“This underground a city was once a sprawling, oval-shaped metropolis. Based on preliminary estimates, it could have housed millions at its peak. Its yered, honeyb design was a hallmark of ial urban pnning—effit against floods, predators, and natural disasters. A true marvel. Praise the Omnissiah; the design is almost divine.” He paused, a somber expression crossing his face. “But something catastrophic happened here. We don’t know the exact cause, but whatever it was, it led to the city’s destru aual submergenderground. The entrance we used is actually the city’s topmost yer. If the design adheres to standard patterns, the city should span 23 levels. The 12th level would likely be the core, surrounded by living quarters and agricultural zones on the upper levels. The lower levels were probably industrial and military zones. Of course, this is specution—but what’s certain is that the city is vast. Finding one person here will be like finding a needle in a haystack.”

  Elizabeth crossed her arms, her expression unreadable. “We have only three days—61 Terran hours, to be precise—to locate and eliminate Rosina. We’ve already wasted half a day. The problem isn’t just finding her; it’s the sheer size of this city. A plete search is impossible iime we have. If we’re to succeed, we’ll need more than luck.” She smirked, adding with faint sarcasm, “Perhaps the Omnissiah could bless us.”

  “Ms. Inquisitor, mind your words,” Gustav interjected, his tone sharp. “The Omnissiah is the god of knowledge, the spirit within maes. He is not some god of ce.”

  Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. “Fine, Gustav, but tell me this—what are the odds of digging up an intact STC? Higher than winning the lottery? Without the Omnissiah’s ‘blessing,’ would you even mao uh a of soda?”

  Gustav faltered, his indignation fading into fusion. “Uh…” Before he could form a reply, Sydria, one of the Eldar Rangers, cut in. “Leave the problem to us. Human psychic abilities are rudimentary at best, but for us, such challenges are trivial—assuming there are no unusual barriers. Rosina may be clever, but she ot escape the gaze of Aitoc’s Rangers. Nothing evades the hawk-eyes of our craftworld. We have no need for your Omnissiah. We require only the blessing of Khaihe God of War, to crush our foes.”

  The room fell silent for a moment. None of the humans bothered to ent on the Eldar’s dead gods. Kayvaan, wearing scout equipment, broke the silence. “Uood. Everyone, prepare yourselves. We move out now.”

  A task forprising Eldar Rangers, a squad of Battle Sisters, Inquisitor Elizabeth, and Kayvaa out for the a city. Gustav and his bat servitors remained behind, tasked with fortifying their position. Fustav, the battle had only begun. He o struct a robust defense system for the reinforts expected to arrive. More defeurrets, deeper trenches, stronger fortifications, and heavier firepower were required.

  Kayvaan's defensive lines, in Gustav’s opinion, were ie. The soldiers avaible were mere mortals, and if Chaos Serapheas breached the lines, morale would colpse. A flexible defense was essential—fortifications that could absorb pressure without breaking. Gustav muttered a prayer to the Omnissiah as he begag his pns.

  Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s team ventured deeper into the a city. As she predicted, their e to the outside world was severed by an unknown energy. Psychiunication aronic signals alike were blocked, though the interference seemed localized—ihe city, their instruments worked fihe Eldar Rangers he anomaly but set aside their curiosity. There was no time for analysis. Their priority was finding Rosina.

  Rosina was no novice. She knew how to ceal her psychiergy and movements. However, the Chaos Altar she was usied a faint but detectable signature. Skilled psychics like the Eldar Rangers could pick up on it, even amidst the taint of Chaos saturating the city.

  Elizabeth found it impossible to distinguish the altar’s presence amidst the overwhelming background noise of corruption. For her, it was like trying to identify a specific st in a s. The Eldar, however, were fident. “The path ahead is clear,” Kayvaaed, returning from a quick reaissance. “No enemies detected for now. Sydria, you pinpoint Rosina’s location?”

  Sydria hesitated, his expression troubled. “There’s… a problem.”

  Kayvaan narrowed his eyes. “What kind of problem?”

  “There’s definitely some kind of psychiterferen the city,” Sydria said, his tone ced with frustration. “It’s like a dense mist clouding the mind, making it impossible to see clearly. It’s strange—I ’t pinpoint the source of this disturbance.”

  “Let me stop yht there,” Kayvaan interrupted, his voice sharp. “ you locate the Chaos Altar or not?”

  “I ,” Sydria replied calmly. “The interference doesn’t block everything. I sehe Chaos Altar.”

  Kayvaan raised an eyebrow. “Then there’s no issue. You see through the fog.”

  “ly.” Sydria’s expression darkened. “We found the altar’s location… but there isn’t just one.”

  Kayvaan froze. “What do you mean? How many are there?”

  “Six altars,” Sydria replied ftly. “That’s what I’ve detected.”

  “Six altars?” Kayvaan echoed, his tone incredulous. “Is this some kind of ritual formation, or do we o destroy all six?”

  “No,” Sydria said, shaking his head. “There shouldn’t be six altars. Rosina is w alone—she only perform her ritual in one location. The other five are decoys, meant to mislead us. If it weren’t for this psychiterference, I might be able to identify the real one. But right now, I ’t.”

  Kayvaan sighed, his frustration mounting. “So, we have six targets, and only one is real. Not ideal, but at least we have something to work with.” He turoward Elizabeth, raising his voice. “Inquisitor, we’ve got a situation. Care to lend us your wisdom?”

  Elizabeth didn’t budge. “’t you ha yourselves?”

  Kayvaan's patiehinned. “We could, but it’d be faster with your input.”

  Relutly, Elizabeth joihem, and the three leaders examihe map Sydria had marked. The six altars were spread across the vast, byrinthiy. The clusion was obvious. “We don’t have the time to check each altar one by one,” Kayvaan said. “If we’re lucky, we’ll hit the right one first. If not…” He trailed off, but the implication was clear. “We’ll have to split up. It’s risky, but it’s the best option to cround quickly.”

  Elizabeth and Sydria exged looks and nodded. her the Eldar nor the humans trusted each other, but splitting up was a relief for both sides. At least this way, they didn’t have to stantly watch their backs against their supposed allies.

  Kayvaan's group desded into the depths of the city, heading toward the fifth floor where their first target was located. The journey could only be described as endless. A spiral staircase stretched downward into darkness, its steps worn smooth by time. Peering over the edge of the railing revealed nothing but an abyss, the void below seemingly without end.

  Occasionally, they crossed long corridors or traversed ires suspended over bottomless pits. The air grew heavier the deeper they went. The oppressive weight of the a hive city bore down on them, its sheer scale humbling. The city’s architecture was a testament to the wonders of high teology, far beyond the prehension of most humans. It wasn’t hard to see why the Adeptus Meicus revered the Omnissiah. For those without stifiowledge, such structures would seem like miracles.