The Forge World Hephaestus, a major armory near Baal, had long been responsible for producing voidships and various weapons for Baal and the entire Scarlet Scar domain.
Not long ago, it was occupied by the Tyranids, and Dante had not had time to enact an Exterminatus.
Therefore, many unfinished machines were preserved here, and Sanguinius, leading the Blood Angels and a large number of mortals, was recovering the still usable ones from the ruins.
The ceaseless roar of chainswords echoed as Seth led the Flesh Tearers, forming the first line of defense, clearing out the Tyranids hidden among the steel wreckage.
"My Lord, Hephaestus Shipyard Sixteen has been reclaimed, and the remains of the former Hephaestus Fabricator-General were found within."
Besides Seth and the Flesh Tearers, who were responsible for opening the front lines, the Crimson Blades Chapter, who once mistakenly believed their genefather was Guilliman, also joined the operation.
Influenced by the Ultramarines, the Crimson Blades Chapter was more rational than other Blood Angels Chapters, excelling in management, analysis, and administrative work.
Sanguinius chose them to oversee the resource recovery efforts for the entire Forge World.
"The Fabricator-General protected most of the important machinery and a precious STC. We can almost immediately restart Shipyard Sixteen."
Gorenn's tone carried a hint of excitement, and Sanguinius could understand his excitement.
A complete STC, or Standard Template Construct, was extremely valuable.
Each STC was an ancient creation from the Dark Age of Technology, storing a complete set of complex automated production programs, an essential tool for ancient humanity when colonizing the stars.
When humans from the Dark Age of Technology arrived on a new planet, they only needed to provide local materials to the STC, and it could produce specific or all technological creations humanity needed.
However, with the passage of time, most STCs became damaged or incomplete, capable of producing only one or two specific technological creations.
But even so, they were invaluable, as most creations from the Dark Age of Technology had been lost by humanity's 40th millennium.
Sanguinius entered Shipyard Sixteen, accompanied by Gorenn.
The two-meter-tall, heavily mechanically modified corpse of the Fabricator-General of this world was being collected.
The titles of the heads of different Forge Worlds varied: Forge Director, Fabricator-General General, Fabricator-General—all different, but their duties were equivalent to those of a Planetary governor in an Imperial world, and their power and autonomy were even greater.
This was mainly because most Forge Worlds only nominally pledged allegiance to Mars, and often had their own complete internal operating system.
The Hephaestus Fabricator-General had clearly died fighting to protect the important machinery and STC of Shipyard Sixteen; his heavily mechanically modified body had been torn to pieces by the Tyranids.
The Adeptus Mechanicus might not be good knowledge explorers, but they were indeed good knowledge protectors.
Without their dedication, humanity would have lost even more technology.
Sanguinius knelt beside the shattered remains of the Fabricator-General, gently bowing his head:
"The true Omnissiah is about to be born, and original power will resonate throughout the galaxy."
"May your Psyker energy return to His domain, and may you enjoy eternal power there."
With that, Sanguinius stood up and, accompanied by Gorenn, the Chapter Master of the Crimson Blades, came before the STC deep within Shipyard Sixteen.
The exterior of this STC was a sphere encased in pristine white ceramic, its surface covered with chrome alloy pipes, crisscrossing like a metal ball of yarn.
At first glance, this sphere seemed out of place with the surrounding shipyard, filled with dark, heavy steel, as if it belonged to a different worldview.
However, members of the Adeptus Mechanicus had affixed sacred lacquered seals symbolizing the Omnissiah and binary prayers written on parchment to the STC's surface, and several censers releasing incense hung nearby.
Sanguinius knew these things did have an effect, but ever since he discovered that the location of Malicious Art was being occupied by Alexander, he began to think that offering dorayaki to the STC might be more effective.
While thinking, Sanguinius placed his hand on the surface of the STC, trying to sense the machine spirit within.
Corrupted by Alexander, he theoretically should also possess the abilities of the domain he occupied.
However, Alexander himself was only unconsciously occupying positions in three Warps, one of which was forced upon him by the Emperor.
He himself had not yet truly realized his Warp essence, which meant Sanguinius could only mobilize a slight amount of power from the Malicious Art domain.
Currently, the Malicious Art domain was somewhat segmented, cut into three parts, with the part Alexander occupied being closer to what the Adeptus Mechanicus called original power.
Awakening and vitalizing the machine spirit, operating and driving all machines.
Sanguinius tried for a moment, sensing the complex and chaotic emotions within the STC.
If Alexander himself were here, the machine spirit of this STC would probably be vitalized to the point of being an Abominable Intelligence, possessing a certain degree of wisdom.
Sanguinius sighed softly, just about to withdraw his arm, when he felt a surge of joyful emotion from the machine spirit within the STC.
Praise, praise, praise!
Songs echoed through the machine spirit, not just in this STC.
The machine spirits of the entire shipyard, and even the entire Forge World, were excitedly singing, praising, and cheering.
Assembly lines began to operate on their own without human control, previously damaged machinery began to mysteriously self-repair, factories without power roared to life, and dazzling flames erupted from smelting furnaces.
All machines sang in unison, twenty-two praises resounding throughout the planet!
All machines roared in unison, twenty-two roars for original power to smelt!
All machines rejoiced in unison, twenty-two rumblings celebrating the return of our Lord!
"It's done." A slight smile touched Sanguinius' lips.
He could feel it, feel that dark and profound part of his Warp essence, the part called the Dark Angel in Baal's faith, the source of the Blood Angels' Black Rage, being eroded by waves of metallic blue light.
As this erosion occurred, the blue figure connected to Sanguinius' Warp essence in that Warp also became increasingly clear.
A roar echoed in the Warp, and the three domains were gradually occupied by this blue figure.
Sanguinius could feel His power awakening little by little, and Sanguinius, corrupted by Him, also gradually touched the power of those three domains.
He could also better perceive the existence of the machine spirit, draw power from death, and seemed to have become much more capable of eating.
This change must be even more pronounced on Alexander's side.
Even back in Ashford, Sanguinius had vaguely noticed that the items Alexander sold, at least those involving the Warp, did not disappear into thin air, but rather merged into Alexander's reflection in the Warp, stimulating Alexander to continuously awaken his Warp essence and become part of Alexander's power.
Allowing Alexander to consume the Dark Angel could deepen His corruption of Sanguinius, helping Sanguinius shed the dark and profound part of his essence.
But more importantly, the Dark Angel was essentially a part of Sanguinius, and Sanguinius had already been corrupted by Alexander. His consumption of the Dark Angel could more gently stimulate Alexander to awaken his Warp essence, without leading to loss of control.
Sanguinius gently rubbed his brow.
He truly couldn't describe what Alexander's Warp essence was; its birth was inexplicably strange, and the domains it occupied were oddly threefold. The danger of it losing control would probably be no less than opening another Great Rift.
He could only guess that Alexander was actually similar to himself.
His Warp essence was born in the future, which in turn affected his past self.
"Will Alexander, at some point in the future, become the Omnissiah, the Dark King, and the eternal dragon?"
"But if so, his birth should have already pierced through time, existing synchronically in the past, present, and future."
"..Or did he, in some way, precisely stall himself at the last moment before ascension to godhood? Similar to the Emperor..."
Sanguinius pondered for a moment, still without a clue.
But in any case, with the further awakening of his Warp essence, Alexander should also have a deeper grasp of the power of the domain of Corrupting Destruction.
It's time to drag Guilliman into this...
Alexander slowly woke up from the sand, rubbing his head. Although he had experienced a dizzy spell, Alexander felt his mind had become much clearer. Many things that were once obscured by mist now felt as if he could reach out and touch them.
He could see his reflection in the Warp; the body of that Doraemon was becoming increasingly clear.
"Lord Alexander?" Mephiston, noticing Alexander had woken up, eagerly approached him.
"I'm fine." Alexander gently waved Mephiston off, rubbing his head slightly as he felt the instincts and knowledge surging from the depths of his soul.
His Warp essence had further awakened; he could feel that he actually occupied three domains.
Corrupting Destruction, Greedy Dissolution, and Malicious Art—these three domains each bestowed new powers upon Alexander.
Alexander glanced at Mephiston. He could now feel the movement of every component of the power armor on Mephiston, sense the direction of mechanical power flow within the power armor, and the presence of the machine spirit.
With just a thought, Alexander could control this power armor... Not just the power armor, but any machine that relied on power to operate, Alexander could control and amplify its effectiveness.
This was the power bestowed upon Alexander by Malicious Art.
Corrupting Destruction was the power that the Emperor's Reaper's Visage had carved out for Alexander.
Now, Alexander could draw power directly from death, just as Angron could draw power from war. As long as someone died nearby, Alexander could continuously repair his body, making him very difficult to truly kill.
Furthermore, those who died near Alexander would have a little power drawn from them by Alexander. If someone was killed by Alexander's own hand, even more power could be drawn.
And, things killed by Alexander would also be corrupted to a certain extent. This would be very useful against daemons.
Finally, there was the ability bestowed upon Alexander by Greedy Dissolution.
He used to be able to eat an entire fire scorpion; now he could eat three or four at once.
Having sorted out his thoughts, Alexander slowly stood up from the desert and looked back at where Sheath Wing Fortress had once stood.
Mephiston had completed all his work before Alexander woke up.
His powerful Psyker energy had almost completely overturned Sheath Wing Fortress, burying the entire xenos city in the desert, slumped beneath Baal's setting sun.
Alexander saw the statue in the center of Sheath Wing Fortress, tilted and embedded in the yellow sand.
The statue depicted two angels, one dark and one golden, fighting each other.
Now, with the destruction of Sheath Wing Fortress, the statue of the Dark Angel was shattered, crushed beneath the Golden Angel, seemingly foreshadowing the Golden Angel's ultimate victory in this conflict.
"Let's go back." Alexander averted his gaze from the ruins and wreckage of Sheath Wing Fortress and said to Mephiston.