Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 215 Ceremony
After taking a shower, Alcena Dunne took the elevator to the lower deck of K-11.

The lower deck of the Shadow of Kings, unlike other void ships, was not a place where the lower-ranking crew struggled, but it was not exactly clean either.

However, the deck of K-11 was unusually clean, with marble covering the floor.

There was no unpleasant odor in the air; a faint scent of incense permeated the air.

Alcena, dressed in a black robe, walked forward and arrived at the center of the K-11 deck.

In his line of sight, an obsidian altar came into view.

The altar is 11.11 meters in diameter and 3.3 meters high.

The "Deduction Trainees" discovered the existence of these two numbers in the even number of black gold and the buildings ordered to be constructed by the Primarch.

So he used these two numbers when designing the building.

Alsena ascended the thirty-three sloping steps to the altar.

The altar was already set up, but Alsena still carefully checked it over.

After confirming that the black iron scales on his left and the cast iron "Iron Laws of the King" on his right were in the correct positions, he walked to the candlesticks.

Alsena held his palm above the candle wick and rubbed it together, lighting the candle with his spirit.

After lighting eleven candles, some upright and some upside down, he took out a ceremonial knife from his person.

Arsena began, reciting in the occult language that bore his surname.

"I sanctify you, Blade of Ritual!"

I purify you, so that you may serve me in the ritual!

"In the name of the Black Emperor, you have been sanctified!"

Spiritual energy burst forth from the tip of the blade, and Alsena stepped around it, an invisible force surging forth.

After walking around, the "deduction student" activated his spiritual vision and sensed that a spiritual wall had indeed been erected around him, keeping out all unclean things.

Then, Alsena took a deep breath and entered the Thalesma meditation state that Nimrod had recently taught him.

After his body, mind, and soul had calmed down, he knelt on the black onyx cushion and began to recite the formal incantation in Dunn:
"The Black Emperor of the Shadow of Order"
The mysterious ruler of a disordered kingdom
The King of Light and Shadow who rules the rules.

I pray for Your watchful gaze.

I pray for Your favor.

I pray that You will grant me the secrets of fire, so that I may possess even greater power.

Scales, balance of a disordered land, please transfer your power to my incantation.

……

"The Iron Laws of the King, the foundation of a disordered kingdom, please transfer your power to my incantation."

Artena learned from the information sent by Ninglu that fire was an effective way to deal with orcs and could also completely annihilate orc spores.

Unable to gain more from the Flao's fire magic, Arsena, after the Primarch explained the process of ritual magic, decided to pray for the secrets of fire.

As soon as Arsena finished reciting the incantation, he felt a sudden gust of wind blowing within the sealed spiritual walls.

This seemed unusually out of place in the confined lower deck of the Void Ship.

At the same moment that Arsena was repeatedly chanting the incantation, Nimrod, who was carrying out official business in the palace of the Shadow of the Throne, suddenly stopped.

A muffled sound reached his ears, and the disturbance made him feel irritable.

An invisible whisper echoed in his mind, and his temples trembled slightly.

He couldn't hear what was being called, and the sound disappeared after about ten seconds.

The irritation from the genomic progenitor quickly subsided, and his temples calmed down.

[Arsena is performing ritual magic.]
As he pondered, a thought struck him, and he arrived in the "Land of Chaos".

Ninglu found a ball of light shimmering with pure white light on the side of the shadows.

The sphere of light contracted and expanded continuously, albeit slightly.

Ninglu unleashed his spirituality, spreading it towards the pure white sphere of light.

Upon first contact, blurry and distorted images immediately appeared in his mind, and illusory and overlapping sounds rang out.

"The Black Emperor of the Shadow of Order"
The mysterious ruler of a disordered kingdom
……

I pray that You will grant me the secrets of fire, so that I may possess even greater power.

……

"The Iron Laws of the King, the foundation of a disordered kingdom, please transfer your power to my incantation."

Alsena's voice echoed, and Nimrod's mind grew increasingly agitated. In an instant, the Primarch ascended to the first level of Thelma's mind, and his brain returned to calm.

Ninglu looked at the blurry image and then saw that Arsena, dressed in a black robe and with silver hair, was kneeling in the flickering candlelight.

He bowed respectfully and continued to recite the incantation.

Ninglu was overjoyed. He had confirmed that the ritual incantation he had conceived was precisely aimed at the "Land of Chaos," and at himself!

[Success!]
After being pleased with the success of his designed ceremony, Nimrod turned his attention to the content of Arsena's prayer.

The mystery of fire.

He gave all the data crystals about fire among the Flao people to Alsena, and he himself did not study this aspect.

[To maintain the Black Emperor's prestige, he must respond to Arsène's pleas.]
Ning Lu's mind raced, and he found the secrets of fire that he had mastered.

The path of the fire dragon that Slau Da walked.

The warriors of this faction believe that the dragon symbolizes Bloodhand Kane's obsession with pure destruction, and their sole objective on the battlefield is to destroy all enemies and eliminate all obstacles.

Nimrod has not yet obtained all the secrets from Slau Da's memories, nor has he studied them and transformed them into secret arts suitable for human use.

However, he obtained the method for drawing the fire dragon rune.

The warriors of the tribe who walk the path of the fire dragon use runes of ferocious fire-breathing dragons from Eldar legends to symbolize the cruelty of war and wanton destruction.

The shape of the dragon rune, when engraved on staves and weapons, will not provide any buffs.

However, by using psionic energy and following the drawing method to outline the runes, one can gain the fire buff.

After confirming the effectiveness of the Fire Dragon Rune, Nimrod immediately realized that the Fire Dragon Rune was used by the shrines that worshipped Cairne, and that it might be affected after being engraved.

Ninglu's eyes were deep as he analyzed whether teaching Arsena how to draw the fire dragon runes would cause any problems.

[Cairn was different from the escaped Laughing God Jorgoch and the life goddess Isa, who was taken away by Nurgle. He was shattered and his soul was devoured by Slaanesh.]

Furthermore, the Fire Dragon faction was founded by Feghan, a student of Asulman, after the "Fall of the Eldar," and the Fire Dragon runes are not closely related to Cairne.
After confirming that there were no problems, Ninglu sketched out the fire dragon runes in his mind and transmitted the engraving method to the light sphere through that subtle connection.

On the lower deck, black mist suddenly rose into Arsène Dunn's mind.

In the mist, a blurry figure stands in the deepest part.

Fire dragon runes appeared in Alsena's mind, and the method of engraving runes also came to mind.

The silver-haired psionicist's eyes were filled with shock. As an Aether Master, he could clearly sense the power of the Aether.

He hadn't sensed any etheric power just now, and the way information was transmitted in his mind wasn't telepathy or anything like that; it had no connection to the subspace.

Arsena felt a mysterious force penetrate his mental defenses, directly injecting graphic and textual information into his mind.

The "reasoning trainee's" brain was working at lightning speed, with one idea after another flashing through his mind.

I prayed to the Black Emperor, and I received a response!
The Black Emperor is truly a god-like being!

If Lord Ninglu is indeed the Black Emperor, then it makes perfect sense that he bestowed power upon me and his descendants.

[…]
Arsena gathered his thoughts and spoke respectfully in Dunn's language.

"Thanks be to my Lord for his blessings."

Alsena knelt for a few more moments before rising and using a ceremonial knife to pierce the invisible barrier.

The Primarch's attendant stepped out of deck K-11 and addressed his trusted men and the enforcement captain.

"Seal off deck K-11 and prohibit anyone from entering."

Arsena knew that the current empire was implementing the policy of Imperial Truth and would not allow the worship of the Black Emperor. He could not let anyone know, lest it have a negative impact on Lord Nimrod.

[If Lord Ninglu is indeed the Black Emperor, perhaps this is why he didn't say it explicitly.]
Within the “Land of Chaos,” Ninglu couldn’t help but think of severing contact with Alsena.

What would Thomas pray for?

The "mystery seeker" would likely inquire about esoteric mysteries.

Even if I cannot respond to a prayer, it doesn't matter; the prophecy dice are fully charged, and I can perform divination.

If I can fulfill his request, then I can proceed with the divination of Kathachang as planned.
Ninglu then thought: [If I can receive prayers, then besides ritual magic, perhaps real-time intergalactic communication is also possible.]
The communication of the Star Speakers is not real-time, is susceptible to interference, and may even fail due to factors such as subspace storms.

Even if the Star Speakers receive the messages, they are fragmented and incomplete.

If feasible, I can inform Howard Find and other close associates so they can communicate with me in real time.

It's even easier to contact extraordinary individuals like "con artist" Tierney and "assassin" Maria Kournikova, who need to remain hidden in the shadows.
Ninglu then thought: [If verifying that sacrifice can also be achieved, I can immediately receive the special items found by the treasure-hunting team.]
Ning Lu's mind raced, and he came up with many extended uses for it.

Ninglu then returned to the real world.

Two days later, he received a report that Sanchez had cleansed the greenskin of Galaxy VII and won the challenge against Enoch Lashvin.

(End of this chapter)