The throne room of the Dark Eldar citadel cracked apart as something far worse than them arrived.
The stench of warp-sorcery clung to the air. And then he walked in.
Fulgrim — or what was left of him — the perfect form of a Primarch now a gilded puppet, skin shimmering with unnatural beauty, eyes burning with an endless, hateful hunger. Behind the façade, Shawn felt it instantly — a Keeper of Secrets, a greater daemon of Slaanesh, coiled inside, its whispers like knives scraping bone.
Shawn didn't slow.
His five-meter frame — built like the Emperor's own war-form — moved with the quiet force of a falling mountain.
Valdor stood behind him, silent, watching.
This is the thing that defiles worlds, breaks the will of men, and calls it art, Shawn thought.
This dies here.
The daemon spoke through Fulgrim's mouth.
"Supreme Commander… do you think your will can pierce perfection itself?"
Shawn's eyes didn't waver.
"My will crushes perfection."
They clashed.
Fulgrim's sword, impossibly fast, came for Shawn's head.
Observation Haki flared — time slowed to a crawl. Shawn saw every micro-movement of the daemon, the twitch of fingers, the minute shift in weight before the strike. He stepped aside, pivoting with Primarch-born agility, and drove a Spirit-Projected spear through Fulgrim's side.
It should have ended there — but the daemon screamed, twisting the wound into nothing. Warp illusions exploded across the room — ten Fulgrims, twenty blades, laughter echoing from everywhere.
Shawn's Observation pierced it all.
Only one heartbeat in this room is real.
He moved before the daemon could blink, Armament Haki flooding his muscles and the spear in his hands. Not just coating — internal fortification. Every thrust bypassed armor, bypassed flesh, slamming directly into the daemon's essence.
Fulgrim roared, the Keeper's true voice breaking through.
"You DARE touch me in my vessel? I will drown you in excess until your soul—"
Shawn didn't let him finish.
Conqueror's Haki erupted — a tidal wave of will that blasted through the chamber, shaking the walls, splintering the ground. Servants, xenos, and lesser daemons dropped instantly, their minds crushed under the pressure. Even Fulgrim staggered, perfect balance broken.
And Shawn pushed harder.
The wave became focused, driven straight into Fulgrim's mind. This wasn't just intimidation — it was domination.
The Keeper's grip on Fulgrim slipped.
Now.
Spirit Projection flared, no longer a weapon in hand but an entire war-form, a towering shadow of himself clad in blackened Haki-armor streaked with golden lightning. It seized Fulgrim, tearing into his very being, ripping the daemon out.
The Keeper of Secrets screamed as it was dragged into the open, a writhing, towering beast of blades and silk, its glamour shattering under Shawn's gaze.
Shawn didn't waste a heartbeat.
His war-form crushed the daemon's arms, pinning it, while his physical body stepped forward and punched its chest with liquid Haki — hammering its soul directly.
Again.
Again.
Until its body cracked like glass.
"Die in the real," Shawn said — and poured everything into the final blow.
Golden lightning roared as Conqueror's Haki annihilated the daemon's will, sealing its death even in the Warp.
It dissolved into nothing — true death.
Fulgrim's body, empty now, sagged.
Shawn didn't hesitate — Armament flooded his hand, and he burned the corpse to ash. No resurrection. No remains for the Dark Gods to claim.
Silence followed.
The Emperor's Children warhost outside faltered, their master's death cutting the strings from their backs. Confusion turned to fear, fear turned to rout. Shawn's forces — Custodes, Grey Knights, Salamanders — descended on them, cutting through without mercy.
Valdor stepped up beside Shawn, scanning the smoldering remains.
"It's done."
Shawn exhaled slowly. His will hadn't faltered once, but the drain on his Spirit Projection was heavy — he could feel the fatigue deep in his bones.
It didn't matter.
One more threat to humanity was gone. Permanently.
He turned to his men.
"We move. This world is cleansed — the next waits."