At that moment, the Tzeentch worshippers outside the Pyramid were thrown into chaos. The Iron Devil and its minions had begun slaughtering their people.
Inside the Pyramid, the Prophets were also preparing for their ritual. Ninety-nine Prophets stood at the ninety-nine positions of the Magic Array, each holding a candle.
The blue Great Prophet, dressed in a robe, stood at the center of the Magic Array. As the ritual began, all the Prophets released their Psychic Power.
The ninety-nine Prophets surrounding him gathered their Sorcery under the Great Prophet's guidance. The most skilled among them regulated and directed the power, guiding Quetzalcoatl's descent. As the ritual began, all the Prophets murmured.
"In the cracks between time, Tzeentch whispers softly,
Weaving the web of fate, the secret of nine cycles.
Quetzalcoatl soars across the heavens, ninety-nine beams of light,
Illuminating ancient dreams and hopes for the future.
The waves of nine seas, the heights of nine mountains,
Tzeentch's schemes, Quetzalcoatl's promise.
Nine colors, nine powers,
Between Chaos and order, the web of fate intertwines.
Nine sunrises, nine sunsets,
Tzeentch's deceptions, Quetzalcoatl's revelations.
Nine stars, nine feathers,
Shining in the night sky, guiding lost travelers.
Ninety-nine languages, ninety-nine prayers,
Tzeentch's whispers, Quetzalcoatl's call.
In the corners of the world, the secret of nine—
It is both beginning and end, creation and destruction."
As the ritual continued, something suddenly went wrong. Several Prophets spat blood. They realized that the extraction of their Psychic Power was no longer under their control; instead, it was being violently drawn toward the Great Prophet.
One Prophet hurriedly cried out,
"Great Prophet, stop at once! The ritual is out of control!"
But the Great Prophet at the head of the group paid him no heed. He simply continued the ritual, drawing upon the other Prophets' power without restraint.
"Great Prophet, quickly..."
A Prophet with a beak had just begun to warn him when he felt his head splitting with pain. He spat blood and sank weakly to one knee.
At that moment, a Prophet with two heads realized what was happening.
"Something's wrong. He never intended to summon Quetzalcoatl. I was wondering why he'd arranged for a hundred people if this was a ritual for Quetzalcoatl."
Both of the Prophet's heads clenched their teeth in fury.
"There are only ninety-nine of us. All ninety-nine of us are his sacrifices."
By the time the Prophet revealed the truth, it was already too late. Nearly all the Prophets collapsed at once, spitting blood, some on the verge of death and others already dead.
Aside from the Great Prophet, whose body brimmed with powerful energy, only one other Prophet remained standing, shrouded in a robe.
The Great Prophet knew he had succeeded. The corners of his mouth lifted as he called out to his master, the one to whom he had offered the sacrifice.
"Altarooth."
"Soul Reaper, Quetzalcoatl, Changer of Ways, Watcher of Wings, Eye of Tzeentch, Lord of Wings, I have completed the ritual. Here, I offer you the souls of ninety-nine sorcerers."
"I beg you to grant me power and guide me to the Empyrean. Let me enter the Crystal Labyrinth and serve my master Tzeentch alongside you."
Amid the powerful blue Warp energy within the Pyramid, a gigantic image appeared in the room. It showed a Warp creature with enormous blue wings, a massive staff in its hand, golden ornaments on its body, and a huge birdlike head. Though this Changer of Ways had not entered the real universe, it was only an image.
Altarooth extended his claws and lightly tapped the Great Prophet's forehead nine times with a claw tip. Then he opened his beak and uttered blasphemous words:
"Ask not where the whispers of night arise,
Seek not the shape that lurks in shadow.
For I am Altarooth, Soul Reaper,
And you are but a character in my script."
At these words, the Great Prophet sensed something was wrong. He looked around and saw that one of the sacrifices, a figure wrapped in a robe, was still standing. But suddenly, the robe seemed to lose the human shape beneath it and drifted lightly to the ground.
The Great Prophet understood. Altarooth, that servant of Tzeentch, had deceived him. There had never been ninety-nine sacrifices present—only ninety-eight, or...
The Warp energy inside the Great Prophet suddenly erupted beyond his control. As he screamed in agony, the ninety-eight corpses around him began to float toward him, gathering at his center. Countless pieces of flesh overlapped and fused together, and Tzeentch's Warp energy burst through the room.
Soon, a huge ball of flesh stood in the middle of the ritual site, writhing and transforming again and again. Ninety-nine heads emerged from it, and countless tentacles burst forth. A creature twisted by the power of the Chaos God had been born.
The Changer of Ways, projected in the air, let out a sly cackle through its beak.
"Hehehehe. On the ninth day of the ninth month, under the ninefold seal, ninety-nine souls are offered to the Lord of Change."
Then an immense force shook the entire Pyramid, and a small Warp Rift opened. A stream of strange creatures poured out.
The Changer of Ways continued to laugh.
"Go, go forth and spread my master's teachings."
At last, the enormous Chaos Spawn led the Tzeentch Demons out of the Pyramid.
Tami was on guard at the Pyramid's entrance. She had been deeply worried about whether the Prophets' ritual would succeed. After all, there had been no sign of it working, while the Iron Devil and its minions had already attacked.
Clutching her spear, she prayed fervently for the Prophets. Then, in that very moment, a tremendous energy surged from inside the Pyramid. The whole structure swayed from side to side before finally collapsing.
Tami was terrified. She had no idea what had happened or how far the ritual had progressed. The other guards were just as panicked as they stared at the ruins of the Pyramid.
Just then, a huge stone was suddenly hurled up from the rubble by an immense force. It crashed down on more than a dozen people. Immediately afterward, a gigantic blue ball of flesh emerged from the ruins of the Pyramid, followed by a horde of smaller and larger balls of flesh in blue, yellow, and pink, with arms and legs.
The lumps of flesh looked somewhat fat, but they were incredibly agile. Before Tami could react, a blue one pounced on her. It opened a huge mouth in its chest and bit down on her shoulder. One of its three hands held a dagger and repeatedly stabbed into her back, aiming for her lungs.
Before Tami could even react, she had collapsed to the ground. The blue ball of flesh had obviously lost interest in her and continued looking for another target. Lying on the ground, barely able to breathe, Tami could only let the life drain from her body.
But what shocked Tami even more was that, before all this, she had seen countless faces on the largest ball of flesh. One of them was familiar: it was the feather-covered face of a Prophet from her tribe.
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