Having claimed the mighty Crown of Domination and forced the greatest of the bloodthirsters Ka’Bandha into his service Archaon, the exalted hero of Tzeentch and now Khorne continued on his quest. He left Ka’Bandha’s lair, instructing through his new headpiece that the bloodthirster would join him in battle when the time was right. Despite his victory and the way the daemon now cowered before his crown in fear, the battle had been exceedingly tough as the armoured cladding on his shield-wielding arm had been torn open by Ka’bandha’s axe, leaving a nasty open would down his left arm. The Armour of Morkar was still repairing itself and much of this arm’s wound remained exposed to the elements.
But there was no time to waste, not when destiny called such as it now did and thus Archaon made his way back through that piercing crystal labyrinth from whence he’d ventured which no longer seemed anywhere as difficult to pass through as it had the first time, as if the landscape were shifting back to normal now that it no longer had any treasure to protect. The shadows of temptation receded too for their service was called elsewhere, the future Everchosen knew not of the Dark Prince’s return after all.
Eventually he returned to that pus-soaked battlefield where he almost died before at the hands of those sick-ridden orcs. The dust of their bodies piled high, unchanged from when he’d slain them and the future Everchosen ventured deeper into this battlefield, now facing the opposite path to before.
He had considered coming here before collecting the Crown of Domination, the final treasure he now sought was nowhere near as inaccessible as this helm had been after all. Yet he decided against that, for his final treasure would need the crown to function as intended any way. To have claimed this first would have only meant extra baggage, not to mention if it had been damaged during that pursuit.
As he paced deeper and deeper into this battlefield the stink of rot filled the air once more while mists swelled before his eyes. Yet if anything this proved to Archaon that he was on the right course, for this final test would require a leap of faith, only by losing his sight and smell could he prove himself worthy of true vision, of the Eye of Sheerian.
….
⚫ Laugh React: Archaon travelled through the lands of rot for centuries, as this unending battlefield stretched far into the bowls of the Chaos Wastes and eventually even into the Realms of Chaos themselves. Archaon was hopelessly lost without his senses and may never be seen by mortal eyes again. (Possibly Archaon’s last ever appearance in the #lorefight series. Careful now.)
….
Archaon wandered this land of desolation and rot without any of his senses for months, possibly up to five of them if his counting was in any way accurate, something that admittedly had become difficult given he could neither witness sun-rise nor experience the advent of twilight anymore. Yet eventually he persevered and made his way thorough to the other side of this plain. The mist-clouds parted and from inside his helmet his eyelids had the chance to part once more. He stood before the entrance to a cave, a massive crevice carved into the side of a mountain as he followed a stream of glowing yellow bile inside for navigation. His armour had repaired by now of course, but his underlying wound had been less kind in its recovery, sealed but still baring a long scar down his side. The stream took him through a complex set of tunnels, which after spending so much time without sight, acted as a blessing relief before finally he entered the largest tunnel of them all.
Inside was a humongous Great Unclean One by the name of Bolragoth, eagerly minding its time guarding the treasure by concocting a particularly virulent strain of Yellow Flux which it secreted into the stream Archaon had followed, a stream which apparently filtered down through the mountains into one of the Ogre tribes of the Eastern Mountain’s favourite watering holes.
Archaon hid behind a rock to gain a scope of the cave, particularly the dormant hive of plague drones stuck to the cave’s ceiling, while Bolragoth wistfully sang to itself in a high pitched voice, so shrill in tone that one would sooner mistake it for a daemonette on her period than for a child of the plaguefather. Yet despite the sound of its screeching, the unclean one’s actual song contained all the sweet thoughts one would expect from its kind from blossoming pustules, to the smiles of toothless children to the frothing of ogre bowels once they consumed his latest gift.
However, rather than a purely innocent song dedicated to his latest exploits, this Great Unclean One soon proved itself smarter than Archaon had first anticipated once it loudly announced, still in its shrieking voice, that it not only knew the Chaos Champion was here but also that he was there behind that rock. Archaon emerged from his hiding place having been uncovered and asked how it knew he was there only to discover that far from simply being an ordinary song, Bolragoth had used it to locate the champion like a bat uses sound, blasting the sound waves off the walls until he discovered an anomaly.
“What do you seek?” The filth-sodden daemon asked.
“THE EYE.” Archaon responded, brandishing toward the empty socket in his crown. “YOU WILL HAND IT AND COWER BEFORE ME.”
Archaon approached Bolragoth’s pile of treasures in search of his prize when suddenly Bolragoth began howling to the heavens in terror.

Archaon figured it was simply the crown’s aura working its magic and thus continued his advance when the Greater Daemon suddenly tore its massive blade from the nearby oozing cave wall and took a swing at the Chaos Champion.Archaon evaded the Daemons attack and unfurled his shield as the feculent beast began to sweat profusely in anger, soiling itself from a hole in its stomach with gallons of yellow-green piss, as it yelled “I see your soul! You are an agent of the Changer! He cannot have my treasure!” before beating its blunt sword against a nearby bell to wake the hive of insects above to their enemy’s presence.

….

• Angry React: Bolragoth rang the bell again to sound the attack call and the plague drones above descended on the unwitting chaos champion. Archaon swung with his blade in defence, creating fiery paths through the air as he struck which each allowed him mere glimpses of vision as his senses were otherwise battered by the sound and sight of hundreds of flapping wings. Suddenly the crowd cleared in front of him as Bolragoth strode forth and came down with a sword-blow so hard hitting and sudden that it forced the would-be Everchosen to drop his shield. Archaon attempted to react only to be grabbed at the waist and lifted in the air by the Great Unclean One’s other hand who promptly reached for its sweat/piss hole and tore its own belly open, revealing an immense jaw the size of a horse. Without any opportunity to bargain or defend himself, Archaon was tossed into Bolragoth’s gut-mouth. It would take some time for its stomach acids to break down the Armour of Morkar but the daemon of Nurgle welcomed that challenge as it returned to brewing its latest plague for the ogres down South.

….

• Wow React: Bolragoth sounded the attack and the swarm descended on the intruder they feared to be an agent of Tzeentch. They stung his armour from all sides, seeking a way through his armour as the unclean greater daemon wailed down on shield until finally, Archaon decided to fight back. His blade swung in wide arcs setting the air above him ablaze as he slowly made his way toward the great unclean one until finally he came into melee range with the great beast. Bolragoth attempted to counter his advance by vomitting acidic bile on the would-be Everchosen but Archaon’s armour kept him protected long enough to get closer and finally deliver three slashes of his sword to the Unclean daemon’s chest. Bolragoth fell and his drone swarm’s morale shattered, causing them to abandon the greater daemon of Nurgle.

Archaon gave him an offer of mercy like he had with Ka’bandha before, claiming he would spare the daemon’s life if it agreed to join his horde but Bolragoth simply replied “Everything has its time and everything has its time to go. Finish me.” Archaon simply replied “VERY WELL.” before stabbing the defeated daemon in the throat.

Having killed the daemon on its own terms, the Plaguefather approved of Archaon’s actions and bestowed his mark upon his armour, enabling Archaon to leave the cave both with the Eye of Sheerian and Nurgle’s favour at his side.

….

• Sad react: Bolragoth and his swarm of plague drones instantly set themselves on Archaon and soon became too much for the would-be Everchosen with the greater daemon pounding him into the dirt while the drones obscured his vision and made it difficult for him to react. He attempted to swing his blade in defence only for it to be knocked from his hands by Bolragoth’s immense club-like sword. As he took more and more damage he soon realised his options for victory were dwindling. As such, Archaon decided to forego the rules and peer into his own innate powers, the Lore of Tzeentch!

Great jets of blue and purple flame emanated from Archaon’s armour, burning hundreds of drones around him beneath his fury before he turned his focus toward the unclean daemon. Bolragoth attempted one final stand by seeking to chuck the chaos champion into its exposed belly but this merely created a target for the champion of Tzeentch who propelled his flames straight into the greater daemon’s womb. Bolragoth let out several final shrieks of terror as its leprous skin turned to ash until finally, Archaon had victory. He claimed the Eye of Sheerian from Bolragoth’s treasures and left the cave. Unfortunately, all his actions had effectively proven the greater daemon of Nurgle’s concerns true, thereby leading to him leaving this place without the Plaguefather’s favour.

….

• Love React: As the greater daemon hurled accusations at the invading chaos champion, Archaon responded in kind.

Archaon: “I NEVER CHOSE THE CHANGER. HE SET HIMSELF ON ME. I COME HERE IN PURSUIT OF YOUR FAVOUR … AND I OFFER MY FLESH WILLINGLY.”

Archaon turned and unclipped the magical fastenings of his armour, still keeping them on but making them looser to allow for several exposed spots. The daemons attacked, as the plague drones descended from the cave ceiling and Bolragoth hurled his Yellow Flux from the stream all over the chaos champion. But Archaon simply remained in place, not even trying to block a single attack as he accepted that he would survive by willpower alone.

Beneath his armour his skin erupted, spots and pustules formed only to pop seconds later, his skin turned hot and leathery, as if he were bathing in a cow pat, and his whole body became larger, bloating to the point that his skin tightened and fused to his armour in a desperate attempt to expand. The average man would have died 10 times over by now as would an ogre, but this mad chaos champion intent on proving his loyalty to the plague-father pressed on, practically taunting the greater daemon to do even worse through his inaction. The greater daemon came closer and proceeded to vomit its insides all over this presumptive bringer of the End Times but still he shook it off and continued to resist the ridiculous amount of agony he was in. Eventually, Bolragoth gave up. Not because he necessarily wanted to but because both he and his plague drones had simply run out of plagues to belch up. Yet somehow, Archaon was still standing where even most followers of Nurgle might have perished.

Accepting its defeat at the hands of a more enduring victor, Bolragoth surrendered itself to Archaon before handing him the Eye of Sheerian. The Plagefather was impressed and bestowed his mark upon Archaon’s armour and the would-be Everchosen left the cave with all he had come for plus the services of a Great Unclean One. There was one major cost though, by enduring Bolragoth’s attacks in such an exposed manner, Archaon had allowed untold damage to his body. His skin had irreparable fused to his armour and should it ever come off, say through damage in battle, his hide wouldn’t last long exposed to the elements.