*I’m supposed to be the one asking the questions here…*
Russell did not lower his guard just because Jabaxsti sounded as naive as a child.
Grey Wind remained ready at any moment to disassemble herself and trigger a saturated jump.
Both human and nanobot were tense to the absolute limit.
“The source of the chaos in the Warp begins with a conflict known as the War in Heaven…”
Russell sat down on the altar before the crystal and began to tell Jabaxsti the story of the Necrontyr and the Old Ones.
He spoke from the War in Heaven to the betrayal of the C’tan, from the Great Sleep of the Necrons to the Fall of the Aeldari.
He spoke in broad, vague terms, but none of the essential information was missing.
He spoke without reservation of secrets known to no living soul, closely observing Jabaxsti’s reaction.
Jabaxsti’s reaction was…
no reaction at all.
“This world is heading toward self-destruction,” Jabaxsti said.
“From the Warp, I can feel the suffering of countless sapient beings. The Necrontyr and the Aeldari made the same mistake as the Ascendants among my people. Their transgressions have whipped the Sea of Souls into a raging tempest…”
Russell did not follow that line of thought, turning instead to another question.
“So, how did you guide Grey Wind to find me? I don’t possess any psionic power. Unlike the native species of this universe, my soul has absolutely no connection to the Warp. In theory, as long as I don’t actively expose myself, even the Ruinous Powers should find it difficult to perceive me.”
“It is the same for me…”
Jabaxsti said slowly, “We are both outsiders; the Warp will not accept our souls. Although I can use the innate psionic talent of the Zroni to force my way into the Shroud, doing so is highly perilous. My will is not strong enough to resist the corruption of the Warp gods. I would lose myself in the violent storms of the Sea of Souls.”
*So answer my damn question…* Russell found this old ghost rather rude for constantly derailing the conversation.
“But you are different.”
Jabaxsti suddenly shifted the topic, pointing toward Russell:
“Your soul does not belong here, nor does it belong to my homeland.
The true you exists in a higher dimension—a dimension that neither I nor the gods can reach.
The you here is but a tiny projection of that loftier existence.
“You are a ‘High-Dimensional Observer.’
“When I look at you from the Warp, you are a bottomless void.
“I chased that void to this place, and so I found you. After finding you, the me who first observed the void came to realize… that the void was you…”
At this point, Jabaxsti paused, a note of confusion in his voice.
“What is wrong?”
Only then did Russell snap out of his shock, shaking his head repeatedly.
“Nothing, it’s nothing…”
Jabaxsti’s words had delivered a massive shock.
Setting aside the mind-bending temporal paradox of retrocausality, what truly unsettled Russell was that this spirit actually knew he did not belong to the Warhammer universe, nor did he originate from Stellaris.
*A High-Dimensional Observer…
is that what I am?*
“You are shocked by my words. Yes… mortals who are born, grow old, fall ill, and die along a linear timeline indeed cannot comprehend the perspective of the Warp.”
Jabaxsti pondered for a moment, then offered a suggestion: “Do you wish to awaken your psionic potential, to truly gain the ability to look down upon the Warp?”
“I do not. Such filthy things disgust me,” Russell refused flatly.
“The filth of the Warp cannot taint you; you are but an empty void,” Jabaxsti explained patiently.
“You said earlier that you would have Grey Wind disassemble herself to deliver FTL technology to the Imperium of Man. You desire to fight Chaos, yet you lack the capacity to do so. I can give you that power.”
Hearing this, Russell finally understood Jabaxsti’s motive for speaking to him:
In the lore of Stellaris’s Precursors, the Zroni Evangelists to which Jabaxsti belonged were literally self-sacrificing altruists.
“I can sacrifice myself to grant you the psionic potential of the Zroni, letting your spirit pierce into the Shroud to awaken your psionics.
You will be able to draw upon the power of the Warp without consequence to combat the vile gods, bringing hope to the sapient beings of this universe.
“There is no danger to you in this. After all, your true consciousness resides in a higher dimension.”
Jabaxsti’s tone was sincere, and the Zro Crystal before Russell glowed with a warm light.
“There is kindness in your heart. I know you will not refuse.”
Being read like an open book was not a pleasant feeling, and Russell was no exception.
He frowned and nodded.
“I indeed will not refuse you. But it’s not because I’m kind; it’s because I have no reason to say no.”
Jabaxsti let out a pleased chuckle.
*You’re the tsundere…* Russell wanted to shoot back.
Whether out of self-consciousness or something else, he felt as if Grey Wind was secretly giggling at him right now.
“Piercing into the Shroud will cause even this last spirit of mine to dissipate. Before I vanish, I shall make a prophecy for you, reaching as far into the future as I can. This is the final aid I can offer.”
As the voice spoke, the halo of light swirling around the Zro Crystal brightened slightly, as though something wondrous was transpiring.
“The first prophecy: You and Grey Wind have brought many precious ancient relics from our home universe, but those are not all.
Several Relics that even you did not possess have also crossed over, scattered throughout the galaxy…
“The second prophecy: In approximately five years, the flames of war will reach this frontier region known as Faya.
Green beasts will flee the pursuit of warriors, and the Sea of Souls will heave amidst Chaos.
A human fleet and a war moon will clash in the void.
They will fight over a priceless treasure, and the immense lifeforce contained within that treasure will draw a swarm of locusts that will blot out the stars…
“The third prophecy: When the starry sky is torn asunder and the Imperium is bogged down in a quagmire, you will rise on the tide of destiny to divide the galaxy with the Master of Mankind…”
With the three prophecies concluded, the room fell into silence.
Every single one of Grey Wind’s sensors watched the crystal in the center of the room and Russell sitting before it with intense apprehension.
To her, trusting Jabaxsti so blindly was highly irrational, as there were clear self-contradictions in his claims.
*If it is truly as he says, and the Grand Marshal’s true consciousness exists in a higher dimension unreachable by the Warp gods…*
*…then how can I be sure that this so-called piercing into the Shroud to help him awaken psionics isn’t a conspiracy by the Ruinous Powers to corrupt him, dragging him down from his high-dimensional perch into the Warp?*
*If Jabaxsti’s spirit will truly dissipate and die after taking the Grand Marshal into the Shroud, why would he do it?
To bring hope to the universe?
Can a living being truly rely on mere emotion to overcome the instinct of self-preservation?*
Grey Wind did not understand.
These were questions her computational logic simply could not resolve.
In what felt like both an instant and ten thousand years, the shimmering surface of the Zro Crystal lost all its luster.
The mist swirling inside gradually dissolved, fading until it became nothing more than an ordinary, clear crystal.
Was it already over?