My Life as A Death Guard
Chapter 514: The Awakening
Above Cadia, a colossal storm raged on the surface. From the Warp, it resembled a giant, single eye, gazing down upon all living beings.
At the storm's epicenter, Hades knelt on the ground, struggling to lift his head. He saw Malcador—the old man standing tall amidst the tempest.
"Mal... cador..."
Hades spoke, coughing up a mixture of black and red mucus. He was weak, his consciousness fading, his body trembling with exhaustion.
Malcador, his cloak whipping in the gale, looked down at him. The old man's blood-stained hands gripped the long, black spike of his new staff, his eyes fixed on Hades with a complex intensity.
But there was no golden light in the Space Marine gaze.
Hades had returned all of his psychic power and his soul.
All of it.
Was he the first to ever pry psychic power from Hades' grasp?
Malcador didn't know, but he knew this was fate.
He smiled bitterly and tightened his grip on the new staff.
Countless shimmering cracks crawled across Malcador's body. The space around him warped, and psychic energy flowed down from his form in brilliant flashes.
Hades watched in horror as Malcador's form began to fade before his eyes. Realizing something was terribly wrong, Hades tried to unleash the Black Domain to reach out to him, but he had only just awakened and could not yet fully control its power.
The Malcador before him was clearly wrong! This... this was not the Malcador he knew! The old man was wreathed in a strange, chaotic aura.
"Malcador?!" Hades cried out, desperately reaching out to grasp the old man as he was swept away by the Warp Storm. But he was paralyzed, forced to watch helplessly as Malcador's figure was torn apart, dragged into the treacherous Warp Rift.
Through his blurred vision, Hades saw the old man's lips move. Amidst the humming roar, he heard fragmented words:
"...Next... time... don't call me... Malcador... I... the Imperium..."
Malcador smiled.
"Trust me, Hades. Trust me."
A blinding flash erupted!
"—Malcador?!!!!!!"
Hades bolted to his feet, but the last flickering phantom before him had already vanished, dragged into the Abyss by the laws of the Highest Heaven.
The previous storm ceased abruptly, leaving behind only this vast, endless expanse of land that had just fallen silent.
Forcing himself to stand, Hades felt as if his chest had been torn open. He slowly lowered his head and saw the gaping hole where his body had been pierced through.
The pain—it was too much.
His balance faltering, Hades stumbled a few steps and roared at the sky,
"Trust you with what?!!! Malcador, you could have explained before you died?!!!!"
Hades took a deep breath, his remaining lung wheezing. "What the hell happened?!!!!"
"Malcador!!!"
What the hell happened?!!!
In his delirium, Hades thought he heard Malcador's gratified laughter at his breakdown.
Was it an illusion? Hades looked around, but saw only the distorted space,
Instinctively, he lifted his gaze. Through his blurred vision, he saw the galaxy torn asunder, and the fleets of ships anchored silently in the heavens above.
Hades's pupils dilated. He wanted to see what had happened, but his newly awakened body couldn't even begin to obey. His earlier struggle to stand had already drained most of his strength.
What the fuck has this world become while he was asleep?!
A wave of dizzying nausea and furious indignation engulfed him. Hades's form swayed. Numbness spread from his severed chest. Thud! He finally gave way and collapsed again, darkness beginning to seep in from the corners of his vision.
I hope at least Mortarion hasn't fallen yet... Hades thought in despair... Malcador... Malcador...
The sound of unhurried footsteps approached.
Hades lay on his back in despair. In his inverted field of vision, he saw a pair of mechanical feet and the crimson robes of the Adeptus Mechanicus hanging down.
"...Help..." Save Malcador first.
Save Malcador first!
Hades struggled to speak, but all he could do was cough up blood. He tried to manipulate the Black Domain, but his newly returned consciousness couldn't control it properly. He could only watch the river of death flow, unable to direct its course.
Trazyn bent down, staring at Hades. He waved a hand in greeting.
"Long time no see, Hades," Trazyn said. "I'll take you over there now."
Hades knew nothing of Trazyn's deal with the Imperium. Sure, he'd hoped to be collected and just rot away—but not now! Malcador?! Save Malcador, you xenos bastard!
You're just here to collect heads, aren't you?!
Hades struggled violently again, but it only made his fainting spells heavier. As if sensing Hades' thoughts, Trazyn pressed a finger to his lips in a "shush" gesture. The xenos reached out, his hand moving toward Hades' chest—
Driven by sheer will, Hades finally regained control of one hand. He swung a fist at Trazyn's face, but the xenos dodged it with ease.
Trazyn reached out with practiced ease, retrieving the Emperor's Finger Bone that Malcador had previously placed on Hades. The xenos picked up the middle finger bone, casually stowing it in his storage space before turning to meet Hades' furious, wide-eyed glare.
"Kid, this is a pact I've made with Malcador and Mortarion," Trazyn said. "The Imperium has abandoned you, but Mortarion and Malcador refuse to give up on you. They've entrusted me to keep you alive."
BOOM!
Before Trazyn could even finish his sentence, a blinding golden light erupted from his body, instantly obliterating half of his mechanical face.
"Alright! Alright! The truth is, the Imperium made a deal with me!"
His voice crackled with electronic static. Trazyn immediately surrendered, and the Finger Bone of the Emperor, which had just triggered the explosion, dimmed once more.
Trazyn glanced around at the desolate wasteland.
"I'll take you away from here right now, Hades... Without treatment, your body won't last much longer."
Trazyn stared at Hades' face, contorted with fury and resentment. Great chunks of flesh, slick with blood, slid from his mouth. Hades glared at Trazyn, his gaze unwavering.
"...Mal...cador..."
Trazyn looked up, his eyes fixed on the direction where Malcador had vanished. The space there remained unstable, countless Warp rifts tearing open and sealing shut.
"He can save himself," Trazyn said. "Save yourself first... Rest assured, this is all part of Malcador's plan."
Did his benevolent lie comfort Hades? Trazyn didn't know. Either way, Hades was in no condition to fight him now.
As he mentally mapped out the next steps of the treatment, Trazyn slowly helped the blood-spitting Hades to his feet. Suddenly, Trazyn's head snapped around, his mechanical eye locking onto the fleet in the sky—
He had detected the signal for Cyclone Missile deployment.
The next moment, brilliant fireworks erupted across the horizon.
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
<+>
Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 525: The Erasure[1]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/my-life-as-death-164167815[2]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/my-life-as-death-164167815
[2] https://www.patreon.com/Thatsnakegirl/posts/my-life-as-death-164167815