Chapter 166: Chapter 157 The Eternal Collector King Takes the Stage
The arguments and disturbances on the Iron Blood seemed so distant and tiny—
Hades was sleeping.
Mortarion and Perturabo's grudges currently did not disturb Hades' slumber, just as he could not hear Angron's roars.
He had not enjoyed such comfortable rest in a long time, even if Hades felt like he was currently sleeping while sitting up.
No, this was not the Death Guard stinting on the Astartes' sleep time or deliberately preventing the Deathshroud from sleeping. Although the Death Guard were simple and advocated endurance, they would not treat Hades in that manner.
The main reason was that the equipment allocated to Hades on the Death Guard ships were standard issue—what did standard issue mean?
For Hades with his obviously larger physique, it meant carefully maneuvering every night while sleeping, otherwise he would wake up the next day finding himself lying on the floor.
The bed was too small.
Not just the bed, but also the desk, chair, and spoon...
The Primarchs had custom fittings, but he did not have any. However Hades felt this matter was truly unimportant and thus decided to continue waking up on the floor each morning.
Hades had complained more than once whether the Astartes' furniture could incorporate adjustable height mechanisms.
He had intended to modify these himself, but there was never any time. Before Hades could transform his cozy little bed, he had arrived here.
So...where exactly was here?
Hades reluctantly lifted himself from the wonderfully figure-conforming table he had been using as a pillow. Ah, such perfectly sized desk and chair! He casually wiped the drool from his scarf and blearily opened his eyes—
The keen green eyes of a necron stared back at him.
WTF?!
Hades instantly awakened, jumping straight up from the chair.
Lacking any weapons, Hades directly ripped out the chair he had just occupied (originally bolted to the floor) and brandished its four legs at the large necron.
Although Hades felt this defense would likely prove rather useless, defense first!
Only after assuming this defensive posture did Hades begin carefully surveying his surroundings.
Some kind of reception hall?
Aside from the table and two chairs before Hades in the spacious room, it contained only the necron and a vase.
Intricate, geometrical patterns were carved into the corners of the room, seemingly breathing with a faint green glow.
Hades decided to shift his attention to the room's only other two "living" objects—
That necron was staring at him with great interest.
Hades swallowed. He roughly knew who this was.
It was Eternal Collector, the Necron Trazyn!
A rather "necron" flavored Necron Overlord. While other overlords had either gone mad or only thought about killing, Trazyn was enthusiastic about using necron technology to gather all manner of objects from the Milky Way that piqued his interest.
Like a nine-counting ork, a bathing Deathshroud, a purple-painted greenskin, or a strand of Horus' hair...
Cough cough, no, Trazyn actually liked collecting those rare items that were also difficult to replicate. These objects made Trazyn feel as if he was still alive rather than already dead—transformed into a lifeless skeleton.
Hades realized that this time, the toy collector had become the toy.
He briefly recalled his nicely posed and displayed Primarch Mortarion figure.
No chance of struggling free!
His very presence here meant he had completely fallen under Trazyn's control.
Hades was expressionless. In this situation he no longer held hopes of someone coming to rescue him.
He did not believe Mortarion, Perturabo, or anyone else would be able to see through necron technology and locate him from the Eternal Collector Necron.
No chance of rescue; might as well prepare to enter stasis lock display...
No! He could still struggle!
That Trazyn had not directly tossed him into stasis but allowed him to remain conscious here proved he still had a chance!
Having just awakened and sorted things out, Hades carefully regarded the Necron Overlord Trazyn across from him. His lordship still had his hands propping up his chin, utterly unbothered by Hades wasting time with this posturing.
Hades saw indulgent enjoyment amidst that green glow.
Are you sitting there watching the show?!
Although Hades was quite tempted to greet this guy with some choice words, beggars can't be choosers...
Having reasoned things out, Hades gently placed the chair back down. Rather embarrassed, he tucked the chair legs back into the floor holes before reseating himself.
Hades deeply regretted his lack of a helmet. He kept his expression as composed as possible while staring back at the Eternal Collector King.
Hades' reaction instead made Trazyn pause briefly. He truly had not seen such an interesting individual in some time!
What a pity he could no longer pretend to drink tea to ease the atmosphere―Trazyn had often used this trick to palm off Slaaneshi pests that came to annoy him.
Trazyn pondered a bit. He felt things could become even more interesting and so spoke:
"I intend to collect you."
Hades, who had just lifted his cola for a drink, nearly spat out the precious liquid.
"Cough cough cough...!"
This guy doesn't stick to the script! Hades thought resignedly.
Well, couldn't blame him for yelling randomly then—
"Um, may I inquire about the conditions for my collection then?"
Interesting!
Trazyn thought.
After all, Trazyn had endless time. So he patiently explained:
"What kind of environment would you like?"
"Rest assured. I greatly value my collectibles. I can place you in a Death Guard style display cube, provide you a set of the Imperium's latest powered armor, and let you hold that black scythe of yours."
"Were you thinking of posing handsomely or something?"
Trazyn casually asked. The atmosphere had become harmonious, like molten iron oozing down.
Hades blinked.
"No, no no."
His face was utterly serious.
"I want a bed large enough for me to roll over twice, with the mattress 50% polyester fiber and 50% cotton."
The warp if Hades knew whether necrons had a sense of touch! He needed to ensure comfortable sleeping conditions.
"Plus blankets and pillows."
"If you intend to collect me, I wish to be displayed reclining."
"Standing indefinitely would be agony."
Trazyn was taken aback, then guffawed loudly while clapping:
"Hahahahaha! I haven't met such an interesting creature in a long time!"
"What color scheme did you want for your bed then?"
Trazyn joked. The atmosphere had turned amiable, like melted steel dripping as juice.
Hades blinked.
"I don't care. You arrange it."
"Alright."
Trazyn briskly agreed:
"Didn't expect that. Although soulless, you are quite entertaining!"
Trazyn mused aloud.
Hades remained expressionless.
"I merely lack a soul. I don't lack brains."
Trazyn glanced sideways at Hades while pointing at his own right brain:
"You nearly lost those brains too."
Hades was abruptly reminded of the last scene in his memories—
Ahhhhhhhh!
Hades impulsively raised a hand to feel his right brain. Good, still there!
"I helped patch you up."
Trazyn casually dismissed this. Repairing a biological body was trivial for necron technology.
He had even strengthened the brat a bit in passing.
"Greatly appreciated for that."
Hades promptly expressed his thanks:
"But—why save me, a xenos?"
"Because I intend to collect you."
Upon hearing this, Hades slowly sipped some cola to calm himself.
"Speaking of, why have me sitting here? Directly crating me would seem more convenient."
The Necron Overlord before him also pantomimed leisurely tasting tea before speaking:
"You could say that."
It was in an excellent mood and decided not to beat around the bush:
"I plan to collect you, but not now."
Trazyn watched Hades: A sudden desire for a cup of tea overcame it too.
So it extended a hand. A tea cup materialized in Trazyn's grasp the next moment.
Although it could neither taste nor truly ingest, eh, it simply felt like doing so just then.
Was this not life, the feeling of living?
Hades, for his part, pondered this thoughtfully. Not now?
He tentatively asked:
"My current collection value isn't enough?"
The Trazyn across from him also pantomimed savoring its tea before replying:
"It can be put that way."
It was in high spirits and decided to stop beating around the bush:
"Your current Untouchable field has not yet reached its limits. There is still room for growth."
"If I collected you now, you would lose the chance to continue developing."
Hades contemplated this.
"But...my Untouchable field no longer seems capable of growth?"
After Barbarus, he had not felt his Null Field strengthen at all. And his Null Field had always been constrained to operating within his body.
Trazyn rolled his eyes at Hades.
"Your potential was shackled by that so-called Emperor."
"Try spreading your Null Field now."
Hades carefully attempted expanding his Null Field. To his surprise, the Null Field easily extended beyond his body surface, swiftly flooding the entire room.
Lacking a soul, Trazyn continued leisurely drinking tea across from him, wholly unaffected by the Null Field.
After simply testing out his Null Field and confirming he could control its spread, Hades withdrew it once more. Force of habit for him by now.
"Why would the Emperor restrict my Null Field then?"
If he was an Untouchable, should not a larger Null Field be better?!
Trazyn shook his tea in the mouth unhurriedly. Hmm, still no flavor discernible.
"Do you know your own nature?"
"A Pariah mutant."
Hades immediately responded.
This time it was Trazyn's turn to nearly spit out his tea. The Eternal Collector King still found this the first time seeing such a foolish yet sagacious existence.
"No, no!"
"You are an outsider, an individual from another world, an existence from the material universe!"
"So...?"
Seeing Trazyn speak up, Hades hurriedly pursued:
"To this universe's warp, you are a rift, a bottomless void slowly devouring all surrounding warp existence!"
"If left unrestrained, that void you represent would irreversibly expand."
"Until—consuming all."
"All!"
Trazyn slammed out that last word with the air of a storyteller. Hades was left dizzy and confused from the sudden truth bomb, mouth agape but uncertain how to respond.
He was that awesome?!
Hades broke into a cold sweat. Indeed, he needed some form of restraint—he had no wish to become something akin to a plaguebearer, leaving only death in his wake wherever he went.
But the Emperor and Malcador were aware of his existence and constitution, even suppressing his Null Field...
Yet they had not informed him of the truth?
If told of the truth, he could at least have tried to take precautions...
Sensing Hades' train of thought, Trazyn directly stated:
"I believe the so-called Emperor you follow likely considered this unimportant and thus did not inform you."
"As long as you accompanied the Death Guard without causing too much trouble, you would still be of some use to his plans."
Hades deadpanned. He attempted conspiracy theories but lacked sufficient conditions and information. Or rather, Trazyn's explanation was overly credible.
It wouldn't be the Emperor deciding this was unimportant and not telling him while Malcador assumed the Emperor had already informed Hades...
Urgh.
"Why has the Emperor's restraint on me failed now then?"
"Based on his suppression methods, unlocking them would have been impossible even in death."
"But in your near-death state, you resonated extensively with the large quantities of blackstone architecture, directly exponentially boosting your Null Field."
Trazyn stared hard at Hades:
"An ordinary outsider would not have such compatibility with blackstone."
Hades felt his hair stand on end.
"But because I drank the dragon's blood?!"
Trazyn snapped his fingers.
"Correct."
"But I should clarify, that was not blood."
"Truly daring..."
Trazyn sighed while sipping more tea.
Was this sort of adventurous spirit unique to creatures of flesh and blood?
Combining an outsider and star god—such a bold and novel approach that only that madman called the "Emperor" would dare attempt.
But the interrelations between star god, outsider, and blackstone likely exceeded his estimations, resulting in oversights.
Otherwise, were Trazyn not conveniently present, Hades would have long perished from Null Field overload.
And all he did was add some minor psychic fetters? Did he not fear this Hades rebelling or wreaking destruction?
An existence capable of manipulating machinery and obliterating the warp—as long as he wished to hide and destroy, humans would be incapable of locating him or preventing his actions.
Because currently, the most extensive search methods humans possessed still relied on the warp. As long as the physical distance was sufficiently vast, it would be like a pebble cast into the sea. Impossibly finding him.
Pondering this, Trazyn meaningfully glanced at Hades again. Even after learning such astounding news, the guy had not forgotten to drink his cola after brief shock.
Such a bizarre creature! Trazyn marveled while raising his teacup for another sip.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
-- Power
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