Warhammer: The Time Traveler

Chapter 369 The Source of Chaos (Fourth Update)
The moment the "Eternal Expedition" leaped into the warp, a powerful Geller force field rose up like an invisible shield, tightly enveloping the entire warship.

The heavy protective deck then closed behind the observation windows and all possible external openings, completely isolating the ship's interior from any visual or even physical connection with that crazy dimension.

At this moment, the interior of the warship has become a closed iron box sailing alone in the waves of subspace, relying on its own system to maintain the laws of the real universe.

However, within this near-absolute isolation, there exists a necessary, yet extremely dangerous, exception—the Navigator's Spire, located at the highest point of the warship.

This is the navigator's sanctuary, and the only node on the entire warship permitted to "communicate" with the warp.

The aged navigator sat upright in a specially designed high-backed chair. His weathered forehead was covered with an intricately embroidered headband, beneath which lay a tightly closed, inhuman third eye—the psychic eye.

Only this eye can penetrate the barrier of the Geller force field and directly "see" the bizarre, colorful subspace reality outside, composed of pure energy and malice.

His duty was paramount: to search for and pinpoint the starlight from the sacred Terra, tens of thousands of light-years away, sustained by the burning of the Emperor, the Lord of Mankind.

In the warp's field of vision, that light was like a cold but unwavering sun, a beacon guiding all Imperial ships home.

The navigator must constantly adjust the course, guiding the "Eternal Expedition" along this path of light paved by will.

This is a process of dancing with madness.

The warp is not empty; it is filled with indescribable evil, seductive whispers, and terrifying sights that can shatter the soul.

The navigator must rely on unwavering willpower to build a mental barrier to resist all these contaminants that attempt to invade his mind.

He was like a sailor gripping the helm tightly amidst raging waves; the slightest lapse in concentration could send him plunging into the abyss.

As long as he remains clear-headed and resolute, he and the warship that relies on his guidance are relatively safe.

But once his will cracks, and he is tempted or overwhelmed by what he sees and hears, then the navigator's eye on his forehead, which should be guiding the way, will immediately become a conduit for warp demons to flood into the real universe.

At that time, the navigator will no longer be a guide of hope, but will transform into the most deadly and swift source of disaster within this steel behemoth.

The entire "Eternal Expedition" and everything it carries will face annihilation.

Therefore, when the warship was navigating through the floods of subspace, the silence inside the navigator's tower was far more suffocating and heavy than the roar of the engines and the commands of the officers on the bridge.

Seated inside the Navigator's Spire is an old navigator who has served the "Eternal Expedition" for decades.

The long years and continuous contact with the subspace left an indelible mark on him.

He was already old, and the recent voyage had accelerated his...changes.

From the unique and increasingly closed perspective of the Navigator Clan, he may be becoming more "pure," closer to the ancient form of their bloodline origins.

But in the Empire, especially now, after the Horus Rebellion and extremely sensitive to any mutations, any inhuman features he possesses would be seen without hesitation as clear evidence of chaotic corruption, and a severe mutation of such a deep degree that he is almost no longer human.

Currently, he still maintains a roughly human outline.

However, fine, dark-smelling scales have covered most of his exposed skin, replacing the original texture.

Behind his ears grew gill-like structures that opened and closed slightly, as if he were silently breathing non-existent ether.

His hands had unusually large joints, with obsidian-hard claws extending from his fingertips, and he had long since lost the ability to manipulate ordinary tools.

At this moment, the navigator is under unprecedented pressure.

The exceptionally violent subspace storm he had traversed on his way there had already taken a toll on his spirit and left him with an immense burden. Now, on his return journey, the aftershocks of the storm had not subsided and had even become more turbulent in some sections of the journey.

In this environment, he had to forcefully concentrate his almost collapsing willpower to capture that distant and cold starlight.

The severe mental strain was most directly reflected in the rapid changes in his physical body.

During this journey, which was caught in the storms of the warp, the attendants sent by the Navigator Clan to serve the old Navigator were nervously watching over him.

He knew perfectly well that this mutation, which accelerated rapidly under immense pressure, was by no means a so-called "purification," but rather a dangerous and misguided path leading directly to destruction.

Once the navigator's mind is completely lost amidst the dramatic changes in his body, he will no longer be a navigator, but a source of calamity that brings destruction to the entire ship.

The servant suppressed his fear and watched closely his master's changes.

He saw the scales thickening and spreading at a visible speed, their color changing from dark to an ominous bluish-purple; he heard unnatural shifting sounds from under his clothes, as if bones were forcibly tearing through muscles, trying to stretch and take shape.

The master's entire silhouette was contorting in agony, evolving into some kind of bird-like form with feathered scales.

Each course correction was accompanied by a suppressed roar from deep within the navigator's throat and eerie sounds brought about by physical mutations.

The attendant dared not be negligent in the slightest. Following the ancient methods passed down in the clan, he injected the navigator with a specially made psychic calming potion at the right time, and repeated the bloodline mantra in his ear in a low and firm tone, trying to anchor the consciousness that was on the verge of dissipation back to reality.

His task was not to observe and record, but to help the navigator persevere and complete this crucial voyage at all costs.

He must ensure that this dangerous metamorphosis is kept under control before it reaches a critical point, preventing the old navigator from ultimately becoming the entrance to an abyss that devours everyone.

Cold sweat beaded on the attendant's forehead. Following the ancient rituals passed down through the clan, he carefully injected the precious secret medicine into the navigator's trembling limbs, while whispering the proverbs inherited from his bloodline in his ear, trying to strengthen the mental barrier that was being eroded by madness.

In the past, these methods, along with the navigator's own will, might have been able to temporarily suppress this terrifying mutation and keep it on the verge of being under control.

However, the Eternal Expedition's journey was destined to be a voyage fraught with curses.

Especially when certain indescribable beings in the subspace cast their "gaze" upon this ship, the situation has already gone beyond the realm of the ordinary.

Even though the ship itself seems to be under the watchful eye of another great being, this does not completely shield it from all targeted malice.

The old Navigators, residing in the Navigator Spire and forced to remain constantly exposed to the warp surge by the Psionic Eye, unfortunately became a vulnerable yet conspicuous conduit.

The servant watched helplessly as all his efforts were swallowed up instantly, like a stone thrown into a raging torrent.

The blue-purple scales on the navigator's body hardened and spread rapidly, like armor covering his entire body; his back suddenly tore open, and a pair of membranous wings covered with twisted feathers and scales burst out, frantically pounding the limited space inside the spire.

The navigator's head underwent a horrific transformation with a scream so shrill it was inhuman; a beak-like structure burst through the flesh and blood, and its eyes were swallowed by pure psionic light.

The servant was violently pushed away by an invisible force and slammed into the cold wall.

He saw in despair that what stood before him was no longer the navigator who, though mutated, still retained his reason, but a bird-headed, human-bodied monster with a hunched back and an aura of intense chaos.

The monster turned its head and looked at the servant with a "gaze" burning with malice, its third eye—the portal to the warp—emitting a dangerous and chaotic light.

The Navigator's Spire, this sanctuary that guided the way, has, in an instant, become the most deadly source of calamity on the entire "Eternal Expedition".

(End of this chapter)