Warhammer: Black Emperor

Chapter 472 "Spiritual Sculpture" Restoration of the First Demon Prince Statue

Warning Star, underground ruins.

Ninglu held a meter-tall obsidian stone with a diameter of fifty centimeters in his left hand.

After staring at the statue for fifteen minutes, the Primarch began to carve.

The "Corrupted Baron" held a ceremonial knife in his right hand, and spirituality emanated from the tip of the blade.

The statue in the hands of the "Corrupted Baron" took shape in a minute, with a right leg, a broken left arm, wings on its back, and a hideous maw.

Ning Lu stopped what he was doing and looked up at the statue.

The "Corrupted Baron" didn't need to rely on normal means like sight to confirm it; his spirituality reminded him that the statue in his hand was exactly the same as the one in front of him, and that there was some kind of spiritual connection between them.

Ninglu shifted his gaze back to the statue in his hand. After confirming that it was correct, he began to carve on the opposite side of the existing broken statue.

Left leg, broken right arm, and wings on the back.

After a moment, he stopped carving, checked that there were no mistakes, and began to complete the rest.

The Primarch flashed across all the scattered fragments of the murals, then stared at the tattered right arm.

Countless geometric shapes flashed through the "Corrupted Baron's" mind, connecting with the claws on the same mural.

He found the most natural and smoothest lines among countless shapes, and then began to work on them.

A sidereal time later, Nimrod stared thoughtfully at the restored clawed arm, already able to narrow down the subject of the statue to a certain extent.

[A demon prince who resembles a humanoid creature and has fallen into chaos.]

Could the doomsday weapon have been created by the colonists to deal with him?

This is a crisis lurking on Vigilant Star that I was unaware of; I must find out.
As the "Corrupted Baron" pondered, he completed the sculpting of the left arm and turned his gaze to the statue's chest.

After two work cycles, "The Corrupted Baron" completed his first "spiritual sculpture".

Put down the spiritual knife and gaze at the lifelike statue.

With its wings spread wide, its face contorted into a ferocious and terrifying grimace, two sharp horns extend behind its head, and its razor-sharp claws gleam with a cold light.

Nimrod almost immediately recognized the statue's identity: Bilak, the first demon prince Bilak.

He has many titles: Lord of Darkness, First Anointed One...

As the first mortal chosen by the Dark Gods, he was granted a portion of the power of each of the four Chaos Gods.

At first, he roamed among the four Chaos Gods, profiting from the struggles among the powerful beings for him.

However, the four gods soon realized that Birak was uncontrollable and would not be completely loyal to any of them, so they began to recruit new demon princes.

Bilak remains the most powerful of the demon princes, but his power gradually diminishes as the four gods bestow their power upon their other servants.

Nimrod knew that Bilarak had ruled countless Galactic Empires over millions of Terra years.

He enslaved thousands of worlds and forced billions of people to worship him as a god.

But Bilarak's greed and malice will eventually destroy these races, and he will then seek out a new race to become his new plaything.

He is hidden in fleeting legends and absurd rumors, lurking in the shadows behind racial rise and expansion.

[After the fall of the ancient empire before human colonization, Birak abandoned Vigilant Planet, leaving only ancient ruins.]
Ninglu recalls that Kao Bo, a technical sage of the Cult of Mechanics, spent his entire life searching for ancient relics of the "Dark Ages of Technology" to piece together the history of ancient existence.

He was unaware of Birac's existence, believing that all the objects recorded the existence of an alien lord, but he was actually Birac's puppet.

Following the clues, Kobo discovered new star systems and planets, as well as the empire destroyed by Bilak, and collected relics lost to time. Ultimately, Bilak retrieved his relics and regained his lost power, before erasing all traces of himself and Kobo's existence.

Ninglu's mind raced as he tried to recall everything he knew about Birac.

Before Vashtor could ascend to the same level as the Four Gods, Birak's earliest activities were hidden in Abaddon's shadow.

In the third "Black Expedition," Bilak manipulates the demon prince Taunomi to assist Abaddon in attacking Kadia.

During the Sixth Black Crusade, Bilak told Abaddon that the blind Trikas had betrayed them, leading to the destruction of the Spawn of the Eye.

[…]
Although Nimrod did not remember any connection between Birac and the Vigilant Star, he did not recall engaging in any activities during the Great Crusade and the Horus Rebellion.

But Nimrod did not underestimate the potential threat; Bilak was a demon prince who operated in the shadows and might erase the traces of his actions.

[Bilak is ambitious, wants to become a god, and likes to stir up trouble in the shadows. He may encroach on my territory, so he's worth watching.]

I cannot ignore his existence; we should have Arsène Dunn and others investigate him.
Ninglu activated his communicator and gave orders to the "archaeologists" and "secret seekers" to seal the statue and all the excavated objects with the black stone array.

After the experimental use of Gadinal, the technical sergeants gained a better understanding of Blackstone technology and were able to deploy small-scale Blackstone arrays.

Three months after the excavation of the ruins, Nimrod received a report from Akahan Rand that a way to enter the Volian sandstorm had been found, and he immediately convened a meeting.

Two machine servants, each carrying a spherical device with a diameter of one meter, entered the conference room.

Aqqan, his voice brimming with excitement, introduced the exhibit to the crowd.

"The formation of the Volyan sandstorm is essentially influenced by energy."

"Once the energy turbulence can be quelled, we can enter it."

"I spent two months building a machine that can restore disordered energy within a two-kilometer radius to normal. I have conducted five experiments, all of which have been successful."

Ninglu nodded and looked at the others.

"Did you find anything?"

"The Wizard" Thomas spoke first: "My Lord, I have collected some dust and sand around the sandstorm vortex."

“They are different from other hive worlds and other regions of Vigilant Planet. I used them to make some powder.”

"Burning them will provide us with protection."

A green light shone in Malena Scarla's brown pupils.

“I planted vines and other plants in the sandstorm, including five species that can survive for a short time and provide us with protection.”

“My Lord,” Arsena concluded, “I have combined the findings of the Sage Aqahan, the Curator of the Think Tank, and Ms. Malena to conduct this simulation.”

"I believe we can act immediately."

Upon hearing what the "Guardian of Knowledge" said, Ning Lu nodded slightly.

The prophecy dice have about twelve working cycles left before they can be used again, so they can cope even if Arkham and the others' methods fail and they encounter danger.

"In that case, let's set off in three hours."

Nimrod left the Spear of Dionysus in the meeting room and, while everyone prepared, returned to the "Land of Chaos" to bring the Prophecy Dice back to the real world.

In the midst of the vortex of the Vorian sandstorm, if he were to encounter danger, he might not have time to avoid being seen by others and take out the prophecy dice.

(End of this chapter)