Deep in the One-Line Sky Canyon.
Hilda led the way. She was an Aeldari War Witch, and also possessed prophetic abilities. Although the Warp was suppressed here, she could still sense warnings.
Just in case, Thorzak also took out his Phase axe from his treasure trove, looking like a fierce general, and walked behind to guard the rear.
As for Emrys, he was, as expected, protected in the middle of the group by one Aeldari and one Necrons.
To be honest, he couldn't understand how he had suddenly become a 'sweet treat' in the eyes of two ancient races.
If the Aeldari were interested in him because of the Farseer's prophecy, that was understandable, but why was Trazyn the Infinite of the Necrons interested in him?
Was it the 'source of fire'?
No, it didn't seem to be... Emrys shook his head. He was still in Roselle when Trazyn set his sights on him.
He didn't have the source of fire then.
But if it wasn't the source of fire, then what was the reason?
This was what puzzled Emrys. When he was in Roselle, at most he was a slightly noticeable mortal. He shouldn't have been up to the standard of 'Trazyn the Infinite's' collection, right?
"We're here." Hilda suddenly stopped, her voice deliberately lowered, as if afraid of waking the sleeping presence ahead.
Emrys, coming back to his senses, looked towards the depths of the canyon crevice. Amidst the strange geological formations of dark shale, accumulated over ages, stood an ancient metallic structure shaped like a pyramid. Most of it was covered by the rock, but through the exposed parts, it was still recognizable as a Necrons creation!
Besides the Necrons, almost no other race would extensively use living metal. Its unique eerie green color and the cold, lifeless aura were also symbols of the Necrons!
"Blackstone Pylon." Looking at the green metallic part exposed in the black shale, Thorzak's voice was low, seemingly mixed with complex emotions, a hint of sarcasm.
"It was once the crystallization of machinery and technology conceived by the Void Dragon, a creation to counter the Old Ones and cut off the source of psychic power. What a pity — in the end, it probably didn't even expect that this would become a sturdy cage to imprison itself, did it?"
"Using Blackstone to imprison your former master, you really know how to have fun —" Hilda once again showed her sharp tongue, making an untimely remark.
Emrys spoke, acting as a proxy for him, saying that after this, Thorzak's face went dark!
"Heh heh, what right do slaves created by the Old Ones have to criticize us?" Thorzak gritted his teeth in anger, glaring fiercely at Hilda.
"You should be glad that I am 'friends' with Emrys, otherwise — you should be in my laboratory right now, not being arrogant in front of me!"
They're arguing again.
Emrys pinched his throbbing temples, regretting that he shouldn't have brought these two rivals together!
"Stop arguing, how do we get in?" He interrupted them in time, afraid that the pair would start fighting right there.
"Hmph." Thorzak snorted coldly, then carried his Phase axe and slowly walked towards the Blackstone Pylon.
He paused for a moment, carefully observing the metal surface of the Blackstone Pylon exposed outside the rock layers, until he confirmed that the runes on it were intact. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
"Now I can confirm that the Void Dragon fragment imprisoned here has not completely escaped yet."
He then pointed to the strange runes outside the Blackstone Pylon.
"See? Many of these runes are still intact, with only a very few damaged. This means that although a lot of the Void Dragon's power has leaked out, his main body is still imprisoned in the 'Super-Dimensional Tesseract'."
Thorzak performed some operations, without any special visible movements, and then the exposed metal suddenly split open, creating a passable path.
"It's in here now. Follow me in."
Thorzak paused, then turned back to instruct.
"Remember to stick close to me. Absolutely do not wander off. This place is full of deadly traps set by the Necrons Dynasty, specifically to prevent escape or anyone from stealing the C'tan shards."
"Okay, I understand." Emrys nodded. He also knew the seriousness of the matter; this was no laughing matter!
As for Hilda?
Thorzak couldn't be bothered to care; she'd better die here!
Even before he fell into slumber, he had never encountered an Aeldari with such a foul mouth. She was indeed as annoying as ever!
The three stepped into the passage one after another.
But — as soon as he stepped into the passage, Emrys was stunned. Who could tell him what this thing was, like a giant 'sea urchin' covered in twisted spikes, with four corner pillars blooming like petals.
And right in the middle of that 'sea urchin' was a translucent, seemingly pure energy body, yet an humanoid life form existing between quantum and reality.
However, a flat, segmented arthropod-like creature with a carapace was wrapped around the humanoid life form's body, looking as if it was coiling around and restraining him.
Almost without a word, Emrys immediately recognized that the pure energy life form was none other than the Void Dragon, Mag'ladroth!
His prototype was one of the ancient C'tan, also known as the Dragon. Legend had it that he was once one of the greatest and most terrifying individuals among all the C'tan.
Until he was shattered by the Necrons and enslaved by his former servants, many clues also indicated that this great being was once imprisoned in the Labyrinth of Night beneath the surface of Mars, and had intricate connections with the 'Dragon of Mars'.
There was also a legend that the Void Dragon mastered advanced technology and could harness the raw power of unrefined Blackstone.
This power was used as energy and integrated into the Necrons' living metal shells, making his external form more like a constantly changing digital pixel module, existing in a magical state between reality and quantum.
Similarly, the Void Dragon was also recorded by the Aeldari in the black Library.
He was depicted as a terrifying figure of wanton destruction and ruin, a top-tier being in the material realm, and had also armed Necron Warriors with technological power. In the War in Heaven, he was almost an invincible presence!
The ancestors of the Aeldari, in order to combat the Void Dragon, were forced to create 'Wraithseers' driven by the souls of the dead to fight him.
The ultimate fate of this great being is unknown.
But based on very few clues, Emrys strongly suspected that the 'Dragon of Mars' once defeated by the Emperor was very likely one of the fragments of 'Void Dragon, Mag'ladroth', and the rise of the Mechanicus on Mars also had an unspeakable secret with this C'tan.
Mag'ladroth's gaze seemed to be fixed on him.
"Human, I want to make a deal with you!"