Then they saw it.
A throne.
An enormous throne forged from black stone, radiating a pressure that made their souls tremble.
It descended from the sky, trailing a long black plume as it plummeted toward the ground like a meteor.
Rumble-!
The air tore apart with a deafening sonic boom.
"Wh... what is that?!" a Gretchin soldier cried, his eyes wide with terror.
No one answered him.
Because a second later, the throne hit the ground.
BOOM--!!!
It did not slow down.
It simply slammed straight into the ground.
The tremendous impact gouged a crater more than fifty meters across. The shock wave spread outward, flinging every Necron Warrior within a hundred meters into the air.
The dust cleared.
At the center of the crater, the Blackstone Throne stood firm, without a scratch.
And the figure seated upon it slowly opened his eyes.
He wore no ornate outer armour, no crown symbolizing his authority.
He was nothing more than a simple skeleton of living metal, draped in a plain black robe.
Yet every being who saw him felt an indescribable sense of oppression.
It was not the majesty of his appearance, but something from the depths of their souls... fear.
"Every life-form on this planet," Szarekh said, his voice as calm as still water yet carrying clearly across the entire battlefield, "will now witness true-"
"Annihilation."
He raised his right hand and gently pressed it against the throne's armrest.
A circular energy core began to glow before the throne.
Its blackness was deeper than night, purer than the void.
"Activate the Annihilation Matrix."
Hum-
A thin, almost invisible beam of black light shot from the throne.
It swept silently across the ground.
Everything the beam touched-
A roaring Gretchin soldier's shout cut off abruptly. His body vanished inch by inch,