The brother and sister had been living in the middle hive's undercity for three weeks now. Each week they moved to a different abandoned hab unit to hide in - this time in a filthy, cramped room with a rusty bunk bed and no plumbing.

Raiding the food stores was easy - they just picked the locks and took as much meat as they could carry. And so once again Ezok and Eleanor cautiously made their way through the narrow alleys of the mid-hive slums. Each carried two bulging bags full of supplies from their latest "shopping trip." They had grown used to pilfering stockpiles of provisions - Eleanor's hypnosis skills and Ezok's biomancy allowed them to sneak in anywhere undetected.

This time Ezok had gotten careless and only brought along an autopistol, planning to find a new cart before heading back. They'd left their old cart with Marr, and there was no way to lug all the goods in just the bags.

The sector was eerily quiet and deserted. Dim light from flickering lamps illuminated the grimy walls covered in mold and filth. There were almost no hab units here, only storage facilities and abandoned workshops - the perfect place to disappear from prying eyes.

LASSHOT

SCREAMS

LASSHOTS

Ezok halted abruptly, drawing his pistol. He and Eleanor exchanged worried glances. Who else could have wandered into the depths of the underhive? Rival gangs dividing turf? Moving cautiously, trying not to make any noise, they crept closer.

Around the corner they discovered two children - a boy and girl no more than ten - desperately trying to rouse their parents. A group of six soldiers in carapace armor stood guard over two nobles.

The aristocrats were resplendent in lavish finery. The man wore a voluminous purple velvet robe embroidered with gold and glittering gems, an immense chain with the Imperial aquila resting on his shoulders. The woman had on an exquisite ivory gown with lace collar and long train, hands dripping with diamond and emerald rings, hair neatly coiffed and crowned by a pearl diadem.

Their escort consisted of six seasoned troops in gleaming blue armor etched with the symbol of the Imperial Guard - a mark of the Imperium's might. Each carried a lasgun at the ready, prepared to defend their masters at a moment's notice.

"Bow faster, you wretch! Does stupidity run in your dirty blood?" one of the soldiers barked at the children. "How dare you keep his lordship waiting!"

The kids immediately fell to their knees, pressing foreheads to the ground. Fear paralyzed their thoughts, instinct guiding their actions.

"Ha, pathetic mongrel spawn! Know your place!" another guard laughed derisively.

Just then he noticed Ezok and Eleanor observing from the shadows.

"You there, halt! Who are you and what's your business here?!"

The soldier leveled his lasgun at them. Ezok quickly stashed his pistol in his coat.

They shuffled out meekly from around the corner and dropped to their knees.

"Esteemed nobles, please forgive the intrusion!" Ezok said, bowing with Eleanor.

"We're just humble slum dwellers, meaning no trouble," Eleanor added, avoiding eye contact with the aristocrats.

But as she bent down, the laspistol hidden under her skirt came into view. One guard instantly spotted it.

"She's armed! The wretch has a weapon!" he yelled, raising his lasgun.

LASSHOT

A deafening blast rang out and Eleanor crumpled to the ground, chest ripped open by the searing beam. Crimson blood gushed onto her tattered dress.

Ezok watched in horror.

"Eleanor! No!"

SCREAMS

The captain wanted to berate the fool underling. This would give the lady nightmares. Killing mongrels was normal, but murdering children left a bad taste.

Ezok quickly used his psychic abilities to staunch Eleanor's bleeding. Then he pulled a grenade from his pocket and thumbed the detonator. The air around him instantly chilled and the troops were gripped by uncertainty and lethargy.

The noble lady leaned into her betrothed's shoulder and angrily chastised him.

All were momentarily distracted and failed to notice the metallic cylinder rolling towards them from the shadows. The humans simply saw Ezok cry his sister's name and weep.

"How did uncle allow the rabble to acquire arms?! I shall have words with..."

"Grenade!" one soldier shouted.

One guard managed to raise his lasgun and fired at Ezok, but he shielded himself just in time with the bag of canned food he was carrying.

BOOM

A deafening explosion shredded the legs of three soldiers. Shrapnel ripped through the rest, eliciting screams of agony. The concussive force dazed them, preventing any resistance. Ears rang incessantly and the nobleman vomited up his breakfast.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Ezok had already used his biomancy to prepare for the blast - his body was riddled with shrapnel but he avoided the contusion.

Rage awakened within psyker. He focused his biomancy, temporarily stabilizing the lacerations. Now he had to flee this place quickly. He took aim with the autopistol.

Gunshot

The young soldier who had grasped his head collapsed, life extinguished permanently.

Gunshots

Three soldiers found relief from the pain, severed legs troubling them no more.

Gunshots

The two bluebloods were left forever in the filth of the slums.

Gunshots

The remaining guards had almost grabbed their lasguns before the contusion claimed them.

Ezok dropped his pistol and bags of food. None of that mattered now. He rushed to Eleanor, gently lifting her into his arms. Her blood soaked his clothes but he didn't care.

Her breath came in weak, ragged gasps. He channeled his biomancy, trying desperately to heal her. But her life force continued to slip away.

Panic and despair gripped him. He couldn't lose his sister - his only family in this cruel universe. Ezok clutched Eleanor tightly to his chest and ran as fast as he could.

His feet pounded the narrow alleys back to their sector. Ezok took care not to jostle Eleanor, constantly using biomancy to keep her from bleeding out. By the time he reached their modest shelter - a tiny shack on the edge of the manufactorum district - her skin had gone pale and clammy.

He burst inside and gently laid her on the bed. Blood flowed freely now and she convulsed violently. Ezok knew if he didn't tap into his healing powers immediately, his sister would perish. After examining the wound, he realized the lasgun had ruptured her stomach.

All thoughts of stealth and caution vanished. Ezok focused intently, channeling the full might of his biomancy into healing. An azure glow enveloped her body, sealing the injury and staunching the blood flow.

But his actions were crude and brute force. Nearby psykers flinched as a shockwave rippled through the warp. The barrier between realms weakened perilously and frost crept across Ezok's skin. Voices in his mind crescendoed and denizens of the immaterium took notice of the young psychic.

Yet Ezok never broke concentration, wholly fixed on healing Eleanor. After arriving in the Warhammer universe, he had studied human anatomy and treated injuries before, but never damage to internal organs.

Soon he finished mending the wound... HEALED

But his sister only grew weaker. No more bleeding or visible damage remained. He had replaced all the ruined tissue!

For the first time, Ezok felt the acute lack of biological knowledge and medical equipment. And experience treating people.

Darkness threatened to engulf his mind. Whispers of Chaos demons echoed, promising to save Eleanor in exchange for his soul. They spoke of tremendous power - the ability to heal any wound and return souls from the brink of death.

But Ezok resisted temptation. He knew any bargain with daemons would only doom them both.

The whispers continued, yet he forced their presence to the edge of his psyche. The demons eagerly awaited any moment of vulnerability.

Time was running out. Ezok grabbed the laspistol and rushed outside. He needed the aid of the living, not the dead.

He sprinted through the nighttime streets searching for anyone. Beggars and wretches shuffled nearby. Ezok only needed one to save Eleanor.

Eventually he spotted a tottering old man. Without hesitation, Ezok aimed the pistol at his gut and fired, careful to avoid vital organs. The elder crumpled with a cry of pain, he forcefully stunned the old man with telepathy.

Ezok rushed to him and put his hands to the wound, concentrating his strength. A blue glow enveloped the old man's body, stopping the bleeding. But as soon as Ezok tried to repair the damaged tissues, the old man began to choke and convulsively grab the air with his mouth.

Ezok realized he lacked the anatomical and physiological knowledge to properly heal internal organs. The old man's symptoms closely mirrored Eleanor's. Drawing a knife, he sliced open the man's abdomen and studied the stomach using biomancy.

He quickly identified the issue - the thermal damage from the lasgun beam was difficult to detect. Ezok had only healed dead tissue, but a significant portion of the stomach was burned. He continued experimenting on the dying elder, searching for any possible injuries. Then he left the man and raced back to the hab unit.

In his haste, Ezok didn't even notice the dozens of onlookers he had attracted. Reaching his sister, he found rapid heartbeat, breathing, sweating, a temperature of 35 degrees, pale and clammy skin. She was declining rapidly but still alive. Ezok immediately began treating her.

This time he successfully stabilized the trauma, yet his sister remained unconcious. He could sense her greatly weakened state.

Ezok relaxed momentarily before the unnatural chill registered. He had grossly disturbed the warp. The psyker wanted to rest but his foresight was already screaming of catastrophe.

The whispers in his mind crescendoed into mounting demonic wails. Chaotic entities cried out disjointedly, speaking over one another:

"They come, they are here!"

"Doomed, doomed, doomed. The gift brings only ruin."

"Flee, flee into shadow! Hide in darkness!"

The temperature around him dropped again, a thin rime of frost covering the floor beneath his feet.

"No, do not run! Stand and fight! Let us into your soul!"

A crack ripped open in the air nearby. Pulsing violet light seeped into reality.

"Hurry, time slips away! They scent your fear, your weakness!"

Ezok clutched his head, trying to drown out the piercing shrieks. But the daemons only laughed at his torment:

"We hear the pounding of your heart! It beats loudly, giving you away!"

"Accept our offer before it's too late. Then we shall save both you and your sister!"

Something was crossing over, he could distinctly feel tendrils of violet mist snake through the fissure.

Ezok looked around wildly and spotted the single-shot grenade launcher Uncle Shram had gifted him. Agonizing pain split his skull but he grabbed the weapon and aimed it at the tear. The bed where his sister lay was about ten meters away - he positioned himself between her and the rupture.

"Return to the warp!"

The whispers continued unrelentingly.

"Do not fire."

"This is foolishness."

"Change comes..."

BTOOOM

A deafening blast wave knocked him off his feet and hurled him back onto the bed frame where Eleanor lay. Piercing ringing completely robbed his hearing. He instinctively raised his hands to shield his head but it did little to prevent the contusion. The room spun dizzyingly around him and he vomited bile onto the floor.

Abrupt stabbing pain assailed his head, forcing him to curl up and clutch his temples in a futile attempt to alleviate the unbearable torment. It felt as if his skull would shatter from the pressure at any moment.

Everything swam blurred and doubled before his eyes. Ezok tried to focus his vision and survey the room but sharp agony in his eyeballs made him squeeze them shut. He felt warm wetness trickling down his cheeks - debris had damaged his eyes.

Through the ringing in his ears he could barely make out his own ragged, halting breaths. Air was critically lacking but he couldn't fully inhale with cracked ribs from impacting the bed frame. He coughed and blood filled his mouth.

Ezok attempted to raise a hand to feel for Eleanor but found himself completely paralyzed, lying in a pool of his own vomit and blood.

The whispers ceased, the unnatural chill abated. He lost all concept of time, fading in and out of consciousness.

Suddenly muffled footsteps reached his ears - someone was heading straight for them. Ezok desperately tried to tap into his powers but only a choking rasp emerged from his throat.

The door burst open and shadowy figures in uniform stormed inside, shouting incomprehensibly and waving weapons. Then a rifle butt slammed into his temple and blessed oblivion claimed him...

Right at the end, he felt a terrible yawning void, as if something was siphoning away his mind.