No Matter the Cost
The signal that they had been spotted was unneeded, in the end, the cry of the plagued one pierced even the dimensional space that she and the Ancient One were hidden within, causing both of them to burst through the thin walls.
It was a sight of utter despair and misery, within the mansion and her first thought was to the smell, as flies beyond counting began to deluge towards her only to meet the now active aura of Ridcully, the grace of Isha granting them a reprieve as the Ancient One tore himself free and the Exalted Unclean One scrambled away, screaming once again, but this time in delirious fear.
She paid this no mind, instead focusing her full attention upon the door arguably her entire life had been building towards while her portable waystone began to burn on her chest as it absorbed and destroyed more chaotic energy than it could possibly drain, as her tools emerged from her person and she began her work, Ridcully whispering in her ear as they searched for any weaknesses, his sightless eyes burning with strength as he peered through the defences of the Gods, and his archetype leaned heavily upon him, filling his mind with the secrets of the divine.
She meanwhile considered the door, all worries banished from her mind, raising the Skeleton Key of Helheim and with delicate fingers reached up to place it in the lock, as the Star of Isha
burned with cleansing flame against the wood as she went through the questions she had prepared on many sleepless nights.
First: What was a Door?
Commonly defined, a door was a hinged barrier at the entrance in this case a room.
Second: What was
the Door to Nurgle?
A vault, a safe, a sanctuary. The great shield of his one true, perfect rose.
But to Nurgle it was also the gateway to a prison, a hell meant to crush the spirit and life from its inhabitant, to trap them in the darkness where there was no light until they thought of nothing, but for him. The deranged logic of an insane petulant child that made sense only to them.
Third, knowing this what did that mean for opening it?
Simple, that it could be opened.
That in effect was Nurgle's great mistake. For all that the Greater God of Chaos desired to protect and hold onto his beloved, he also wished to see her and so he had created a barrier that was supposed to be unlocked.
Of course, the intention was that it was to swing open for Nurgle and only Nurgle, but that inherent conception allowed for someone, anyone to open it if they were smart enough, if they were skilled and lucky enough. The covetous desire of the God would open the way so long as she could twist the key in just the right way, and tare apart the proper aspects.
Within a lock long since stiffened beyond the point of uselessness, a key began to turn. Around the door, tools marked with the rune of hope tore away at rusted nails, jammed haphazardly into rotting wood, as oil was poured onto joints long since rendered immobile and files scraped away at mountainous acclimations of rust.
As the paragon fortress fell over her head, she remained utterly focused on her task, pushing yet more energy into the door frame, as she hacked away at the hinges and forced it to yield, to open, following the threads that Ridcully suggested as True Runes burned out and away against the door, and yet it remained implacably shut.
The door was damaged, it was splintered and falling apart, the rotten wood buckling and bending the lock forced halfway open, the lubricants and maintenence to vital areas slowly moving it towards opening, but in the now it wasn't enough and was taking too much time.
They had no seconds to spare, the clashing of the entire force of the mansion was closing in, punctuated by the explosions of the infinitely varied munitions they had procured for this mission and the clock was ticking. They had no time to waste on this stupid door!
And so with resolution, she grabbed the tides of fate and
forced them to submit to her will. The ring on her finger, the last token of the ancient Siren Queen burst into flames, as the True Rune of Luck incinerated at her wish, the entirety of its fate twisting powers used up in a single burst, her mouth moving and spitting forth the words of the language of creation
Enuncia the language of the Old Ones themselves, commanding the door to open even as it wracked and destroyed her body to enact such an effect, even directed as it was through their gleaming engine.
The door was trembling, the great wards of Nurgle crumbling away as she deactivated all the safety restrictions of her armour, scorching her body with the full power of the nascent Great One, as she drew forth the Black Crystal Sword, the ultimate Daemon slayer gleaming in the turgid light of Nurgle's realm.
In that moment she knew, she knew that she, sacrifice anything to accomplish this goal. No matter the cost to herself, she would do it, this door would open and at last, at last the hope so cruelly locked behind it would be free.
With a scream of exertion, she swung, her body crumbling to ash as she did so, the Black Crystal sword cutting into the essence of the Door itself as at last with a final, groaning terrifying instant it
clicked.
With an echo that reverberated across the warp from end to end, that resonated within all the rituals save for Tzeench's own, the lock was adjusted, the door was reduced from the greatest ward in existence to a mere piece of decayed wood, as the Exalted Unclean Ones stared onwards in disbelieving horror.
Lying on the floor, Areatha felt none of this, only the burning of her body her eyes began to dim and a bright light as kind, loving fingers took her up and breathed life into her once again.
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How much of yourself are you willing to sacrifice to secure victory?
@Durin
