As Ben left to walk down the corridor, Adrianne stood still as a statue; her skeletal max simply fixed in the direction of Ben. But secretly, on the inside of her suit and armor, the woman was literally fuming! Ben's audacity to speak in such a way about her, questioning her control over her very powers to such an extent was nothing short of infuriating!
"Woe betide you, petty man. As soon as we are out of these cursed halls, I'll show you 'how little control I have over my powers'!"
The fingers in Adrianne's left hand were literally twitching as the psyker watched Ben's back, genuinely considering the option of using her powers to throw the man out the nearest window!
But, the danger such a rash action could cause Zhevon, alongside Stukov's attempt to mediate the situation was enough to dissuade Adrianne from exacting rightful vengeance on the feeble minded soldier - for the moment...
"The concern goes likewise. Do not get yourself killed." Adrianne would finally take a deep breath and turn to Stukov, nodding emphatically in return to the armsman. She choose to keep her speech short, lest her anger towards Ben be made too obvious in the presentation of her words.
She could appreciate Stukov's concern for her safety, and willingness to stick one out for her should something happen. The only thing the psyker doubted however was the man's ability. He was, after all, a mere man with no unique affinity for the warp. What resistance could he ever mount against a sizable challenge posed by the menacing energies of the warp that wouldn't just tear Stukov apart?
Supposedly the man had survived an entire ship that had been lost and devoured by the warp, so perhaps there was a spark in him, somewhere.
Watching Zhevon, now followed by Ben and Stukov as they all walked down the pathway in what could only be described as the most frightening conga line ever, Adrianne recognized that the time of idleness as up as she would eventually have to move as well.
"Sometimes I hate this job... "
Closing her eyes, Adrianne would take a deep breath, pausing, before exhaling. She would repeat this four times, feeling her thoughts, both hopes and fears evaporate from her mind.
As her mind was sufficiently empty, she would take the first step down the pathway, eyes still closed behind her mask and with her staff clutched tightly in her right hand. She walked down the path with the same tranquility of mind as that of a prisoner on her way to the gallows who had made her peace. There was no fear, no doubt, no second thoughts. The world could have ended at that moment, but she still would not have cared. The physical world, with all its drama and concerts of revolution mattered not in her mind.
Everything was quiet - until she stepped past the first row of statues. As her body passed the first set, it was as if she was met by a physical wall that immediately slowed her down, hitting her body like a heavy wave! Staggered but not broken, Adrianne would finish her step before walking onward.
Around her, the voices that had been mere whispers earlier at the entrance of the gallery were now screaming like a pit of a thousand mouths! But the orgy of screams was muffled outside of her head, sounding to her as if she was underwater. But despite the clarity and emptiness provided by her meditative trance, she could still feel some of the voices breaking through her head.
"Cast off your shackles, young one. You deserve your freedom!"
"Do not waste your potential serving an archaic order - you were born for greater things!"
"You are a puppet, Valenthin. A petty slave!"
"They have blinded you, child. They have taken away your destiny! How could you have let this happen?!"
"Come back to us. We still remember you. We forgive you. You will always be welcome, at Mordran V... "
"I will not waste my attention listening to inferior life forms. Your destruction is the proof of my supremacy. I walk forever forward without regrets, never looking back, while you are but faded memories, the only thing left behind in my wake."
The voices were all familiar to her. She had heard them before. Somewhere far, far away.
But she did not listen. She choose not to. She had defied them once before, and she would do so again. But though she choose to ignore them, it still felt as though the very fabric of time and space was shifting in the room as she walked through it!
She could feel energies coursing through the air around her, powerful sources of arcane might long hidden from the world. A low hum emanated from the staff in her hand, as if it was attracting the very energies of the room! Indeed, she felt like a conduit, attracting to herself the wild and chaotic energies that had once laid dormant around her! It was an exhilarating feeling. She felt renewed, as if someone had just stabbed a needle of adrenaline straight through her body! Her mind began to become unquiet, as an urge grew inside of her. She wanted to lash out against the petty voices of the room, to use their own power against them by demolishing the entire hallway!
Her fingers gripped ever harder around the handle of her staff, holding the wood with an unnatural strength that made the very structure creak! One could start to see small, purple lights appear even through the shaded visors of the skeletal eyes sockets of her helmet! Fueled by the energies around her, Adrianne felt unstoppable. Every being of her body wanted to just release her powers, but she choose to defy her instinct!
"No, I'll make it to the end... fifth statue, that's the fifth row. We'll get there, yes, we will... "
