Chapter 42: 1st Year — A Star's Walk
POV: Leon
I stormed through the manufactorum streets, the fury in my chest burning brighter than the manufactorum stacks overhead. The argument still echoed in my mind. My outburst surprised even me. I'd always butted heads with Mr Jacob, but never like that. Never with such... heat.
"Why did I get so angry? His reasoning was sound. Any other time, I would have agreed," I muttered, glaring at the cobbled ferrocrete under my boots. "So why does it feel like I'm betraying everything my father taught me by doing nothing?"
The smoke and chemical fumes of the manufactorum district burned my nostrils, but I didn't care. My fury drowned out all discomfort. I pushed through the crowds of people, making my way toward the outer supply warehouse.
Once inside, I moved almost instinctively. My hands seized rations, lasgun ammo packs, a spare lasgun, and medical stims. My breath was heavy as I forced everything into a worn militia-grade backpack. I tried to wrestle my thoughts into place, but they spun out of control.
*Throne damn it... what's happening to me? My rage... it's like something's taken hold.*
I stepped outside into the smog-veiled dusk. There was one last thing I needed before I departed—the weapon that had always felt like an extension of my soul: my chainsword.
Closing my eyes, I reached out with the strange sixth sense I had begun developing over the last year. The world around me dulled into monochrome, hues draining into a dull grey. Only the presence of living souls and significant objects retained color—a haze of aura that shimmered like fire through ash. My focus narrowed on a bright golden pillar of energy that pulsed like a star.
It was my chainsword.
Confusion momentarily dulled my fury. The chainsword—it was moving toward me. No... *being brought* to me.
Beside it moved a smaller, green-and-white aura, carrying the weapon as though drawn by fate.
Moments later, a cloaked figure emerged from the haze of smoke and fog, the blessed weapon in hand. But the moment they neared, something in me snapped.
Without warning, my body surged forward.
"XENO SCUM!"
I roared, grabbing the figure by the throat and lifting them off the ground. They struggled, choking, and their hood fell back, revealing the sharp features and glowing eyes of an Eldar woman.
Internally, I panicked. I couldn't stop. My body moved of its own accord, gripped by unrelenting rage. *I'm going to kill her.*
I tightened my grip.
*No! No, no, no!* I poured every ounce of will I had into loosening my hand. Just enough for her to breathe.
*Inhale...*
She sucked in air sharply and glared at me—not with malice, but with what looked like pity and... annoyance?
"Tch. That idiotic corpse-Emperor of yours has tampered with your soul without understanding the consequences," she spat. "You're lucky I came when I did. Another minute and you would've lost yourself to his influence."
She reached out, her fingers glowing faintly with Warp energy, and touched my arm.
Suddenly, pain.
My arm dropped like a hammer of a Dreadnought's fist. It crashed to the ground with such force I almost lost balance. My muscles locked as a metaphysical weight bore down on me.
"Ugh... Xeno scum," I growled, thrashing. "I'll crush that disgusting face of yours."
But inwardly, I was relieved. I hadn't killed her.
Despite everything, I wouldn't slaughter a Xenos without reason. Not yet.
As I struggled, she approached cautiously, rubbing her bruised neck.
"You're worse off than I thought. Looks like even during your stasis, the Throne's influence was gnawing at your psyche."
She produced a curved ceremonial dagger, causing me to snarl and thrash again. But she ignored it, pricking her finger.
"Stay still," she said, already chanting in her foul tongue. "This will block the Corpse-Emperor's control for now. One year at most. We'll need a permanent solution... eventually."
The blood boiled in her palm, warping black, streaked with electricity. Warp-lightning crackled around her as the air became heavy.
Despite every instinct screaming to stop her, I forced myself to freeze. I poured all of my willpower into stillness. I didn't understand what was happening—but I knew I needed it.
She pressed the blood to my forehead, reciting a second incantation. Warp energy surged into my mind, and agony followed. It felt like a thousand iron nails were driven through my skull, into my spine. I screamed without sound, my eyes weeping blood.
And then—silence.
My vision darkened.
Just before I passed out, I heard her voice, oddly gentle.
"Sleep now, Leon. I'll take you beyond the walls. You must walk the path set before you."