Deep within the chaotic, lawless depths of the Warp—
the Four Gods of Chaos were forever engaged in their Great Game, sowing disorder across existence.
Khorne waged endless war, Nurgle spread corruption, Tzeentch spun plots, and Slaanesh reveled in excess. They dispatched their servants against one another, delighting in every outcome the game produced, whether victory or defeat.
Of the four, Tzeentch was perhaps the strangest. More often than not, he would take part in the game in completely unexpected ways, only to suddenly lose his advantage just as he seemed poised to seize total control—or be ganged up on by the other three and forced into defeat.
Whenever that happened, the Changer of Ways would usually leave behind a single line—
"This too is part of the plan."
Then everyone would laugh at him, and the cycle would begin again.
But with humanity's rise once more, the Great Game had gained a new player.
Though this player did not directly participate, everything he did in the material universe threatened to rewrite the rules of the game itself, perhaps even leading to consequences no one had foreseen.
And so, just as the Great Game was reaching one of its livelier phases, the rulers of the board suddenly noticed something wrong.
Why… had Tzeentch become so quiet lately?
Ever since one of the primarchs had entered the Warp and paid a visit to the Four Great Powers, they had all begun laying the groundwork for an unprecedented upheaval.
Yet for some reason, just as events were starting to move in a very interesting direction—
the one who ought to have been the most active had gone as silent as the dead.
It was hard not to suspect that some grand new conspiracy was brewing.
The Crystal Labyrinth was Tzeentch's domain: ever-shifting, beyond time, and impossible to escape. Even if one somehow found the correct path, one would still perish beneath the walls of the Impossible Fortress.
And in the deepest part of that fortress, Tzeentch dwelled within his hidden library, where he oversaw the wider game, received the flow of information from beyond, and occasionally sent out his power in response.
Yet in recent days, Tzeentch's realm had become eerily quiet.
So stagnant, in fact, that it almost rivaled Nurgle's domain next door.
To the daemons of Tzeentch, who were used to constant change, that feeling was like having ants crawling across their backs.
An active Tzeentch was terrifying.
A plotting Tzeentch was terrifying.
But a Tzeentch who suddenly stopped doing anything at all?
That was far, far worse.
It was like a bomb: the scariest kind was not the one you knew would explode, but the one you knew would explode and had no idea when.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh—!"
From a sealed chamber deep within the library came the strange, shrill cries of a human woman.
The daemons, curious and deeply unsettled, all wanted to know what was happening inside.
At some point, their great master, the Lord of Change, had simply started making noises like this.
It was completely baffling.
Still, if it was the Lord of Change, then this bizarre screaming must surely mean he was preparing some truly vicious masterstroke.
As for the truth of the matter—
Tzeentch felt profoundly, unbearably wrong.
He simply could not accept it.
He was the Lord of Change. The God of Fate. The cleverest being in all the universe.
And yet he had somehow been outplayed by a human brat.
"How… how the hell am I supposed to change back?!!!"
Clutching her head, Tzeentch screamed at her magic mirror in agony.
Tzeentch's form was never fixed.
But ever since she had been struck by that bizarre beam, her appearance had been locked in place.
This was utterly intolerable.
Every time she looked in the mirror and saw a blue-haired human girl staring back at her, she nearly broke down.
Sure, the face was pretty enough, but—
but that wasn't the point!
Absolutely not!
Worse still, after turning into this form, she had discovered that her mind no longer wanted to scheme or plot.
No, what it wanted—
was to slack off.
Scheming against the Dark King? Too much trouble.
At a time like this, wouldn't it be better to take a nap?
Have a drink?
Throw a party?
Enjoy yourself and let the day pass happily?
To make matters even stranger, a completely absurd set of memories had appeared in her mind:
that she was a goddess named Aqua, an elite professional of the highest order.
"Hmph! Naturally. Only a goddess of that caliber is worthy of a Lord of Change like me!"
Why am I thinking something this stupid?!
"Waaah! I have to change! I have to change!!!"
Tzeentch dropped to her knees and repeatedly smashed her forehead against the obsidian floor.
Beside her, a diary quietly documented how the Lord of Change had spent the past several days.
Drink. Sleep.
Drink. Sleep. Learn party tricks.
Drink. Sleep.
Drink. Sleep. Try to read, fail to understand anything.
Drink. Sleep.
Drink. Sleep. Attempt to summon a Hero from another world, fail.
…
Over and over again.
Not a trace of progress.
Even the daemon responsible for keeping records could barely endure it.
This was too lazy. Far too lazy.
"Forget it. Since things have already come to this, I may as well lie down for a while."
After venting her frustration, Tzeentch climbed onto a comfortable sofa, stretched out, and closed her eyes.
Honestly, this life would be perfectly fine if only it weren't so boring.
"My master," the mirror said, "do we truly need take no action?"
"As far as I know, the other three have already sent scouting parties more than once to investigate our situation. We have been inactive for too long."
"I said no. Too troublesome. Besides, they can't get through the Labyrinth anyway."
If they really attacked, then at worst she could just kneel down and apologize.
Not exactly a big deal.
"And your followers…"
"Just throw them a bit of power and send them on their way."
"But recently, your worshippers have become increasingly strange…"
The mirror sounded exhausted.
For some reason, the Tzeentch cultists out in realspace had changed from slaves desperate for wisdom into a fanatical sect calling themselves the Axis Order. They had become so unhinged that they were now willing to throw themselves at Khorne cultists in open battle.
Was that really fine?
Ever since Tzeentch had taken on this form, all sorts of things had become increasingly bizarre.
Though, technically speaking, that was change as well.
Just… a very strange kind of change.
"It doesn't matter. Life is about being happy."
Tzeentch waved a hand casually and took another great swig of wine.
"Besides, I'm a goddess. What is there I can't handle?"
She puffed her chest out proudly.
"I have my own destiny. Everything is proceeding according to plan."
"Hic."
Now then, it was probably about time to summon Heroes from another world and send them off to defeat the Dark King.
Now that had style.
Using humans to deal with humans, using Heroes to defeat a tyrant—
I really am a genius.
The mirror let out a long, weary sigh.
This conversation had already happened more than once.
And every single time, it ended with Tzeentch deciding to lounge around instead.
A lazy slob was a lazy slob.
There was no grand destiny in any of this.
"Anyway, I'll just sleep for now. Tomorrow's problems can wait until tomorrow. Once I summon a Hero from another world, everything will be fine…"
Her words grew softer and softer until she drifted off.
Before long, she was sound asleep, even blowing little snot bubbles.
The daemons in the room were speechless.
Then, just as Tzeentch slept, a spatial rift suddenly opened—
and something resembling a hair dryer dropped out of it and smacked her squarely on the head.
"Wah! What the hell was that?!"
"Who dares ambush the greatest goddess?!"
Clutching her head, Tzeentch shot upright, ready to fly into a rage—
only to freeze when she saw what had hit her.
It looked very familiar.
Wait a second…
Wasn't this that human brat's weapon?
Picking up the Evolution-Devolution Ray Gun, Tzeentch fell into thought.
In an instant, all traces of sleepiness vanished.
Compared to how she used to be, Tzeentch now disliked thinking far more than before.
But because of how special this item was, she still carefully examined it from top to bottom.
And eventually, she arrived at a useful conclusion.
So if I get shot by this thing one more time…
I'll turn back?!
Yes!
Perfect!
A sudden burst of delight exploded through her.
"And what if I shoot the other three into a form like mine first… and only then turn myself back?"
The moment that thought occurred to her, Tzeentch's eyes lit up.
Wouldn't that mean she could seize the upper hand in the Great Game?
Yes.
Yes, this was exactly what she wanted.
That human brat wasn't nearly as annoying as she'd thought.
Why hadn't he said earlier that he had such a marvelous toy?
"But Master," the mirror pointed out, "how exactly are we supposed to transform them? We can't very well start a war over it…"
"No need for you to worry. I have a plan!"
Tzeentch began to think.
And very quickly, she came up with what she considered an absolutely flawless scheme.
The next time the four of them met to discuss how to elevate the Dark King—
she would wait until the other three weren't paying attention, then fire off one beam apiece.
Maybe she could even shoot the Dark King too.
And afterward, she would change herself back and destroy the weapon.
A perfect plan.
"Summon my Greater Daemons! I have something important to announce!"
At last, with a goal in sight and a source of amusement to energize her, Tzeentch strode out of the chamber, ray gun in hand.
The daemons waiting outside all froze the moment they saw their master's newest appearance.
What did this mean?
Why had the Lord of Change become like this?
She looked…
not especially clever.
"My faithful followers!"
"The great plan is about to begin! Come with me!"
No riddles. No obscure half-truths. No endless word games.
Tzeentch issued her orders with shocking clarity, then marched off with supreme confidence while the assembled daemons stood around in stunned silence.
In order to gain the upper hand in the Great Game, the Lord of Change was finally about to enact her grand design.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 26
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 32
Uma Musume: From Beginner 26
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