"A little to the left! Down! Down!"
"Wait, no—tilt it more to the left!"
On a gently sloping hillside, Hades was directing the machinery to lower the Blackstone Obelisk into place.
Mounted on a mobile base, the massive Blackstone Obelisk slowly descended, landing with a deep, muffled thud.
Further up the incline, the toxic fumes grew denser, visibly thickening in the air.
Patches of grass and shrubs grew on the hillside, with two or three lush trees providing some greenery. Occasionally, small insects scurried out from the undergrowth, or birds flitted between the branches.
A few Magos stood around Hades and the Blackstone Obelisk, their instruments glinting beneath their red robes as they conducted their scans.
Of course, Hades was certain they wouldn't detect anything—the Blackstone Obelisk was immune to scanning technologies.
"Techmarine Hades, are you sure this will work?"
The lead Magos Geologis spoke. His body was nearly indistinguishable from a real human—unlike any other Magos Hades had encountered before.
"I'm not sure," Hades admitted honestly. "That's why I'm running a small-scale test first."
He had specifically asked the Magos to find an enclosed environment for this experiment, ensuring that any ecological damage would not spread beyond this isolated area.
The Magos extended his hand, a small indicator light embedded in his arm flashing red intermittently.
"Then good luck, Techmarine Hades."
"We sincerely hope this experiment succeeds."
The other red-robed Magos stepped forward, nodding in acknowledgment. Binary hymns of blessing and words of encouragement flooded into the left hemisphere of Hades' brain.
Hades kept his response brief, instructing Jin to escort the Magos away to a distant observation platform where they could await the results.
Beyond the minimum operational range of the Blackstone Obelisk, Mortarion stood at the observation platform with a considerable number of Death Guard warriors, along with a few other blanks.
Why such a large force for a simple experiment? The reason was straightforward—this was a bold attempt being conducted in a place deeply tied to Nurgle.
Barbarus was a planet under Nurgle's gaze. Here, any being with strong psychic potential would inevitably become tainted by Nurgle's influence.
However, this did not mean that Nurgle could directly interfere in the affairs of this planet. The best the Plague God could do was resurrect the fallen Xenos Overlords—that was the extent of His power here.
The physical world had its own laws, and any force attempting to cross the Warp's boundary would inevitably be weakened.
Nurgle had to rely on psykers native to Barbarus to spread His influence across the planet.
Before the Xenos Overlords were eradicated, Nurgle had used them as vessels for His psychic manifestations.
But now, with only a handful of creatures still visibly affected by Nurgle, the Plague God had no means of directly intervening in anything else on this world.
That was why Hades wanted to test this theory—though, fearing potential interference from Nurgle, he had chosen to bring a substantial force along.
As for Mortarion?
Oh, he was just here for the spectacle.
Though even now, despite coming all this way, he was still reviewing administrative documents.
In the distance, the encrypted message from the Magos arrived—Hades had permission to begin.
Watching from afar, the Magos observed both Hades and the strange Blackstone Obelisk.
Between themselves, they whispered in binary transmissions.
[This is xenos technology, isn't it?]
Status lights flickered.
[We're on someone else's turf—let's not get caught up in semantics. Besides, his official report listed it as the legacy of Magos Korklan. He's clearly being deliberate with his wording.]
Another Magos shifted slightly.
[It doesn't matter. I just hope his technology works. We've wasted too much time on this planet.]
[That's because you haven't found the technology you wanted.]
A nearby Magos sneered.
[True. The terrain and geography of this world are nothing special—just another typical candidate for conversion into an agri-world.]
[But the lifeforms here…]
At these words, silence fell among the Magos.
In truth, even before Hades arrived, they had already suspected that the planet's ecosystem was linked to psychic energy.
But as Magos Biologis or Magos Geologis, their expertise—while extensive in mechanical matters—did not extend far into the realm of psychic phenomena.
Newly designed organisms introduced to Barbarus' environment perished rapidly. Even highly toxic-resistant test subjects failed to survive.
Years had slipped away in an endless cycle of testing, revising, and retesting. The Magos' patience was wearing thin.
[We should just purge everything and repurpose the land.]
One Magos finally voiced what they were all thinking.
[And have an entire Legion hunt you down?]
Another responded dryly, summarizing precisely why they hadn't already turned the planet into glass.
[Enough talking. It's starting.]
The lead Magos locked his primary visual sensor onto Hades in the distance. The Techmarine stepped forward and activated the obelisk.
In an instant, black lightning crackled at the obelisk's peak!
Mortarion, without a word, closed his still-active communication channel and rested his hand on the grip of his lantern pistol, ready for anything.
His gaze remained fixed on the anti-psychic obelisk.
—Hummmm—
Silence fell.
The area around Hades seemed to lose its color, as if reality itself had momentarily drained away. For an instant, the world flickered between color and monochrome—but in the next breath, everything appeared normal again.
Had it been a mere illusion?
In the Garden, a roar of despair erupted. From the Maze, cruel laughter echoed.
Standing at the center of it all, Hades stared in disbelief.
He extended his hand—his bone-white power armor was rapidly covered by a thin layer of green frost.
Looking up, he saw the toxic mists around him sinking, collapsing downward like sediment settling in water.
At last, the poison clung to the ground, unable to rise again.
At higher elevations, the toxic gas descended even faster. Visibly, the air there grew clearer, almost transparent.
Like snowfall, delicate green crystalline flakes drifted down from the sky.
At the very edges of the Blackstone Obelisk's range, where air density shifted, the outer toxic mists were continuously drawn inward—only to sink and settle upon reaching the field's boundary.
As a result, a thick green fog formed a solid wall at the edge of the obelisk's anti-psychic field, resembling an eerie, unnatural barrier.
Rustle...
Hades turned his head sharply. He saw leaves cascading from the trees.
Beneath them, the bodies of birds lay still and lifeless.
Tightly gripping his scythe, Obituary, Hades cautiously scraped at the ground beneath him.
The wild grass came loose with ease, detaching effortlessly from the soil.
Insects tumbled out from the undergrowth—tiny blackened husks curled inward, devoid of life.
Yet, with his keen eye, Hades noticed some plants still clinging stubbornly to the earth.
He recognized them—they were the ones with lower toxicity.
Which meant—
Those who relied on the poison had perished.
Pale green flakes continued to fall, drifting down like spectral snow.
Hades took a deep breath, lifting his gaze to take it all in.
One hand resting on his scythe, the other reaching out, he immersed himself in the surreal moment.
Only after a long pause—once he was certain nothing further would happen—did he deactivate the Blackstone Obelisk.
The toxic mist that had formed a dense, impenetrable wall now began to dissipate. Poisonous vapors seeped back into the area, but their color was visibly faded, far weaker than before.
Hades turned, his gaze calm and unwavering, as he looked past the boundary—at the onlookers frozen in shock.
Mortarion and the Barbarus-born Death Guard stood like statues, unmoving.
A faint layer of toxic frost coated Hades.
"It works."
He said.
With a sharp bang, something in a Magos's logic engine exploded.
<+>
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