PriestNo treatment can preserve the life in this fading body, but for the moment, you are able to stabilise him. He groans weakly. "Why... why do you prolong... my cycle? Are you waiting... for my repentance? Have I not yet purged... my soul... through my torment..." He breaks into a coughing fit. "Or must I... repent for the others..."
Priest"Know, machine spirit, angel of the Deus Mechanicus... that I saw... the Fabricator-Censor himself... ripping the Flesh out of our tech-comrades... and chanting a litany over vessels of corruption... sarcophagi forged from corrupted metal... unholy shells designed to house evil!" He lets out a weak howl.
Priest"The Fabricator-Censor does not serve the Omnissiah... he obeys a different power... the one whose herald... came to Kiava Gamma at the onset of the insurgency... his mouth spewing lies and corruption... Fear him, for he is... he is..." The words escape the man's mouth along with his last breath. Having spent the last bit of strength on his confession, he goes limp in your arms — forever this time.
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Entry point 2 of 5
PriestDespite all your efforts, the man breathes his last in your arms. You walk away from the pile of corpses with a feeling that your interference only added to the dying man's suffering.
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Entry point 3 of 5
PriestSomething flashes in the man's eyes, as if your words have allowed him to gather what remains of his strength. Gritting his teeth, he barely raises his head and fastens his mad gaze on you. "May the Omnissiah strengthen my will... may I renounce the dissonance of variation..."
Priest"Know, machine spirit, angel of the Deus Mechanicus... that I saw... the Fabricator-Censor himself... ripping the Flesh out of our tech-comrades... and chanting a litany over vessels of corruption... sarcophagi forged from corrupted metal... unholy shells designed to house evil!" He lets out a weak howl.continues where this line first appears above
Entry point 4 of 5
Priest"Without the True Flesh... I am weak, machine spirit... too... weak..." The man dies in your arms. You let go of the deceased, stand up straight, and walk away from the pile of bodies.
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Entry point 5 of 5
PriestThis pile of human remains, carelessly tossed together, emits a suffocating stench. The torn, gutted bodies once belonged to Tech-Priests, but you cannot spot even a glint of metal anywhere — all their implants are gone. Suddenly, one of the ravaged bodies makes the tiniest movement. The tortured man's lips move ever so slightly, his half-closed eyelids twitching.
YOU[Approach the still-breathing man]
PriestThe man can barely breathe without his respirator implant. It is a miracle he survived the horrific vivisection. But it takes you a single look at the gaping wounds where the augment was ripped out to realise — death is only a matter of time. As if having sensed your presence, the half-dead man looks at you and sharply inhales the hot air. "Machine spirit... deliver me..."
YOU"Who did this to you?"
Priest"My... comrades..." His voice is barely audible. It seems each word takes the man a great deal of effort. "Machine spirit... has the Omnissiah truly... abandoned us? Kiava Gamma has fallen... into the maw of the Eternal Enemy..."
Priest"The holy Magi... they succumbed to heresy... the rest... were stripped of their True Flesh... to feed the heresy... Preserve us... deliver us... deliver me from erring..."
Priest"Sacrifice... living blood... from vessels of the True Flesh... while their heart is... still beating. After that... oblivion." His eyes grow glassy. "I... knew... you would come... I've waited... so very long. Deliver me from my torment..."
YOU[End the man's suffering] "Go to the Omnissiah."
PriestIn a single motion, you bring an end to his long torment. After checking that there are no more survivors in this pile of human remains, you step away from the nightmarish sight.
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YOU"Pasqal, your request is granted."
PasqalLeaning over the dying man, Pasqal, in a decisive yet surprisingly respectful motion, cuts his throat. Wielding a long scalpel, it takes him mere moments to release the cervical vertebrae from the hold of muscles and sinew and to cut the vertebrae, severing the head from the body.
Pasqal"Let your service continue, tech-comrade."
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YOU"Steel your heart, servant of the Imperium! Your words will help me bring down those who have betrayed Kiava Gamma!"
YOU[Delay the man's death by providing medical assistance]
YOU[Leave the man to die]
PriestBehind you, you hear ragged wheezing that vaguely resembles fervent words of prayer.
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Priest(sequence)
YrlietYrliet's alien, harsh features are graced with something strikingly similar to grief and compassion. "Such senseless savagery."
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Argenta"What a horrible fate... to be betrayed by one's own."
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Pasqal"I attest that the three categorical requirements for assigning the status of martyr of the faith have been met: opposition to the enemy, preservation of adherence to dogma, and a brutal death. Requesting the right to extract the subject's organic matter for it to be used in the creation of an honourable servo-skull."
PriestThe man, who is minutes from death, wheezes weakly, "It's an honour... I am thankful... for the right to serve..."
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EogunnWithout uttering a single word, Eogunn extends a mechadendrite, injector bared, toward the poor wretch, administering an unknown golden liquid into his neck. The Manipulus's face is set in a mask of deepest sorrow.
PriestThe maimed man flinches only slightly at the injection, but his breathing starts to even out. Despite the oily film clouding his eyes, the faint ghost of gratitude shines through.
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YOU"Brace yourself. I shall help you."
PriestThe man gasps violently, as if the very thought terrifies him. "No! I was robbed... of the grace of the Deus Mechanicus... waste not your efforts... and hear my confession..."
Priest"The holy Magi... they succumbed to heresy... the rest... were stripped of their True Flesh... to feed the heresy... Preserve us... deliver us... deliver me from erring..."continues where this line first appears above
YOU[End the man's suffering] "Go to the Omnissiah."
PriestIn a single motion, you bring an end to his long torment. After checking that there are no more survivors in this pile of human remains, you step away from the nightmarish sight.continues where this line first appears above
Priest(sequence)
PasqalThe binharic requiem coming from Pasqal's vox sounds solemn and grim. Upon hearing it, the man's mutilated face twists into a weak semblance of a smile.
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Eogunn"Heresy. To dare sever sacred metal from the flesh of the Machine God's servant... Damnation upon those who committed this deed. I will purge the Motive Force from their bodies and grind their flesh into disposable biomatter." With anguish in his eyes, Eogunn levitates beside the poor soul. A gentle mist starts pouring from his alembic, carrying the sweet scent of an anaesthetic.
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YOU[End the man's suffering]
PriestIn a single motion, you bring an end to his long torment. After checking that there are no more survivors in this pile of human remains, you step away from the nightmarish sight.continues where this line first appears above
YOU[Walk away from the remains]
PriestYou walk away from the bodies, struggling to wipe the images from your memory — the mangled flesh and death masks forever imprinted on the bloodless faces.