The Sisters of Battle and the Space Marines raised their boltguns and opened fire on the distant metallic skeletons. However, once the bullets reached a certain distance, it was as if they were blocked by an invisible barrier. The Black Templar High Marshal, wielding a power sword, also found himself unable to advance. This was advanced Necron technology—a field that could completely seal off the surrounding time.
Trazyn the Infinite had used this move to capture countless Imperial armies and famous Imperial figures. The Blackstone Fortress in the sky crashed down, sending a massive shockwave across Cadia's surface. The Blackstone obelisk matrix was destroyed, and the flow of warp energy resumed.
The golden-armored giant moved his massive sword, as if about to act, but ultimately did nothing. In a flash of light, both Emperor Avatars were sealed into Trazyn's cube. To be honest, ordinary spatial or temporal lock technologies should not be able to seal entities empowered by the Emperor's psychic might, beings crafted by the Yapool as extra-dimensional lifeforms.
The Yapool had even made time-stopping super-beasts before. Unless you could perfectly control time—rewinding or traversing it with game-breaking abilities—these abilities were useless against such dimensional beings. These Ace Killers could be remotely retrieved by the Emperor, or by Rhodes using the system, or even break free by sheer Emperor light and strike back at the metallic skeleton.
Ultimately, after some discussion, the Emperor and Rhodes decided to do nothing, allowing Trazyn the Infinite to capture the two avatars. If they resisted, the Necron would simply flee and continue scheming in the shadows. Without a way to access his pocket dimension, they could not retaliate.
However, if they could enter his collection world, his lair, they could land a blow on him. With two Emperor avatars, they could even steal a trove of artifacts—now that would be a real bargain. And this was also a chance to glimpse the inner workings of Trazyn's labyrinth.
They would wait for the Necron Overlord to leave his lair again, and then strike while he was away, making him pay dearly. The Emperor agreed to this plan mostly because Cadia's fortress was already doomed—the Blackstone Fortress had shattered all its obelisk matrices. The planet was about to break apart. Trazyn had sealed the Emperor avatars at the perfect time, aiding Abaddon.
This allowed Abaddon to use the Blackstone Fortress to smash Cadia, utterly destroying this fortress world. It triggered a massive explosion of warp energy from the Eye of Terror, tearing the entire galactic reality apart.
The Emperor had foreseen this; it seemed inevitable. Despite his best efforts, some accidents were unavoidable. So now, it was time to get back at that Necron Overlord!
"You damned bastard! How dare you profane the Emperor! How dare you!" Inquisitor Greyfax, rushing forward, suddenly collapsed to her knees midway, her body flashing with green light—Trazyn had left a failsafe when releasing her. The Custodes and some Ultramarines were affected in the same way, collapsing and enveloped in green light, as Necron nano-bots had been implanted in their bodies.
"This time I'm in a good mood. I've obtained unimaginable collectibles, so I'll let you off—for now. I have a more important prize to claim. You are worthless to me. Stay here and die!" Trazyn sneered and teleported away.
The items he released were of little value to his collection. The real prize was the Cadia Fortress Governor, Cadia's highest authority, who was a prime collectible. He left behind a group of Sisters of Battle, the Black Templar Marshal, Inquisitor Greyfax, and the Custodes, all in confusion.
The Custodes were furious. This was the second time—twice now they had failed to protect the Emperor. They hadn't fulfilled their duties; dying in battle would have been better.
"We have lost! That shameless xenos! The Fortress World of Cadia has fallen!" A Cadian Guardsman collapsed in despair, shouting. They were so close to victory, so close to driving back the Chaos horde. Who would have thought a Necron would suddenly ambush them?
"We are sinners! We let a shameless Xenos ambush us and capture the Emperor's avatar!" A Sister of Battle pounded the ground in fury.
"Do not despair! The Imperium still stands, and the Emperor endures. This is but a setback. We must evacuate the planet now," sighed the Black Templar Marshal, getting up.
Against the Necrons, humanity was always at a disadvantage. These ancient Xenos civilizations wielded technology far beyond human imagination.
"How do we leave?"
"Previously, many Imperial Navy ships and the Imperial Fists flagship, the Phalanx, came to reinforce Cadia. We must call them now—save as many as we can. The planet's surface and core are ruined; the continents are collapsing. In a few hours, the planet will explode."
"Then let's move! We don't have much time. We'll be the last to leave," said Inquisitor Greyfax.
More black fleets poured from the Eye of Terror; endless daemonic armies surged forth. Reality and the warp were completely torn apart. Braving Chaos fleet fire, the Imperial Navy entered Cadia's orbit and began deploying drop pods to rescue the troops.
Cadia was a world where everyone served—male or female, all joined the military in adulthood. Its army numbered around 810 million, and with reinforcements, over a billion. Over 80% had already died fighting Chaos; even with the Navy's rescue, how many could be saved? No one knew. Cadia's fall was just the beginning. Warp energy was now ripping into the galaxy, affecting everything.
Psyker power was more active; the barrier between reality and the warp was shattered. Even Rhodes, deep in the Webway, felt the violent energy surge. The Webway itself was affected, but the good news was that Rhodes' space fortress and Belisarius Cawl's Ark Mechanicus finally escaped the Webway, arriving at the breaking Cadia.
While in the Webway, Rhodes used a tractor field to attach the Ark Mechanicus to his ship's underside and cloaked it. This ship could not be exposed to the public—especially not to the four Chaos Gods.
"Lord Rhodes! We're late! My greatest fear has happened—the Rift is open! Reality and the warp are now torn wide," said Belisarius Cawl.
"Send ships to rescue survivors. The Rift may be closed in the future. Abaddon opened it with 13 Black Crusades; someday we'll close it with a Crusade of Light," Rhodes replied.
"Understood, Lord Rhodes. I'll send all Ark Mechanicus landers immediately," Cawl said, beginning the rescue.
The Cadians were heroic; Rhodes planned to save some and make them his gene-sons. Those left on the battlefield were the bravest. The Ark Mechanicus landers appeared, drawing Chaos's fleet fire, but Chaos seemed unaware of where these landers came from. Some Chaos ships were even bombarded.
But the Warmaster had no time to care—he was chasing retreating Imperial ships.
"Commander, please board the transport! The Cadian Shock Troops need you," said the Castellan's adjutant.
"Leave? I will not abandon this planet. I will live and die with Cadia," said Castellan Creed.
"Sir! The people of Cadia still need your leadership. All forces have withdrawn—only some Black Templars, Sisters of Battle, Living Saints, Custodes, Ultramarines, and Inquisitor Greyfax remain."
If not for the sudden arrival of Mechanicus landers, they might not have escaped.
"Heh! Lord Creed, you need not leave. I intend to invite you as a guest—your private chamber…" A flash of green light and Trazyn's hunched figure appeared.
He was here to finish his collection and capture the Governor.
"Foul xenos! How dare you show yourself?" Creed's guards raised their lasguns at Trazyn.
"I'm saving you! You'll be in my collection, but at least you won't die." Trazyn produced his mysterious cube, froze time, and prepared to act.
What a wonderful day!
Suddenly, a spatial ripple—an armored man appeared, a crimson beam shooting from his head, blasting Trazyn to pieces.
"You talk too much!"