Chapter 17: Collapse

Just as Soshyan straightened up, only to face the next Tomb Spider, an unprecedented tremor surged through the soles of his boots, knocking him to the ground.

When he scrambled up, he noticed that everything around him was changing; it seemed as if the entire World Engine had begun to disintegrate.

On the floor, on the walls, and even upon the pillars and statues, millions of xenos glyphs flickered, emitting a nauseating green glow.

Worse still, a massive number of Necron Warriors emerged from both sides of the great gate, approaching with the constant hissing of activated green energy, while the squad led by Forlo continued their desperate struggle against the Tomb Spiders.

The only good news was that the tightly closed gate had cracked open due to the intense tremors, creating a gap wide enough for Space Marines to pass through.

Having thrown off the Tomb Spider pinning him down, Forlo stood up and immediately issued new orders.

"Alexei, take your men to support the Captain! We will cover your rear!"

"Obey... what?"

"Execute the order!"

Before Soshyan could ask further, Forlo roared

"Concentrate fire! Clear the path!"

In an instant, the roar of bolters echoed through the corridor. Dense fire tore through the Necrons obstructing the path between the battlefield and the gate; many more convulsed with sparks flying from their bodies before collapsing, leaving them to the Scarabs that crawled over them for repair.

"Move!"

Urged by Forlo, Soshyan cast all other thoughts aside and began to sprint, firing continuously as he moved.

Nade and Akse flanked him, forming an assault wedge that drove deep into the Necron infantry lines.

The limping Okam volunteered to take the rear, moving with difficulty and occasionally pausing to unleash bursts of bolt fire toward the path they had traveled.

"Melta bomb!! Thirty-second fuse!"

Forlo's shout echoed through the comms channel. Soshyan could only press forward, sprinting headlong toward the crack in the gate.

But as they drew near, they realized the way was not clear.

A fifth Tomb Spider was perched menacingly atop the gate; it had remained motionless previously, leading them to mistake it for a statue.

As Soshyan's group approached, it awakened.

The massive metallic construct twisted and shuddered upon its black pedestal, the green crystal clusters at its head flickering as energy pulsed through the circuits connected to the base.

"Keep moving! I'll cover you!"

Okam, the last to arrive, unslung his final grenade from his waist and hurled it forcefully at the awakening Tomb Spider.

With a thunderous explosion, Soshyan and the other two used the grenade's cover to scatter through the gap in the gate. Just as Okam attempted to move forward, a metallic appendage lunged out from the cloud of destruction caused by the blast, striking the veteran.

The blow cut deep into Okam's shoulder, sending him stumbling backward.

Though it did not draw blood, the strike cost Okam his chance to enter the breach.

"Soshyan, don't look back! Keep going!"

Leaving those words behind, Okam switched off his comms and raised his weapon to fire at the target.

Amidst the roar, bolts destroyed one of the construct's appendages in bursts of blue flame, but that was all it could do, for the Necron Warriors were already closing in.

*BOOM—*

A flash of light and a massive explosion finally signaled to Soshyan that he had entered the Central Sanctum.

"This place looks like it's about to fall apart."

Even in such a situation, Akse maintained a minimum level of humor.

But he was right; at the entrance of this massive temple, sections of the ceiling had already collapsed, and the floor was beginning to give way. Staying here any longer would likely result in them being crushed or trapped.

"Keep moving."

Soshyan's voice was accompanied by the thunderous roar of bolters. He turned his head to glance back over his shoulder at the path they had come from.

Through the crack in the gate, Soshyan could clearly see that the blinding green light had vanished, replaced by the clicking of Flayed One claws and the burning, hateful green eyes peering from the darkness.

There was no turning back now, and the roar of the bolters was gradually fading into the distance...

After a brief, silent moment of mourning for his battle brothers, Soshyan led Nade and Akse deeper into the complex. They traversed grand corridors and entered halls filled with statues and armaments; everywhere the eye could see, there were shattered metallic remains, with occasional glimpses of bloodstained silver.

Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place here.

Strangely, however, there were a few intact xenos on the ground—creatures with single, massive eyes atop bald heads, surrounded by oversized ranged weapons.

These strange Necrons showed no visible wounds; they simply lay motionless on the floor.

The three moved cautiously past them; Soshyan even fired a shot into one of their heads, but there was still no reaction.

"No one, and no xenos."

Nade's weapon barrel constantly swept the right side of the squad, but the hall held only dead silence and a darkness that even night vision could not pierce.

"How strange."

Akse spoke suddenly, keeping watch on the left.

"What?"

Soshyan paused his steps.

"Don't you find it odd?"

Akse turned his head toward him; even through the helmet, Soshyan could sense his expression.

"It's as if Lord Forlo went out of his way just to escort you in. The Captain had the same attitude earlier. It's... it's almost as if they are fighting for you."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"I've been thinking the same thing," Nade's voice joined the channel.

"Soshyan, there's something I didn't tell you. When we entered the landing craft, I noticed the Captain seemed to be watching us the whole time."

"The Captain?"

Soshyan searched his memory but could not recall seeing Amulad.

"Yes, I saw him clearly. He was standing with Forge Master Salax, about two hundred meters away from us, behind a storage rack—"

Before he could finish, a bolt of lightning, cutting through the air like a whip, struck Nade directly.

"Argh!"

With a low roar, Nade stumbled back. He looked down to find his left arm had become a bloody, severed stump.

"Enemy contact!"

Akse's roar followed immediately. Soshyan hurriedly raised his weapon to scan the surroundings.

Countless silhouettes moved within the deep darkness, and they were converging. Weapons glowing with green light crackled with terrible energy, and in the distance, the silhouette of a pyramid was gradually emerging.

*BOOM——————————!*

Just as Soshyan's group was nearly surrounded, a roar like a volcanic eruption surged through the ground. The three Space Marines quickly activated their mag-locks to anchor themselves in place, while the Necron machines fell one after another like tumbled puppets.

Then, a terrifying collapse occurred in the hall. Millions of tons of rock came crashing down, and Soshyan scrambled to take cover with his comrades.

In the chaos, through a gap in the ceiling, Soshyan saw a massive construct ascending toward the void; its shape resembled a giant, razor-sharp scythe.

After hovering briefly in mid-air, it sped away at an incredible velocity, followed by two smaller models.

Soshyan knew these were Necron spacecraft, but their current behavior reminded him of the escape pods on the *Storm*.

It seemed... they were fleeing.

However, considering the nature of these soulless machines, it was incredible that they would abandon combat to flee. Were these Necrons not of one mind?

While Soshyan was focused on the anomaly in the sky, the already precarious ceiling collapsed completely. Just before a pile of massive boulders enveloped him, a hand suddenly shoved him from behind.

(End of Chapter)