Chapter 130: The Spirit Prophet

"Ah, ah, ah... Kedar, hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! I'm so bored."

Salathiel sat atop a heap of mortal corpses, urging Kedar, who was currently performing a summoning ritual. Kedar was a psyker; though he didn't particularly care for his own psychic abilities, he still found them useful.

"Can you be any less noisy?" Kedar replied to Salathiel while arranging the components of the summoning circle.

"It's all your fault. Wouldn't it have been better to leave a few of them alive to play with?" Salathiel watched the busy Kedar, bored enough to pass the time by sifting through the memories of the dead mortals.

"You really shouldn't keep eating brains to look at memories. That Chosen One of His detests that kind of behavior," Kedar remarked, glancing at Salathiel after finishing the arrangement of the bodies.

"Oh, fine, fine. That Chosen One is so boring. How did my Master ever take a fancy to her?" Salathiel asked.

"Who knows? Perhaps your Master was just feeling whimsical," Kedar replied.

"Hehe, Kedar, what exactly is our objective this time? This order came directly from my Master. It's a pity I'm not a psyker; my Master didn't tell me anything." Salathiel asked with a grin. The mission had been ordered personally by the Lord of Pleasure. Psychic ability was clearly vital to this task, and because Salathiel lacked it, the Lord of Pleasure had only confided the details to Kedar.

"It concerns a Primarch." Kedar glanced at Salathiel, offered that single sentence, and prepared to focus on the ritual.

"A Primarch? Could it be Roboute?" Salathiel pondered for a moment, then put on an expression of sudden realization.

"No, it is a Primarch we have never seen before. Father will be coming this time, and our cousins will be arriving as well. Stop talking and let me finish the ritual." Kedar spoke, pausing his work to answer the question.

"Alright, alright, hurry up. I can't wait to see my brothers," Salathiel said, obediently falling silent.

As Kedar chanted the incantations, streaks of purple light emerged from the void, accompanied by echoes of ecstatic sounds. With a flash of violet brilliance and a chorus of blissful cries, figures began to manifest before Kedar.

Children of the Emperor who worshipped Slaanesh appeared on the ground. Once they materialized, the mortal corpses used for the ritual turned into piles of dust, scattered by the howling wind and snow. Among these two-meter-tall giants, a petite figure stood, appearing entirely out of place.

"It's so cold. I didn't want to come here at all. Couldn't I have just stayed back and done nothing? I really don't want to get involved in any of this." The petite figure was draped in a thin, translucent purple gauze dress; beneath it, strips of golden fabric decorated with Chaos runes covered her vital areas.

"Sigh... that man again. I wonder how he'll die this time. It’s going to hurt so much." Lu Xiaoxiao looked at the surrounding scene and the cluster of towering Space Marines, pulling her purple gauze closer around her. This was the most "normal" outfit Slaanesh had given her; her previous Earth-style casual clothes had been destroyed during a blessing—though, in truth, that might have just been Slaanesh's twisted sense of humor.

"Lady Chosen, per my Master's orders, you have arrived. What should we do next?" The moment Salathiel saw Lu Xiaoxiao, he rushed over and loomed over her, asking the question. He had been bored for three minutes and was desperate for something stimulating to pass the time.

"You... um... could you please stop smiling?" Lu Xiaoxiao looked at the two-meter-tall giant peering down at her with a grotesque, eerie grin, and a chill immediately ran down her spine.

"Very well, very well, Lady Chosen." Salathiel complied, wiping the terrifying smile from his face.

"We wait here for now. Once that man arrives, we can act. For now, just rest where you are," Lu Xiaoxiao told the Slaaneshi Space Marines. In truth, she had no idea what she was supposed to do; she had been dragged out of the Warp in a state of confusion. Slaanesh had only told her to assist Fulgrim in dealing with Wang Ming.

"Understood." Salathiel said, walking away in disappointment. The other Slaaneshi Space Marines followed suit, wandering off toward the edges of the village, hoping to find some amusement.

"Sigh... come here, all of you. I'll give you something fun," Lu Xiaoxiao called out to the dispersing warriors.

Upon hearing her, the Slaaneshi Space Marines immediately gathered before her, watching the girl with eager eyes.

"Alright, one by one. Stick your heads forward." Lu Xiaoxiao told them to line up.

Salathiel was at the front. Excitedly, he leaned his head forward, imagining what kind of "fun" the young woman would provide. Just as his head reached her, a psychic-infused slap landed squarely on top of his head. It was so fast that even the blessed Chaos Space Marine couldn't track it, a testament to the power of the blessing Slaanesh had bestowed upon her.

Salathiel took the full force of the blow and instantly collapsed to the ground, falling into a sleep as deep as an infant's. Lu Xiaoxiao had used her psychic power to weave him a pleasant dream; even while sprawled on the ground, he continued to emit strange, blissful sounds.

The other Slaaneshi Space Marines witnessed this and immediately understood what she was doing. They all crowded forward, thrusting their heads toward her. One by one, Lu Xiaoxiao delivered her slaps, and one by one, the warriors fell into satisfied, blissful dreams with smiles on their faces.

"Don't you want some fun?" Lu Xiaoxiao asked Kedar, who had been watching from the sidelines. She knew that if she didn't provide these warriors with some form of stimulation, there was no telling what kind of trouble they would cause, and she just wanted a good night's sleep.

"My Lady, I do not require it. I can restrain myself," Kedar replied. He didn't need these artificial joys; he took great pleasure in the act of resisting temptation—it gave him a thrill of its own.

"Fine. I'm going to sleep for a while. Don't disturb me unless something happens." Lu Xiaoxiao glanced curiously at the restrained Space Marine, then headed into a nearby house, intent on getting a good sleep before Wang Ming arrived.

On another large island on the planet Korthr IV, several Thousand Sons Sorcerers stepped out from a Warp portal, silently observing the human city ahead. On Korthr IV, the players on both sides had placed their pieces; the board was set, waiting only for the target to step into the game.

"Farseer, are you certain you wish to go? Those mon-keigh are not a race known for their reason," an Aeldari warrior asked the Farseer standing on the high platform, failing to understand why she insisted on warning the humans.

"Talaya, we must warn the mon-keigh. They do not know that their Primarch is about to be corrupted by the 'Thirsty Lady.' I have seen the prophecy; he is caught in the schemes of two powerful entities. The Ynnari have allied with the mon-keigh Empire; for the sake of our own plans, I must go. If this Primarch falls to Chaos, it will cause severe damage to my designs," the Farseer replied. She began to channel her psychic power, and the other Aeldari joined her, helping to facilitate the transport to meet the human.

With a flash of psychic light, the Farseer vanished from the platform.

"May you succeed, Farseer Ilith," the warrior whispered to the empty platform.

***

In the training hall of the *Imperial Truth*:

"Captain, tell me, what do the Eldar look like? I've never seen a real one. Is it like the Imperial propaganda says—are they all ugly, fanged monsters?"

Inside the hall, Agger, Kasatos, and Hu Jin sat around a table, chatting while maintaining their weapons.

"They aren't that ugly. They look quite similar to humans, just with pointier ears, a thinner frame, and more delicate features," Hu Jin replied, wiping down his bolter.

"Kid, don't let their thin, bean-sprout appearance fool you. They are extremely dangerous. If you ever fight them, be very careful," Kasatos cautioned, blowing on his power sword to emphasize the danger. Agger nodded, taking the veterans' advice to heart.

"Um, Captain, look behind you. Is that... an Eldar?" Agger suddenly pointed behind Hu Jin, looking confused.

"Impossible. Is your visual processor malfunctioning? How could an Eldar be here? We are currently traveling through the Warp," Hu Jin replied dismissively.

"Let me see. Who's behind me? There's no way an Eldar is here. If there really is one, I'll do what the Boss does—I'll run naked across the battlefield fighting Chaos," Hu Jin said, reaching a hand behind him. He didn't believe it for a second; how could an Eldar be on the *Imperial Truth*? It was impossible. If one really were there, he’d follow Wang Ming’s example and fight Chaos in the nude next time.

Agger and Kasatos watched him with amused expressions, especially Kasatos, who looked like he was struggling to hold back a laugh.

"Hmm, long hair... is that Edwy? Wait, why are these ears so long...?" Hu Jin touched the head behind him, stroking the long hair and assuming it was Edwy wandering the ship, until his fingers brushed against a sharp, pointed ear.

"What the—!"

Hu Jin realized instantly that there really was a bloody Eldar behind him. In a flash, he grabbed the intruder by the head and hurled her toward the wall.

"Mon-keigh, what a savage race. Is this how you treat your allies?" The Eldar did not collide with the wall as Hu Jin expected. While in mid-air, she used her psychic powers to float, though only for a brief moment to stabilize herself. She knew the ship was in the Warp; if she used too much psychic energy, the consequences would be catastrophic.

"Hands up! Drop the staff! Stay where you are! Captain Jiang Tao, intruder detected! Alert security and have them bring the psychic suppressors!" Hu Jin leveled his bolter at her the moment she landed, calling out to Captain Jiang Tao.

"Understood, Captain Hu Jin. Security has been alerted, and a security bot is deploying to assist you," Captain Jiang Tao's holographic projection appeared instantly, confirming the order.

As he spoke, a security Iron Man emerged from a wall compartment, quickly positioning itself behind the Eldar and pinning a laser cannon to the back of her head.

"Mon-keigh, we are allies! I am an Aeldari Farseer here to deliver a prophecy—a prophecy regarding your Father!" The Farseer spoke calmly, looking at the dark muzzle of the bolter and feeling the cold touch of the laser cannon against her skull. She knew that as long as the matter concerned their Primarch, these gene-enhanced mon-keigh would treat the situation with the utmost gravity and would not dare harm her.

"Regarding Father? What are you talking about? My father is still on Terra," Hu Jin said, looking bewildered and turning to Kasatos.

"Uh, Captain, the Primarch is our gene-father," Agger reminded him quickly.

"Oh, you're looking for the Boss?" Hu Jin said, finally understanding. "What prophecy?"

He stepped closer, pressing the bolter against her forehead.