Warhammer: Striving to Be a Grinding Man

Chapter 164 The Cross-Section of the Spirit Bone (Part 2)

The spiritual bones unfolded within the field of perception.

It was icy cold; that deep chill traveled up the structure of the spirit bone, like a skeleton that had been sleeping for millions of years.

The outer layer peeled away first, dismantling the surface crystals that shimmered with a cold white glow under psionic power into surface scattering effects of psionic energy flow. The pale lattice was exposed, each atom arranged in a precise geometric structure, with fine, hair-like psionic energy flow patterns embedded between layers, like a network of blood vessels in a skeleton. The carving was not merely decoration. Each pattern precisely corresponded to the flow direction of the energy flow layer beneath, like miniature calibration markers and sensor arrays, mapping the arch's own state onto the surface patterns in real time.

He briefly focused his senses, then concentrated all his attention on the next level, before his consciousness sank again.

The atomic structure of the spirit bone is revealed layer by layer in perception. The structure of the active spirit bone has an additional dynamic layer—a crystal lattice that finely adjusts with the flow of energy, completing a full deformation cycle in each cycle of psionic pulses. This manifests as an ordered periodic oscillation at the atomic level. The deformation mode of the crystal lattice, the path selection of energy conduction, and the stress distribution curve of the spirit bone in the psionic field are archived one by one.

Amidst the underlying noise of the communication channel, an encrypted pulse briefly flashed—someone was checking the status of the firing point—before being swallowed by the static. He didn't analyze it; his senses continued to sink deeper.

His perception peeled away the spiritual bone structure segment by segment along the arch's curve. Below the surface was the first energy conduit layer, with the main conduit channels extending along the arch's curve and converging at the top of the arch to form an energy convergence node. Below that was the second layer, a mesh structure, with each branch corresponding one-to-one with the patterns carved on the surface.

As the stripping process reached the middle of the energy conduit layer, the arch's own energy cycle began to deviate. The waveform of the psionic input began to distort the instant it cut through the main conduit channel—not a change in rhythm, but a change in the shape of the waveform itself. The halo at the edge of the fissure then changed from a uniform blue-white to an irregular pulsation; some areas dimmed, while others became overloaded with light.

The door is losing what it needs to maintain its structure. It is dismantling its skeleton, which is also its life support system.

His consciousness did not falter. The stripping of the energy conduit continued, the branches of the network structure being dismantled and archived one by one. The contraction of the fissure was synchronized with his stripping progress; with each layer dismantled, the edge narrowed inward. The structure upon which it depended for its open state was disappearing from his disintegration.

Deep within the energy conduit, in the silent cycles between psychic pulses, he captured an extremely ancient psychic imprint.

Its wavelength is older and more stable than the Eldar's psionic fluctuations. The Eldar's psionic fluctuations are like burning flames, flickering and carrying the warmth of emotion and will. This imprint is different; it is cold and precise, maintaining the same set of identification protocols on a scale of countless millennia, with each cycle precisely repeating the same waveform.

That is the underlying protocol of the ancient sages.

The Eldar built the gates to the Web, but they never truly controlled the Web itself—they inherited the right to use it, not the underlying architecture. The Web's tunneling system, underlying protocols, and node framework—those were created by the Ancients. The Eldar can maintain and operate the Web gates left by their ancestors, but they can no longer build entirely new Web gates from scratch or expand the Web's paths. And this psionic imprint before them is the core of that legacy—the underlying network protocols left from the Ancients' era. A set of authentication information that establishes a correspondence between the secondary and primary gates.

His consciousness penetrated deep into that layer of imprint. The outer layer was the identification stage, containing a unique code that identified this secondary door;

The middle layer is the authentication phase, a very long sequence of psionic signatures containing the corresponding identifier of the main gate bound to this secondary gate within the network. The verification protocol is only responsible for ensuring that the main gate "recognizes" this secondary gate. The innermost layer is the authorization phase, a verification sequence that confirms the integrity of the protocol.

Between these layers, he discerned a distinction: the Old Ones' underlying protocol was fixed and unchangeable. The Web itself operated upon it. But the secondary gate's construction clearly contained another layer of logic: the lock cylinder added by the Eldar during construction. The lock cylinder determined the required psionic frequency for the gate to function. It was entirely different from the Old Ones' underlying protocol: the underlying protocol was the foundation, untouchable; the lock cylinder was an additional structure custom-designed by the Eldar for each gate in ancient times. Each gate's lock cylinder structure was different, therefore each gate required a different psionic frequency. The lock cylinder was unrelated to the main gate, only connected to the secondary gate. This was an anti-theft layer added by the Eldar to the Old Ones' foundation.

He archived this distinction on the edge of his consciousness and put it aside for the time being.

That ancient authentication mark was completely incorporated into the higher-dimensional space. The corresponding main gate's data structure synchronously completed the matching and marking.

Another short, sharp fluctuation came from the vacuum, deeper and farther away than before. It was an impact. He incorporated it into the background and continued to maintain the decomposition field.

The information about the spirit bone has been broken down to the final layer. In higher-dimensional space, the complete blueprint of the secondary sect has been presented as two interconnected data modules.

The first module, the blueprint for forging the spirit bones of the secondary sect, includes material formulations, crystal lattice arrangement, energy conduit layer design, and the topology of the psionic circuit.

The second module, the ancient authentication mark—the credential that allowed the main gate to recognize the legitimacy of the secondary gate. It contained a complete sequence of identification, authentication, and authorization phases. Within the psionic signature of the intermediate layer, his consciousness captured a deeply encoded coordinate. The coordinate was within the network, not on the human star map—a precise node identifier pointing to a specific main gate within the network labyrinth, or rather, a specific network node corresponding to the Chogris system. The verification protocol told the main gate that this secondary gate was permitted access.

The labels he gave to these two modules—secondary door and main door—were merely for ease of understanding. Such hierarchical classifications do not exist in the Eldar knowledge system; a door is a door, and each door's lock cylinder structure is unique. Therefore, each door is opened by a specific psionic frequency that matches its lock cylinder.

But he gained more than just the blueprint and certification. With the gate active, psionic energy was continuously inputting, and the complete waveform of the activation frequency was captured synchronously by the field and archived. He now possessed three sets of information: the physical structure of the gate (the psionic blueprint), the gate's certification credentials (the verification protocol), and the gate's activation signal (the activation waveform).

Each of the three sets of information has an independent function. The verification protocol is a low-level authentication left by the ancients, marking a temporary binding relationship between this secondary gate and a specific main gate within the network. With it, the main gate will "recognize" this secondary gate and allow access. However, this binding is unique, cannot be copied, and cannot be created. He cannot create new verification protocols; he can only use existing ones.

But the verification protocol alone won't open the door. Authentication is only the first step. To actually make the door turn, another layer of information is needed—psychic energy frequency. He captured the complete waveform of the secondary door as it opened. That's the activation mechanism, the energy input that truly makes the door work. The lock cylinder structure of this secondary door dictates that it requires this frequency. With the verification protocol, the main door responds; with the psychic energy frequency, the secondary door opens. Both are indispensable.

He now has all three sets of information. After labeling the two archived modules, he wrote in the newly created index category: "Network Channel · Sub-gate · Archived Complete".

As he completed the final data stripping, the crack in the door had shrunk to less than a third of its original width. He had removed the material that held this dimensional membrane from its structure, and it was rapidly shrinking. In the final instant before the crack completely closed, a psionic pulse surged from the inside—a severely attenuated pulse, but its waveform structure was still discernible. It was a short, hurried signal. Then the crack converged into a thin line, shattered, and vanished.

He withdrew his consciousness from the higher dimension. The tactile sensation of the power armor lining returned to reality, and the light passing through the visor changed from dark blue to the cold white of the stars outside the porthole.

Back in the Stormbird, he could feel the vibrations in his seat, the airflow in the cockpit, and the longer intervals between the distant explosions from the naval gun blasts transmitted through the hull. This indicated that the escort firepower on the flanks of the Torture-class cruiser was waning.

The thrusters deflected, turning the ship toward the Black Pearl.

The Stormbird slid into the Black Pearl's hangar airlock, the impact of the berth locking echoing through the hull into the cockpit. Service sergeants waited on the tarmac. Cohen descended the gangway, his detection beam sweeping across the powered armor surface, then extinguishing it after confirming no residual contamination.

He walked through the hangar. The 16th Regiment was loading its second wave of reinforcements, their crimson robes billowing in the cold light. Servo-controlled skulls hovered and moved above their heads, their optical lenses gleaming as shifting points of light in the dimness. Data probes at the bottom scanned the interface panels on the back of each soldier's neck, emitting continuous, extremely low-frequency binary pulses. The echoes of the bridge communication channel came from the speakers on the hangar side walls—someone was reporting compartment numbers, someone was checking the status of the fire support points; the sound was compressed and had a static-like edge. The hangar's circulating air pressed down from above, carrying the faint smell of burning metal seeping from the lower deck.

The airtight door slid open in front of him. The cold white light of the bridge flooded out from behind the door, falling on the shoulder line of his sage's robe.

Starlight streamed in through the porthole, at almost the same angle as when he was at the net gate. From departure to return, it took no more than twenty minutes.

Inside the bridge, the echoes of the communication channels reflected off the metal walls, overlapping to form a continuous low-frequency sonic wave. The blue-white light of the main screen illuminated the profile of Marcus's face, while the data stream from the tactical console scrolled rapidly within the blue halo of his mechanical eyes. The red lights of the warning lights flashed at a fixed frequency in the corners, intersecting with the shifting battle situation lights on the main screen, cutting through the dim space.

Cohen sat down in the commander's seat. The brief tremor of the armrests vibrated—it came from an explosion somewhere outside the bridge—transmitting from his palms to his shoulder blades.

As he sat down, a communication pulse disappeared into the noisy channel, leaving only a continuously decaying static charge, which was then swallowed up by the noise.

Marcus stood at the tactical console, speaking quickly but steadily: "The outer escort battle is over. White Scar's three frigates intercepted the escorting formation before we boarded."

Of the three Dark Eldar escort ships, two were destroyed, and one broke formation early in the engagement, using the time its teammates had to buy it time to escape into deep space. White Scar's two escort ships are in pursuit, but the enemy's speed is beyond expectations, making further engagement impossible.

He pulled up the next set of data and continued, "Kara is advancing through the outer ring passage of the bridge. Three assault teams, two forward and one flank. Starfortress infantry have already moved forward and established fire support points at the intersection of the passage. The enemy ship's defense forces have pre-positioned positions at the rear of the ring passage—multi-layered crossfire. The Stormstrike Force will have to reorganize every time it advances a certain distance."

He turned to the next page: "The engine room has been taken over. A battalion of the 16th Regiment is in control and is establishing a defensive perimeter. The enemy ship's shadow field still has residual output—the complete shield is gone, only localized energy deflection remains."

On the main screen, the side profile of the Dark Eldar cruiser was marked layer by layer as combat zones. Blue markers slowly advanced along the outer edge of the circular passage, pausing briefly in densely packed areas of red markers with each step forward. Each advance required clearing a pre-set firing point before continuing.

Two blue markers had already been removed from the flank and rear of the Stormstrike Force's advance route. Starfortress soldiers, atop those four-meter-high steel shells, were locked in a fierce battle with the Dark Eldar Nightmare Warriors in the narrow passage, each shot from the heavy explosive cannons leaving a brief overload in the channel.

Kara's voice came through the communication channel, cut off by the tunnel structure: "At the penultimate intersection, two of the three intersecting firing arcs have been cleared. There's one arc left, but the firepower accuracy far exceeds the troop density—the firing arc is precisely preset, but there aren't many gunners."

Marcus pulled up a cross-sectional diagram: "Torture-class cruiser, the mainstay of the Dark Eldar, built in Gamor's shipyard. The passageways are skeletal gaps, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Each junction has been converted into an independent pre-built position, welded with bulkheads and firing ports, turning the structural gaps into defensive fortifications."

"Where is Kara located?"

"The second-to-last intersection. The forward is pinned behind the corner, the passage is too narrow, and the Starfortress soldiers can't spread out their firing range." Marcus glanced at the time markers. "Twenty-three minutes and they've pushed five intersections; their ammunition reserves won't last until the sixth."

"How much longer until the White Scar combat barge arrives?"

"Three minutes."

"The 16th Regiment retreats to the entrance of the boarding passage and holds the retreat route. Starfortress infantry advances to replace the Stormstrike Force. They will coordinate the advance once White Scar arrives."

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