Vostoya, the Outer Slums of the Upper Hive City of Unyansk, home of the Second Altar.
A woman draped in a blue robe pulled back her hood with clawed hands, revealing a head shaped like a crescent moon.
She let out an eerie shriek incomprehensible to ordinary people. Then, her beak opened and, in a sharp voice, she addressed the assembled mutants:
"To the people of the Hive, you are vermin—loathsome, filthy abominations."
"Is this true? Of course not!"
Her left arm elongated. A blue flame ignited in her claw, now only an arm's length away from the nearest mutant.
"Mutation is the blessing of the God of Wisdom! You are the chosen enlightened!"
"Follow me, and you shall receive his revelation and you shall be blessed!"
"You will reclaim the Hive that rightfully belongs to you. You will tear apart those foolish enough to scorn you, and even trample those arrogant nobles and mechanical zealots who worship false gods beneath your feet."
The mutants howled with excitement. Her words ignited the fire of rage and desire in their hearts.
One mutant, with fleshy growths over his eyelids, knelt on twisted legs and shrieked:
"Storm the Hive! Take back our food! Tear up the maggots!"
The nearby mutants, including others from different slums, took up the chant:
"Storm the Hive! Take back our food! Tear up the maggots!"
The blue-robed woman floated into the air, Warp energy swirling around her.
"The Hour of Enlightenment is NOW!"
While the mutant uprising ignited in Vostoya, on the Coral Sea coast of Symphony of the Sea, Nareth's gaze suddenly shifted.
A faint glimmer shone across the deep blue ocean, subtle yet dazzling.
It was the light of the Sea Souls stirring!
Nareth understood instantly. The ocean before him, revered by generations of Sicilians and perhaps holding a unique opportunity, had caused a reaction in the Warp. It was already treading the path beyond the mundane.
Such phenomena were not unheard of. In the underground sea of Hive World Necromunda, there existed a "Cthulhu" that had gained godhood from generations of worship by fish-men.
Worshipping the ocean was nothing unusual. Shamanism had three major pillars: ancestor worship, nature worship, and animal worship.
Even after ten thousand years, with the Imperial Cult dominant, Necromunda's underhive still teemed with bizarre forms of worship.
There were those who revered sewage pits, cults that worshipped metal pipes, and even cults that worshipped broken Daemon Engines.
In fact, belief itself could birth new gods within the Warp.
The greater goddess Tau'va was born from the T'au Empire's political ideology of "Greater Good," shaped by the collective faith of its subordinate species.
This "Mother Sea" was of the same nature, though far weaker than even the minor gods of Chaos. Her existence depended on the worship of her followers, and even the tides of the Immaterium could shatter her fragile consciousness.
"Outsiders call it the Coral Sea, but we Sicilians call Her the Mother Sea. She provides us with food and protection."
Nareth's pupils suddenly contracted. The glimmering light in his vision shifted, revealing a blurry and incomplete scene.
Two tentacles lined with teeth wrapped around a steel warrior and a bronze-skinned Sicilian.
Razor-sharp fangs tore into flesh and burrowed inside.
The vision vanished. The light dimmed even more.
"I saw the image the Mother Sea showed me. I think she showed you as well."
"That sea monster is called a Toothed Kraken. Its body resembles an octopus, but the mouths at the ends of its tentacles are filled with razor-sharp teeth."
"Even the smallest adult Toothed Kraken is the size of a house. They grow endlessly as they feed. The largest we've seen was as big as an island; it caused a storm every time it surfaced."
Marlena spoke with bitter disgust. Nareth glanced at her and saw deep sorrow and hatred in her eyes.
"They are vile predators, abominable creatures. Neither Sicilians nor sea life can escape their grotesque hunger."
The Primarch understood why the Coral Sea had shown him the sea monster; it threatened its worshipper—and by extension, its existence. It wanted His hand to destroy the beast.
'Clearly, the Coral Sea has some level of intelligence. It knows the only thing that would compel me to act—threats to my people.'
'And the Sicilians are my people.'
With that, Nareth spoke:
"If such a monster dares appear before me, I shall slay it!"
"The Mother Sea showed you that vision because a sea monster has already been drawn to us."
Marlena paused, her voice laced with mockery and sorrow:
"Sea monsters hunger endlessly for flesh. The blood spilled in battle between the xenos and the Sicilians is sure to lure these predators."
"Follow me."
Nareth led Marlena to find Vieri.
The bronze-skinned man bowed and reported:
"My lord, I have completed the reorganization of the Tirani Sea Guard. We have 1,952 warriors ready for battle."
"We leave at once for the nearby island of Grosseto."
After Szczesny exterminated the Fra'al xenos, he followed Nareth's orders and sought out the local chieftain.
Facing well-armed iron warriors and after losing most of his own, the chieftain surrendered.
Szczesny ordered a rest and began recruiting from the fewer-than-1,000 remaining Sea Guards.
Due to the urgency, he devised a simple selection method: groups of 100 would dive to retrieve coral, and the seven who returned fastest would become new members of the 4th Battalion.
As the fifth batch returned, the iron warriors were verifying the divers when dozens of tentacles burst from the sea. Two wrapped around an islander and a steel warrior.
Szczesny was shocked. He drew his laser rifle from his back, took aim, and fired.
The shot hit its mark, smoke rising.
Though accurate, the "Sailor" felt no joy; he saw that the tentacles had already burrowed into the victims' bodies.
Jorginho, a bronze-skinned Sicilian who had passed the third round and spoke some Vostoyan, had been temporarily appointed squad leader.
In Low Gothic, he shouted to the captain:
"It's a Toothed Kraken! A monstrous sea predator!"
Szczesny responded by drawing his chainsword and striding forward. He shouted:
"Attack!"
The 4th Regiment warriors immediately opened fire on the tentacles.
Szczesny activated his beyonder ability. Phantom scales shimmered on his arm as he cleaved down with the seventh stroke of the "Ostberg-Vaya" style.
With immense strength, the "Sailor" severed over a meter of tentacle.
A thunderous roar erupted. The once-calm sea churned like a tsunami.
Dozens of islanders and iron warriors were flung into the air by massive waves.
Szczesny stared in disbelief as a monster the size of an island emerged from the water.
Jorginho cried out in terror:
"It's Fangjaw—he is the most terrifying of all Fanged Octopitoothed Kraken!"
At the same time, Szczesny, flung by the tentacle, felt the true terror of the sea beast. His chainsword was knocked away, and his right arm was broken.
'I must ask my lord for help. Only He can kill this monster!'