They traversed the vast corridors, where the creations of the Old Ones exuded novelty at every turn—a fusion of mysticism and profound knowledge, devoid of any visible mechanical constructs. The Blackstone Fortress was a seamless entity, its material solemn and heavy, made even more mysterious by the swirling purple psychic energy within.
The Keystone floated before Blazkowicz, emitting a unique pulse that awakened the Blackstone Fortress from its eons of slumber. Streams of light streaked across the walls like comets; runic formulas gave shape to esoteric meanings as the interior conducted a self-diagnostic. This was mystic technology driven by sorcery, performing its own repairs.
The group of dozens proceeded without hindrance. The Keystone granted supreme authorization, ensuring the internal defense mechanisms remained dormant.
Clack... clack...
Combat boots ground against the black stone, the echoes of their footsteps ringing through the hollow depths. Guided by the beacon, Blazkowicz led the way into the Central Control Core.
The core region, situated at the center of the pyramid, was immense. The chamber was exceptionally tidy, lacking any control interfaces resembling human technology. Most striking was the thousand-meter-tall giant portal standing in the center of the compartment. Oval in shape, its bright white contours stood in stark contrast to the rest of the Blackstone Fortress.
Blazkowicz's eyes lit up. His pace quickened as he hurried toward the gateway.
"The Webway," he murmured, reaching the bright white oval door. He reached out to touch the "Wraithbone," feeling a coolness that was neither stone nor jade, as he gazed up at the most incredible creation in the galaxy.
The Webway was not merely independent of both realspace and the Warp; it formed a unique dimension of existence, and its strategic value was incalculable. During the early and mid-stages of the War in Heaven, the Old Ones used the Webway's high mobility to strike the Necrontyr from all sides, securing many victories. Even in the later stages, when the Necrontyr gained the aid of the C'tan, they could not offset the Webway's strategic advantage, leading to a stalemate.
Ultimately, it was Nyadra'zatha, the Burning One, who used the ultimate fires of the physical realm to melt through the outer walls of the Webway, allowing the Necrons to invade and break the Old Ones' mobile advantage.
"Doesn't look like much, does it?" Harlan remarked, removing his helmet. He poked the Wraithbone structure with the pommel of his spear, sensing no trace of advanced technology.
Blazkowicz remained silent, shaking his head. The Overseer Armor expanded from its pocket dimension to cover his right hand, and a green beam projected from his palm. "Can you analyze the Webway's construction?" he asked, hoping for good news from the Void Dragon.
The beam flickered and dimmed, having only scanned a portion of the Wraithbone material. All other information remained a total void.
"It cannot be analyzed."
The shimmering silhouette of the Void Dragon appeared, stroking its chin with an expression of extreme annoyance. "I loathe the Old Ones, but I must admit one thing: their technology for fusing mysticism and physical science is almost peerless."
"I can analyze any pure material existence, but I cannot parse changes belonging to the Warp."
Hearing this, Blazkowicz slowly lowered his arm. A flicker of regret passed through his eyes, followed by a hint of disdain. "And here I thought your power was boundless."
The Void Dragon did not take offense at the scorn, responding instead with a dry chuckle. "Heh."
"I am the material realm itself—an absolute materialist. If I can, I can; if I cannot, I cannot. That is honesty, not shame."
"Furthermore," Its voice rose as it sought to reclaim some dignity, "the Webway was built during the peak of the Old Ones' power, utilizing the strength of their entire race. The physical and Warp knowledge involved is difficult for even a god to comprehend."
"Or to put it another way," the projection turned to Blazkowicz, asking an obvious question: "The Webway represents the entire Old One race. Do you think I could defeat them at their peak, single-handedly?"
"If I had that kind of power, the Warp and realspace would have been unified long ago."
Blazkowicz did not answer. He clenched his fist, snuffing out the holographic projection. He stepped back and shook his head helplessly at the Webway gate. The ultimate creation was right before him, yet current conditions made it impossible to deconstruct its mysteries. Humanity's path to escaping Chaos would allow for no shortcuts.
Without a word, he waved his hand, retracting the Overseer Armor into the pocket dimension, and continued following the Keystone's guidance toward the control core.
After a few more minutes of descent, the group arrived at a circular ritual circle where runic imprints glowed with light. As Blazkowicz stepped inside, the seamless floor was sliced by beams of light, and two stone control pedestals rose from beneath the surface.
Two stone consoles, two types of recessed imprints.
The imprint on the left was identical to the Keystone—undoubtedly the central core of the Blackstone Fortress. The right side featured two half-moon keys; presumably, these were the Keystones for the Webway portal. Without the Webway keys, the gate could not be activated.
The eight-pointed Keystone descended from the air, slotting perfectly into the console. A powerful pulse erupted. A pure white light emerged from the points of the star, bleeding into the pedestal and spreading through the Blackstone Fortress as a massive ring of light.
The entire fortress shimmered with an aura, causing the primitive tribes on the planet's surface to fall to their knees, weeping at the miracle they were witnessing.
Hum—Hum—Hum—
The Blackstone Fortress vibrated slowly, like a giant beast being injected with life, emitting a low snore as it woke from its slumber. The black stone of the main control room became transparent, showing the starry sky outside turning as the upper and lower structures of the fortress began to rotate in opposite directions. Psychic lightning crackled at the central axis.
The main control center opened up; the gloom and mystery dissipated, replaced by the silver sea of stars above as white light filtered through the cracks in the stone. Countless shadows appeared, and text shifted endlessly before finally settling into High Gothic, a language familiar to humans. This ancient creation possessed its own sentience; upon awakening, it already knew how to communicate with the holder of the Keystone.
A beam of light fell from the starry dome like an ascension bridge, precisely covering every warrior. Facing such an anomaly, the Legion warriors lit their weapons and formed a defensive perimeter, wary of their surroundings.
"Human."
An ethereal voice rang out. The lights dissipated and overlapped, eventually converging on one person—Harlan Ogilvy. The light, like flowing sand, brushed over the Champion's power armor and skin before gathering on the spear Light of Darkness, making the weapon look divine.
"I cannot read their information, but from you, I detect the aura and creations of the Creators."
A humanoid silhouette drifted down from the void. It had no specific face, its form outlined entirely by runic imprints. It knelt on one knee before Blazkowicz. "You hold the mark of the Creators and carry the blessing of the Old Ones. The Blackstone Fortress is yours to command."
As the fortress AI submitted, holographic projections filled the hall, reporting the station's status and manifesting various systems through pure light and shadow. Having awakened, self-repair runes began scanning for and mending internal damage sustained during the long sleep. The fortress would be restored to a brand-new state in just three hours. Blackstone runic soldiers were activated, beginning a sweep to clear any hostile targets within.
Eons had passed, and before the fortress slept, residual Warp energy had catalyzed a unique ecosystem, creating minor threats.
"What a treasure!" Harlan exclaimed, pulling up a set of holographic data. It showed that the Blackstone Fortress's Warp Cannons were powerful enough to destroy planetary-scale targets.
The fortress also possessed a special ability: Warp Cannon Convergence. The cannons could draw power from the Warp and synchronize with other fortresses to focus an even more massive amount of firepower. A few Blackstone Fortresses together could annihilate a star or an entire solar system.
Blazkowicz nodded with satisfaction. He had come to activate the Blackstone Fortress specifically to gain firepower capable of turning the tide of the war. The first vanguard of the Rangdan carried dozens of Battle Moons; the Imperium had no structures large enough to rival them, save for the Phalanx. The Blackstone Fortress filled that gap.
The Old Ones' creation was pure in its intent. Its functions were not overly complex, directly reflecting the purpose of its design: Destruction.
"Notify the XVII Legion," Blazkowicz said, having achieved his goal. He prepared to head to other systems to continue recovering the remaining fortresses. He reached out to a holographic display of the primitive world below. "This world has colonial value. Have the XVII Legion come to purge the xenos and coordinate with the Administratum for colonization."
"Understood," Obelisk, the Primarch's guard, replied. He used his tactical terminal to send the message, contacting the XVII Legion via astropath.
Blazkowicz operated the holographic platform. The massive stones atop the fortress slowly opened, revealing an internal shipyard. The Royal Majesty adjusted its posture, its thirty-kilometer hull descending into the dock—looking somewhat small by comparison.
Black stone grew from the shipyard like bamboo shoots, geometric pillars merging into giant arms to firmly lock the Gloriana-class battleship in place. Then, the bay doors silently sealed.
"Catch." Blazkowicz unfastened a Chaos artifact from his waist and tossed it to Harlan; he was the only one present capable of using it. "Hold it and think of our next destination."
Harlan caught the artifact and checked his tactical terminal to confirm the location of the next Blackstone Fortress. He gripped the heirloom that the Grae family had guarded for generations. As he meditated on the destination, the device reacted.
The Chaos ring floated into the air. A star map projected from the center of the eight-pointed star, and one of the arrows lit up, pointing the way through the Warp.
Blazkowicz turned to the fortress AI and commanded, "Proceed according to this star map. Find the next Blackstone Fortress."