Halfway up the mountain, a statue rose, piercing through the entire upper half of the crystal peak, its head towering above the summit.
At its feet stood a smaller scarlet altar, with six enormous circular ritual altars evenly arranged around it.
Each ritual altar was built from Psyker Crystal, and its Runes were drawn in the heart's blood of captives from other tribes.
Six Heart-Slayer Priests in purple robes, holding crystal Ritual Daggers, chanted loudly.
"The six hundred and sixty-sixth sacrifice draws the gaze of our lord!"
They raised their crystal daggers at the same time and stabbed down fiercely.
None of the kneeling Heart-Slayer believers dodged. They all bared their chests, smiling as they welcomed this moment of glory.
Around his feet lay six hundred and sixty-five hearts.
The corpses were dragged away by other believers to feed the dependents of the Heart-Piercer, the creatures that lived alongside them.
On the central altar, the final ritual began.
The leader of the cannibals thrust the crystal ritual dagger into the sacrifice's chest, then reached in with his hand and dug out the bloody, still-beating heart.
"The first sacrifice offers food to our lord."
"..."
"The sixth sacrifice begs our lord for blessing!"
At that moment, Nimrod was still one kilometer from the exit halfway up the mountain when he suddenly heard an inhuman roar ahead, filled with both pain and pleasure.
At the same time, his Warp Insight sensed that the veil separating the Warp from the real world had been briefly torn open, and a force from the Sea of Souls seeped into reality for an instant.
Nimrod looked ahead and saw a twisted monster. Its body was bloated and bloodred all over, with six pairs of tentacle-like arms swaying behind its back.
Six heads grew from its neck,