|3rd POV|
The Mourningstar descends into even greater chaos. Crew members rush through the corridors, preparing for deployment to the planet's surface. For the first time in a long while, they move as one with a unified purpose: they must fulfill the order delivered directly by their God-Emperor.
There is also something else that unites them.
Heretics.
Hundreds of heretics had been hiding aboard the Mourningstar. When a towering golden figure manifests on the bridge, brings down His radiant blade, and executes hundreds of crew in a single swing, people act quickly—especially when that same figure delivers the same command a second time, but with far greater weight behind it.
And so, here they are. Even the elusive Inquisitor Grendyl immediately ordered the entire warband to protect the "Beacon of Humanity," as declared by the Emperor Himself.
Thousands of crew members move with purpose, and once preparations are completed, they deploy. Even Interrogator Rannick takes the field himself, traveling to the surface alongside Technoarcheologist Hadron Omega-7-7, Sister Hestia Prine, and Explicator Orgustine Zola.
It does not take long for them to arrive in the Factory Zone—now renamed the Holy Sanctuary—of Tertium.
As they disembark from their carrier, they are greeted by Sergeant Major Vincent Marrow.
"Greetings, sir. Welcome to the Sanctuary."
"It is good to be here, Sergeant Major. Tell me, where is the Holy One?"
Marrow restrains his surprise at Rannick's tone. He has never heard the Interrogator speak with such reverence. Not even toward Inquisitor Grendyl.
"At the moment, he is resting at the main base, sir. He is injured and requires treatment and rest."
"Then take me to him."
Marrow turns toward Sister Hestia, eyes widening slightly as he remembers her affiliation. The Order of Saint Messelina is a Militant Order, but Hestia is one of the rare Sisters who serves as a Hospitaller.
"Very well. Please follow me. I will take you to the main base."
He leads them toward a nearby vehicle but pauses before stepping inside.
"One warning before we proceed. These people may be on our side, but they are jumpy. They will attack anyone they perceive as a threat, no matter the person's rank. All of them are former citizens of the Underhive. They are… paranoid."
Rannick nods and scans the surroundings, confirming Marrow's words. The Sanctuary's inhabitants watch them with suspicion, weapons held at the ready. Zola nods as well; an Underhive native herself, she understands perfectly—and acts the same way.
The group enters a jeep and drives toward the fortress's opening tunnel. After Kael's collapse, Rita ordered the tunnel opened for Imperial Guard personnel, choosing to reveal their secret rather than risk endangering the unconscious Kael.
The jeep travels through a long tunnel before emerging inside the main base—an installation whose technology rivals, if not surpasses, that of the Tertium itself in some areas.
Hadron's eyes widen. Her mechadendrites twitch. Her internal data-storage floods with information. Since stepping foot here, she has been bombarded with sensory input—each new revelation sending her machine-blessed mind into overdrive.
Her scanner is working overtime, receiving all the information from the Machine Spirits inside all the machinery around her.
The first thing she notices:
The machine spirits are singing.
Not just humming. Not just whispering.
Singing. Joyfully. Reverently.
And they sing a single name: Kael.
The Chosen of the Omnissiah.
The more she listens, the more she realizes the truth: these spirits perceive Kael not as a chosen one—
—but as the second coming of the Omnissiah Himself.
For the first time in her long life, Hadron feels pure euphoria. The machine language around her forms patterns and harmonics she has never heard before, granting her insights into every mechanism she sees.
She looks at the floating drones and immediately understands their construction, function, and principles. Such clarity should be impossible. Such insight should be divine.
The teaching of Mechanicus always tells the priests that they cannot create, but can only replicate and improve existing designs.
Only a god can create.
And there is a reason for that. A newborn machine spirit born from a human's hands is weak in spirit and easily corruptible. Only the creation of the Omnissiah and the Machine God is able to make something with such joyful and strong machine spirits.
Because of this, she and the other Tech Priests who come here reach a single conclusion. Kael is the second coming of Omnissiah.
Hadron and the other Tech Priests do not know that Rob is responsible— making the machine spirit worship him and enhancing Kael's presence, ensuring he receives the support he needs for the war to come. The Mechanicus can only be won over by one thing: divinity. By resuming their ancient belief that only the Omnissiah may design machines, Rob simply nudged their zealotry toward Kael.
The result is absolute.
Among every Tech-Priest accompanying Rannick, the belief is unanimous: Kael is not merely blessed.
He is the Omnissiah reborn.
Rob intends for this to give Kael the foundation he needs—but even the support of the Mechanicus will be worthless if Kael cannot lead or command them. For that, he will need more power.
Fortunately, his recent battle has earned him a great deal of it.
==| Line Break |==
|Kael's POV|
When I open my eyes, I find myself in the familiar white void—the place where I always meet Rob. He sits behind his usual table with a glass of whiskey in hand. His form, as always, is a swirling silhouette of countless universes condensed into humanoid form.
"Take a seat, Kael."
I sit across from him. He pours whiskey into a second glass, and I take a sip before sighing.
"So… am I dead?"
"No. You're alive. Your body simply couldn't handle the strain, so you lost consciousness."
"Right. And you want to talk?"
"Yup."
He downs his whiskey in one go.
"First things first—congratulations on surviving that clusterfuck."
"Thank you."
"Second—credit where it's due. Most people in your position would have hidden, waiting for the job to finish itself. Instead, you stood up for the people and faced the daemons. Brave. And exactly why I brought you here."
"So what's going on?"
"It's been almost a year since you arrived in Tertium, yes?"
I blink. Has it really been that long? I nod.
"Time flies when you're busy," Rob adds casually. "So here's my offer: I want to extend your stay in the 40k universe."
"What?"
"Before you say something, hear me out. You still have a year left in your agreement. But I need you to take on a mission. I want you to fix Tertium. Turn it into a bastion against the Chaos Gods. Depending on the abilities you receive, this mission may take longer than two years."
He raises a hand before I can speak.
"But if you want to leave after the two years are up, just say the word—when you're alone—and I'll take you out immediately. No penalty. No tricks. And I'll give you a reward for your work."
I stare at him.
"What kind of reward?"
"First reward: I'm making you trustworthy to the Mechanicus."
"What?"
"They're already in the Sanctuary, examining your tech. I'm ensuring they will never accuse you of tech-heresy for creating new machines."
"That… is a good one."
More than good. That fear kept me awake at night. My powers make the Imperium suspicious of me, and most likely try to kill me. Innovation makes the Mechanicus brand make me a Heretek. Fighting either is suicide. Fighting both is impossible.
"As for the other rewards… you'll need to complete the mission first."
I exhale slowly.
"Fine. Let's do this."
Rob grins.
"Perfect! Before you wake up, want to roll your rewards?"
"I can?"
"Of course. Here are your notifications."
|Congratulations! You killed 5000 Infected Humans in a single battle! You receive 3 Silver Tickets!|
|Congratulations! You killed 10000 Infected Humans in a single battle! You receive 1 Gold Ticket!|
|Congratulations! You killed 1000 Elite Dregs! You receive 2 Silver Tickets!|
|Congratulations! You killed a Cult Champion! You receive 1 Gold Ticket!|
|Congratulations! You killed a Beast of Nurgle! You receive 1 Gold Ticket!|
|Congratulations! You killed a Nurgling! You receive 1 Gold Ticket!|
|Congratulations! You killed 50 Nurglings! You receive 3 Gold Tickets!|
|Congratulations! You killed 100 Nurglings! You receive 1 Platinum Ticket!|
|Congratulations! You killed a Poxbringer! You receive 2 Gold Tickets!|
|Congratulations! You killed a Rot Fly! You receive 1 Gold Ticket!|
|Congratulations! You killed 50 Rot Flies! You receive 3 Gold Tickets!|
|Congratulations! You prevented a tear between Realspace and the Immaterium from growing enough for a Greater Daemon to enter! You receive 1 Diamond Ticket!|
|Congratulations! You prevented Rotigus from entering Realspace! You receive 2 Diamond Tickets!|
|Congratulations! You wounded Rotigus, one of the Great Unclean Ones! You receive 1 Legendary Ticket!|
|Congratulations! You wounded Nurgle, Chaos God of Plague, Pestilence, Rot, and Decay! You receive 1 Mythical Ticket!|
I stare in shock, then look at Rob. He nods calmly.
"Go ahead, Kael. You earned it."
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