I look down at the little girl sleeping in my arms. Clean now. Healed. Her small body clings to me as if her life depends on it.
"I thought you had brothers, Theo."
I glance to the side. Ana approaches in her android body, her steps quiet against the deck.
"I know, Ana. I thought I did too. But… I was wrong."
I was wrong about more than that. I thought a week wouldn't break her. I thought she could endure it.
I didn't account for her gift.
To her, that single week became a living hell.
If I had known… I would have come sooner. I would have been there the moment her pod landed. I would have made sure she never experienced that nightmare.
When I found her, I saw it. I saw the flood. The flood of visions. Endless, violent visions forced into her mind—fragments of what is to come… or what should come.
My jaw tightens as I recognize the source. I saw it—a glimpse of an eldritch entity seated upon a crystal throne, hurling visions into her mind like daggers.
That bastard.
He gives her useful knowledge, yes, but always wraps the visions in horror. He makes sure she sees the worst possible outcomes. He makes sure to let her know that everything is already set in stone and that what she is doing will not change the outcome.
That bastard shows her visions of her death. He shows her visions of many people in Nostramo violating her body. He gives her visions of her suffering. He shows her how people use her as an experiment. Her Primarch's body cannot die easily, and they were delighted in that fact. He shows her how the galaxy would burn.
He also makes sure that every gaze she casts upon another brings visions of their deaths and suffering.
It's breaking her. It will break her. If left alone, her gift will rot into a curse that sees nothing but despair.
That thing is using her and shaping her, trying to force her into accepting a fate where she dies at an assassin's hand.
It's afraid.
Afraid of another who can see fate. Afraid of what she might become. So it's trying to destroy her before she ever gets the chance. That bastard is jealous of my sister's gift and dares to make her commit suicide.
"Theo."
I snap back to reality.
Ana's arms wrap gently around my neck. I close my eyes for a moment, grounding myself in her touch.
"Thank you, Ana. I was about to lose myself."
"It's alright, Theo. You're not alone. Whatever you choose to do, I'll stand with you."
"Heh. Even if I decide to conquer the galaxy?"
"Then we'll rename the ship Star Conqueror, won't we?"
A small smile tugs at my lips.
She rests her head on my shoulder, and I nuzzle her lightly before looking back down at my sister.
She's safe now because I'm here, and I will make sure she never sees those visions again. I will teach her how to use her gift and make sure she only sees the visions she wants to see. To do that, I need to do something.
Just as I did with my sons and Ana, I reach out and bind our souls together. This connection will bind us more closely than regular siblings. We are not only connected by blood, but also by soul.
Through it, she gains a weaker version of my perks and powers. Enough to stabilize her gift. Enough to control it.
And more than that, she becomes a Blank. Not only a regular Blank of this universe, but a true Blank. No one can scry her to see her past and future. Not only that, but her mind is also protected from the corruption of the Warp. Lastly, she is now a Psyker, a powerful one.
Then I weave my power around her.
My [Soul Weaver] anchors her essence within my [Soul Garden], shielding her from the Warp's corruption even more. The Null within her expands inside that space, forming a void—an absence so profound that the Warp recoils from it.
It will make sure that not even the Chaos Gods can detect her.
When I am done, I feel it.
A ripple through the Warp.
I can feel confusion at first before a cold, calculating anger explodes from the Warp. It is brief, less than a second, but I know who is expressing this feeling.
It is Tzeentch.
The severed connection hasn't gone unnoticed. I cut off the connection between my sister and him and make sure he cannot find her anymore. Only through the eyes of mortals can he see her now.
He's looking for answers, but finds none. All the knowledge he has results in nothing. He is angry and searching for the source of what is happening.
Looking for me.
Unfortunately for him… he won't find anything. My perks and powers from the CYOA will make sure he finds nothing. He will be searching for shadows that do not exist.
Good.
Let him search. Let him chase shadows. While he wastes his time hunting ghosts… I will find the rest of my sisters.
For that, I need to find my sister's location. I take a deep breath and search for my sisters. All of them are about to land, but I search for the one landing first. After a few seconds, I find one.
She's about to leave the Warp and land.
I narrow my eyes and follow the thread deeper.
In a few seconds, I see something. A mountainous world appears in my vision, harsh terrain carved with architecture reminiscent of ancient Rome.
I see her.
Climbing from her pod onto a cliffside. She begins her ascent… but her gift activates. It is the gift of Insight—the ability to understand how things work.
Sadly, just as with the others, her gift is twisted and corrupted. This time, it is not twisted by one of the Four, but rather something else. I can feel Fire and Metal coming from the being. This being embodies corrupted technology.
Vashtorr. The Arkifane.
Another bastard. Another one who wants to corrupt my sister. I will not allow it.
"Ana. Prepare for another jump."
"Oh? Where to, Theo?"
"Do you have any data on a planet called Olympia?"
"Olympia… no, Theo. Either it wasn't called that in my era, or the name has changed."
"Tch. Cancel the jump. I'll need time to scry its location."
"Understood. In the meantime, I suggest establishing a hidden starbase in this system. It's close to our home system, and we can conquer the system, then reshape it."
I glance at the dark planet below… then nod.
"Do it. Deploy the drones. Give me a full planetary list and your recommendation for a defensible, concealed location."
"There are several viable candidates. I'll send drones to confirm."
"Good. I'll take her to my room."
Ana smiles and nods. I rise from the command chair and leave the bridge, carrying my sister carefully. I walk toward my quarters.
In my quarters, I lay her down on the bed.
She doesn't stir. I smile a little as her soft breathing is all I can hear. I brush a hand gently over her head and give her a little kiss on the forehead.
"Rest, little sister. You've earned it."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|3rd POV|
When she wakes up, everything is quiet. There are no more dark visions of the future. There are no more whispers of her fate already sealed. Everything is quiet and bright. She looks around and sees that she is sitting on a fluffy bed.
She blinks, taking in her surroundings.
She moves her hand, feeling the smooth fabric against her skin. She moves her body up and down, feeling the bed bounce. She looks at the fabric for a second and puts her face down. She releases a sigh and rubs her face on the fabric. She can feel the warmth coming from it, and she pulls it over her entire body, creating a cocoon.
She loves it. She does not see any vision of the bed being destroyed or the room burning to the ground.
Everything is quiet and warm. She likes it. She wants to stay here forever.
She snaps out of her thoughts when she hears the door open. She moves and uses the blanket around her as a shield. She growls at the incoming possible enemy, but stops when she sees a familiar man walk toward her.
This is the giant she encountered previously. The giant who gave her food—and he is bringing more. This time, it is something liquid. It smells savory, sweet, and a little sour.
This is Theodore. He feels his sister waking up and decides to bring her some food. He gives her a bright smile and sits on the bed.
"What is this? I don't know if there is a blanket monster in my room."
With a smooth motion, Theodore scoops up his sister, who lets him do it. She cannot feel anything wrong with him and allows him to pick her up. There is also the fact that she loves his warm embrace and wants to experience it again.
He puts her on his lap and says,
"So, how are you doing, sister?"
Instead of answering, she looks at him for a few seconds and nods her head.
"You are good. That's good. Here. I brought you more food."
He picks up the bowl and places it in front of her. She looks at the stew and pats his hand. Theo knows what she wants, smiles, and scoops some of the stew, feeding her. The only sounds in the room are the soft chuckles of Theodore and the chewing of his sister.
When she is done eating all the stew, Theo hums a little and says,
"Hey, do you want a name?"
She freezes at his words and looks at him with an unreadable expression. However, Theo sees a glint in her eyes.
"I cannot call you 'sister this, sister that,' can I? How about it? Do you want a name?"
She looks at him and nods her head. However, Theodore flicks her forehead, making her blink for a second.
"Nope! You need to say it, sister. Come on~ Say it~ I know you already learned the language I am using. We are Primarchs, after all."
"Yes. Give. Name."
"Of course~."
Theodore picks her up and looks her in the eyes. His eyes are filled with light, and his smile is so bright that it makes her smile too.
"From now on, your name shall be Kassandra! Kassandra Curze!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heya! If you'd like to support me and read more, you can visit my Ko-Fi and Patreon! There are 2 chapters for you to read. You can also read my Darktide Fanfic in there. There are at least 8 chapters ready for you to read. The first arc is done!
Here are the links:
Kofi: ko-fi.com/fangrove
P@treon: patreon.com/fangrove