Sorry about the long update, semester was way more brutal than I thought it would be. But we're back! Lights, camera, ACTION!

Disclaimer: I do not own Familiar of Zero, Warhammer 40,000, or anything related or pertaining to those universes.

Chapter 8: Go Into the Water

"What's wrong with your face?" was all Glacius managed to say, completely confused by this strange behavior that his master was exhibiting.

"My face doesn't matter…" Louise slowly said, almost like she was on the verge of passing out. She then shook her head around as if she had too much to drink as the potion began to take effect.

Glacius approached her with question, his footsteps amplified in the small room. "Wow…sounds like someone got hammered. Where the heck have you been?" the chaos marine asked sarcastically.

"G-Glacius…" Louise muttered as her arms stretched out towards his blue armor. "…Gla..ci…us…"

"Maybe you should stay away from alcohol next time. Your little body can't seem to handle it and-"

"Glacius!" Louise finally exclaimed as she leaped up and grabbed onto his armor, bringing her face almost up to his. She was standing on her bed now and was almost up to his head.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot! Glacius, you're an idiot!" she pouted while lightly punching his chest. "Why did you leave me all alone to be with a horribly common girl like that!?"

What the…

Before Glacius could think of anything to say, Louise threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest armor. "Glacius you're an idiot!" she exclaimed again.

The chaos marine had enough. He wrenched the little girl off of him with ease and demanded an answer for her sudden change in behavior.

"Get off me! What kind of joke is this!?" Glacius bellowed in a perfect mixture of anger and confusion as he held his master up at a distance from him. Louise's response would throw his guard off even further.

"I could never joke about something like this! You're so cruel, I love you so much!" she cried as the chaos marine dropped her on the bed in surprise. Louise wasted no time scrambling back up in an attempt to latch on to the love of her life, but Glacius pushed her back down lightly.

"Wha? Wh-what's wrong with you!?" the chaos marine stammered. He heard the door opening up behind him and he whipped around rapidly to see Montmorency peeking in.

"Oh…I was afraid of that…" she muttered as Louise began bawling at the top of her lungs.

"Afraid of what!? Do you- GAGH!" Glacius screamed as Louise jumped at him again and tugged on his whole body. As he turned back towards his distraught master, Montmorency slipped out and away from the wrath of the traitor marine. This was going to be a long night…

The depths of the warp…

Deep down inside of the Eye of Terror was a daemon world polluted by the twisted warp energies flowing throughout its atmosphere. On this world were spires of obsidian filled with heretic knowledge, but underneath the Planet of the Sorcerers was a new threat to the great Imperium. This threat was in the form of an ancient prophecy that was slowly unfolding, and inside the darkened bunker the few who knew about it monitored the progress of their herald that would bring great victory to Tzeentch and ultimately to Chaos.

"Members of the council," the withered man began, tentacles slashing from his grey flesh. "According to the Exalted One, our operative has successfully prevented the death of the 'princess'."

"Yes…by saving her from that golem, not only did he protect the prophecy, but he has deceived her of his motives. A very efficient exercise," Chaos Sorcerer Alkazeri stated, warp energy crackling off of his blue and gold armor.

"The fight against that golem was one of the best I've seen yet. The thing was the size of a titan, easily," Champion Dignitas of the Black Legion added. "The fact that something like that could be summoned by a mere mortal intrigues me though."

"That is why your forces will be needed, Champion," the withered man standing before the panel exclaimed.

"I see. But what visions does your 'Exalted One' bring us now? We need more information about this strange world…," the servant of Abaddon stated.

"It appears that the operative has stumbled across leftover weapons from a member of Alpha Legion who had visited the world not too long ago, probably cast off by the same power that sent our operative to the void. However, his 'master' has taken some sort of potion that creates strong psychic emotions towards him," the man completed.

"What does that mean? What's the worst case scenario?" Dignitas asked impatiently.

"The operative loses his patience and murders her, breaking the prophecy," another sorcerer of Tzeentch stated, his black beard twisted with mutations from multiple 'gifts'.

"No, the Exalted One will not allow that to transpire. A certain life essence from a 'Spirit of Water' is needed in order to reverse the effects. The operative must take this course of action, for there is no other way," the withered man stated.

The walls themselves seemed to cower in fear as Lord Hexlend finally spoke up, silencing everyone from his massive throne chair. "We will let the operative…interact with this…water spirit…and demonstrate...the power...of CHAOS..."

Back at the academy the next day…

"WE'RE GOING TO THE WATER SPIRIT!" Glacius yelled as he slammed his fist down in the meeting room, putting a huge dent in the table and causing everyone to jump. Except for Louise of course, who was too busy clinging on to her familiar.

"I love you…" Louise muttered happily, filled with joy about how commanding her man was. After hours of trying to pry Louise off of him, the chaos marine simply gave up, deciding to look for another solution instead of brute force and loud voices.

"Um…" Montmorency and Guiche were both unsure about this, but neither of them wanted to be on the wrong side of Louise's familiar. He was already in a bad mood from having to hold off Louise's advances for the past few hours, and they knew what he was capable of. Just because he saved their princess didn't mean he couldn't snap right here.

Glacius looked at the two blonde students, knowing full well that they would not have any objections. If they did, his stare instantly shot them down, pushing all of their hesitations to the brinks of their minds.

"We leave immediately for this…Lagdorian Lake. Grab whatever you're taking and be at the front gate in ten minutes."

Montmorency and Guiche got up without word and departed to gather some supplies for their travel and ready the horses…which just left Glacius and Louise alone…

"That means you too," the chaos warrior growled in disgust, eager to get on the road and get this whole situation sorted out. But the pinkette paid no mind to his words, and he could feel her embrace tighten around him slightly as she closed her eyes in glee.

"This will be so romantic…visiting the lake of love…oh Glacius!" she exhaled. Before she could make a move the chaos marine cut her off.

"Gah, let's just head outside already, the others will be down there soon," he commanded as he departed the room, Louise right behind him as she continued to plea. The entire transit to the courtyard was filled with declarations of Louise's love for him.

Glacius managed to make it outside with his master in tow, but his sanity was slowly eroding away from her erratic mood swing. He wouldn't be able to take much more of this strange behavior, as it was completely alien to him, yet extremely irritating. He had been on the receiving end of barbaric ork shootas, witnessed elder technology that could vaporize thousands in an instant, and done many nefarious deeds in the name of chaos. He always knew what to do in these dire situations, but this…oh man. Before the other two travellers showed up, a familiar face approached the pair. Siesta.

Louise reacted immediately with a faint growl that soon turned into an emotional outburst.

"Oh you really were waiting for another girl!" Louise wailed as she lightly pounded on the chaos marine's armored chest. The poor servant of Tzeentch, he just didn't know what to do at this point!

"What? What do you mean!?" Glacius exclaimed in shock as he raised his arms up in disbelief. What the hell was going on in her head? All Siesta did was walk by; what set her off!? Louise glared at Siesta again who was just standing there with a poker face.

"Glacius I love you so much yet you-you idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot IDIOT!" she screamed again as tears ran down her face. Glacius closed his eyes and slowed his breathing down, trying to calm himself. He reminded himself that by the end of the day, Louise would be back to normal and he could get on with his plans. Nothing would ever get done with her constantly clinging to him, and this behavior was bothersome to say the least. He glanced over at Siesta, who still was just staring at him normally. He had no clue what to say.

"Uhm…." He muttered, completely at a loss of words. He never trained for situations like this.

"You're popular with women," was all she said as she nodded and turned away.

"….yeah?" was all the dark astartes got out, not sure what her response was supposed to mean. Before Louise could retort, Guiche and Montmorency arrived on their horses with their provisions.

"You don't need a horse? It's a long trip, almost to the border of Gallia," Guiche asked as his horse came to a stop before the pair. His brain kicked in almost immediately after asking that question and he realized that no horse would be able to carry something so large.

Glacius gave him a 'really?' look beneath his helmet as he hauled Louise off of him and onto Guiche's horse.

"No! I want to stay with you! I love you Glacius!" she cried out.

"You can't keep up on foot, and I ain't carrying you for however many freakin miles we're going!" the chaos marine shouted back. Sure, he was definitely strong enough to do it, but after getting no sleep for a while and dealing with Louise, the amount of strength it would sap from him could dampen his combat ability noticeably. She didn't like that answer though, as she leapt back on him.

"Damnit this better work…" Glacius growled as he didn't even bother trying to pry her off of him. The group took off in earnest towards the Lagdorian Lake.

Lagdorian Lake, later that day…

He had been jogging alongside the galloping horses for the entire day, and for the first time since entering this realm he could feel fatigue gnawing at his physical body. Despite weighing no more than maybe a little over a hundred pounds at maximum, the tiny girl that he had to carry the whole way had drained his energy.

"Lagdorian Lake is just up ahead, beyond this hill," Montmorency declared as the party came to a stop on a small hill that overlooked the lake.

"Bout time," the chaos marine said, feeling his muscles crave for energy as he set Louise down.

Before he could look back up, Guiche said something and took off towards the lake in glee.

"He is rather sanguine, what part of him is a knight?" Montmorency asked herself. Glacius wanted to add a sarcastic remark to that but he was too tired to think of anything. The group trudged their way over to the lake and noticed Guiche thrashing in the water after a loud splash.

"Help! Save me! Aught!"

"What's this about? Why is the water all the way up here?" Montmorency questioned.

"Hehe…wait what?" Glacius was giggling to himself as he watched Guiche slowly drown and barely heard her remark.

"It looks like the Water Spirit is upset at something. The water level is unusually high, take a look," she responded as she pointed out towards the rest of the lake. Glacius could see the rooftops of the village submerged around him; it looked as if the entire town was underwater.

"I got a bad feeling about this…" the astartes stated clearly, feeling a little disturbed not at the thought of some spirit drowning a whole village out of anger, but of some subconscious feeling that was tugging at his mind and telling him this was all just a bit 'odd'. This was going to complicate things for him, and he didn't like that one bit.

"Same here. Let's wait around here for a bit, the Water Spirit won't come out until after the sun sets," Montmorency replied. Glacius nodded in approval, and continued to snicker at the sight of Guiche struggling to reach the shore that was maybe only ten feet away.

Lagdorian Lake, around sunset…

Montmorency spoke to her familiar, a frog named Robin, and then sent him off into the lake to find the Water Spirit.

"If he can find her, Robin will bring the Water Spirit to us," she said as she stared out over the lake, Guiche and Glacius standing at her side.

"Will she actually come?" Guiche asked.

"She better," Glacius gritted as he clenched his fist, his mechanical voice voxed across the lake. He glanced back and noticed Louise was fast asleep. Thank Tzeentch for that.

"I bid a contract with the spirit when I was a child; if she remembers, she will come," Montmorency said.

"Then all we need is the Tear or whatever, and this little mess will be over," Glacius stated as he slammed a fist into his palm triumphantly. Somehow, he just knew it wouldn't be that easy though…

"Yes, pre-" she was cut off as a fountain of water erupted before them, gushing hundreds of feet into the sky and towering over the group. The fountain was in perfect symmetry, and looked more like some kind of artwork. Guiche gasped and Glacius held his breath, as it really was a breathtaking sight to behold as the light refracted through it.

"It's here! The Water Spirit!" Montmorency proclaimed.

"Oh wow, the memories!" Derf exclaimed out of nowhere.

"What?" Glacius responded as he looked down at his chainsword.

Before the sword could respond, Montmorency began speaking to the towering fountain of water that was still launching upwards from the lake.

"I am Montmorency Margarita, a water mage belonging to a family with whom you have a lasting pact. Spirit, if you remember anything about my blood, please appear to me now and answer me in a way we can recognize!"

Almost instantly, the fountain of water stopped and formed into the body of woman standing on the water and looking down upon the trio. Glacius had his mouth hanging wide open inside of his helmet, as he had come across all kinds of horrors in his universe, but never anything like this.

"I remember," It began, its ethereal voice piercing through to his soul and causing him to shiver just slightly. He was too stunned to say anything to the speaking column of H2O.

"I'm glad you remember, because I have a favor to ask of you!"

"A favor?" it replied, its voice sending shivers through the group.

"I would like very much to have just a small piece of you," Montmorency asked.

"I decline your request."

What. Glacius snapped out of it instantly. Of course this wasn't going to be easy, nothing ever was. The only easy day was yesterday.

"Now hold on just a minute!" the chaos marine barked as he stepped forward with rage, but before Montmorency could say a word, a fountain of water shot up and wrapped around his torso and dragged him hundreds of feet into the air and brought him eye level with the spirit.

"You…your kind are not welcome on this world!" the spirit exclaimed in what could have been a mixture of surprise and fear. Glacius was shocked, as one moment he was on the flat soil, and now he was dangling high above in the sky, held up by nothing but water. He was never too fond of heights, but you do what you gotta do eh?

"What do you mean?" Glacius asked with genuine interest. Your kind?

"Your kind threatened this world millennia ago. You have no place here, all of Halkagenia despises your EXISTENCE!" the piercing scream of the spirit echoed for miles into the surrounding wilderness, striking fear into nature itself. The tightening grip of the water also didn't feel too good. Montmorency herself was on the verge of fainting, as she had never seen the Water Spirit this angry in her entire life.

Glacius was staring into the face of an angry goddess, but his blood was pumping now, all unease gone. He couldn't fear anything, because he was the definition of fear itself. He would do anything to get Louise back to normal, as he was more likely to go mad from her attitude than the possibility of fighting a goddess. He grinned underneath his helmet, the primal desire for bloodlust taking root once more. There was only one way out of this.

"Despise me all you want, but I'll be taking that Tear now," Glacius said slowly in a threatening tone. The water spirit let out a bone-piercing shriek as the water tightened around Glacius and threatened to split him in half.

"YOU'RE WARPED FINGERS WILL NEVER TOUCH ME CORRUPTED ONE!" it screamed in defiance as it enveloped the chaos marine to crush him to a pulp. But Glacius was ready. The water burst apart as psychic energy scattered outwards and vaporized the liquid into steam, leaving nothing but crackling blue and purple lightning as Glacius tumbled downwards to the water 200 feet below him.

Glacius felt a slight jolt of pain from the impact, but quickly regained his bearing and made his way to the shore before the water spirit could react.

"Wha-What are you doing!?" Guiche exclaimed in shock, holding on to the now unconscious Montmorency. This was all just too much for her. Glacius looked back him over his shoulder as he drew his chainsword with a smile underneath his helmet.

"Sometimes you gotta smack someone around for a bit before they listen!" he exclaimed as he flicked the activator switch on his chainsword, roaring it to life once again. He wasn't sure about how he was going to do this, as the Water Spirit was, well, water. Blades don't work that well on them.

He turned back to face towards the Water Spirit, his body in an attack position for whatever she threw at him next. The spirit looked like a terrifying figure that loomed over the lone marine, her colossal form scattering light rays everywhere in some sort of twisted, holy image. The arms began to spread apart, and the ground began to quake with increasing frequency.

"What the-" Guiche was cut off as the sounds of houses collapsing and sinking underneath the murk split the air.

"Get them out of here!" Glacius shouted to Guiche, who would have trouble carrying both of them at once, but it was his chance to prove himself as a worthy knight.

"What!?" the blonde man shouted, unable to hear the chaos marine through the cacophony of the quake.

"I SAID, GET THEM O-" Glacius was cut off as something impacted him and knocked him to the ground face first. The soil was wet now and turned into a thick mud, caking his lenses. He managed to scramble back up and grab his sword, but when he wiped his lenses clean, a terrifying sight stared him directly in the eyes.

It was some kind of monstrous sea serpent, each tooth the size of a child and caked in mud and saliva. Its two dark eyes were pitch black like the void and stared through the lenses and into Glacius' twisted soul. It was sizing him up, deciding how to strike next. The breath permeating from it was worse than the dirtiest of Orks, and Glacius didn't appreciate his acute sense of smell as much anymore.

With a deafening scream, it lunged towards him at breathtaking speed, smashing through a nearby shed where Louise had been sleeping earlier. Glacius managed to roll out of the way as the creature plowed into the space he just occupied. As it lifted up, he was somewhat relieved to notice that Louise had already been moved by Guiche. He then ran at the body of the serpent, his chainsword screaming for violence.

"Watch it!" Derf exclaimed. Glacius was too slow however, and the tail of the creature erupted from the lake and slapped him across the forest with so much force that he knocked down multiple trees before coming to a skidded halt. He could feel blood spilling out of his mouth, but the fight was on, and he forced himself up, feeling the shockwave of fatigue in his muscles.

"Grrrr" he grunted as he began sprinting back towards the lake at top speed. The monster was waiting for him with a sick grin across its face, but this time the chaos marine was ready as he jumped over the low tail swipe that was meant to sever his legs, the trees around him splitting under the force and scattering splinters everywhere.

"ARRGGGGHHHH!" the space marine let out a war cry as he let a doombolt fly out of his off-hand, the purple burst of warp energy spiraling upwards and then slamming into the space below it. It used to be occupied by the serpent, but the beast was quick and managed to evade it, a cloud of steam rising from the super-heated water around the impact area. The steam rose in front of the twisted creature, giving it an even more sinister look as it eyed him hungrily.

"You will fall, dark one," the Water Spirit said calmly as she towered over the battlefield. She waved her hand again, and this time the nearby shorewater began to change from a dark blue color to a sparkling cyan as magic was spread throughout it.

"What the…" Glacius trailed as he saw shapes emerging from the shoreline. About ten, no, the number was increasing rapidly. Hundreds. Hundreds of man-like things made of mud and held together by the magical water began emerging from the shores, marching their way towards him with a sense of urgency. The peculiar thing about them was that the tips of their arms were shaped like spears and hardened to a point, and because they were fused with magic there was a good chance one strike was all it would take to pierce the combat armor.

Glacius had a good vantage of all the forces arrayed against him, as he could see the mudmen in the front ranks charging towards him, the sea serpent behind them and hissing in anticipation for the next strike, and behind them all was the titanic water spirit, staring down upon them all. This fight would certainly be a challenge indeed.

The first of the mudmen arrived at him, and they were all dealt a quick blow from his chainsword that cut them down in a swath. Glacius began advancing into the fray, swinging his weapon and screaming out a warcry. One of the mudmen managed to strike him, which put a bolter-sized dent into his armor and forced him to the ground. He scrambled back up to prevent them from surrounding him while he was down, but he caught a quick glance of the coastline. To his horror, more of the creatures were marching out of the murk, and the serpent was plowing towards him on his left flank.

"Shit!" Glacius shouted as he parried another strike from the moaning creatures that were bent on ending him. He got a good luck at them up close, as the stench alone was overwhelming. They had some man-like facial features, but it was all just so wrong when put together.

"Errgh! C'mon!" he shouted as he decapitated another creature with a clean blow. Soon, right on cue, the serpent was upon him once again and he rolled to the rear, letting it plow through a row of the mudmen. He jabbed his chainsword into the monstrosity and it carried him upwards as it screamed in agony. It then roared back down towards the depths at high speed, forcing the chaos marine to hold on for dear life. It was like some kind of twisted rollercoaster ride, with the only seatbelt being his gauntlets and the embedded chainsword. Once again, the Lyman's Ear implant was keeping him alive and preventing disorientation as the water rushed around him.

Soon the thing burst out of the waves and stopped squirming for a fraction of a second, which was all the time Glacius needed.

"Dodge this," he said as a doombolt erupted from his hand at pointblank range, blasting a gashing wound in the serpent. It howled in pain, a bone-trembling soundwave that carried across the forest. Glacius was blasted clean off from the recoil and showered in the thing's blood and entrails. He slammed back on the muddy bank, and the mudmen converged on him once more.

Nearby…

"Where's Glacius!?" Louise screamed as she tried to run back towards the lake as the sounds of howling monsters echoed through the woods. Guiche was holding her back though, keeping her from doing something she might regret.

"He's by the lake, fighting the Water Spirit!" Guiche exclaimed.

"WHAT!?" Montmorency yelled after she had come to. The three where about a half mile away from the action where Guiche had brought them on the horses, but the sounds of battle could still be heard clearly. "There's no way he can fight her! We need to stop him!"

"We have to!" Louise cried. She was so attached to her familiar, so in love with him due to the love potion that she would do anything to save him.

"It's too dangerous!" Guiche exclaimed, clearly not looking forward to fighting an elemental spirit.

"Well, we can't just let them fight!" Montmorency stated.

"Yea come on! Let's go!" Louise shouted as she stood up, drawing her wand in preparation for battle.

"We'll help too!" a new, yet familiar voice announced. Three heads darted up towards the origin of the voice, and they were all shocked as they stared at two cloaked figures emerging from the woods with their hoods down.

"Kirche? Tabitha!? What are you guys doing here?" Montmorency asked in surprise.

"We were in the area," Tabitha stated matter-of-factly, not ready to divulge private information.

"That's right, now let's go get em'!" Kirche exclaimed with a wink in her eye.

"Let's do it!" Louise responded, as she led her friends back to the shoreline of Lagdorian Lake. She had to fight to save her love!

The Shoreline…

"GRAGH!" Glacius let out as he smashed a mudman with his fist while hacking off its arms with the chainsword. Another one managed to stab him in the abdomen, putting a huge dent in the armor, and Glacius promptly vaporized it and the three behind it with a doombolt, leaving nothing but a steaming crater behind.

"For everyone that falls, two more shall take its place," the Water Spirit proclaimed as it watched the battle.

"SHUT UP!" Glacius screamed through his vox with a hateful tongue as dodged another spiked arm and ripped it off. He used it in conjunction with his chainsword, dual-wielding both weapons as he cut a swath through the mudmen towards the lake shore. The creatures moaned in pain as they were cut down and left immobile on the banks.

The chaos marine risked a look as the sea serpent rose from the waters once again, a gaping hole in its back. It stared at the armored figure before storming towards him once again.

"Done crying eh?" Glacius remarked to himself as he saw the monster barreling towards him in anger. Before he could react to the monster however, more of the mudmen converged on him, moaning for his death. He raised his weapon in anticipation for the first swing, but the mud column was suddenly blasted apart by a burst of wind.

What? Glacius looked around in confusion and before long he spotted the young mages casting spells at the mudmen. Louise, Guiche, Montmorency, along with Kirche and Tabitha! Where had they come from?

"Glacius!" Louise shouted to him. For once since his time on this wretched world, he was actually somewhat glad to see them. He watched as the mages took on the never ending army, with massive area spells. Which meant it was up to him to stop the serpent.

As if to answer him, the creature was now upon, and it wasted no time diving towards him to eviscerate him with its jaws. Glacius rolled once again, but the monster wouldn't be fooled this time as it slammed its jaws right on top of Glacius.

The chaos marine had to act fast. He could feel the saliva and teeth surrounding him, and he quickly planted his feet in between two teeth on the bottom jaw and his hands on the roof of the monster's mouth and pushed outward to avoid being grinded. His knees began to slowly buckle however, as the jaw strength of the serpent was astounding to saw the least.

"I-it won't end like this…" Glacius gritted through his bloodstained teeth. He began to feel his left hand heat up, the runes burning as bright as his determination.

"There you go parter!" Derf yelled as he watched his master's strength rise once more. Glacius was slowly forcing himself straight up again, ignoring the creature's tongue that kept trying to drag him down into the gullet and the nauseating smell. His right hand grabbed the chainsword in a firm grip, and Glacius let out his ultimate warcry.

"FOR CHAOS!" he bellowed as he forced the roaring blade into the roof of the creature's mouth. A howling scream echoed from deep inside the monster, but Glacius paid it no attention, only focusing on driving the blade through the monster's skull. Blood and bits of bone showered him as the blade was slowly pushed up through the thick cranium. The resistance was so great that it was taking a good amount of his strength just to even move the weapon

"ARRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, the voxed voice overpowering the cries of the creature as the weapon finally pierced through the bone. Gray matter began splattering across his armor as the blade scrambled the serpent's brains to a pulp, and within a few moments the creature finally stopped moving, its life drained from it. The armored chaos marine pushed the lifeless upper jaw off of him and stepped out and into the field. A quick look around told him that the battle was all but over. The students had their jaws gaping open at the sight of Glacius striding out and covered in blood and brain matter. The Water Spirit broke the silence.

"This…this was unexpected…" she stated in calm demeanor, glaring down at the fallen astartes. Glacius glared back up at the Water Spirit. His left hand was crackling with warp energy, ready to unleash psychic-borne spells upon the towering spirit.

Glacius was smart though. He knew vaporizing the Water Spirit would probably be a bad move in the long run, along with putting him in a bad place with the locals. He could already see the look of anguish on Montmorency's face, as the idea of him wiping out the symbol of the water mage would not go down too well. He placed his chainsword back onto his hip and then announced his demands.

"Ok, listen here," he began slowly, but with his voice amplified by the vox speakers significantly. "I don't know what all this was about, but I'm willing to forget this happened if you just hand over the Tear to Montmorency over there."

In reality though, Glacius had the pieces of the puzzle solved now. Chaos had invaded this world about six thousand years ago, as it was clear they had been here before, and the Water Spirit's reaction to him was the final proof he needed. It tied in perfectly with the story of some powerful void mage named Brimir who saved the world from great 'catastrophe' during that time, which was no doubt the invasion. That also explained the presence of the daemon that lurked somewhere on the world, along with powerful astartes weapons. But how did a single mage wipe out an entire Chaos Fleet and invasion force? This was the main question that gnawed at him. But it was the Water Spirit's turn to question him now.

"What exactly will you do with this part of me?" the ethereal being asked.

"Just get her back to normal," Glacius stated as he gestured over to Louise, who looked a little pissed from that statement but didn't say anything.

"I accept, but can you promise that the Great Enemy will not return?" she proclaimed as she was on the verge of yielding. She knew that at this point she wouldn't be able to stand up to the combined force of the chaos marine and the mages working together.

"Of course," Glacius lied. Well, technically it wasn't a lie as he planned on taking over the world for himself in the name of Tzeentch, but in a way it could be seen as the return of Chaos. It all depended on the Changer of Ways, and the fate that was laid before him.

"Also, can you stop the water levels from rising?" Kirche shouted out. Glacius was a bit annoyed at her butting in, but he just rolled with it.

"Yeah, that too," he said.

"It will be done," the Spirit responded, and with that the column of water fell apart and formed back up with the lake. Montmorency looked into her hands to see that a small vial of the Water Spirit had somehow arrived there.

"I-I have it!" she announced.

Glacius nodded. "Good, then let's head on back." He glanced back at the lake as he was departing. This Water Spirit knew a ton about the history of what happened here, and the fact that she yielded so soon was always a bit odd. He would have to return for further questions in order to fulfill his appetite for knowledge. But for now, he was tired as hell.

To be continued...

Chaos will always triumph in the end! Muahahahahaha!

Forgive the lack of romance, I'm terrible at it and I have no clue how a chaos marine would even...you know what? Let's not go there!