The Wayward Son

Unknown location in the Webway, Seiras

Seiras awoke in a panic and immediately jerked upright upon opening his eyes. He was surprised to find himself restrained to a chair of some kind. Over his arms and legs, he had metallic and shackle-like restraints tightly braced around him preventing the Astartes from moving.

He looked around urgently when it became apparent he couldn't move. As he turned his head, he felt a strange collar around his neck. It was incredibly uncomfortable as spikes from the object actually pierced into the flesh of his neck. It left a very painful stinging burn for a few moments, but he quickly adjusted to it.

"Finally awake, Monkeigh? Good," a voice came from the shadows. Even with his enhanced senses, Seiras couldn't detect where the voice was coming from in his dark cell. The voice was clearly feminine, but it carried a raspy and echoic tone that was both sultry and creepy. It was definitely the voice of an Eldar.

'This is not good. If I'm where I think I am, then I just got captured by Dark Eldar.' Seiras thought concerned as he began to theorize on his situation. He chose to remain silent as he braced himself for what was to come.

"Have you nothing to say, Monkeigh? I suppose you wouldn't after suffering a pathetic failure and getting captured," the voice followed up.

Seiras continued to ignore it as he refused to give any kind of gratification to his captor by showing emotion in his current predicament. The librarian closed his eyes for a moment and attempted to channel forth his psychic powers.

The literal moment he did, the collar around his neck began to zap him with an excruciatingly painful shock. He grimaced at the horrible sensation and did his absolute best to not cry out in pain. He only half succeeded as he groaned in agony for a few moments. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Even his Astartes toughness could not brace its entirety.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Monkeigh…you see that collar around your neck is what we like to call a Psionic limiter collar. We normally reserve them for Warlocks and Farseers that we take prisoner, but seeing as how you're a psyker as well, we took every precaution," the voice explained.

Finally, the alien showed itself as it stepped into his line of sight from the shadows. Seiras was still recovering from the pain of the limiter collar but regained his composure as he stared the alien down.

'It's a wych…she looks familiar and I recognize her voice,' Seiras thought briefly.

The female alien stared at him with a proud and arrogant smirk plastered widely across her face, "It's not often we capture space marines...they're usually impossible to take alive. You were quite the rare and delicious catch. I'm not too familiar with all your monkeigh space marine chapters, but I heard from the Archon that you are a Deathwatch Marine. Quite the fortunate find we made haha! There will be plenty of glory for whoever gets to kill you. I might even get a promotion to succubus."

Like most of her kind, this wych was slender, muscular, and way taller than a normal human. If Seiras had to guess, she was about two meters in height if not slightly taller. She was adorned in midnight blue and black armour with white alien designs. Her armour was mismatched and covered random parts of her body. It seemed like a prestigious wychsuit if he had to guess. It consisted of some type of promiscuous black pants that were highly exposed with various openings down the side of her thighs. She wore black spiky taloned boots and both shins were armoured in black and blue. For some reason, only her left thigh was covered with the dark blue armour while other was exposed with bare flesh and unarmoured. A long dark blue loincloth went between her legs with a strange symbol adorned on it. What looked like human flesh and bone decorated the loincloth. Her left arm had one pauldron and a long armoured metal sleeve that went all the way towards the spiky looking gauntlet around her hand. Her right arm appeared to only be armoured around the forearm area with a strange blade curving out of it. Seiras couldn't help but think how impractical and ridiculous her armour actually looked when his gaze trailed to her torso.

She had some type of midriff breastplate that left her abdominal area completely exposed and despite it covering her upper torso and neck, there was still an opening where her cleavage was somewhat visible. Her chest was surprisingly not as flat as most Eldar females. In fact, her physique in general looked slightly more muscular than most Eldar as well. Her skin was a ghostly translucent colour that was so pale it almost looked bluish-grey in hue.

The alien had dark teal-coloured hair with white streaks adorned in long twin tails with loose bangs. Seiras had never once seen Eldar wear their hair in this way as he was used to seeing them with traditional hightails, long hair, or pristine buns of some nature. Upon looking at her for a moment, he immediately realized she was the Eldar that cheap shot him before he lost consciousness.

Her lips were a bluish black colour and her jaw was angular and androgynous. She had an expressive face that radiated a vibrant and sadistic personality. Despite her warrior appearance, he didn't see a single scar on her. Both of her long, pointed ears were pierced in multiple places with studs all throughout them. She had some warpaint around her eyes that was bluish black. Around each hair tie for her individual twin tails was a spiked blade that converged together in the front giving them the appearance of some type of crossed, crescent-bladed headdress. Aesthetically, it was actually an impressive piece of jewelry.

The Eldar's eyes were an unnatural shade of gold in the irises, but the white scleras of her eyes appeared completely blackened giving her an inhuman and feral appearance. Nevertheless, the alien carried herself in a regal, seductive way. She was surprisingly very attractive despite her bizarre alien appearance, but Seiras wouldn't dare to admit that even in his own thoughts. He rationalized her appeal as being flamboyantly elegant and distractingly aesthetic in appearance. She was both inhumanly hideous and exotically pretty.

The Eldar was quick to notice his silent examination of her and practically giggled at him, "Enjoying the view monkeigh? That's not what I was expecting out of you. I know I'm beautiful, but I didn't imagine a space marine would be so enraptured by it."

"No, you're disgusting, alien," Seiras couldn't help but say.

"Your eyes betray you, monkeigh…I know that look very well. Countless eyes gaze longingly upon my perfection in similar ways. I can't say that I blame you though. I am a gorgeous and superior being after all." the Eldar gloated. There wasn't a single drop of humility in her entire being. Like all Eldar, this one was a classic narcissist.

"I couldn't be sure of your gender when I first saw you," Seiras said callously.

"Trying to insult me now are you? How quaint. I'd almost be offended if I actually believed you. You and I both know that I'm beautiful. Just admit it and I promise I won't be offended," she said with a haughty smirk.

"I've seen better than you," he said coldly.

"Better what exactly? I doubt you've seen better Eldar." she chuckled with condescending amusement.

"Craftworlders have better complexions...and more elegant, practical armour. You and all wyches look ridiculous," Seiras replied in a smart-ass way.

This caused the alien to look at her skin for a moment almost subconsciously. She looked at him somewhat annoyed, "What?! Are you saying I'm too pale!?"

Seiras did not respond to her as he simply awaited an explanation to his capture. Several seconds passed as the female Eldar examined him thoroughly. She crossed her arms with a bored look on her face, "You're surprisingly handling this well. Most humans always want to know where they are and who I am. I take it you already understand the situation? Granted you would have to be stupid not to I suppose."

The librarian continued not to say anything else to her as he stoically watched the alien in silence. He really had nothing left to say to this alien as anything out of his mouth would more than likely be met with some type of condescending threat. The man simply stared at her instead and waited for an inevitable end to her mental foreplay. If there was one thing Seiras knew about Dark Eldar it's that they hated when their victims didn't show much emotion...hell that was Eldar in general.

The Dark Eldar was visibly disappointed in his lack of an emotional response. She seemed to quickly recover as she began to monologue, "You're at a loss for words I see...the crushing weight of your failures must really be hitting you hard right about now. It must be So heart-wrenching for you to realize that you're doomed and that your precious Emperor is powerless to help you."

Seiras said nothing again and blankly stared at her without any emotion. This only seemed to irritate the female alien as she got right in his face a moment later. The alien stared at the marine with a furious intensity now.

She gazed into his eyes for a long moment before she finally chuckled and got over her irritation, "You're a fine specimen. You'll make a nice slave."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he couldn't help but ask. Something about this alien was unsettling...more so than others. That and for some reason, he couldn't help but voice his confusion. This wych was clearly very experienced at manipulating others.

"Hmm...I wonder, what could I mean by that?" she asked in a rhetoric way as if mocking him for not understanding.

Seiras looked away in disgust, 'This is all a game to her. I shouldn't speak if I can avoid it.'

"I know what you want it to mean…maybe it's true," she said in a teasing sadistic whisper as she licked her lips.

'Don't take her bait, Seiras...just shut up and she'll get bored of this,' Seiras told himself.

His silence continued which seemed to reinvigorate her anger immediately, "Say something, slave! Don't just look at me like I'm stupid! When your master addresses you, she expects an acknowledgment! I will not be ignored by some primitive monkeigh!"

"If I'm so primitive to your kind then who's the stupid one for trying to talk to me? Is there really any point to this conversation?" the man finally broke his silence and asked her.

She seemed a bit taken aback by his question as it actually was a fair point. She bit her lip in utter disapproval as she huffed, "Believe me when I say that speaking to you slow, dull creatures is a tiresome and mind-numbing chore for me. It's like talking to an animal...you can't even think on the same level we do."

"Yet the statement isn't wrong...why talk to me? Is this some form of torture? Or are you just slow in the head for talking to animals?" he insulted her dryly.

"Oh, you've got jokes do you?!" she hissed with anger.

"There's only one joke here and I'm looking at it right now," Seiras said stoically.

Surprisingly, the wych didn't lose her mind. She cocked her head at him with a smug grin, "I love slaves like you. Strong-willed and fearless slaves are my absolute favorite. They're always the ones who want to act tough and they think I can't break them. When I finally do, it's an incredible euphoria to dominate their spirit completely. Watching you eat your words and breaking down that pride of yours will be so pleasurable to experience."

"Was I the only space marine you captured?" Seiras decided to ask despite knowing the futility of it.

"I'm the one asking the questions around here! You will learn your place soon enough! We are your masters now!" she exclaimed aggressively.

The man sighed inwardly, 'I hate Eldar...'

"What's your name then…master?" Seiras asked her with a calm and fearless tone. It almost seemed casual and sarcastic despite her threat. She definitely took notice of his continued lack of fear or concern and took a moment to think of a response.

She sneered at him proudly, "You wish to know? Why should I tell you? My name is too beautiful to be spoken by your pitiful monkeigh tongue."

'I'll put an end to this stupid mind game she's trying to play,' Seiras thought annoyed.

"Not like it really matters what your name is anyway...you're just another Eldar. You're nothing but another one of the pathetic knife-eared xenos who's only lasting legacy was the creation of a Chaos God. In the face of death, you're all the same cowards. I hope your suffering is eternal when Slaanesh claims your soul. Send Slaanesh my regards when you see it. Your race deserves to be swallowed by the warp," Seiras replied with a calm and hateful stoicism.

The alien's eyes went wide with horror as her mouth opened with suspense. She seemed startled by his statement. He wasn't sure if it was the use of Slaanesh's name in front of her or the threat itself. Whatever it was, Seiras' words seemed to completely deflate the Eldar's ego as she closed her mouth and glared.

After a brief silence she finally spoke, "You...dare?! YOU DARE SPEAK THAT NAME HERE!?"

"Yes, I dare. Slaanesh, Slaanesh, Slaanesh Slaan-" he kept repeating the name which caused the Eldar to drop low and cover her ears.

"STOP IT! NOW! What kind of space marine are you? Do you want to summon daemons here?!" She shouted angrily in a loud childish fit.

Finally, Seiras stopped as he looked at her curiously, "So...when does my real torture begin? Are you in charge around here, Wych?"

She collected herself after a moment and stepped towards him imposingly, "The Archon wants you alive and unscathed for now. He's turning you over to our cult. Since space marines are a rare catch, they're far more valuable to kill in front of an arena of spectators in Commorragh than to torture like normal humans."

"Lucky me then," Seiras replied almost smugly towards her.

"You're a fool if you think dying in the arena is a better fate. The Hekatarii will make your death as slow and entertaining as possible. Or maybe they'll humiliate you in battle, spare your life, and then let the haemonculi alter you for a long and torturous death afterward. Though, I wouldn't mind turning your skin into a blanket for my new bed," the eldar beamed proudly.

"Giving me a chance to kill you is probably not the best idea alien," Seiras said coldly without any fear in his voice.

"Is that what you think? Here's a reality check monkeigh! You don't get to fight with your armour or weapons in our arenas hahaha!" the Eldar laughed at him.

"So, we're in Commorragh then?" Seiras changed the subject with a stalwart expression.

The Eldar seemed a bit annoyed that he didn't retaliate and finally nodded, "We're in the webway, but we'll be there soon. That means you should abandon any hope of escaping while you're here. Even if by some miracle you survive your first battle, you'll only keep fighting until you lose…then you get to enjoy the real torture haha. You're never going to leave! I'm going to break you, space marine!"

"Well thanks for the information, wych. So...are you someone important around here or just a messenger? Where's the other wych I was fighting before you all swarmed me?" Seiras asked in hopes of irritating her further.

His smartass comment seemed to get under her skin quite easily. She growled, "I'm no messenger! I'm a Syren of the Cult of Eternal Night. I'm a high-ranking wych, a celebrity, and a trueborn in Commoragh I'll have you know! I lead Hekatrix Bloodbrides for the Cult of Eternal Night and my cousin is the Archon! To even suggest I'm some lowly messenger…how dare you! Maybe it hasn't occurred to you yet, but I'M the one who took YOU down!"

"Was that you? It's difficult to tell when you all look the same," Seiras replied carelessly.

"I look nothing like the others! I-" the wych stopped mid-sentence when she realized that Seiras was purposely trying to annoy her. She stopped speaking and simply glared hatefully at him for a moment afterward.

He took the brief silence as a chance to continue, "I've never heard of the Cult of Eternal Night. I have heard of the Cult of Strife though. They're a much more successful wych cult I take it? Your cult must not be very relevant if I haven't heard of you."

His comment seemed to easily infuriate the wych. She pulled out some type of shock rod and jabbed him with it angrily. He was ready for the pain this time and managed to brace himself for it.

The wych hissed angrily at him after pulling it back, "You're really starting to infuriate me, human! We are just as capable as them! You're lucky I can't do any permanent damage to you yet! I've inflicted agony on countless others for saying something a fraction as offensive as that! You're only going to make your suffering more terrible!"

Seiras quickly recovered and looked at her seriously, "As if it matters. You've already promised me endless suffering. It's good to know that you can't control yourself though."

This comment seemed to ignite intense anger within her as she started to beat him repeatedly with the shock rod she was carrying. Seiras would be lying if he said it didn't hurt, but he endured it until she stopped.

Once she was finished with her tantrum, Seiras shook his head, "You're way too quick to anger. It's going to get you killed one day."

She seemed to calm down a moment later and stared at him for a brief moment of silence. Finally, she spoke again, "I've been told that before by a Harlequin. How interesting..."

"Why did you come here to talk to me then if it wasn't to deliver a message? Is this you trying to intimidate me? It's a rather pathetic effort if you must know. Dark Eldar are pathetic. All they know how to do is run and hide...and prey on the weak. You don't have any real warriors in your ranks," he followed up.

She seemed annoyed, but slightly invigorated by their conversation, "You're a cocky and witty one, aren't you? I'll see to it that you suffer the greatest indignities for this, Monkeigh. You're on my bad side...trust me when I say I intend on making your life a living hell."

"Nothing you do to me will ever top what Slaanesh will do to you when she gets your soul," Seiras countered causing the Eldar to get upset again.

She instantly punched him in the face as hard as she could and followed up by slashing him several times with her arm blade. Blood oozed slowly from the Space Marine's wounds as he maintained a strong glare towards her.

It only took her a moment to calm down as she met his gaze again for a long silent moment. Finally, she spoke again, "I'll tell you why I came here, Monkeigh. I just wanted to see you for myself. I've personally never captured a space marine before. Call me curious...some of the slaves claim that space marines are the greatest of humanity's warriors. Hahaha, what a joke. I took you down in seconds!"

"So, you mentioned something about an arena? You intend to battle me there in front of the city?" he asked.

She nodded, "Precisely...your fellow human slaves will weep in despair when they see one of their precious space marines defeated so easily. I can already imagine their suffering, anguished faces. I can't wait to see them. It's even better watching than watching children cry."

"You would fight me alone in front of your kin?" the man asked with a light laugh.

Her face lit up in anger upon seeing him laugh at her threat, "What's so funny?! You think I can't kill you in battle? You think I'm afraid of some overgrown monkeigh?! I'm the one who took you down in the first place! Have you already forgotten that you're going to be unarmed and unarmoured?!"

"I think you've been afraid all your life, wych...I can see the fear in your eyes right now. All this bravado of yours is as hollow as the void you call a soul. I've personally slain thousands of your kind. What is some low-ranking wych like you going to do to me in an arena battle?" he replied with a calm stare.

Seiras felt a sickening chill run down his spine as the Eldar pulled out a syringe and injected him with something. Immediately, it caused him to start hallucinating as everything in the room became darker and more horrifying.

If it wasn't for his Astartes indoctrination, he would likely have been panicking in fear from the horrible images he was now seeing. It almost rivaled some of the weird sights he saw in the warp itself.

"That's called a Psychedelic Enhancer Stimulant. It'll keep you awake and entertained for a few days. It should wear off by the time we reach Commorragh…enjoy the ride, Monkeigh," the wych laughed at him before leaving.

Seiras was suffering the worst psychosis he had ever experienced before. His senses were all overloading on the wildly strange hallucinations he was seeing and hearing. Things almost appeared to go in slow motion too much to his confusion.

This drug was likely some type of torture stimulant as it prolonged psychosis in its victims. The Eldar wych must have given him a ridiculously large dosage because he was beginning to experience some type of seizure from it in slow motion.

Luckily his extra Astartes organs were able to negate any fatal or damaging effects, but unfortunately, he still suffered a long hallucinogenic trip on this drug.

Days Later

Seiras had no idea how much time had passed since being injected with the drug from the wych, but his body had finally managed to detoxify enough to allow him some semblance of clarity. The past few days felt like weeks to him, and if it wasn't for his mental willpower, he would have easily gone insane from the experience.

He now found himself shackled with multiple chains and restraints with no armour on. In fact, all he was wearing were simply loincloth shorts, his collar, and his chains by the looks of things. With his clarity mostly returned, he looked around confused.

He was currently strapped down to a strange floating device with multiple Dark Eldar kabalites escorting him. His awareness was quick to pick up on the fact that he was being hauled into some type of special prison. The entire horizon was covered in towering buildings and bizarre alien architecture. The twisted black shapes and false light in Commorragh seemed especially unsettling to him.

Eventually the Dark Eldar forced him off of the floating device and prodded him countless times with their unusual looking shock rods. As he got to his feet and endured the shocks, Seiras saw that both of his legs were chained together and that his arms were chained to his waist.

The large escort of the Kabalites brought him through a large series of doors and eventually up to several prominent looking Dark Eldar.

Seiras immediately recognized the Archon by his voice. The Kabal leader was now without his helmet, but Seiras quickly confirmed it was him.

"So, our captive Space Marine made it here alive. Good…Very good," the archon said with a wide grin.

"Why does he have a limiter collar?" a wych next to him asked as she examined Seiras closely by walking around him.

"Well Renfaeda, not only did we bring your wych cult a Space Marine, but this one is apparently a librarian as well. He's a psyker," the archon explained.

"A psyker?! You brought one into Commorragh?!" the wych asked seriously.

"Relax…he's only a human psyker. Besides, that limiter collar will ensure he can't use any of those powers here. It serves to nullify warlocks, so I highly doubt a human would overpower it," the archon explained.

"Fair point, brother. I've never seen a space marine psyker before…how interesting. You know I love new things," the wych said having immediately gotten over her concern about the situation.

"He's yours to do with as you please, Renfaeda…consider it a gift for your continued efforts, dear sister. Your bloodbrides performed well in capturing him," the archon said to the wych.

Having eavesdropped on their entire conversation, Seiras was now aware of something. The archon was the brother to the wych standing next to him. Judging by her appearance, Seiras couldn't help but wonder if she was a high ranking one. He could see the resemblance between them as they both had dark blue hair fashioned in similar high tails with sweeping bangs. Surprisingly, the Archon had longer hair than the wych, and that was saying something.

Seiras briefly recalled learning from Nemias about the rank structures of Dark Eldar before, but all he really learned about it were the basics that the Deathwatch knew. Archons were supreme leaders of a warband called a Kabal that typically had a second in command called a Hierarch. Below them were Dracons which were like captains. Below them were Sybarites which were like sergeants. Trueborn were typically always higher ranking than Sybarites, but the rest of the command structure was a mystery to him. Seiras didn't fully understand how Wych Cults were structured, but he did know that they were led by Succubi, and that bloodbrides were typically a Succubi's personal entourage. The wych that captured him mentioned leading bloodbrides, so he quickly figured that a Syren was some type of second in command to a succubus.

There was no doubt in his mind that the Archon's sister was a Succubus. He made sure to keep his gaze down and his expression blank in order to conceal his reaction to their conversation. The Dark Eldar had no idea he could understand their language. Unlike with the Craftworlders from before, he could play dumb with these Drukhari and learn valuable information.

Next to the Archon was also another Dark Eldar female. She didn't appear to be a wych or a kabalite warrior and was wearing a dress by the looks of it. Her hair was in some strange elaborate style with a hightail on top and twin braids wrapped in drill like coils down each side of her head. It was mostly green with a bit of black. She also had an abundance of makeup and jewelry as well.

'Is that some kind of noble or something?' Seiras wondered as he tried to figure out what the Dark Eldar in the dress could possibly be.

"I would like to go on the next raid if you'd take me, Faelan. I wasn't aware you were hunting for space marines. That must have been so exhilarating ," the green haired alien spoke up.

Her voice was incredibly sultry, and it carried a bit of weight behind it. Seiras found it strange that she would casually address the archon in such a way.

"It was quite a surprise when we found them. We were making a usual run on some monkeigh hive world and a group of them were there. You were likely better off here, Maeralya. I can't risk my favorite Lhamaean now can I?" the archon replied.

"Really? Was it dangerous, Faelan?" she said doubtfully.

The archon nodded, "Considering I lost a third of my raiding force, I would say so."

"I'm surprised you're not furious. You never have that many casualties," the Lhmaean said with concern.

"I was annoyed at first, but it turned out to be interesting. Daeyal conveniently died with the vanguard, and the Kabal got firsthand experience against space marines. We also got a very large haul of slaves. Overall, it was successful." he replied.

"A shame you didn't invite me then…I can handle myself quite well as you know," she replied in an overtly seductive way.

"Lhamaeans are only useful in the bedroom and not the battlefield," Renfaeda interrupted with a disapproving attitude.

'What in the warp is a Lhamaean? Is she his mate or something?' Seiras thought confused.

"Is that what you think?" Maeralya half-demanded to the succubus.

Renfaeda looked over at her and spoke bluntly, "Maybe Faelan just enjoys having time away from you since you never leave him alone. He needs his space."

The green haired drukhari frowned before speaking in a dramatic moan, "Maybe I am a bit attached, but you know I hate being parted from you, Faelan. It saddens my heart to see you having so much fun without me. Perhaps I haven't yet proven how satisfying and thrilling my company can truly be…"

"Can you save your foreplay for later, Maeralya? It's making me sick, and we're all standing right here," Renfaeda said distastefully.

"Oh of course, dear Faeda…I forgot you get jealous," the Lhamaean said with a haughty smirk.

Renfaeda looked at her unamused, "It's Renfaeda to you! Only my family gets to call me Faeda, so spare me the familiarity, you courtesan bitch. My brother likes you…that's the only reason I haven't turned your skin into my bathrobe yet."

"You're as pleasant as always my lady…though I had hoped that we could one day join our families. I actually consider you as a sister already," Maeralya said with a venomous smile.

Renfaeda ignored her as she turned her gaze to her brother, "Faelan, what's with this space marine by the way? Why is he so submissive already? The last Space Marine we captured was far livelier. Did someone take away my chance to break him?"

"Nelfaera and your Hekatrix Bloodbrides were the ones that actually captured him. She was very excited about capturing her first space marine...though she was unhappy when I told her that the human wasn't to be touched until you made a decision on what to do with him. I'm not sure why he's in that passive state. He put up a surprisingly good fight before getting overwhelmed," Faelan, the archon remarked.

"Well Nelfaera's already spoiled my fun with whatever she's done to him! I'll have a word with her! I thought I made it clear that we don't alter captured Space Marines until after they get defeated in the arenas!" Renfaeda growled.

"Try not to kill her, Renfaeda. Nelfaera is our cousin...and we try to respect blood in this family," Faelan responded seriously.

'Nelfaera...so that what that cursed xenos bitch is called.' Seiras made a mental note.

Lady Renfaeda...I believe the Syren Hekatarii injected the prisoner with a cocktail of a psychedelic drugs. He's been flailing in madness for the past few cycles," one of the escorting Dark Eldar kabalites explained.

The wych looked at him dangerously, "Is that right?! None of you thought to stop her?! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't mount your head on a wall, Sybarite!"

"My apologies...we couldn't exactly stop her without using force. Plus, she is a trueborn, a wych...and your cousin. I didn't have the authority to stop her..." he trailed off skittishly.

"Could you not have said anything to Archon Faelan?" she said with a disgusted sneer.

"I did not want to disturb him with something trivial..." the sybarite said fearfully.

Renfaeda looked at her brother and rose a brow. She didn't say a word as her brother simply shrugged carelessly.

"Forgive my ignorance," the sybarite apologized skittishly.

"No matter...I will see to it that Nelfaera stays in line. She is always testing my patience! She forgets that I rule the Wych Cult!" Renfaeda hissed furiously.

'I should be wary of her. Those two are undoubtedly the rulers of this place,' Seiras thought as he briefly looked at the Archon and his Succubus sister. He didn't look at them long though as he gazed back at the ground.

"Thank you, Lady Renfaeda! Your mercy will not go to waste," the fearful sybarite replied with a relieved voice.

Right after he finished his statement, Renfaeda drew a blade and swung towards the sybarite's neck. Her blade stopped right as it reached his throat. The movement was so fast that even Seiras barely caught the blur of it. Her precise control in stopping it was even more impressive than the speed in Seiras' opinion. Had she done it to him, Seiras doubted he would have been able to avoid it.

"Mercy? You think I'm being merciful? Don't go around saying stupid things like that or I'll mount your head on my brother's throne! The only reason you're allowed to live for this failure is because you are not allowed to kill Nelfaera. Don't ever mistake my decisions for weakness or sympathy...your life means nothing to me!" Renfaeda ranted dangerously.

"I understand Lady Renfaeda," the sybarite replied as calmly as he could.

The whole exchange caused a great deal of concern for the various kabalites as they all bowed respectfully or stood still in silent fear.

The archon simply chuckled as he glanced at his sister, "Truly you have a way with words, Faeda."

"See to it that you take advantage of this opportunity to earn my forgiveness. It's the only one you're ever going to get," Renfaeda said sinisterly as she retracted her blade.

"Anything you wish. I am your humble servant." he bowed his head.

"Nobody touches the monkeigh again! He's for the arenas, not your amusement! If anyone disobeys that command, then put them to the blade! That includes my petulant cousin!" she threatened.

"What are we to do with him for the time being then?" the sybarite asked.

"Throw him in the nearest slave holding chamber with the other humans. I want to get their hopes up so that they can all despair after he dies. Apparently, their wretched kind venerates Space Marines in some pathetic religious way," she said with a sadistic grin.

"Your wicked mind is admirable, Renfaeda. I approve of that decision." a nearby voice spoke up.

It was a haemonculus from what Seiras could tell. He had only seen a few in his life, and found them to be repulsive, evil sadists. This one was female by the looks of it, and she put daemons to shame with the amount evil he saw in her eyes. Seiras felt an unusual and eerie sensation when he made eye contact with the haemonculus. Part of him wondered if he was feeling fear.

'I didn't realize there were females of those things,' Seiras thought horrified.

The haemonculus had four arms by the looks of it, and additional bodily extensions. The two center arms on each side were biological arms and looked mostly normal minus their talon-like nails. Two additional arms extended above the natural ones and looked bio-mechanical. One had weapons attached and another had surgical instruments. The second one bore resemblance to a techmarine servo arm. Strange bony spine-like extensions were sticking out of her back. There were three in total. One practically stretched into some type of tail, and the other two came up to her shoulders sticking outward. To Seiras' disgust, they were all able to move. The twisted alien stood taller than her kin and was close to his height if Seiras had to guess. She was robed in beautifully hideous blue and black alien garb. It looked somewhat like a dress, though Seiras didn't really think that was a good comparison as it had spiked armour on it as well adorned with human skin. Her feet were monstrous with long sharp nails just like her natural hands, and she was barefoot.

The xenos abomination also had hair much to his confusion. All of the previous haemonculi he had encountered were bald...although, they had all been male as well. The female haemonculus had long pitch-black hair reaching down her back. It went from straight to triple braided past her shoulders. It almost looked a bit elegant. Her irises were hideous neon green slits within pitch black scleras. They looked feline and almost daemonic. Oddly enough however, her face appeared somewhat aesthetic and not as horribly monstrous as the rest of her body. In fact, she had some likeness to a porcelain doll he had once seen on Meridian…only more disturbing and evil looking. That little detail digging in his memories made him even more uncomfortable by the Eldar's appearance.

The Haemonculus eyed Seiras with gleeful eyes, "It has been quite some time since I last got to dissect a space marine. Make sure you send him my way whenever you're finished, my dear."

"Of course, Melisara, you'll get plenty of time to play with him too," Renfaeda remarked as her eyes lingered briefly on Seiras' submissive form.

For some reason, Seiras couldn't look away from the haemonculus now identified as Melisara. The evil creature tilted her head with amusement and spoke in gothic to him, "Is there a reason you're staring at me, space marine?"

Seiras did not respond as he looked away finally. This xenos was actually intimidating him unlike the wyches or the kabalites. He quickly regained his bearings as he returned to a stoic disposition. Much to his horror, the haemonculus levitated over towards him and grabbed him by the chin.

Nobody seemed to protest this despite Renfaeda's threat to kill anyone who touched Seiras. The succubus herself seemed curious at Melisara's actions as the haemonculus guided Seiras' head upward and took a closer look at him. Seiras remained calm as the alien turned his neck side to side examining the limiter collar. She then quickly plugged something into his collar. Seiras felt a burning sting as pain flooded his body. It was uncomfortable, but not unbearable.

The haemonculus frowned in disappointment a moment later, "Hmmm...the agony circuit on the collar is already set to maximum pain output. It doesn't appear to be affecting him as much as I'd expect. He has a remarkable resilience to the collar. That or he's numb to this pain. The last time I set one of these to max was on a warlock. She screamed nonstop for several cycles until her voice gave out."

"What are you saying exactly, Melisara?" Archon Faelan asked curiously.

"The maximum setting barely appears to be affecting him. Interesting...I should build a better collar for this space marine. He appears to have a very high pain threshold. I can't wait to test its limits," Melisara remarked with admiration as she let go of Seiras' chin and neck.

"Well I doubt we'll have him for long. Space marines are usually more willful than he is. Anyone this submissive can't be much of a challenge to us," Renfaeda remarked with disappointment.

Before any of them could say another word, a familiar figure approached the group. It was the same wych from before with the teal twin-tailed hair. Seiras quickly recognized her as Nelfaera.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Faeda...that one has a mouth on him," she interrupted.

"Nelfaera! I was just about to go find you. Explain what you did to the monkeigh! This worthless sybarite told me you gave him a cocktail of psychedelic enhancers...why?!" Faeda demanded.

"Forgive me, exalted cousin...he was very disrespectful and willful. He kept saying the name of She-who-thirsts and told me that he thought I was a joke. I just gave him a little something to punish his attitude. It didn't do any permanent damage," the twin-tailed Syren replied.

"You gave him psychosis enhancers? Did you happen to give the space marine anything to numb his sensations?" Melisara asked the Syren.

Nelfaera shook her head at the haemonculus, "No, I gave him a cocktail of my psychosis sensation enhancers mixed with the hallucinogenic time stoppers to prolong his high. If anything, it should have put him in more pain."

"That would explain his passive behavior quite well...he's likely recovering from it. Although it only makes it more impressive that he's endured so much pain. This is truly interesting," the haemonculus remarked with fascinated malevolence.

"You're lucky it didn't kill him you overzealous fool. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to capture space marines alive? If we weren't related, you'd be dead right now," Renfaeda hissed.

The syren looked over at the succubus with contempt, "It wasn't that hard for me, but I hear you, Faeda. I won't do anything else to alter him physically. You have my word beloved mistress..."

"Interesting choice of words, little cousin," Archon Faelan chuckled.

"I'll tell you one thing though, that monkeigh is not a weak one, Faeda. Even Faelan can attest to that," Nelfaera shook her head.

"Really? How so? I have yet to hear the details about how the raid went. All I heard was you and the rest of my bloodbrides captured him. You're telling me this space marine is strong?" Renfaeda scoffed.

"Nelfaera is correct, Faeda. He is a Deathwatch Space Marine. They're more skilled than their regular counterparts, and they excel at killing our kind. This one in fact slaughtered many of my warriors as well as all of Aelendriel's Bloodbrides. While it was mostly through the use of his psychic powers, he made quick work of Aelendriel in melee combat as well. She would have died had Nelfaera and your bloodbrides arrived any later. It's probably good that they did. My Incubi looked eager to fight him and would have murdered this space marine had the need arose," Faelan explained.

"Are you being serious?" Renfaeda perked up with excitement, "he actually bested Aelendriel…a succubus in melee combat?! He'll be an exciting contender then. I'll bet her ego is stinging from a loss to a monkeigh. Hahaha! No wonder she hasn't shown her face yet. She's usually the first one to come up and brag to me."

"Aelendriel is weak...I would have taken my time getting there had I known it would prevent me from saving her useless ass. She doesn't deserve to be a Succubus…especially after embarrassing herself on that raid," Nelfaera remarked with obvious jealousy and bitterness.

"You're just saying that because she's more graceful and well-liked than you. Though it is rather funny. I've never seen her mess up this badly," Renfaeda said with a smug grin.

"I see it all the time. She's overrated, cousin. I'm better at fighting and killing...I'm even faster and prettier than she is." Nelfaera countered.

"So, what? There's a lot more that goes into being a succubus than just that. One must be well-liked and adored. If being efficient at killing is all you're good at then you should have just joined an Incubi Coven and started worshipping Khaine like some religious lunatic. We're not just some mindless murder cult, we're celebrity athletes," Renfaeda replied.

The archon's flanking Incubi faced her direction. Seiras couldn't see their expressions, but he had a feeling they didn't approve of the comment.

'Khaine…wasn't that the Eldar God of War? Kalyra told me that all Aspect Warriors venerate Khaine, but I wasn't aware Dark Eldar worshipped him,' Seiras thought curiously.

"Being a Succubus is about being a graceful athlete and a celebrity as well as being a skilled fighter. I'll let you fight one of the others for a Succubus title whenever you're more popular Nelfaera...Assuming you don't go mouthing off to me with that temper of yours," Renfaeda followed up.

"Now now, Lady Renfaeda, I believe your cousin has every right to voice a concern here. She clearly succeeded where her superior failed. She's also more beautiful and skilled than Aelendriel in my opinion. Would that not warrant a chance for her to prove herself?" Maeralya interrupted.

"It certainly would," Nelfaera muttered under her breath.

The blue haired succubus sent a death glare towards the courtesan, "I don't recall asking for your opinion in matters regarding MY WYCH CULT! The next time I want your advice, I'll ask for it you useless whore!"

"As you say, Renfaeda," the courtesan said haughtily as she clenched onto the archon. The nearby incubi visibly twitched closer upon seeing her do so.

'The politics here would put that hive world aristocracy to shame,' Seiras thought briefly as he carefully observed the aliens without drawing attention to himself.

"C'mon, Faeda…please let me fight the space marine. I captured him after all! That's just the kind of big event I need to branch out and gain a larger fanbase!" Nelfaera demanded.

"No...Aelendriel would never forgive me if I passed the match to you. If she lost to him before, then her reputation is at stake. Aelendriel will get a chance to regain her status in a rematch with the monkeigh," Renfaeda laughed.

Nelfaera sighed, "Why show her any sympathy and give her a second chance!? She's an embarrassment to our cult for letting a human beat her. It should be me fighting him…this isn't fair, Faeda!"

"Nothing in Commorragh is fair. I thought you'd have learned that by now. You should learn to have more respect for your superiors…maybe then you'll get somewhere. You're acting like a little brat," the blue haired succubus said with distaste in her voice.

"You…You're doing this to punish me aren't you?!" Nelfaera demanded bitterly.

"Would I do that to my beloved little cousin? You know how much I spoil you, Nelfaera…perhaps you shouldn't bite the hand that feeds you," Renfaeda said darkly.

The Syren's face was one of bitter disgust. She begrudgingly nodded, "I suppose so, cousin."

A moment later Renfaeda glanced over towards the retinue around Seiras, "Sybarite, what are you still doing here?! Take the monkeigh to the slave holding chamber nearest to the arena. We'll be by later to pick him up."

"At once," he replied as he and his kabalites began to guide Seiras away from the Archon's little family group.

'Too bad I didn't learn anything useful about these xenos other than their names and ranks. It seems like Nelfaera has a strained relationship with her family. Whatever...it's not like that information is going to help me. Hopefully, I can pick up something relevant to help me escape here. If I can get one of their ships, I can pilot it out of here. They'd never expect that. Though I have no idea how to get out of this place even if I get that far,' Seiras thought to himself.

He continued on his escorted path towards a large looking building in the distance. Even from the outside, Seiras could smell a multitude of troubling scents. As the kabalites guided Seiras into a massive chamber, he quickly realized it was some type of slave pen. He briefly looked down from the bridge he was being escorted across into the large open area which looked worse than any hive slum he had ever seen. It was mostly full of miserable, malnourished looking humans, though Seiras did catch sight of a few abhumans and xenos. Many of them were unknown to him, but he did spot a few Tau and Kroot slaves much to his curiosity.

After crossing the bridge, he came around to some type of lift which took them all down into the slave pens below. Upon reaching the entrance, the Sybarite and his Kabalite escorts stopped.

The Kabalites looked like they didn't want to go too far into the chamber lest they risk being attacked by the mob of slaves. The Sybarite looked over at the Space Marine and spoke in Gothic, "Don't try to escape, Monkeigh...even if you can break out of this chamber, you have no way of leaving Commoragh."

Seiras didn't say anything to the sybarite as his nearby warriors all pointed splinter weapons at him forcing Seiras to enter the area.

"Don't get too comfortable here. The Hekatarii will come for you later," the sybarite said as he and his warriors began to walk away.

Seiras wasn't surprised that they left him chained up, but it wasn't much of a problem as he already thought of a way to break out of them. Once the warriors were out of sight, Seiras found a nearby wall for cover, and began to gather up acid in his Betcher's glands.

Leaning over, he began to chew on the chains holding his wrists together. Although the metal was very tough, he eventually managed to weaken it enough to break the chain apart. He was careful not to get any acid on his skin as he did the same for the rest of the restraints. In a few short minutes, he was fully free of the restraints.

He carefully hid the chains in the hopes that the Dark Eldar wouldn't figure out how he broke them. It might have been a folly endeavor but considering how much of a disgusting mess this massive slave chamber was, they likely wouldn't find them anytime soon.

After concealing the shackles, Seiras decided to explore for a bit and wandered around a few tight corners before reaching an open looking plaza area. A prison yard might have been a better description in all honesty. The various slaves in the chamber all kept their distance as the unarmoured space marine walked into its main plaza like area. The majority of the people there looked like they had been brutally tortured and mutilated to some degree or another. Grisly corpses and trophies decorated the walls and ceiling as well. This chamber would have been utterly horrifying to a normal person...but he had seen worse as an Astartes, and he was desensitized to gore and horror.

After another short minute, various slaves began to gather around at a distance and stare at him. Seiras glanced over at some of the closest slaves and walked past them. The towering Astartes greatly intimidated the slaves as they all looked up at him with disbelieving eyes.

The men he approached immediately began to back away hastily as they got a good look at him. With his enhanced senses, the librarian could overhear countless slaves gossiping in guttural forms of low gothic.

One nearby conversation caught his attention when he heard a woman call him a space marine.

"T-that's a space marine!" she announced to some of the nearby slaves.

This revelation spread throughout the mob like wildfire as countless others repeated the words, "Space marine."

Before Seiras knew it, a huge crowd was now gathering around him to watch him from a safe distance. They were all mostly human, but he did notice a few Tau and Kroot mingling amongst them for some reason. Most of the people in range of him looked either terrified or awestruck. Some showed a combination of both as they shrunk under his gaze.

Finally, an older looking man walked up to him. If Seiras had to guess, this man was likely a spokesperson or some kind of unofficial leader for this particular slave chamber. He was covered in scars and looked ragged and beaten. The man was old, but still looked somewhat healthy and strong compared to the others.

He addressed Seiras as he approached, "I can't believe my eyes...an Adeptus Astartes?!"

"Who are you?" Seiras asked bluntly.

"Forgive me, my lord...I'm one of the spokesmen around here. I try to help the newcomers when I can. My name is Bren Morrius. I used to be a part of the Ultramar Auxilia PDF force. I'm one of the few soldiers left in this place, so the others kind of look up to me," he replied.

"That would explain why you speak gothic properly," Seiras noted somewhat rudely.

The man nodded his head, "Yes of course my lord. I had experience with Ultramarines before, so I know a bit more than the average man...especially around here."

"You've actually met Ultramarines?" Seiras asked for confirmation.

The man nodded, "Yes, my lord."

"I see..." Seiras said emotionlessly. He saw no point in trying to inspire or learn from these people as they were simply uneducated, pitiful slaves with no hope of ever escaping.

'That wych put me in here so I could give them hope...only for her to take it away. That's evil,' Seiras thought as he took in the various expressions and curious gazes of the nearby crowd.

"What chapter do you hail from, my lord?" Morrius asked.

"It doesn't matter...I won't be around long enough to get acquainted with any of you," Seiras remarked carelessly.

Seiras could almost feel the sadness at his blatant rejection of the other slaves. Much to their dismay, the space marine simply began to walk away without remorse as many cleared a path for him to pass.

"That's one of the Emperor's angels? He...he doesn't even care about what's happening here. Aren't space marines supposed to save people? We're nothing to him...we must be nothing to the Emperor as well," Seiras overheard a sad, despairing slave tell his friend.

In truth, he did feel remorse that he had to be distant from these unfortunate people, but it was for the best. His chances of survival were low, but theirs was almost non-existent. He had no intentions of giving people false hope or trying to be some hero. There was truly nothing he could do for them unless he could somehow kill thousands of Kabalites, steal a ship, and fly them all out of the webway. As terrible a thought as it was, he knew his life was far more valuable than all of theirs combined. His survival was his only priority here now.

"Angel!" Seiras heard someone cry out.

To his astonishment, it was a girl. She looked like a teenager, but Seiras couldn't quite guess what her age was. She was clearly past puberty, but definitely wasn't mature enough to be considered a woman. The girl ran in front of him and spoke her mind, "You're one of the Emperor's angels, right?"

Seiras said nothing as he stared at the adolescent. Surprisingly, she kept her resolve despite the towering superhuman staring her down.

"There are bad people in here who help the masters hurt us...hive gangsters. I pray to the Emperor every day for someone to save us...Can you do something...anything?" she asked in a pitifully sad way. There were tears in her eyes.

She looked like she had been beaten recently, and Seiras couldn't help but notice her clothes were torn in peculiar ways. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened to her. He found it somewhat remarkable that she had the courage to speak to him though. This girl was desperate for help.

Part of him was curious about what she was talking about, but Seiras didn't want to give her false hope by asking about her problems. If it wasn't for his collar, he would have tried to read her mind. 'I can't help anyone here...it's only going to make them targets for the Dark Eldar.' Seiras thought as the girl stared at him with despairing and pleading eyes.

"No," Seiras said coldly, "I can't help you."

"Why not?! Aren't space marines the greatest warriors in the galaxy?! Aren't they supposed to protect humanity? That's what all the stories say...are they not true?" she asked.

The young woman was very well-spoken much to his curiosity. She must have been a noble's daughter or some high-society person once. Her Gothic was high, proper, and well enunciated.

As he stared at her for a moment, Seiras had a flash of Daniella's childhood appearance enter his thoughts.

The woman's words echoed in his mind. Seiras shook his head, 'I saved Daniella...and all it did was drive her into a life of misery and heresy that ended with me killing her. It's not merciful or charitable to help people like this...they're already doomed.'

"Well?!" she demanded after a long moment of silence.

"What do you expect me to do? Kill every xenos and evil person here by myself? I don't even have my power armour anymore. I'm in no position to do that. Even if I could, that doesn't help your situation. There are bad people everywhere that prey on the weak. If I could kill them all, the galaxy would be empty," Seiras replied.

She frowned, "But...I...what are we supposed to do then? Just give up? Just suffer?"

"I can't answer that question for you. It's something each man and woman must figure out for themselves. I'm not a hero, I'm not an angel, and I'm not someone you should be placing false hope in. Only you can help yourself," Seiras said almost cruelly to her.

Many people overheard his words, which were likely to spread across the entire chamber within the hour.

The teenager couldn't find the words to continue speaking as she looked down with a depressed face. She immediately ran away with shameful tear-filled eyes. Seiras simply kept walking afterwards.

'These people look at me like I'm some type of salvation. That's what the wych wants...she wants to get their hopes up so that they can suffer when or if I die. At least this'll spare them some heartache in the long run,' Seiras mentally justified his actions.

He continued walking for a few minutes until he reached the very edge of the massive chamber. He placed his back against two walls and sat a moment later. A couple of other slaves were attempting to spy on him, but he easily detected their presences.

Seiras sighed to himself as he felt the collar around his neck. The spikes were lodged deeply into his skin and caused a constant slow-burning pain. To a regular human or even an Eldar it likely would have been unbearably agonizing. Thankfully, he was highly resistant to pain for some reason...but even still he could recognize the constant burn it brought. The haemonculus was more than a little surprised by his tolerance to the collar. He had no idea if it was his own will as a librarian or another reason entirely that the collar wasn't as effective on him. He pushed those thoughts aside as he felt around the device for some type of lock.

'I wonder if I can take this collar off with my Betcher's glands? It would be risky, and I would definitely burn myself, but I could potentially remove it. Although it might have some type of failsafe I'm not aware of. I should probably try to figure out how it works before I make any rash decisions. I'll only have one chance to break out, so it's probably best I lull them into a false sense of security before doing so. Not to mention, I need to plan an escape route and figure out all the variables first. If I can stay alive for a while, I can pull this off,' Seiras contemplated as he sat in silence.

He spent nearly an hour in solitude, or what he assumed was an hour before a group of people showed up. They were all holding makeshift blunt "weapons" if one could call them that. They looked like hive gangsters judging by the large amount of tattoos and ridiculous outfits they each possessed.

Seiras watched them approach with disbelief, 'This better not be what I think it is...'

"So...this is the big bad space marine huh? Everyone's been talking about you. Gotta be honest, I didn't think they actually existed," one of the men said condescendingly. He was quite large and burly and looked like he was easily more than a match for any of the people in the slave chamber.

He looked larger and better fed than the others which led Seiras to immediately assume that he and his fellow gang members were taking things from everyone else. 'This slave pen reminds me of a lawless prison colony...I wonder why the Dark Eldar just let people fester in here? They're like livestock waiting to be harvested,' Seiras thought briefly as the gang members gathered around him.

There was roughly twenty or so of them. Most of them were male, but about a third were actually female much to his astonishment. Many had strange coloured hair and thuggish appearances. The entire gang looked as rugged, mean, and tough as one could expect hive thugs to be. To an Astartes, they were a complete joke however. Especially considering that Seiras had killed them by the thousands not too long ago.

"What do you want?" Seiras asked callously as he stood up. He had a hate-filled glare in his eyes as he looked over the thugs. He had a strong hatred for people like them. He dwarfed the mortal humans and was much larger than they were expecting. Several looked a bit hesitant as Seiras took a step forward.

"Well ya see...the masters and I have a deal here. We're what's called overseers. We help keep the slaves in line, and they don't torture us...as badly. We also get free reign to take anything we want and rape all the slave girls here. The masters actually like it when we breed. More slaves and all," their leader boasted with a sickening laugh. Several of the others joined in with him.

Seiras' eyes radiated malice as he took another step closer towards their leader, "Is that right? So, what did you hope to accomplish by coming over here?"

"Me and the gang here just came by to give you a little friendly warning to stay out of our affairs. We make sure to express our authority over all the new people that come in to this place. We do a little work for the masters and we get our perks. You understand? I don't need some supposed Space Marine like you thinkin he's going to come in here and ruin my setup. You get me?! So, here's a little friendly warning to mind your own business. It'd be a shame if we had to break your legs. I don't care how big you are, because I know you ain't no space marine!" he threatened.

"You're clearly the least intelligent man I've ever met. You seriously want to pick a fight with an Astartes while wielding pipes and clubs?" Seiras said as he cracked a fist.

Another one of the gangsters laughed at him, "Whatcha gonna do big guy? There's 22 of us and one of you. You don't even have any weapons. I doubt you're even a Space Marine either. They're just imperial propaganda anyway. We ought to beat your ass just for saying some stupid shit like that!"

Before the man could even figure out what had happened, Seiras charged him. He punched the cocky man as hard as he could in the face causing his entire skull to cave in and his body to go flying away. This undoubtedly killed the man immediately as skull fragments imploded into his brain.

The others all took their cue to attack but were helplessly weak and slow against the superhuman Astartes as he easily dodged, blocked, and murdered most them with simple blunt trauma. Full force punches from the librarian were literally sending some of them flying as Seiras charged through the crowd of attackers. He didn't hesitate to hold back any of his strength or rage as he literally ripped these mortal humans apart limb by limb or beat them into a shattered pulp of flesh. All of his anger over the recent events was fully unleashed on these unsuspecting people. When it became apparent that Seiras was way too strong for them, several tried to flee. Each one that tried to escape was swiftly knocked to the ground. Seiras wasted no time crippling the downed gangsters by stomping on their limbs. Once all of the fleeing thugs were immobilized, he proceeded to swiftly stomp on each downed person's head. Their crushed heads exploded like melons causing brains and skull fragments to splatter everywhere. Blood, guts, limbs, and gore soon decorated the entire area as the agonizing screams of Seiras' victims filled the slave chamber.

Seiras' speed despite his large size was horrifying to these gangsters as they could do nothing to fight him or even flee. One of the remaining female gangsters attempted to stab him with some type of long makeshift shiv, but the blade did almost no damage as it lightly punctured his skin and stopped at his Black Carapace. Although it drew blood, the wound immediately began to coagulate. The woman looked horrified as Seiras grabbed her by her arm and ripped it off a moment later. With furious hatred, the Astartes began to bludgeon her repeatedly with it causing the limb to snap in half from the sheer force of his swings. The horrific trauma behind these hits had turned her body into a mangled and twisted heap of flesh and bone. Seiras only stopped, when he noticed the gang leader attempting to run away. He was the only survivor left. During the entire brawl, the burly man had been hiding in the back behind his cohorts. He was now running as fast as he could to escape the scene of the massacre.

That made Seiras want to kill him even more now as he detested cowards. The man had a considerable head start, but there was no hope of escape as Seiras charged after him at full speed. The librarian quickly caught the man and grabbed the back of his head. The man was powerless as Seiras pushed him as hard as he could the other direction. This forced the man to go flying into the nearby wall and collapsing onto the ground a moment later.

By this time most of the slave chamber was aware of what was happening and were trying to watch from a safe distance. Ignoring them, Seiras kicked the man's bleeding body over.

The gang leader looked up at him with pleading eyes, "Please don't kill me! I'm sorry my lord! I was wrong...yeah, you're a space marine! I never doubted! You can have anything you want! Just please don't' kill me!"

"You're a pathetic coward...die with some dignity you hive sewer rat!" Seiras growled.

"P-p-please! I'm sorry! I didn't have a choice! The masters made me!" he repeated.

Seiras found his begging disgusting and immediately proceeded to stomp on the man's leg. The force behind it easily snapped the man's tibia and fibula bones into pieces. He screamed in torment as the Astartes put his full weight on the broken limb.

"Sorry? You were boasting about raping people in here and had the audacity to pick a fight with an Astartes! Filth like you deserves to be tortured in a xenos hellhole like this," Seiras said darkly as he stomped on the man's ankle now causing another sickening snap. A blood curdling howl filled the chamber as Seiras pressed his foot harder.

"No! Stop! PLEASE! Emperor protect me!" the man pleaded helplessly.

"You have done nothing to earn his protection...you're a weak coward and a parasite to humanity! You don't deserve to call yourself human! The Emperor shows no mercy or favor to worthless, weak excuses of human life such as you!" Seiras shouted heartlessly as he stomped on his other leg's knee.

"ARRGHHHH!" the man cried in horrible pain as he began to weep pathetically.

The scene was utterly horrifying to the slaves that were now gathering around to watch. Seiras walked around and then stomped on the man's arm breaking it in a similar fashion.

By this point the man was in shock and was twitching around wailing in agony. He mumbled incoherent pleas for mercy, but they were completely ignored as Seiras picked him up by the throat and tossed him into a nearby pillar. The fresh impact against his broken limbs brought the man pain that few could understand.

Seiras then pulled the shiv out of his side as he walked over to the mangled body of the gang leader.

The man was crying and convulsing as he began to cough up blood. No doubt the blunt trauma from the throw impact had caused heavy internal bleeding. Seiras knelt down and cut the man's shirt off with the shiv a moment later. Afterwards, he lifted him up and shallowly jabbed the shiv into the back of the man's neck.

"You brought this on yourself..." Seiras said darkly as he began to flay the blade.

The gang leader made an indistinguishable shriek that echoed throughout the slave pens again as Seiras began to carve his skin off. To the slaves it was one of the most horrifying things they had ever seen...which was saying something considering they were in Commorragh. Nobody dared to make a sound or move as they watched the Astartes literally flay the man alive.

This continued until the man eventually died from blood loss. His entire body looked like a human dissection by the time he was dead. After the man died, Seiras simply impaled his corpse against the pillar and took the flayed skin as he walked away. He moved over towards a wall corner with some heavy concealment behind several pillars. He only stopped when he knew the slaves couldn't see him.

Once he was out of their line of sight and in a dark corner, he began to eat the flesh of the man he had just flayed. He didn't do it for any barbaric reason, but Astartes were able to gain the genetic memories of the dead if they ate their flesh. This was due to their Omophagea organ.

Seiras didn't do this very often as it was considered horrific to many, but it was very useful in learning information. His grotesque murdering and torture of the gangsters in sight of the slaves would also serve to send a message to the Dark Eldar when they found out. It would make them think that he did not care about these slaves and spare them in the long run. While it was certainly cruel and horrifying, Seiras knew that his actions were necessary. He also felt little remorse for slaughtering the gangsters as they were likely the 'bad men' that the teenager had referred to earlier.

As he ate the man's skin, Seiras began to focus and see flashes of the human's past through genetic memory. The gang leader had apparently been in Commorragh for over a decade and suffered greatly at the hands of the Dark Eldar. What was good though, was Seiras got a larger understanding of the layout of the Kabal spire and the various slave chambers. The one he was in was only one of a dozen, and slaves almost never transferred to a new one unless the Dark Eldar were trying to subject them to something like rape or isolation.

As he finished his "meal" Seiras leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He vividly mapped out the locations in his mind of areas he would and could go and made notes of where the worst places were. The overseer had apparently seen a foundry once, which was filled with vehicles and ships. Unfortunately, it was heavily guarded by scourges...winged dark eldar kabalites. Seiras also learned that this particular slave chamber was one of the bordering slave chambers to the Wych Cult's chamber and their arena.

This in-depth learning process went on for hours presumably as Seiras began to sleep in his usual half-awake state. Another interesting thing he learned during this time was just how horrific Melisara the haemonculus was. The overseer gang leader had apparently seen her turn a human inside out and kept them alive in that state before.

'I cannot let that thing near me...she's the biggest threat to my escape,' Seiras noted as he thought about the haemonculus.

His rest was eventually disturbed by the sound of people screaming. Though it was not in immediate range, he quickly peered from his dark corner and spotted a host of Dark Eldar walking through the chamber. He remained in his location, and quietly observed them. To his utter horror, the haemonculus was there as well as an escort of wracks and several grotesques. They came in to drag away a number of unfortunate people. Seiras watched with disgust as the horrendous beings randomly selected slaves without prejudice.

The Haemonculus Melisara was levitating around the chamber with gleeful malevolence as the people begged not to be taken away. Her dark and evil eyes lit up with a joyous expression when she came upon the scene of Seiras' massacre.

"What have we here?!" Melisara said eagerly in Gothic as she floated over towards the impaled and skinned corpse of the former overseer.

"All of the overseers appear to be dead, Melisara," one of the wracks commented as he approached to her flank.

"Yes, I just found them all right here. What do you make of this?" she asked the nearby wrack.

His face was covered in some type of horrendous mask, but he tilted his head as an approving response followed, "Whoever killed these slaves wanted them to suffer first."

"Quite a beautiful sight. Internal organs, bone fragments, blood, and severed limbs paint a wonderful picture here. Judging by the blood splatters and the overall blunt trauma and force inflicted to their wounds, I have no doubts that this was caused by that space marine we captured," Melisara followed up with a wicked laugh.

"This slave's skin appears to be missing. Half of his flesh was flayed, and I don't see it anywhere in this area," the wrack noted.

Melisara placed one of her hands to her chin, "Hmm…that's interesting. Let me turn on his tracker and find him."

A moment later, Seiras felt a vibration around his neck as his collar began to broadcast some type of signal. His eyes widened seriously, 'This thing doubles as a tracker? Damn…'

It didn't take long for the haemonculus and a few of her escorts to reach Seiras' somewhat hidden location. As she came into his view, he mustered a stoic and calm demeanor.

"Ah, there you are, space marine!" Melisara announced almost happily.

Seiras passively glared at the creature as she stopped levitating and landed on her feet next to him. The haemonculus quietly observed his appearance for a brief moment before chuckling, "Very nice work on the slaves. While it is a bit novice, I have to say that I admired it nonetheless."

"Are you here to torture me?" Seiras asked as he ignored her comment.

The haemonculus shook her head, "Of course not. You're technically property of the Cult of Eternal Night. I just wanted to come by and show my appreciation for a fellow artist."

"Fellow artist?" Seiras said uncertainly.

"Oh, but of course! I really admire the way you tortured the overseers. Their leader had 27 fractures in his body across both legs, an arm, and even his sternum. Multiple ribs were shattered into his body, and judging by the bloodstains, he was hemorrhaging both internally and out as you flayed him alive. Beautiful…simply beautiful. Sadly, your blunt trauma and knifework were a bit sloppy. He died far sooner than he could have. Nevertheless, I approve of your novice work. I didn't expect to encounter a monkeigh that shared my appreciation for inflicting pain," Melisara rambled in approval.

'What?! She's admiring that gore I created?' Seiras thought disbelievingly.

"What is to become of me?" Seiras decided to press his luck and ask.

Melisara looked at him with a bit of amusement, "You're owned by the Hekatarii in the Cult of Eternal Night. A high value slave like you will undoubtedly be subjected to the arenas."

"When will that happen?" he followed.

The haemonculus shrugged, "Soon, I'd imagine. They have to make a huge event out of it for everyone to come see. Probably one or two of your Terran days."

Seiras said nothing in response as he quietly stared at the haemonculus with great discomfort.

"What chapter are you from, Monkeigh?" Melisara asked him with curious amusement.

The librarian found very strange for a Dark Eldar to be asking him this type of question…especially a haemonculus.

"Does it really matter?" he countered.

"Well, the former space marines we captured and got to dissect were all Imperial Fists. I was curious to know so that I can better catalogue you in my collection later," Melisara replied as she levitated around him like a shark.

'If she's dissected Astartes, then she knows about how our organs probably work…but if it was only Imperial Fists then I am fortunate. They don't have Betcher's Glands…so she won't be under the impression I do. I definitely need to save them for my escape. If they find out about it, they'll remove my Betcher's glands,' Seiras thought to himself.

"I'm waiting for your answer, human…what chapter are you from?" Melisara asked dangerously.

"The Blood Ravens," he decided to tell the truth. Part of him did this so that he could gauge how much this haemonculus knew about his chapter.

The black-haired alien tilted her head in fascination, "I'll have to do some research on them. I'm not too familiar with that one."

'At least she doesn't know anything about the Blood Ravens…for now,' Seiras thought relieved.

"How did you manage to capture Imperial Fists?" Seiras decided to test his luck and ask.

"Oh, this was thousands of years back. By your calendar it was M37.542 I believe. It was quite amazing really…though I wish I could have captured one of those Custodes," Melisara remarked with eager recollection.

Seiras' eyes widened in horror, "Capture a Custodes?! Where would you have seen an Adeptus Custodes?"

"Why on Holy Terra of course…where else? I'll relay the whole story to you later if you're still alive. Farewell, space marine. I'll be watching your battle in the arena. Oh and by the way...welcome to Commorragh," the haemonculus responded with a creepily upbeat tone.

She then departed with her host leaving Seiras alone in his corner. He reflected in silence on the implications of what she just said, 'That haemonculus has been to Terra?! That's impossible…a Dark Eldar raiding party would stand no chance against the fortifications of Terra. How in the warp could she have possibly been there?! Maybe she's lying…she has to be!'