Yet Van Helsing paid no heed to any of it. He even seemed to enjoy it. He wanted to provoke them, to make them furious.
His true target had only ever been one person—the "Golden Saint" whose reputation had reached near-mythical heights: Saul.
He was convinced that Saul was a host for a Tzeentch Daemon, concealed behind an elaborate disguise, and that these so-called "miracles" were all part of Tzeentch's schemes. He had come today to tear away that disguise.
"Well, the appetizer is over." Van Helsing dusted off his hands, as though he had merely crushed an ant. "Now, let us begin the real test."
From inside his coat, he took out an ominous ring woven from human bones and silver wire and tossed it onto the floor. The moment it landed, it unfolded into a psychic array roughly five meters across, flickering with an eerie purple light.
"This is a Loyalty Trial Array," Van Helsing said in a hypocritical tone of compassion. "A soul utterly loyal to the Emperor will feel only the warmth of a spring breeze when passing through it. But if... your soul harbors even the slightest trace of heresy or Warp corruption, the Emperor's sacred fire will ignite in the depths of your soul and burn you to nothing."
Phoros's and Jason's expressions instantly grew grave.
What they did not know was that Van Helsing had tampered with the array. Its core was connected to an Untouchable whom he had secretly imprisoned aboard his Inquisition vessel... a Sister of Silence.
The instant any being with psychic power-even the lowliest psyker-stepped into the array, their soul would be brutally torn by the Untouchable's "psychic black hole" effect. It would feel like being flayed alive and having their sinews ripped out, enough to drive even the