The sudden change caused Kaiting and the others present to show expressions of fear.
They held their guns, scanning their surroundings, wary of enemies that might suddenly appear.
The environment of this space was identical to Reality.
Evidently, this space was a mirror image of Reality.
The difference was that,
This place was even grayer and more dilapidated.
White ash drifted in the sky, and the air carried a scorching heat.
Overcast clouds pressed down on the sky, obscuring the void and the glow of starship engines.
From above the clouds came a low, rhythmic, and powerful heartbeat.
It was hard to imagine what kind of colossal creature could produce such a heartbeat.
"The Realm of Dust and Ash?"
Alex repeated Ahriman's words, gazing at him.
Ahriman, as the chief of the Thousand Sons, a being on par with figures like Sigismund, Lorgar, and Abaddon,
Indeed possessed his own extraordinary qualities.
His meticulous calculations today,
Let alone ordinary people, even a Primarch would likely stumble if they encountered them.
"I know everything about you, Emperor Saint."
"I have always observed you in secret, speculated about you, and searched for your weaknesses."
"Wisdom is the most powerful force in this universe; it can overcome everything, and I happen to possess it."
Ahriman slowly floated into the sky, surrounded by numerous glowing ancient runes.
"You are powerful, but also limited. Many times, you have to rely on the Emperor's power to defeat enemies, to appear invincible."
"But once you enter here, you will temporarily lose contact with the Emperor."
"And the Infinity Key will extend this brief moment; though it cannot last too long, it is enough to deal with you."
"To make time in a certain area static, paused at a specific moment." Alex understood Ahriman's explanation.
"This method, once used in The The Battle of Terra, is now being used on me. I am truly honored."
During The The Battle of Terra, Guilliman led a massive relief force across half the galaxy to support Terra.
At that time, they had already reached the Sol System, only nine hours away from Terra,
But because the Sol System was pulled into the Warp, and time stopped flowing, the relief force could never find Terra's location.
Guilliman had intended to charge through at all costs, paving the way for subsequent reinforcements with blood and bone.
As a result, the Chaos Gods spawned six thousand Avenging Spirit ships,
Which instantly stunned the relief force led by Guilliman.
"You know so much, even The The Battle of Terra so clearly."
Ahriman showed a look of approval.
"It's a pity, it won't change anything; your defeat is already fated."
Alex flapped his wings and also ascended into the sky, conversing with Ahriman as an equal.
"I'm very curious, how will you defeat me?"
"Without the Emperor's power, my own strength might not be able to contend with your Primarch — Magnus."
Alex paused for a moment before continuing, "But dealing with you should be more than enough."
"By luring you here, I have naturally made thorough preparations."
Ahriman revealed a hint of smugness.
The feeling of having everything calculated was truly wonderful.
This was the power of wisdom; even with the Emperor's blessings and enhancements, what could it do? He would still be defeated by his hand.
"Your opponent is not me, but the master of this realm."
Ahriman extended his hand, and a rune slowly rotated, emitting light.
The earth began to tremble, the clouds in the firmament parted, and an eerie light radiated from the gap.
Under the gaze of many Players and Imperial heroes,
An unparalleled, unimaginable behemoth slowly appeared.
The monster possessed a constantly writhing black body, immense in size.
The distant Hive City looked small in comparison to it.
Its body was covered with many thick tentacles and eyes.
The largest eye was in the middle, but all its eyes were closed at this moment, as if it had fallen into slumber.
And those tentacles danced wildly without a moment's rest, constantly trying to grasp something in the void.
Between the tentacles, there were also large pores, continuously spewing out grayish-white dust.
"The Lord of Dust and Ash, it existed before humanity was born."
"Although it cannot compare to the Ancient Four, it is still a being unimaginable and unbeatable by mortals."
"It was defeated by an ancient race and fell into slumber."
"It will only awaken again and walk the universe when the stars align correctly."
Ahriman spoke while chanting ancient incantations.
The rotating rune in his palm flew into the sky and merged into the giant creature's body.
Immediately, its massive eye slowly opened, looking at Alex.
Within its eye flickered an ancient and powerful wisdom,
As well as bottomless, eternal indifference.
It had no subjective malice,
But its very existence was the greatest malice.
Ordinary people would feel pain just by looking directly at it,
And it would leave permanent scars on their souls and minds.
The ash accumulated on the ground rose up, swirling to form vortices.
Twisted demons formed from the ash vortices.
They had bizarre appearances, holding weapons.
They were clearly the master of this realm's dependents, its army.
The Players and Imperial heroes showed solemn expressions, aiming their guns at the monsters, ready for battle.
"Because the stars have not yet aligned correctly, awakening it requires a huge price and cannot last too long, but it is enough to deal with you, Saint of the Emperor."
Ahriman revealed his trump card,
Watching Alex with a triumphant smile.
He firmly believed that with such a perfect plan, the other party had no chance of escaping.
"The Lord of Dust and Ash, one of the seven great demons, how could it be sleeping here?"
Kaiting looked at the giant creature in the sky, exclaiming.
He tried his best to maintain his mental integrity, not allowing himself to be assimilated by the opponent's terrifying will.
As the head of the Inquisition in the Calixis Sector,
He knew far more than ordinary people.
This terrifying entity was vaguely mentioned in Solomon Hallock's diary,
It was one of the seven great demons of the Calixis Sector.
Legend had it that when the threads of fate intertwined, the seven great demons would appear simultaneously, bringing destruction to the Calixis Sector.
Since the Inquisition entered the Calixis Sector, they had been investigating the seven great demons.
They had successively identified the identities and names of the seven demons,
But they had no clue as to where they were hidden.
Unexpectedly, the 'Lord of Dust and Ash' among them was hidden in the Solomon Hive World.
Presumably, the dilapidation of the Solomon Hive World was also related to it.
In fact, the Inquisition's failure to detect the 'Lord of Dust and Ash' in the Solomon Hive World was largely due to Solomon Hallock.
When Solomon Hallock first ventured into the Calixis Sector and traveled to the Solomon Hive World,
He unexpectedly learned about the legend of the 'Lord of Dust and Ash' from the local natives.
With the help of his accompanying navigator, he even found the correct path and entered the mirror dimension.
Fearing that someone might follow the clues mentioned in the diary to search for the Lord of Dust and Ash,
Solomon Hallock was vague about it, went to great lengths to conceal it, and even wiped out the natives who worshipped the 'Lord of Dust and Ash.'
He tried every means to prevent future generations from investigating the truth, to avoid anyone with ill intentions awakening this terrifying entity.
The Inquisition had also been misled by the various clues and legends left by him,
This led to Inquisitors like Kaiting only knowing of the 'Lord of Dust and Ash's' existence, but not its specific location!
The Players looked at the behemoth in the sky,
Unlike Imperial heroes like Kaiting, they didn't show fear; instead, they seemed very excited.
They were already impatient to start a massacre.
Old Thirteen: "This game not only copied P-Studio, but also Cthulhu."
Little Alpaca: "Is this the Warhammer 42K version of the Cthulhu world? A story about weak humans gaining super technology and fighting various Outer Gods."
Zigman: "It feels like Warhammer has all the sci-fi elements that other sci-fi IPs have."
"Aren't the Black Cells of the Adeptus Custodes and the secret fortresses of the Inquisition just replicas of containment?"
Bald Donkey: "Emperor VS Blind Fish God, who is NO1."
Qi Tingzhang: "Although I don't want to argue, the Emperor can't compare to Azathoth, right??"
Old Thirteen: "The Emperor is the only sun in my heart. Without a doubt, the Emperor will beat the Fish God."
Pig Head Strong: "I think he can at most fight the Red King!!"
Dragon Lobster: "Khorne: Then the Emperor and I are evenly matched."
Gabe: "It seems the Warhammer Universe really did evolve from Cthulhu and the cosmos, even the Chaos Gods are universal."
Zack: "I think the story should develop like this."
"Cthulhu tells the story of humanity before it left Earth, while Warhammer tells the story of humanity reaching the galaxy."
"In ancient times, human priests, realizing the existence of the Old Ones and Outer Gods, sacrificed themselves to create the Emperor, so that he could protect humanity from these terrifying entities."
"For tens of thousands of years, the Emperor has been campaigning, defeating all the unspeakable beings hidden on Terra."
"After human technology developed, they entered space. However, the Warp was too cunning, and humanity was repeatedly defeated. The Emperor, who had been fighting behind the scenes, could not sit still and had to step into the public eye to lead humanity and continue fighting the Warp."
Dòu Zǒng: "@Zack, your imaginative speculation is very creative, you should immediately go write a book."
Qi Tingzhang: "Ten days, no books, shop smashed, understand?"
"... ... ... ..."
The Players' eagerness was observed by Titus, Kaiting, and others.
They couldn't help but admire the God Chosen's fearlessness and optimism.
Truly worthy of being the Emperor's God Chosen kids.
As soon as powerful enemies were mentioned, they became as happy as Orks.
... ... ... ...
Alex nodded, affirming Ahriman.
"It's indeed very interesting, both your plan and this place."
Ahriman: "... ... ... ..."
Putting on such a 'you did a great job' expression is really asking for a beating.
Shouldn't he be horrified, angry, roaring??
The other party's calmness was undoubtedly the greatest humiliation to this meticulously designed plan and trap,
It was a mockery and ridicule of him, the master of conspiracy.
"Stop putting on airs."
Ahriman shouted, somewhat losing his composure,
"Today is your death day, the Emperor cannot save you."
"That's hard to say," Alex said with a smile, "You're right, wisdom is a manifestation of power."
"Unfortunately, my wisdom is above yours."
"Speaking of gods, I happen to have a god here too."
"Although she is still in her infancy, dealing with an old guy who hasn't woken up yet shouldn't be a problem."
"Your lies are truly clumsy. What kind of arrogance makes you dare to deceive a master proficient in the Warp?"
Ahriman showed a mocking expression.
"If there is a god by your side, then why don't I feel a powerful Warp projection by your side??"
"Not all gods originate from the Warp," Alex said.
"And here, the arrogant one has always been you."
"With these tricks, you still dream of defeating me and making me your prisoner."
Cortana and Alex are highly bound, and Alex is bound to the Emperor.
Their projections are highly overlapping and fused.
In a sense, the black sun radiating golden light in the Warp is the projection of Alex and Cortana.
"Cortana." Alex looked at Cortana behind him.
"Master."
Cortana responded to her Master.
She slowly floated into the air, and indescribable psychic power gathered within her body.
A dazzling halo appeared behind her active metal body,
Her eyes, mouth, and nose spewed out dense golden light, as if millions of suns were hidden within her body.
As a Star God who simultaneously wields the authority of Reality and the Warp, her potential is beyond imagination, enough to contend with the 'Lord of Dust and Ash'.
The smile on Ahriman's face disappeared, replaced by panic.
No, you really have one!
It's one thing to have the Emperor's protection, but how can you also have a Star God as a servant?
This isn't how you cheat!
Cortana has acted very rarely.
Ahriman knew of Cortana's existence, but knew nothing about what she was.
As soon as Cortana released her power as a Star God,
Ahriman knew that all his schemes had failed.
"Cortana, you go deal with that giant beast."
Alex pointed to the 'Lord of Dust and Ash' in the sky,
"Understood, Master, watch me beat up that big guy."
Cortana nodded, then transformed into a dazzling radiance, soaring into the sky and charging towards the 'Lord of Dust and Ash'.
The war between gods thus broke out,
The 'Lord of Dust and Ash' also realized Cortana's threat,
A thick tentacle swept down across the sky, powerful and heavy, capable of destroying an entire city.
Cortana met it with a light shield,
Boom!
The shockwave spread, forming a terrifying storm that swept across the entire dimensional world.
The battle between the two sides was earth-shattering,
Causing the entire planar world to tremble and cracks to appear.
"You go help Cortana."
Alex gave the Players an order, then looked at Kaiting and other Imperial heroes,
"Protect yourselves and suppress those demons for me."
Subsequently, the battle broke out.
Many Players activated their back thrusters and flew towards the giant beast in the sky.
Leading the charge was the Hunter Demon Battle Group,
With the help of the thrusters, Zigman flew into the sky and was the first to land on the body of the 'Lord of Dust and Ash'.
The other party's body was like a muddy swamp, and his feet sank in the moment he landed.
"In the name of the Emperor."
Zigman's eyes were firm, and he plunged his longsword down fiercely.
The wriggling, viscous body quickly solidified, turning into white stone.
A high-pitched, strange shriek rang out.
Although such an attack could not threaten the 'Lord of Dust and Ash',
It made it feel unparalleled pain.
Cortana seized the opportunity to intensify her attack, using powerful psychic energy and Reality authority to attack the opponent.
The stars had not yet reached their precise positions, and the 'Lord of Dust and Ash''s power had not yet recovered, being at a low point,
Facing the encirclement of a young Star God and numerous Players, it quickly fell into a disadvantage.
... ... ... ...
On the ground, Kaiting, Titus, and others raised their guns, aiming at the demons born from the ash vortex,
Guns roared, and a fierce slaughter thus began.
When the demons transformed into the forms of hounds and hunched figures dragging greatswords, Little Fatty's combat display screen lit up with red light,
His exoskeleton armor was not equipped with flight devices, so he couldn't assist Cortana and could only fight the demons on the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The cannons installed on his shoulders and arms continuously fired at the demons,
Several demons were hit, instantly exploding into ash, scattered on the ground.
After a while, the ash was swept up by the wind again, forming a new vortex.
Moments later, the demons resurrected from the vortex.
"Damn it!! Resurrecting so fast?"
"Sure enough, another one who likes to play dirty tactics!!"
Little Fatty complained, then continued to open fire, sweeping the monsters.
Titus and his kill squad also began to fight,
They led the way, targeting the Thousand Sons Sorcerer and Red Letter Warrior mixed in, attempting to kill them.
Alex and Ahriman, high in the sky, also erupted in battle.
Both sides fiercely released a psychic shock, attempting to gain the upper hand,
The two psychic forces collided in the air, stirring up ripples and forming a storm.
Neither could do anything to the other, resulting in a draw.
Ahriman chanted a spell, intending to draw on the power of the Warp to attack Alex.
Alex, holding the Staff of Divine Punishment and the Holy Judgement Blade, charged forward recklessly.
His movement speed was so fast that mirages appeared in the air.
The Holy Judgement Blade in his hand slashed out, directly at Ahriman, intending to split him in two.
Ahriman had no choice but to abandon his spell and block with his staff.
Clang!!
The two weapons collided,
Emitting a clanging sound.
At this moment, the Staff of Divine Punishment in Alex's hand had also accumulated a huge amount of psychic energy.
"Thunder."
As the sound fell, the psychic energy accumulated in the Staff of Divine Punishment instantly transformed into a bolt of lightning and struck out.
Ahriman was immediately sent flying like a cannonball,
Crashing to the ground with a bang, raising countless dust.
"There's a saying I must return to you, Ahriman. Today is your death day."
Alex swooped down to the ground, the Holy Judgement Blade in his hand glowing.
He wanted to cut off Ahriman's head, completely ending this Chaos traitor.
At this moment, a winged demon rushed over from the other side at an extremely fast speed,
Colliding with Alex in the air,
Forcibly knocking him away to the other side,
After getting up, the demon shrieked and charged at Alex again.
The two sides began to fight.
... ... ... ...
"Ahriman."
Thousand Sons Sorcerer - Ktesias ran to Ahriman's side and helped him up,
The demon fighting Alex was precisely the one he had summoned to rescue Ahriman.
"Are you alright?"
Ahriman shook his head, "I'm fine."
Then, he showed a bitter expression,
"The plan failed, I didn't expect the Emperor Saint to actually have a Star God as a servant."
Ahriman's plan was perfect, accounting for all unforeseen factors.
However, Ahriman would never have thought, no matter how much he racked his brains, how a human could gain the recognition of a Star God.
And, coincidentally, it was the Emperor Saint he was trying to deal with!
At this moment, the agonizing cry of a demon rang out.
Ahriman turned his head to look.
The demon summoned by Ktesias to tie down the Emperor Saint had been killed.
The demon's body was burned to ashes in the flames, and its soul was banished back to the Warp.
The Emperor Saint looked over, his voice as loud as thunder.
"Ahriman, you cannot escape."
Light enveloped his body, dazzling and brilliant, like a golden sun.
Even with the blessing of the Lord of Change, they could never hope to deal with such an existence.
He took one step forward, then two, and then quickened his pace to a swift stride.
Each step made the ground tremble, each step as heavy as a Titan.
He was coming to kill him,
bringing the Emperor's wrath and mockery for his foolish plan.
Several Red Letter Warriors rushed forward, attempting to buy time,
but in the blink of an eye, they were cut in half and turned into burning ashes by him.
No one could stop the Emperor Saint.
"Is today my death day?"
This thought flashed through Ahriman's mind.
Just at this moment,
a burning demon appeared and pounced on the Emperor Saint, tying him down once more.
That demon made Ahriman and Ktesias show expressions of fear,
if possible, they would rather not see him.
Because that demon was nothing else but the dreaded backwash of warpfire, also known as the Red Letter, which they had always feared.
At that time, Ahriman cast the Red Letter spell, causing most of the Thousand Sons to die and turn into specters within their armor.
This act caused an echo in the Warp, forming that burning 'Red Letter' demon.
Just as Loken's death gave birth to 'Samus',
the destruction of the Imperium would give birth to 'The End of the Imperium'.
The Red Letter was the end of the Thousand Sons, the swansong of Ahriman and others.
Ahriman could not die here,
otherwise, the karmic loop would break,
and this demon named 'Red Letter' would also truly die.
Therefore, when Ahriman fell into despair, the Red Letter demon would appear.
"We must leave immediately, the plan has failed," Ktesias said.
Ahriman nodded, he took out the Infinity Key, lifting the time lock,
allowing the Thousand Sons Sorcerers in the distance to open a Warp path to leave.
"For the Emperor."
"Stop those traitors."
Titus and others launched an even fiercer attack, intending to prevent the traitors from leaving,
but an endless horde of demons blocked their path, making it difficult for them to get close to those sorcerers.
At this moment, heavy footsteps sounded.
Old Thirteen broke through the demon's obstruction like a tank,
he let out a deafening roar, knocking Ahriman and Ktesias to the ground in one fell swoop,
and the Infinity Key in Ahriman's hand flew out, rolling onto the ground.
"An Ogryn? Thousand Sons bloodline?"
The fallen Ahriman's eyes widened, not bothering to pick up the Infinity Key.
He actually saw an Ogryn implanted with the Thousand Sons gene-seed.
This world seemed a bit too crazy.
"Traitor."
Old Thirteen ignored Ahriman's shock, he reached out and grabbed his foot, then, like a toy, lifted him up and smashed him onto the ground.
Left, then right,
Bang!
Bang!
Smashing the ground until it cracked.
Ahriman protected himself with psychic power, suffering little damage,
but his heart was bewildered and shocked.
There was actually an Ogryn among his blood brothers,
and now this Ogryn was holding him and smashing him onto the ground.
At this moment, Ahriman felt that the Warp was not that crazy after all,
at least it was a little more normal than Reality.
Ahriman tried to break free from the Ogryn's control,
but found that his hands were like iron clamps, completely unmovable.
Later, it was Ktesias who released a powerful psychic shock,
only then did Ahriman escape.
He originally wanted to control that Ogryn to figure out what was going on.
However, at this moment, the Red Letter demon was pierced through by the Emperor Saint and turned into ashes amidst screams.
He stretched out his hand, and the Infinity Key, which had fallen to the ground, flew up and landed in his hand.
"We must leave immediately."
Ktesias shouted, dragging Ahriman towards the teleportation light hole.
The other Thousand Sons Sorcerers and Red Letter formed a shield wall, blocking the pursuing Ogryn for the two.
Then, Ahriman and Ktesias walked into the teleportation light hole.
"Damn it, he got away again."
Old Thirteen slapped away a Red Letter Warrior blocking his path,
seeing Ahriman had escaped, he immediately roared in anger.
If he could catch Ahriman, the war points gained would be enough to make him MVP.
...
Alex ignored the fleeing Ahriman,
he played with the Infinity Key, a smile on his face,
this was a divine artifact that even the Emperor himself was tempted by,
the only flaw was that this Infinity Key was still an unfinished product.
If it were a finished product, it could reverse time and space, equivalent to the Time Stone in the Marvel Universe.
Although it didn't do much damage in the Warp, in the Reality universe, this thing was definitely a divine artifact.
When those demons invaded the Reality world,
he would directly send out the Imperium's 'Doctor Strange of the Grey Knights Branch' with the Infinity Key to deal with them.
If they lost, they would restart,
keep fighting until they won.
That way, the Imperium would never lose, only win small, win big, win huge.
Putting away the Infinity Key, Alex looked around, ensuring that Titus, Little Fatty, and others could handle the demons on the ground, then flapped his wings and flew into the sky,
joining the team besieging the 'Lord of Grey and Dust',
the time lock was lifted, and Alex once again gained the Emperor's blessing, his combat power soaring,
and together with Cortana, he firmly suppressed the newly awakened 'Lord of Grey and Dust'.
...
Ahriman escaped,
and the 'Lord of Grey and Dust' he awakened could not withstand Alex, Cortana, and the many Players' attacks,
and was quickly beaten to a pulp, with a bunch of tentacles broken off,
and the largest eye was even forcefully burst.
Left with no choice, he unleashed his accumulated power, launching a surging psychic storm,
then, he seized the opportunity to escape into the depths of the Warp.
The Solomon Hive World mirror world, which had lost the power maintenance of the 'Lord of Grey and Dust', also collapsed,
a large vortex appeared, devouring everything.
Alex had no choice but to lead the Players and Imperial heroes to withdraw,
as soon as he returned to Reality,
a golden light curtain appeared.
Congratulations, you have gained experience.
LV16 -> LV17
Learned skill: Divine Omen.
You are the embodiment of salvation, the incarnation of hope. Your appearance represents victory and light.
When you appear before the populace in a divine posture, golden light will appear in the sky, and machine spirits will chant loudly.
The symbol of the holy number 13 will appear in every corner, and sculptures of the Emperor and Saints will emit light.
Warriors loyal to the Imperium will receive blessings and enhancements, while traitors who turn to Chaos will be filled with fear and confusion.
Hint: Divine Stance will continuously consume your Faith Points.
Learned skill: Machine God Incarnation.
You will become the incarnation of the omnissiah, the walking manifestation of the Machine God.
When switching to Machine God Incarnation, the Machine Spirit will sing hymns for you and act according to your will.
Hint: Machine God Incarnation requires Faith Points.
Alex hadn't had time to look closely at the upgrade prompt when a new golden light curtain appeared, pushing the upgrade prompt away,
which made him look surprised, and he subconsciously complained.
"You've been sitting on the Golden Throne for ten thousand years, and you're still so impatient, you can't even wait a second, can you?!"