The Emperor’s Angel of Death

"This symbol belongs to the Lysa Dynasty. It was a minor dynasty, and records about them are scarce. However, legend says they had a close relationship with the eerie Orosk Dynasty. All of this is recorded in the 'Necropolis Annal,' an ancient encyclopedia of the Necrons compiled by hundreds of scholars under the order of the ancient empire's royal family shortly after the War in Heaven ended. It includes almost all known information about Necron dynasties, their legends, and their relationships. Sadly, this magnificent work was mostly destroyed and lost during the Great Fall. A few fragments were recovered by some Craftworlds, including Ulthwe, which kept some records. Fortunately, I've studied it specifically and still remember it. I've heard that the Black Library has a copy of the 'Necropolis Annal' transcribed by the Laughing God, but I don't know if it's true."

Across the rippling surface of the mirror, Veronica, dressed in casual clothes, leaned back in her chair, looking at Sol with a smile. On the white jade desk in front of her were a pile of uniquely shaped Eldar books.

On the other side of the mirror, Sol, also in casual clothes, sat in a spacious private room inside the Heart of Light, a miniature star chart rotating on his desk.

With the increasing number of visible enemies and the substantial leap in the strength of the Royal Court, Sol rarely brought Veronica with him anymore. More importantly, he knew that the pseudo-Macharians were likely to threaten his wife, and he was surrounded by their spies. In this situation, the Royal Court was now a better choice.

"The Lysa Dynasty—is there any connection to the Silent King?"

"Ulthwe only has a general catalog, some sub-catalogs, and brief introductions, without detailed content. But as a small, marginal dynasty, it likely has no connection. However, from what you've said, it seems they are indeed linked to the Silent King... I suspect it may be related to the Orosk Dynasty."

"The Orosk Dynasty—is that in—"

"In the border area between the Storm Ward and Ultima Segmentum."

Sol glanced at the star chart and nodded.

"That's quite far. What's special about this dynasty?"

"It's a Flayer Dynasty. It's said that nearly half of the Necron Dynasty's members have been infected by the Flayer Curse. The extent might be slightly better than the Drazakh Dynasty. Currently, the dynasty is completely isolated, and no one knows what madness is spreading within, because even Necrons are afraid of these things. But there are rumors that this dynasty is secretly worshiping the destroyed Star God, trying to slow down the curse in this way."

After listening, Sol frowned.

"Wait... why do you know so much about this dynasty, Madam?"

Veronica smiled, picked a diamond-like, crystal-clear small fruit from the golden fruit plate beside her, put it into her fresh lips, and said easily:

"Because this isn't recorded in the 'Necropolis Annal.' This comes from information from Craftworld Alaitoc."

"Alaitoc? The Ranger's City? What's the story?"

"This starts with Alaitoc's philosophy. It's said that Alaitoc's Seer Council saw a vision of the Necrons' resurgence, believing it to be a doomsday prophecy from the 'Night of Sorrows.' So their Pathfinders managed to obtain an ancient crystal map from the Maiden Worlds of their old homeworld, recording the locations of most Necron tomb worlds in the galaxy. Through this map and the Webway, Alaitoc, along with other Craftworlds, planned many secret wars against the Necrons. The Rangers' war style leans towards using others' strength, especially against more powerful opponents. The Orosk Dynasty happened to be a relatively powerful dynasty, so Craftworld Alaitoc first tricked the Adeptus Mechanicus into excavating a tomb world of the Orosk Dynasty. When the tomb was disturbed, awakened, and began to clear out the invaders, they secretly released several captured Flayers into the unprepared tomb world. The result was the successful infection of the tomb's overlord, thereby spreading the Flayer Curse throughout the Necron Dynasty, continuously reducing the number of sane members and turning many dynastic nobles into Flayers."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Sol couldn't help but applaud and praised:

"A brilliant plan! Eliminating a powerful Necron Dynasty without losing a single soldier. The commander of this plan must be a flexible thinker. And if I'm not mistaken, Ulthwe's forces were also involved in this plan, right? That's why there's a record."

"Yes, Ulthwe also assisted in this plan. Those few Flayers were captured by the Black Watch, and the one who planned this operation was Autarch Kainan of Alaitoc's Striking Scorpions. However, after the Flayer Curse spread on a large scale, some strange things also occurred in the Orosk Dynasty. Alaitoc's Rangers had long-term surveillance on them, but they later gave up because they began to suffer severe casualties. Flayers would inexplicably appear around them, and their stealth was useless against Flayers who tracked the scent of living beings. The last piece of information they discovered was that this Necron Dynasty seemed to be starting strange religious rituals."

"Hmm... Flayers... If I remember correctly, that was a completely destroyed Star God."

"Llandu'gor, according to the 'Necropolis Annal,' was destroyed by the Maynarkh Dynasty, the Silent King's personal enforcers. This dynasty was also the first to be infected by the Flayer Curse. However, this dynasty is well-hidden, and even Alaitoc's crystal map doesn't seem to have their location."

"But Necrons have living metal bodies. What exactly is the Flayer Curse? I've also tried to seize the memories within them, but to no avail."

"It's hard to say. I actually asked my mentor this question, and the mentor's answer was very ambiguous. The original words were... a conceptual distortion of self-awareness."

"Is that an explanation? At best, it's just... a description. But I do have an idea. Was Llandu'gor really killed? Or... did it become fragments that even high-precision instruments and the naked eye can't observe? Is every Flayer essentially an ultra-miniature fragment of a Star God?"

"That's certainly a theory, but it can't be confirmed yet. However, regarding the Orosk Dynasty, Alaitoc's Rangers once tried to understand the Flayers more deeply. After more than a thousand years of investigation and pursuit, they summarized some experiences: when a Necron is infected, first their behavior changes, then their body transforms. And some of the most severely deformed Flayers will disappear inexplicably. The Rangers speculate that, perhaps after deep infection, they acquire some kind of nearly instinctive phase shift ability and are drawn into a pocket dimension. As for what's inside, what's there, is unknown. Perhaps you can find the key to this. If we master the secret of the Flayers, we might be able to control a large number of mutated Necrons, letting them attack Necron tombs like plague zombies in the human world. That's quite a wonderful thing to think about."