89: It Decided to Rebel

Past

Temporary Museum Beyond Trazyn's River

Trazyn swung the legs it had propped on the table, its eyes fixed straight ahead—where everything was now pitch-black, pure darkness, with faint flashes of lightning flickering through the mist.

Hmm... Trazyn rested a finger against its head. Had it overstepped? Even if it had agreed to help Hades, and agreed to help the Imperium, and incidentally toyed with a primarch—

But feeding Hades this much, even wealthy Trazyn felt its coffers growing strained.

Setting aside the three shards it had fed Hades, Trazyn still had five Shards of the Star God left—it could not feed him any more. If the Phaeron came to call it away for support and it could not produce a Shard of the Star God, it would be finished.

Hmm...

Trazyn pondered as it began searching for further details in the cognitive engine within its mind. Perhaps it should start capturing Shards of the Star God again... Hades might need to eat a few more.

Trazyn's thoughts drifted for a moment. It felt that its actions were somewhat improper, but as it watched those Shards of the Star God vanish completely into that darkness... vanish utterly... the Infinite had to admit that throwing in the Deceiver's shard had involved a little selfishness on its part.

It truly detested the Deceiver's shard.

Even though that shard had allowed it to see—

Trazyn abruptly sat upright. It keenly sensed a slight displacement in the museum's gravity, and time itself seemed to have shuddered.

—Orikan?

The Infinite immediately rose to its feet, drawing its weapon with a flourish. It carefully surveyed the spaces between the display cases, watching for the slightest movement.

"Orikan?!"

Now

Beneath the Himalayas

"Time is rigorous. Complete—but you are tampering with time."

Orikan spoke as golden