The latest warp jump brought a barrage of headaches and twisted visions. My crew murmured anxiously as we began our approach, our ship buffeted by strange energies surrounding the planet. Foul Xenos magics no doubt. But the promised riches here emboldened me. The Navigator raved mystical nonsense, spreading superstition through the crew. I doubled the watch to maintain order. Jinzhumao barely appeared on augur arrays, a void-lost world. “Reading no recognizable outputs, long-range auspex barely registering. How’d you discover this phantom planet, captain?” my helmsman asked. I grinned “My charts are ancient when your grandsires were single-celled.” Though I struggled to relocate shadowed Jinzhumao on each journey.

In truth, I relied on fragmented logs from my ancestor - the great explorer Jan Vanderdecken who first encountered Jinzhumao millennia ago. His records spoke of incredible riches, bizarre cyber-cities, and precursors who came before man. But little else survived...his later logs descended into chaotic madness.

Jan Vanderdecken never found this world again before his death. For generations, my family sought the mythic void world fruitlessly. Now, Jinzhumao's mysteries would be mine to unveil and exploit.

The planet revealed itself as we closed, shrouded in diffuse electromagnetic fog. Descending through the charged miasma induced headaches and vertigo in the crew, except for myself. Was the fog a territorial defense, or the promise of pain below?

Passing through the electromagnetic storm barriers around the planet, groans echoed through the hull. The crew made warding signs as we emerged above a vista both impossible and ancient. Towering dark pagodas blended seamlessly with jagged metallic spires, neon lights dancing over polished obsidian streets. This was no backwater, but a cyber-city rivaling even Holy Terra. No Magos or missionary had marked this planet on Imperial charts.

At the elegant spaceport, we were smoothly received by figures robed in black and gold, speaking High Gothic with lilting precision, they had four eyes – a main set looking forward, and smaller peripherals on the temples for added vision. The dignified locals reminded me of ancient Asian cultures I'd seen in fragmented historical texts. Their manner of dress, long silk robes tied with sashes, evoked eras before the God Emperor. Their language echoed melodically in the stone halls.

The total absence of cyberware seemed odd, given this culture’s advanced nature. Some ingrained taboo, or decree from their leaders, perhaps? I glimpsed etched metal and a burning green gaze in the shadows but dismissed it as superstition rearing up. For a moment the phantom seemed almost familiar...

Their four eyes watching us unsettled me, what quirk of evolution or genecraft led to such an adaption? I dared not stare too long, lest it provoke offense in our enigmatic hosts.

Their reception was elaborately polite, almost courtly, as we were guided through minimalist rock gardens and past burbling fountains. The underlying current of danger never abated, however. For all their artistic sophistication, I had no doubt these four-eyed escorts could draw those powered blades faster than an unaugmented human could blink. As an invited guest, I was safe, but they made it clear that protection relied on perfect manners. We tread carefully.

As we were escorted through minimalist rock gardens, our junior apprentice navigator Opal spoke out of turn and caught me off guard despite my warnings:

"Pardon me, but might I ask what beautiful language was that echoing in the halls? I studied linguistics at the academy on Terra Nova, perhaps we could exchange—"

One of our four-eyed hosts raised a hand elegantly yet firmly, cutting her off.

"We appreciate your scholarly interest but must decline for now. No recordings or exchanges of our native Ku'Lai will be permitted during this visit. We of Jinzhumao prefer our privacy." She smiled, but the warning was clear.

Opal nodded, face flushing. I gave her a cautioning look - we were guests here. Questions could wait until we were spaceborne again. The locals valued discretion above all else. For now, we would honor that.

Trade negotiations proceeded smoothly, but terms were dictated by our hosts. Profitable yet humbling. As we returned to our shuttle, I spotted an etched symbol on a darkened wall ahead. Angular and metallic, glowing with etheric menace. No human script. As we passed, I saw it clearly, though only for a heartbeat. The emblem seared itself into my mind before I forced myself to look away, my heart racing.

A trick of the light, or some forgotten mechanism awakened by our presence? I dared not speak of it. The trade negotiations had gone smoothly, but the nail that stands up was hammered down, as old Terran wisdom went. These were not masters to be trifled with.

As we were escorted back, our lead four-eyed guide K'van fell in beside me. “Hello again Captain, might you consider staying longer as our honored guest, since this marks your fifth journey to us?” He smiled with familiar etiquette, but the offer felt laden. “You would be permitted limited access to our inner city, under escort of course. Few outsiders receive such a privilege.”

I hesitated. Every instinct screamed to depart this honeyed trap. Yet if I could learn more of Jinzhumao’s mist-shrouded wonders, the risk might pay dividends later. “You are most gracious, K’van. I shall consider it and give your council an answer before we depart.” He nodded, satisfied.

As we walked, K’van spoke softly by my side: “Your subordinate's... Linguist curiosity about our melodic Ku’Lai was... unexpectedly uncouth. To learn it firsthand, without a mediating translator, would require an...intensive cultural immersion. But such knowledge could be arranged, for the right price.” His smile was razor-thin. His tone was smooth but his meaning was unmistakable – this would come at a dangerous cost.

His tone remained congenial, yet dread gripped my heart at the implication. I needed to depart this velvet snare, but could not risk offense. “You honor me, K’van. I shall reflect on your offer.”

My mind turned over this trade like a puzzle box, seeking the key. K’van’s genteel facade disguised the jaws of a steel trap. But to flee now would gain nothing. I must be patient, like the spider.

Opal began to open her mouth to speak, but I silenced her with an angry sharp look. I had brought the novice to open her eyes, not her mouth. Curiosity was a knife in untrained hands. For now, silence and observation were her lessons.

As we walked, I noticed more etched glyphs watching from the shadows. Our escorts closed ranks around us, their presence suddenly suffocating. The symbols seemed to writhe and pulse as we passed them. K’van quickened our pace - whether to help or trap us, I could not tell. I had to get my crew out of here.

Childhood nightmares flooded my mind, of being helplessly hunted by sinister machines. I struggled to control my breathing, my heart threatening to burst from my chest. The full gravity of our situation crashed down upon me. We had come unconscionably close to the yawning grave today.

Reaching the shuttle, relief washed over me. The deal had gone well, securing exotic fuels and cybernetics the Mechanicus would envy. A toast was owed to the crew for performing ably under such perilous hosts.

K’van’s four eyes glinted with amusement, praising our improved discipline since the unpleasantness of the last visit. I gave him a courtly bow before we boarded, promising to continue our fruitful exchange.

Onboard, I pulled Opal aside, keeping my voice low. “Your outburst could have doomed us all. Mind your place with these hosts - they are not backwater slugs to be prodded. Do you understand?” She nodded, face pale, fully chastened. We had tread far too close to the yawning grave.

Only by the sufferance of powers beyond my grasp had we survived at all... Watching Jinzhumao’s receding orb from the bridge, I allowed myself a moment of satisfaction. The dangers below were eclipsed by the opportunity before us. I was dancing with fell powers, but the prize would be worth the peril.

Or so I swore to myself. Yet doubt gnawed beneath, like the memory of that strange sigil. A political misstep or curiosity unleashed could end in flashing blades and enough blood to paint a palace. I would return but with greater care. The jewel of Jinzhumao must be grasped delicately, or its razor edges would slice to the bone.

For now, I celebrated our success with the crew, enjoying their stories of debauchery planetside. But a part of me remained in that mist-cloaked city below, entranced by its siren song. Soon we would return across the void, to tread once more between sweet rewards and steel teeth.

As we broke orbit, a shared sigh of relief flooded the crew as we departed Jinzhumao's orbit. "Emperor shields us from whatever evil stirs below," muttered the Navigator making apotropaic wards against whatever evil stirred below. In my bones, I felt we had barely escaped with more than our lives. But avarice and ambition would draw me back again to brave those shadows.

In my chambers I turned ancient artifacts in my hands, admiring the alien workmanship. My drinking could not wholly banish the nightmares - sarcophagi of black iron, ruled by the metal king. A small price for the rewards Jinzhumao promised the bold. So I told myself.

Yet fear gnawed at me like a rat chewing wire. The emblem I had glimpsed in the shadows was seared into my mind's eye. I drank to loosen its grip, but still, it lurked behind my eyes, imposing and monolithic. A sign unseen for millennia now awakened. The thought chilled my blood.

I doubled the sentry shifts and began carrying my pistol even on the ship. Food lost its flavor, and my head throbbed. Each passing solar day strained my nerves further. When the nightmares came, I dared not close my eyes again, taking stims and drinking through till dawn cycle.

The crew learned nothing of the glyph. Loose lips bring sunken ships. And these waters ran deep and cold indeed. I studied our graceful hosts in the security footage, looking for any cracks in their polished obsidian veneer. Only the faintest ripples...but below I sensed unfathomable depths. We were but motes in a great black sea.

I sequestered the tower glyph amulet obtained planetside, locking it away. Even glimpsing its twisting geometry unsettled me. But more unnerved me was the strange clarity in its labyrinthine angles. I was beginning to comprehend.

The sublight journey back towards Imperial space was agonizingly slow. No warp travel till we reached the Mandeville point. Each cold creak of the hull reverberated through me. The Navigator's unease was palpable, picking up on my dour mood. Whispers followed me, just out of earshot.

Checking the cargo hold three shifts later, shining my glow lamp over the newly purchased artifacts, gems, exotic fuels, and cybernetics, nothing seemed amiss at first. Until I spotted a small segmented metal creature emerge from an opened crate. It looked directly at me, eyes flaring crimson. Alien. Before I could react, it skittered away into a shadowy air duct.

I stood frozen with a fear long forgotten for several long minutes in the empty cargo hold, pulse racing. Just as I convinced myself it was a relic come to life in some deactivated state, a strange signal pinged on the ship's internal network. A burst transmission beamed out to Jinzhumao just as our warp engines were powering up.

I wanted to flee, to scream vacuum breach and burn us out. But the cold truth sank deeper by the hour. There would be no escape. Once seen, it could not be unseen. The veil had parted, and what lay beneath was ancient and terrible indeed.

As we prepared to re-enter the Immaterium, I secured myself in my chamber with a bottle of engine wine, now my sole comfort. The nightmares had followed me from haunted Jinzhumao, infecting my waking hours. I dared not sleep, dared not dream. Only endless watches, pistol tight in hand. Before pouring myself engine wine, I studied my private purchase of arcane artifacts obtained from Jinzhumao - scrolls and stone carvings depicting an undying metal sun emperor who ruled over gods and men. Techno-heresy that would bring Exterminatus if discovered. But an explorer's silence cost nothing.

That night I collapsed into bed drunk and exhausted, trying to forget the whispers and shadows that haunted Jinzhumao's impossible alleys. Sleep came swiftly. I dreamt of a black sun rising, and undying chrome metal legions marching from cyclopean crypts beneath the ground. And a thousand corpse stars screaming from the void...

Later in the night, I woke in a terrible cold sweat almost panicking. With a shaking hand, I poured another cup of engine wine. No point telling the crew about dream phantoms seen while drunk.

The key was not to look back. We would leave this place far behind, I told myself. But I knew you cannot outrun what has already caught you.

Captain’s Log.

We are three weeks out from Jinzhumao now, headed for Port Wander. Each light year between deadens the dread claws sunk into my mind. In time, ambition will eclipse fear. The call of discovery pulls strongly, a thirst I cannot slake.

I sit awake, turning possibilities like prayer beads. There are always risks in plumbing the deep void. But some siren worlds enthrall tighter than others.

I will prepare, and gather allies. The pilgrimage will require sacrifice. Our ignorance was costly, but such perils only ward off the craven. With proper offerings, the god-emperor may permit our return. All great rewards carry great risks.

The secrets of Jinzhumao will be laid bare in time. My ancestor broke before its mysteries. I know what awaits in those fathomless halls below. But we are made by what defeats us. A disturbance is coming that none can avoid.

I will return to that black genesis star, whatever the cost. For now, the nightmares remain. But it is always darkest before they arrive...

End Log.