Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 630 Using Himself as Bait
Inside the command center of Karada Fortress, the air seemed to stagnate with a heavy atmosphere. Felus Manus and Chen Xi stood side-by-side before the central holographic platform, silently gazing at the intricate and massive 3D projection of the Final Forge Plaza. The interplay of light and shadow, the flow of metal and energy, flickered in their eyes, like an uncertain fate. Master Kaul stood silently to one side, his numerous mechanical appendages occasionally making subtle adjustments, emitting almost inaudible calibration sounds, like a dormant mechanical creation breathing.

“All static nodes have been installed with the highest precision,” Kaur’s synthesized voice was as calm as a still ancient well, yet each syllable carried a metallic weight. “The energy conduit is directly connected to the main vein of the Earth’s core furnace, and the activation sequence has completed its final verification. Theoretical models show that after activation, the force field will cover an absolute domain with a radius of one hundred meters centered on the core node. Its effect is not a simple freeze, but rather a complete severing of the target space from the real universe, forming an independent dimensional fragment in which time is completely still.”

Feralas's silver eyes, sharp as knives, swept across the dark blue circular area marked in the holographic image. "A dimensional fragment? What will happen next?"

“It will exist until the energy is naturally depleted, a process that could take centuries. Within this fragment, everything—including matter, energy, and even spirits—will remain in the state it was in at the moment the force field took effect, absolutely still, and cannot be disturbed or destroyed by any known means.” Caul’s crimson optical lens narrowed slightly. “There is no risk of melting, but the opportunity is also only once. The force field is irreversible and its range is precise; you must ensure that the target is completely within its domain.”

Chen Xi stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes filled with a deep, unfathomable contemplation. “Fogen won’t easily step into an obvious trap. He desires you, Feralus, but he is no longer the ‘Perfect King’ who acted solely on emotion. Now, He… is cunning, suspicious, and blessed by the God of Darkness. We need a bait that he absolutely cannot refuse.”

Felus fell into a brief silence, the flowing liquid metal around her—Gorgon skin—seemingly sensing its master's emotions, rippling unconsciously. "He will come," her voice was low, like a roar from the depths of the earth, "as long as he believes I am there, believes he can touch me. He cannot resist the temptation to touch me, to tear me apart, and ultimately 'possess' this remains of mine. It is the sole obsession burning in his soul, more primal and intense than any strategic maneuver."

"You plan to use yourself as bait?" Chen Xi turned to her, his tone completely unwavering, only a barely perceptible hint of consideration flashing in his eyes.

“There is no other choice.” Felus raised her liquid metal arm, which gleamed with a cold, chilling light. The silver-gray surface reflected the eerie blue glow of the command center's star map, as if she held a miniature galaxy in her hand. “Only I can unleash his full fanaticism and… weakness. I will stand in the very center of that hundred-meter radius, so that he can see it clearly, as if he could reach it. He will come, I have no doubt about it.”

Caul's mechanical neck emitted an extremely faint servo-driven whirring sound, and multiple optical sensors simultaneously focused on the Primarch. "The risk level has exceeded the calculable threshold. If his movement speed exceeds expectations, or if psionic perception issues a warning at the last minute..."

“Then make sure it is flawless, sage.” Feralus interrupted him, his gaze like a hammer striking a hot iron billet, brooking no argument. “This is our only chance to end this eternal pursuit. I trust your skill, and I trust the courage and determination of every warrior under my command.”

Chen Xi slowly nodded, his gaze returning to the holographic projection. The blue circular area resembled a cage prepared for a god. "Master Hathor will personally coordinate the flanking pressure from the Ash Knights and the Nearl family, gradually tightening the encirclement and forcing Fugen and his main force to concentrate in the designated area. Maria Nearl is ready; her psionic knights will be the key barrier to purify the low-level demons on the battlefield and isolate external chaotic energy interference." "Make it clear to Maria," Felus's voice was resolute, "that her primary target is not Fugen himself, but to completely clear the area, ensuring that no secondary chaotic energy source interferes with the core effect when the force field is activated. What I want… is an absolutely clean battle."

"As you wish." Chen Xi bowed slightly, his acceptance of the order clear and unmistakable.

The plan is now finalized. Primarch of the Steel Hand, Ferrus Manus, will personally go to the Final Forge Plaza, using herself as the deadliest bait to lure her fallen brother, Fugen, into that hundred-meter-deep abyss, where he will become an eternally frozen collectible.
-
In the twisted crevice between the real universe and the mad illusion, amidst the ever-changing, extravagant palaces of Slaanesh's realm, Forgrim's patience was being eroded by a mixture of mania, craving, and the burning pain of lust. Nearly six months had passed, a seemingly endless sensual feast for him, yet gradually fading into a pathetic repetition devoid of true, ultimate pleasure.

His attention was no longer on the mundane reports of killings. He craved something more—Ferrus herself. Each time he heard that she was still resisting, he was both enraged by her defeat and aroused by her cold resilience, a deeper, more twisted fascination. Memories from millennia ago constantly seared his soul: the clash of sweat and metal in the arena, the back-to-back trust during their voyages through the stars, that near-perfect resonance that only they could understand. In his corrupted perception, it was no longer brotherhood, but a specimen of ultimate love lost before it could be tasted. He longed to reclaim it, in the way the god of darkness had given him—through destruction, through possession, by tearing apart that cold perfection and merging it into his own eternal existence.

"He's still hiding from me..." Fugen paced his palace, a tapestry of screams, melodies, and twisted flesh, his perfect face shifting between terrifying expressions of love and rage. The succubi and musicians serving him melted and exploded at the same time due to his violently fluctuating emotions, turning into poignant dust of souls. "He'd rather hide behind that cold, steel shell, watching his world burn, than come out... to see me? To embrace me? To complete the union we should have made ten thousand years ago?" His voice was filled with venomous lament and longing.

This feeling of rejection and delayed gratification cut into his sensitive nerves like the sharpest blade. Every time Ferrus avoided him, he interpreted it as a cruel provocation, an insulting rejection of his extreme love.

“No! I’ve had enough of waiting! Enough of this endless teasing!” He finally erupted in a piercing scream, a mixture of extreme pain and ecstasy. A surge of psychic energy caressed and tore through the entire palace, twisting the pillars into groaning shapes and causing the ground to gush with a thirsty fluid. “My love! My feast! Not something for him to escape from time to time! It’s time… it’s time for him to understand that only by surrendering to my embrace can we achieve eternal, twisted perfection! He can only belong to me, whether in existence… or in death!”

His will transformed into a blazing, possessive command that pierced the waves of the warp, resounding directly into the very souls of all the demons and fallen ones who followed him. The time for the hunt had come; he was to obtain the unique treasure he had coveted for millennia.

(End of this chapter)