holding a spear with a terrified look on her face. You blush as you realize she's naked, before chiding yourself for having such an immature thought while people are charging to kill you. You hear a roar, and turn back to see an ork charging forward. He sees you, raising his axe.

You scream

You can barely walk. You're not going to crawl away from an ork, let alone kill it. The orks have struck down everyone around you. Only you and the girl are left, with your tribesmen on the other side of a wall of green muscle, struggling to survive. You do pretty much the only thing you can do. You let out a terrified, ear-piercing scream. In one outburst of air, you release all your pent-up terror and fear. The ork lets out a pained howl, clutching its ears. It continues screaming, collapsing to its knees, before its head explodes in a spray of crimson mist. You watch as dozens of orks collapse to the ground, blood streaming from their eyes, ears, nose and mouth. You feel a scratching behind your eyes, in the centre of your skull, as if invisible hands are trying to pull you apart. You let out a moan, and collapse backwards.

You enter oblivion

You have horrible nightmares of ever-changing balls of tentacles and eyes, horrible creatures of claws, breasts, hooves and long tongues, large, boil-covered, plague-ridden abominations and horned red beasts wielding flaming swords. Finally, you awaken in a cold sweat, coddled in your old, musky blankets. You look around, your eyes adjusting to the light of dusk. You notice the girl from earlier sitting in the corner, scaled hides and furs wrapped around her with her head resting on the handle of the sword she's clutching. She notices your wandering eyes and begins staring at you with her bright, green eyes. She's covered in dirt, with her brown hair hacked as short as yours, making her look like a boy.


"You're awake," she says.


"Yes," you reply, staring back at her, wondering why she's keeping herself from blinking.


"You sleep a long time."


"I do."


You sit there staring at each for quite some time, before the tent flap opens as Duggin walks inside. You notice several fresh scars across his chest, and a long one across his face.


"Karth! You're awake!" he says with surprise. 


"How long was I dreaming?" you ask.


"Two weeks. We thought… after what happened… Well, we considered feeding you to the puk," Duggin chuckles. "Good to see you're alive. What visions have you had?"


You reflect briefly on your dreams.


"There's heavy storms coming within a weak, heavy amounts prey south towards the coast of the lake… and no sign of Greenskin activity," you say.


"Good to know, little one. I'll pass the message on."


Duggin turns his attention to the girl, who sits there.


"Have you met the Azajaja, Karth?" he asks. "She hasn't said a word the entire time she was here. She just sat there. It took a fierce bit of effort to get her to eat. I'm pretty sure she's just been shitting in the corner."


Duggin looks to the girl, seemingly expecting her to say something, but she says nothing, just stares at you.


"I'll… grab you some food and drink. For both of you," Duggin says, walking out of the tent, leaving you and the girl alone.


"I'm Karth," you reply, offering your hand to shake.


She just sits there in response, staring at you. It's getting unnerving. After a few minutes, Duggin returns, carrying two wooden bowls of cooked meats as well as two more of wine. He leaves them on the floor in front of you.


"Make sure she eats. I'll give you some time, but then we need to discuss how you wiped out two dozens orks with… whatever powers you've been blessed with," he says, before leaving.


You grab the two bowls of meat, sliding one across the floor to her. You begin eating, as she does the same. She grabs the meat and stuffs it into her mouth, all without breaking eye contact or letting go of her sword. She eats the meat with her mouth open, making loud chewing noises. You wince at the noise, the churning, slicing and crushing being another thing your mind is repulsed by. You blink, unnerved by the staring, but begin to eat, the delicious taste of flesh filling your mouth.


"You snore loudly," she says after several minutes.


"Yeah, I've been told," you reply.


"What do you do?" she asks.


"What do you mean?"


"What do you do all day? You don't seem like you can walk around much, let alone do chores or work."


"I sit here and sleep a lot. Sometimes I make plans when needed."


"Why are you so pale?" she asks quizzically.


"I spend most of my time in a tent, obviously," you reply.


"Do you want to go outside?" she asks.


"Everyone's too busy to carry me around." 


The girl considers this.


"Do you want to go on my back so I can take you outside?"

Yes

"Yes, if you don't mind," you say.


She stands, scoffing the remaining bits of meat down her throat before gulping down the wine. She walks forward, turning and bending over to allow you to wrap your arms around her shoulders and then lift yourself up enough to wrap your legs around her thighs. She stands with a grunt, grabbing her sword before walking forward and out of the tent. You look up at the quickly falling sun, basking your face in its warmth. The rest of the tribe gives you a quick glance, surprised to see you outside, but go back to work. The girl continues to carry you around, trotting along the tents towards the trees.


"So… do I get to know your name?" you ask. 


"It's Fay," she replies.


"I'm Karth."


"What do you dream of? You know, when you sleep?"


"Bad things, mostly. Monsters. Sometimes, I get messages. I see beasts attacking, and I know when the orks will strike. I…"


"Did you know the orks were going to attack my village?" Fay asks, sadness filling her voice.


"I… no. I don't get messages every time."


"Oh. OK."


You arrive at the trees, and you outstretch your arm, running it across the bark of one of the trees. You spot the sun finally descending under the horizon, as the darkness stretches over the sky. Two duller bright lights take its place, but they're far too weak to give even an ounce of its brightness. 


"We should go back," you say.


"Why?" Fay asks.


"Monsters dwell here at night."


She pats her sword gently.


"I have a blade. I can easily kill the monsters."


"Monsters are scary."


"I can be scary too."

You pressure her to go back

"Come on, let's go back, please," she says.


"Fine," she says with a sigh, turning and heading back to the camp.


She goes back inside the camp, putting you back on your blankets.


"Can I sleep in here?" she asks.


"Uh… OK," you reply, curling up in your blankets.


"I'll see you in the morning," she says.


"Goodnight."


"Goodnight."


With that, you curl up in your blankets and let sleep take you once more.

Three Years Later...

Over the next three years, things change, both for you and the world at large. Fay becomes a constant companion, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the other children of the tribe would be happy to play with her and devoting all her time to you. You're not sure why, but you're grateful for it. Puberty changes both of you. Fay grows significantly taller, faster and stronger, growing from a small girl to a large and powerful warrior. She stands as tall and proud as the boys of the village, and is more than happy to face them off in a wrestling match, winning all of them. She seems to prefer spending her time hunting with the boys or more often with you than learning the common girl's chores of cooking, sewing and cleaning. You'd imagine soon enough she'll have to find a husband among the hunters.


Thankfully, growth does not leave you behind, although it doesn't effect you nearly as much. You grow strong enough to be able to stand and stroll around the camp, even taking small trips, although even a light jog for a minute or two is enough to topple you over with exhaustion. Compared to Fay, you're a twig whilst her muscled form is that of an thick tree trunk. Puberty also has a significant change on your abilities. You sleep less, although your dreams are harsher, and there's more… anger behind them. The monsters seem aware of you know, there voices constantly breaking into reality and continuing to scream and plead with you. You simply refuse to listen, and with training, you can make them become something of a white noise to your day to day activity. Your powers also increase. With the flick of your fingers, you can start a small fire. With a word, you can leave anything, man or beast, confused and befuddled. You can pick things up and throw them with a strength unfound to you, beating out many of the warriors in throwing contests without even moving. The world as a whole changes as well. The amount of Greenskin attacks intensifies, and in response the tribes band together, forming a much larger community to stand against the tide. Your dreams are muddled, but you feel something is coming. The sky, which to the plain eye is beautiful, blue and unchanging, seems about to be torn open in your dreams. Something bad is coming.


You sit in the grass, a tan finally having replaced your pale form, next to Fay as you watch buzzards flying overhead, eating a bowl of Braxen meat. 


"It's a nice day," Fay says.


"It is," you say, your dreams from the previous nights still filling you with a feeling of dread.


"You look nervous."


"Do I?" you ask, feigning confusion.


"As much as you like to think so, I'm not stupid. I can tell something's up."

You tell her the truth

"I've been having a lot of nightmares. I think… I think bad things are coming."


"Really?" Fay asks, getting worried. "Like what?"


"I don't know," you admit. "But it's bad."


"Have you told Duggin?" 


"He just increased the amount of training warriors are doing. He asked what else he could do, and I didn't have any better suggestions."


"You worry too much. You're not even eating. Your bowl's full. Speaking of which…"


She plucks the bowl from your hands.


"I'm still hungry!" Fay laughs as she gracefully hops out of reach.


"Oh, no! Whatever shall I do? I've been left helpless! What will poor Karth do?" you say sarcastically.


With the wave of your hand, Fay's feet go from under her and the bowl flies into your hands. You grab a piece of meat and throw it into your mouth with a smile.


"You're just a bully," Fay says, fake pouting. "Thank the God-Emperor you were cursed to be a cripple."


"Hey! I'm not a cripple! I'm just super weak. If we find a tribe of women who aren't ugly bags with stringy hair, odd scars sand gross teeth, I'll get super buff. But, we haven't," you reply.


Fay looks down, actually looking hurt by your joking comment. Shit.


"Uh… don't be so insulted, Fay," you say, gently knocking her to the ground again with the flick of your wrist. "You're less ugly when you smile. You need to have thicker skin."


She smiles as she stands back up.


"Me? I need thicker skin? This is coming from the guy who's always like "I'm scared because I dreamed something bad"!"


"Hey, I'm never wrong. I have a lot of power," you say, emphasizing your point with another flick of your wrist.


"Stop that!" she complains, hitting the ground. "I don't even know why I hang out with you."


"Because of my dashing good looks?"


"Shut up! I'm going down to the lake for a swim!" she says, jumping up and jogging off towards the lake.


You quickly stand up, walking after her.


"Wait up! You know I can't go that fast!"


Fay rolls her eyes, stopping and grabbing your hand.


"Come on!" she says.


Shit. You hate swimming. It's mostly just you sitting in the shallow, exhausted from the effort of getting in. Still, you go where she does, and she's the same. You walk as quickly as you can towards the lake.

Four Hours Later...

You lie on the grassy edge of the lake, your feet dipping gently in the water, watching as Fay gathers berries, nuts, fruit and whatever other edibles she has access to. You watch her approaching you, carrying a handful of food. You eagerly extend a hand as she hands some to you, and you stuff your cheeks with them, eagerly eating.


"How can someone be so hungry yet be so thin?"


"I suppose I'm just an abomination," you smile, watching as the water turns gold as the sun shines across it, finally beginning to disappear as night takes hold.


"It was a nice day," you say. "But we should head back."


"You're such a maybe. You'd think a magic man who can kill dozens of orks with one petrified scream would be less of a coward."


You flick your wrist and she falls over with a yelp.


"Stop doing that!"


"No," you reply with a smile. 


You watch as the bright two moons appear, just as dozens of stars fill the sky. 


"Beautiful night," Fay remarks.


"Yeah. The sky's looking gorgeous," you reply.


"You know..." Fay starts.


There's a howling scream, and the sky is torn apart. You watch as the very fabric of reality is sliced through, tearing a hole in the sky. There's a bright, purple hole in the sky itself.


"What the fuck is…?" Fay asks, drawing her sword as if with some hope of stopping the horror that is to come.


A headache pulses through you as you try to stand, collapsing back to the floor. In the distance, a massive, black shape leaves the hole, heading straight towards the planet. You stand again, but the shrieking continues, preventing you from thinking, let alone running.


"Karth!" Fay yells, wrapping her hands around you and lifts you up.

You tell her to go back to camp and warn them

"Go… go back to camp without me. Warn them!"


"I'm not leaving you!"


"Fay, have you fucking seen me? It's a hell of a lot less dangerous here, I'll be fine. Go!"


Fay nods, turning and sprinting off towards the camp. You sit there, clutching your head. After about a minute, your head clears enough to realize that there's no way in hell the camp wouldn't notice the massive, sky-tearing hole in reality itself, so sending Fay back to warn them is completely useless. Suddenly, you're hit by another wave of anguish as pain courses through you. Then, the voices return. This time, though, one pierces through, louder than ever before, almost as if someone is whispering directly in your ear.


"Karth… Karth… I can help you… I have so much power… I have so much strength… all of it, I'm happy to offer you…"


You feel the claws of a million voices scratching at your mind. You begin to scratch at your eardrums, hoping, begging the voices to stop. You shudder, and thankfully, oblivion takes you and you lapse into unconsciousness.

You awaken

You awaken, lying on the grass outside of your camp. Your eyes blink twice, as you begin to look around. Several large, metal buildings sit there in the fields next to the tents. Men holding large spears march around the camp, directing throngs of tribespeople towards the buildings. These spears seem to be capable of firing arrows made of concentrated sunlight. Interesting. You notice several giants, seemingly made of metal, standing on the edge of the camp, watching the work. Suddenly, you find yourself yanked into the air by invisible hands, and float into the air, suspended two four feet above the ground. You watch as a trio of men approach you, smiling. The one on the left is a giant, seemingly made entirely of metal. He stands at around eight feet, with dozens spikes protruding from his metal skin. His body's black, with a purple head. In the middle, a tall, pale man wearing a long, black leather overcoat, a spiked collar strapped around his neck. The third seems to be a hybrid between a girl and a metal monster, her eyes replaced by the three red, unblinking eyes of a monster, a dozen long, metal arms extending from the nape of her back, three arms ending in claws and one a drill, with her legs replaced by four spider-like legs. Where her human arms would be extends a grasping, whirring claw and a metal barrel, the inside of which glows faintly blue. The middle one walks forward with a smile.


"Hello there, young Karth. Pleasure to see you," he smiles jovially.


"We don't have time for pleasantries, psyker," the metal man says. "Load him onto the ship!


"Give him time to adjust! He's only just waking up," the man, the psyker, says.


One of the long, metal arms attached to the monster-man's back goes towards you, whirring its drill. It cuts along your arm, drawing a long, thin cut as you yelp in pain.


"This one is weak... how pitiful," the monster-man says. "It's pain tolerance is low, but I can work with it."


"I want to use his mind, not his flesh," the psyker says. "My name is Kyros. The burly armored man to my right is Chapter Master Taj Suenage, and the robotic companion to my left is the Heretek known as the Craftsman of Vorn, the Butcher of Karis IV and the Father to the Prometheans. Her name is Magos Cern. We are the Forces of Chaos."


The monster-man extends one of her metal tentacle arms once more, tracing the outline of your cheek bones.


"Bah! Time wastes! Either give me the surge of the warp overtaking me, or give me the surge of battle, Kyros!" Taj roars, smacking a metal hand against his chest.


"As you wish, Taj," the Psyker says. 


The Psyker claps his hands, and his various forces begin forcing the last of the tribespeople inside the building, as those who litter the floor, those who presumably tried to resist, are carried there.


"Are they dead?"


"Some, presumably. I gave the order to keep as many alive as possible," Kyros says.


You see Fay's battered and bruised body being tossed over a metal giant's shoulder as she's carried off towards the building.


"No! Give her back!" you shout.


"She fought well. When my men entered this pathetic village, she was trying to warn them. She even tried to fight them off. Killed one of the dumber ones who tried to call her bluff. Commendable."


You furrow your brow, and the Psyker grins as Taj's head is knocked slightly back, before presuming position. Despite how little you've harmed him, the metal giant seems enraged.


"You scum-sucking sociopathic cunt!" Taj roars, charging forward.


Taj is flipped into the air, being suspended just out of reach of you. His metal fists swing at you, but he's kept out of grasp.


"Tut tut. Stay your anger, my dear Taj. Karth, I'll make you a deal. Do as I say, and the girl will be unharmed. Deal?

You agree

"OK. Just don't hurt her," you say.


You drop, hitting the floor quite gently. Kyros grins and gives you a nod.


"Good boy. I'll make sure special care is taken of the girl."k


"Ha! I'll give your bitch whore "special care"!" Taj roars, still grabbing at you.


Kyros rolls her eyes, flipping Taj into the dust.


"Quiet now, marine," he says. "I have a gift to sate your bloodlust. Bring out the chieftain!"


You watch as Duggin is dragged form his tent, growling and yelling. A large cut goes down his chest, blood having soaked his armor, turning it a deep crimson that shines in the sun. 


"Come on, finish me!" he roars.


"I don't want to see my men die, Karth. I gave your chieftain the option to surrender, give me his finest warriors... and you, of course, and I'd spare his civilians. He refused, killed some of my men, had his warriors killed and now I have to take you all. Now, he will die. This is what happens when people mess with my plans, Karth."


Taj drops to the ground, turning to stare at Duggin with a monstrous laugh.


"Fortunately, Karth, I won't make you watch. You have agreed, haven't you?" Kyros says with a wink. 


You're released to the ground, and Kyros and Magos Cern walk alongside you towards the metal buildings. You walk inside, and the doors shut. A bright red light, like a very powerful candle, appears out of nothingness, brightening the room. The tribespeople are packed in here, surrounded by a tight bundle of guards with spears raised.


"What happens here? There's no space to do anything," you say.


"It's a landing craft, little one. Now, we soar to the stars," Kyros says.


You see several feet away from you is Fay's crumpled form and feel a twinge of pain. You sit down in the metal building as it begins to shake and shudder as if moving, terrified of the world around you.

Four Hours Later...

The trip is long. The landing craft constantly shakes and shudders, and quickly fills with the smell of puke as the stomachs of many of the men and women around you as they fail to handle the constant shaking. You sit there, unmoving, staring up at the guards. Finally, the ship shudders to a stop.


"Good! We're here!" Kyros says. "Welcome to the Roar of the Vortex! Please file out and follow the guards towards your cells."


"What are you going to do with us?" someone asks.


"I'm going to make you matter in a galaxy that stands for no one," Kyros says proudly.


The people begin being shuffled off the landing raft, and you find yourself in a massive metal room. You look out a massive opening, filled with similar craft. You look around, before a metal hand grabs your shoulder.


"Stay," Taj growls. "You're not to be mixed in with these common curs."


"What's going to happen to them?" you ask.


"Some will live. Most will die. All will suffer," Taj says.


"What... what are you?"


"A space marine, boy," Taj says.


He grabs his head, twisting it. His metal head is yanked off, revealing a scarred human head underneath.


"You're a human."


"Practically. Did you think I was metal through and through?" Taj asks.


"Yes."


"It's armor, boy," Taj says. "I don't have time to explain shit to you."


Kyros marches out, raising you into the air.


"Come on, boy. Let's go!" Kyros says eagerly, walking along the ship.


You float after him, being dragged through the air, unable to resist. After a few minutes, you fall to your knees in front of a metal door.


"I've asked what's going to happen to us. You still haven't given me an answer," you say.


"You've found yourself in a war, little one. Your planet is worth jack shit. Everything you know doesn't matter. This war encompasses the galaxy.Systems burn, billions die, the fate of trillions is fought for."


"War? Whose fighting?" you ask.


"Everyone. The world has monsters so powerful that they'd wipe out every warrior in all your tribes in an instant. There's the Tyranids, a horrible bug hive-mind with nothing but a need to eat. There's the Necrons, an ancient of soulless machines that have only just began to awaken. There's the Orks, a warring species of monsters, the Eldar, an enigmatic species just as likely to help as hinder you, Then, you have the worst villains. The Imperium of Man. They're freedom-crushing, innovation-stopping, potential-destroying fascists who enslave trillions and worship a corpse. We stand against them. We serve the Dark Gods. Khorne the Warrior God, Tzeentch the Sorcery God, Slaaneesh the Pleasure God and Nurgle the Plague God. We fight to free ourselves from tyranny, to make sure every man is free. We offer gifts of strength, knowledge, joy and immortality, yet the Imperium spurns us. So we rebelled. We are the Forces of Chaos, who fight back against tyranny! Praise Chaos in all it's glory!"


"I'm still waiting for an answer," you say.


"We're going to turn you into super-soldiers. Magos Cern has long worked on the process. We're going to make you greater than Space Marines. You hold the most potential. Cern can play with their flesh and Taj can train them, but I offer the greatest gift: Ultimate power. You're gifted, Karth. I want to use that gift to make you one of the most powerful beings known to man."


You stare at him nervously. You're not an idiot. People don't just create powerful soldiers without having a chain around them. You watch as Kyros takes a steel, studded collar and walks towards you. He wraps it around your throat, clicking it into place. 


"Is that comfortable?" Kyros asks.


"I suppose," you see, scratching at the collar.


"At any moment, I can shut down your powers and strangle the very air out of your throat. So play nice."


Kyros picks you up again with a flick of the wrist and you float upwards. Kyros carries you through the air, stopping at another door. It opens with being touched, and Kyros drops you inside it.


"This is your cell. I've made it... comfortable. In return, you best be... compliant I need to... check on some things. Wait here for the time being," Kyros says, sealing the door behind you."


You stand up, looking around the room. There's a bed there, a small hole in the floor the size of a baby's head, a shelf and a small glass box with a lever inside.

You investigate the hole

You walk over to the hole, and look down it. Nothing but blackness. You put your ear against it, but no noise comes out. Finally, you put your arm down it, up to the shoulder. There's a gunk coating it further down, but you can't make out what it is by touch. You lift out your arm, only to find it caked with dried shit.


"Fuck," you complain, as the smell just begins to hit you.

You investigate the box

You walk over to the box, entering it. You press down on the lever, and nothing happens. You pull it, and suddenly you're hit by a burst of water. You look up, and it's like lashing rain has formed right above you. This has the added benefit of washing off the shit that cakes your arm. You quickly turn it off, avoiding getting too soaked.

You lie on the bed and wait

You collapse onto the bed, closing your eyes. Almost immediately, the voice begins.


"Karth... Karth..." the voice calls. "I have so much to offer you... you're a prisoner here, Karth. These men are going to break you, child. Only I can help you... just give me time..." the horrible voices stops, and reality fades back into reality.


The voices thankfully subside, and you're granted a short break of blissful sleep. Unfortunately, this is broken by the door opening. You look up to see Kyros standing there.


"Karth, it's time for your... augmentation," he says cheerfully.


"What's going to happen?" you ask fearfully.


"Magos Cern and the Chapter Master want to create super-soldiers. They're aiming so low they could hit themselves in the foot. I want to create something... excuse me, someone of immense power. Your mind will be a thousand times sharper than any blade. You will be a Psyker feared by the entire Imperium."


"Let's say you make me extremely powerful. Then what? How do you keep me under your control?" you ask.


"Karth, you're my prisoner, but I don't think you need to be for long. I want you to join me. We figtht for freedom, for power, for glory! We'll crush the dying Imperium, and lead mankind  towards a new dawn. Can't you see that that's a strong goal? Can't you see that that's something to join us to fight for?"

You say "I agree. They're commendable ideals."

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm sorry to say you'll still have to remain my prisoner for the time being, but I'm sure the crew will come to trust you quickly enough."


You arrive in a large room, filled with dozens of large, see-through tubes. You glance at them, take a deep breath, and get sick all over the glass while falling to your knees.


"Ah, yes... you best not look at these," Kyros says, flicking his finger to pick you up again.


Inside the tube, submersed in a thick, viscous liquid, are your tribespeople. They're completely naked, with long tubes having been forced down their throat. Dozens of needles have been forced into their arms, backs and necks, pumping strange liquids into them. 


"What the fuck are you doing to them?" you ask.


"Making them super-soldiers. We've been through this," Kyros says absent-mindedly.


"I thought you'd be training them!"


"After we change them. If you think the nutrients and drug treatment is bad, wait until we start using the Geneseed. At least they'll all survive this bit."

You look around for Fay

You look around, noticing Fay floating in a tube. 


"Let her out!" you say, tears welling in your eyes as you watch her body convulse as chemicals and nutrients flood into it.


"No. She needs to become strong if she wishes to survive here."


"She's one of our best warriors! She trains everyday!"


"I don't particularly care whose the best warrior of some shithole tribe on some shithole planet! We'll be fighting super, cybernetic orks, super-soldiers the likes of Taj, ancient, psychic warriors and never-ending waves of bug warriors. Your sister could be torn apart in seconds by even the weakest of threats."


"She's not my sister," you say, putting your hand against the glass.


"Really? Wife, then? I've seen cultures with younger marriage ages, but they're not the norm."


"We're not married, we're just friends," you say sadly, as you're carried into the air once more and dragged along Kyros.


"Ah, I see. Your society isn't patriarchal enough that you can just demand she has sex with you. Unreciprocated love, what a pity," Kyros laughs.


"It's not... let her go!" you shout.


The collar tugs tightly around your throat, taking the breath away from you. You choke and gasp for several seconds, before it releases, allowing you to take a breath. 


"Quiet now."


You continue on, arriving at a thick, metal door.


"Here we are," Kyros says with a smile.


The metal doors slide open, revealing a large, empty chamber. Magos Cern stands in the center, her head twisting around to reveal her glowing red eyes, piercing your soul.


"Is the chamber complete?" Kyros asks. "Have you succeeded?"


Magos Cern stares at you.


"Well?" Kyros asks again.


"Don't question my work, Kyros. If something goes wrong, it's because you're an idiot trying to harness the magical energies of the warp while using a flesh battery."


"I have a name, you know," you point out.


Magos Cern walks out of the room, the mechanical part of her body whirring.


"What is she?" you ask. "Is she even a "she"?"


"Imagine a simple human girl. Useless. Unknown. Weak. We all want to be strong. She scorns are use of the Warp, but she's happy to replace most of her body with machinery."


"Machinery?"


"She... adds metal shielding, important tools, new robotic arms... that kind of thing. Are you ready to start the procedure?"


"Do I have a choice?" you ask.


"Not in the slightest, but if you have any questions, you might as well ask them."

You ask questions about the Warp

"What's the Warp?"


"Imagine an alternate dimension, of pure Chaos and emotion. It's known as the Warp. We are in a galaxy teeming with life. These lives all mean that there are trillions of bright, powerful souls. The powers of the Warp can easily be reaped here. By passing through it, we're able to travel hundreds of light years with ease. Through manifesting and manipulating the Warp, some of us, Psykers, can use it's powers like you and I do."


"We use the powers of the Warp for our magic?"


"Yes, yes. Here, in the warp, are powerful and ancient creatures such as the Dark Gods and their daemons. There's Khorne, who has been born out of the galaxy's never-ending combat, representing courage, strength, blood-thirst, honor and most importantly, rage. There's Tzeentch, who has been born out of scheming and plotting. He represents sorcery and the use of magic, scheming, plotting, hope and change. There's Nurgle, the plague god. He represents sickness, decay, rot, plague, defeat and in a strange way, life and acceptance. Finally there's Slaaneesh, who represents self-indulgence, passion, love and pleasure. These are the four greatest Dark Gods, and it is to them I pledge my life. In exchange, they give me gifts to enhance my dark powers and give me the strength to fight for what's right."

You ask questions about the procedure

"What's going to happen to me?"


"Your body is frail, weak, useless, because that's not where your strength comes from. Look at the finest warriors in your village. Their strength comes from the pathetic vessels their souls use. Your body could be upgraded, and we could make you as strong as someone like Taj with enough work, but what would be the point? It would be like adding a simple rifle bayonet to the heavy macro cannon of a starship. Now, I'm going to refine your abilities."


"You haven't told me what you're going to do," you point out.


"Well, this could be quite unpleasant. We're going to pump the chamber ful of Psychic energies and enhance your abilities," Kyros says.


"Is that going to work?" you ask.


"Probably," Kyros shrugs, flashing a devilish grin. "What I expect is a forced evolution of your mind to a much stronger state. It'll skip directly to the height of your psychic maturity, and then several levels past that. It requires a powerful Psyker who's still growing as a psyker with a lot of potential to succeed, but I'm certain you'll be able to survive it. Good luck."

You start the procedure

"Alright, I'm ready," you say with a grimace.


"Good. Now, it is important to know that this chamber is going to flood with psychic energy. If you feel your a few outer layers of your skin begin to burn off, you'll be find. It's quite likely that as the connections to the Warp that are built up and a portal is built up, daemons could attempt to manifest in the chamber. These are beings that are built on fear. You might see them, but they can't hurt you unless you react to in fear. They'll be able to cease on the presence of your fear and* fully manifest, and then they'll definitely be able to hurt you."


"So they can't hurt me if I don't react to them?"


"Well... if this goes well, they won't be able to harm you if you don't show fear. If it goes wrong in some way and if they can harm you, being scared what change anything and you'll be slaughtered like a lamb either way won't do anything. So don't get scared, and don't react in anyway."


Kyros steps backwards, outside of the chamber, as four massive giant men wearing the metal armor just like Chapter Master Taj, wearing black armor with purple helmets. Severed Ork heads hang from around their heads, seemingly quite fresh, while they hold in their hands massive Bolters, which as you've learned from the chitchat between guards aboard the landing craft, spit huge bits of flaming metal with amazing speed. They're either here to keep you in... or to keep whatever ends up in this chamber if something goes wrong. The doors close, sealing you in there. Shit. You're definitely going to die in this chamber.


"Shit!" you say loudly, you voice echoing off the walls of the circular chamber.


The chamber begins to hum, as the entire room begins shaking. The walls course with psychic energy. You hear a thousand energetic voices begin to chatter endlessly in your mind. One voice is loud and strong above the others.


"Karth..." the now familiar voice calls. "...feel the power reverberate through your soul... I knew I was right to target you."


"Who the fuck are you?" you whimper.


You feel your body shudder, as your mind stretches. You feel sharp bursts of emotion. A deep, powerful rage at the slaughter and enslavement of your people. How dare those fucks kill your allies, kidnap your people and do these things? What gives them the right?! This rage is quickly replaced by a burst of joyous bliss, as an immense pleasure floods through your body, and you shudder in ecstasy. This is replaced by a deep sadness, as you realize that your entire tribe, your entire planet, all of the heroes of lore that you looked up to, meant nothing. Your world, as the Chaos lords said, is infinitesimally small and worthless compared to the rest of the galaxy. 


"I am a friend, Karth. An ally. A daemon with unimaginable power which I'm willing to offer you. My name is Meliodas. I want you to survive this... I'm your friend... I know the powers flooding into you like you know the air you breath. Just ignore the chattering... ah, look... they're arrived. Try not to react..."


You watch as the air courses, pulsing with solid, permanent beat. You see the air morph and flex with energy, as colored energy begins to manifest and coagulate. You see a morphing shape appear, a humanoid, red shape standing on black claws with a long, spiked head with two black horns. In it's hand is a long, flaming sword. It's skin the same as a burning coal sitting in the center of flames, veins of molten blood coursing through it. It looks at you and lets out an angry, guttural hiss. It slowly walks over to you, as it's blade crackles with heat. You feel your headache worsen ten times over, as the inside of your mind is scratched and hacked apart from the inside. The daemon raises a burning sword high into the air, before swinging towards your neck.

You do nothing

You close your eyes to take in a deep breath, calming your mind slightly. You can feel your very consciousness shaking, and let out a shudder, opening your eyes. The daemon is gone, leaving you alone in the room. Electricity cackles along the wall, lightning running across you and wrapping around your very being. You feel a massive, terrible psychic scream reverberating deep in your mind, across every facet of your soul. You drop to your knees, as an unimaginable pain fills you. You let out a horrified scream from deep in your lungs, deep in your mind and deep in your soul. The room explodes, setting alight with multicolored flames which race along the walls, with flashes of lightning appearing and disappearing like snowflakes on wet stone. You collapse forward, onto the ground, as the room begins to cool down, but this only speeds up your fall into the void.

You enter the Void...

You hear screaming. You look up, to find yourself falling through an endless void. You look at your body, starring in abject horror as it blisters, boils, sores and rashes cover you puke, releasing a torrent of vomit, blood and bile, as your flesh begins to decay, rotting in front of you. 


"Karth!" a voice screams, bringing you back to reality.


You open your eyes, finding yourself lying in the chamber. The four Space Marines stand over you, massive figures wearing thick-plated armor, next to Kyros.


"We should kill the Psyker. He's probably possessed, or corrupted beyond sanity," one says, not noticing you waking up.


"You can try, but I'll bind your souls to a fucking Soul Grinder! I'll make a flaying seem like the greatest ecstasies Slaanesh has to offer!" Kyros roars. "If that cunt has failed and died from this, I'll toss his entire tribe to the mutants to be flayed, the dogs to be mauled and the men to be fucked! I'll burn the fucking...!"


Kyros notices you, and his hate-filled expression changes to a friendly, cheerful one.


"Ah, Karth, you've survived! Terrific!" he says, gripping your hand and shaking your hand eagerly. "Congratulations on your survival!"


"Yeah... I did," you say, rubbing your head.


"Ah, I've found... residence," Meliodas says from deep in your mind. "Your mind has grown powerfully. I know you had potential."


Magos Cern walks into the room, starring at you with her cold eyes. She raises a pincer, quickly tearing off a stretch of skin from your arm. You yelp in pain and surprise as the skin is pealed away. She stares at it, scanning it with your mechanical eyes, before looking back at you.


"Light signs of Warp mutation. Should be cleared with a round of decontamination therapy," she says.


"How fares his mind? Did it work?" Taj growls, marching inside.


"I'll probe your consciousness, see how much I've succeeded, shall I?" Kyros says.


"My head hurts," you complain, as you feel a pounding headache hit.


"Oh yes, that's normal," Kyros says.


"I thought you've never done this before. How do you know the aftermath of it leads to headaches?" you ask.


"Oh no, I mean if you're as powerful a psyker as I expect you to be, you'll be suffering from constant headaches, and that's when you're at your best," Kyros says, shrugging.


"Why the fuck didn't you tell me that earlier?" you say. 


"You're a slave, Karth. Remember that when you speak back to me, or you'll become familiar with the lash," Kyros says, his cheerful, friendly demeanor dropping for a second, before he smiles once more. "Now, shall we begin the probing? You'll feel a sharp sensation. Just ignore it."


You nod your head slowly, before you feel something akin to an ice-cold blade slowly being forced into your consciousness. You shudder, but try not to tense up or resist in anyway.


"Hmmm... it's strong. Very strong. I've done well here. Thank the Dark Gods I installed that collar before I put you in the chamber," Kyros says, smiling as the collar tightens slightly around your throat. "These space marines will act as your personal bodyguard."


"He's the prisoner, we're the guards. Don't let him think any different," one of the Space Marines says, as Kyros hands him a long chain which the space marine wraps around his fist.


"That'll control his collar, marine. Use it to throttle the life out of him if he gets uppity."


"Yes, sir," one of the space marines responds.


You can practically feel the super-soldier maliciously grinning through his helmet. 


"Now, let's take our newly evolved friend to the training pit," Kyros smiles. "Test out his new abilities."

You an Hour Later...

You sit in the middle of a large, Colosseum-type building. Kyros stands in a booth up above you all, next to Magos Cern and Taj Suenage. All around the seating area are the various men of the ship, crewmen, soldiers and the favored slaves. In four side of the circular arena are metal gates, where your foes will be released from. You question the insanity of building a fighting arena aboard a spaceship with very limited space, but then again, you're not in charge.


"Alright, Karth, the rules are simple. No attacking the audience. There is a protective shield keeping you guys in there from damaging the crowd or, Dark Gods forbid, me. Also, if you try, we're more than happy to strangle the life out of your, break your body and bind your soul to a Soul Grinder," Kyros shouts. "Now, let's begin. Leave none alive!"


The first gate opens, and you freeze as you see a group of a dozen shambling mutant abominations walking forward. You can tell they were once human, but now you can barely tell. Tentacles, extra limbs, massive tumors, animal parts and much worse. There's barely a human intelligence left behind their eyes, replaced by an animal-like instinct. They shamble towards you, roaring, howling, screeching, shouting, hissing and letting out whatever bursts of noise they can.

You fire psychic bolts of energy

You fire a bolt of purple energy, striking down the largest whose head explodes. You flick your wrist again, burning the hair off a howling beastman. A mutant is struck in the face by another bolt, and by now they're confused and scared, attempting to flee back to the gate they came through which has now closed shut. Needless to say, it doesn't take much more to fully finish off the mutant pack, leaving them all dead.


"Alright!" Kyros yells cheerfully. "Now, anyone can strike down some animalistic mutants. Now, let's see how the gladiator-slaves fare!"


You watch as another gate opens, and half a dozen semi-armored humans walk out, holding swords, spears, halbeards, axes and all hold shields. Thankfully, they've no long-range weapons, so you have a fairly good chance. With that, they begin to advance. They're in a solid formation, bundled together to stop you from picking them off one, shields raised in an attempt to mimic a shelled creature.

You fire a burst of flames at them

You raise your hand, firing a stream of fire that manifests in your palm and gushes out towards your foes. They raise their shields, but the fire easily surpasses them, going past the shield and searing flesh, burning hair and melting bone. There's a burst of screams and howls of pain that quickly fizzle out, leaving a mass of ash, burning flesh and melted armor and weapons. 


"Alright, alright!" Kyros yells. "Let's see him fight some real, blooded warriors. May I introduce the last known members of the Pandemian 501st Regiment!"


The third gate opens, and ten men wearing combat armor, gas masks and holding lasguns with bayonets march forward in unison, before raising their weapons to fire. You need to react quickly.

You teleport behind the enemy

You close your eyes, opening them once more and finding yourself less than a step behind the soldiers, who look around, confused, not noticing you. Time to strike.

You send a fireball hurtling towards your enemy

You fire a massive, burning fireball directly at the guardsmen. Unfortunately, you over-estimated the distance between the two of you. The guardsman is engulfed in a fiery explosion, but unfortunately you are as well, your skin turning to ash and your bones quickly melting, your soul expiring shortly after.