Chapter 3.2: Not Meant to Die
Mortarion held great tolerance and indulgence towards this first human he met.
This eventually led to Typhon’s betrayal after joining the Death Guard, he repeatedly committing acts of treason, yet not being killed by Mortarion.
Ultimately, the naive Mortarion was betrayed by Typhon, who sacrificed the entire legion toward Nurgle.
Typhon appearing here could only mean one thing.
In the original story, Mortarion and Calas Typhon met after Typhon escaped from a slave wagon.
This meant that soon Mortarion would descend like a hero, making it very likely that Hades would survive this ordeal.
He could escape! As for meeting Mortarion, Hades felt indifferent. Survival was the priority!
No point in worrying about a betrayal centuries later when they were on the brink of being an alien BBQ now!
Hades stepped aside, signaling Typhon to start his psychic display.
“Come on, Typhon, do your thing!”
Typhon frowned, a strange white light gathering in his hands—
“Alright, let’s go—”
The white light suddenly dimmed. “This isn’t right. I feel my connection to the Warp weakening…”
Typhon muttered to himself softly.
Hades stared at him, thinking, Brother, can you do it or not?
What they didn’t know was that Hades’ latent untouchable-like nature was interfering with Typhon’s connection to the Warp.
They might have been grateful for this, as Hades’ condition would grow with him. Now, as a child, he was very weak, only partially severing the Warp connection.
This slow-growing ability was why Hades never considered himself an untouchable. In his memories, untouchables were like black holes in the Warp, unconsciously and slowly consuming the souls around them, leading any sentient beings to instinctively loathe them.
Untouchables were universally despised, to the point where some might attempt to kill them out of sheer unexplained hatred.
It was precisely due to Hades’ understanding that he didn’t immediately consider himself an untouchable.
If a psyker attempted to use their abilities near a powerful untouchable, they would likely explode on the spot.
However, Hades was unaware of all this.
He watched, speechless, as Typhon slowly moved back, seemingly gathering energy for a major move.
As they distanced themselves, the white light suddenly became blinding. Through his mask, Typhon shouted, “Get away!!!”
The dazzling white light instantly flooded the confined space. The psyker-induced explosion hit Hades, and the massive psychic shockwave flipped the transport vehicle, sending them tumbling down the hillside.
When the light faded, a massive hole gaped in the floor.
Poison gas burst in, and Typhon was the first to half-roll and crawl out through the gap. He instinctively retched but didn’t immediately run away. He turned back to pull Hades out.
Hades could now see their surroundings. They were on a mid-level slope, surrounded by nothing but rubble and dead grass, save for a distant fortress.
The recent tumble had landed them in a small gully. Higher up on the slope, the slave capture team’s vehicles slowed and stopped. The overlord’s puppets were disembarking, shouting and attempting to reach them.
Further away stood a fortress, its tall walls imposing in the thick fog. The castle seemed more like a prison than a protective structure.
Within the enveloping mist, atop the fortress wall, stood a tall, gaunt figure—
Mortarion.
Note: The details about untouchables were partly customized. The official lore about nulls (untouchables) is continually evolving, so I’ve adapted the concept accordingly. Essentially, untouchables are individuals disliked by everyone, including dogs. The stronger their null presence, the more they are disliked.
Additionally, untouchables usually don’t handle machinery because it malfunctions around them, since their presence displeases the machine spirits.
There’s a rumor that untouchables can control their aura through meditation and practice, but that remains uncertain.
One of the protagonist’s unique abilities is a similar untouchable trait.
There will be more custom elements later, which might not align perfectly with canon, and I apologize for any discomfort this may cause.