Chapter 38: One Ring, One Encirclement
The Emperor sensed Tzeentch's power closing around Nostramo with crushing force. It was difficult to imagine Wayne's current helplessness.
Few mortals possessed such resistance to the Warp. The Emperor could no longer sense Wayne's presence. The unique energy signature of his soul had vanished from reality, as if Tzeentch were consuming the man piece by piece.
Imagining Wayne, possessing Dark Age technology and seduced by Tzeentch's promises, unleashing unimaginable ruin upon humanity. Such a scenario was almost inevitable.
At this very moment, Nostramo's local time showed nine hours remaining before the Imperial Dream arrived.
The Emperor was anxious, yet helpless. Tzeentch had prepared for centuries, or maybe even way before, and his plan was intricate enough to delay even the Master of Mankind. The Lord of Mankind worried about Wayne's safety. It had been a long time since anyone had understood the Emperor so well, or dared point out his fundamental shortcomings.
He could only continue tearing through Tzeentch's territory, drawing closer to Nostramo with each passing moment.
Nine hours. That was all he had.
...
Nanomachines would infect humans, extracting and storing their genetic material. The machines would then reproduce, combining to cultivate ever more powerful generations of mechanical intelligence.
After ten thousand years of such cultivation, what might such a hybrid intelligence become? And what if every iteration inherited Wayne's insane ambitions?
The galaxy would fall.
Furthermore, the plan incorporated the Pariah gene, beings that could shield the creations from Warp interference entirely.
Tzeentch couldn't help but chuckle at the audacity. As expected of Wayne, this plan was absolutely insane, utterly irrational, and therefore perfect.
If Wayne's vision came to pass, all of humanity would become something else: a fusion of flesh and machine. The very concept of what it meant to be human would be obliterated.
Wayne and Helena faced each other across the chamber. Their stares locked, neither yielding.
Tzeentch sensed the truth of Wayne: she had never believed humanity deserved salvation. Give them wealth and status, and they willingly degenerated. Give them honor, and they become arrogant. Give them hope, and they pursue power instead.
Deep within Wayne's fractured mind burned a single conviction: humanity was not worthy of destruction by anyone's hand except his own. Only Wayne could judge humanity. Only Wayne was the executioner of human civilization.
What an arrogant, conceited, insane belief. And yet, paradoxically, Wayne's inner rationality prevented him from allowing humanity to perish while he still lived. He would not permit their annihilation by another's hand.
He was a twisted creature indeed.
Helena was the first to break the silence. "Does your lovely son Konrad, standing right beside you, know about your radical thoughts? Especially the weapons you're using now?"
Konrad frowned at the question coming from the evil god. Did his father possess some hidden plan he'd never revealed?
But Wayne ignored Konrad entirely, keeping his focus locked on Helena. He couldn't afford distractions.
"He doesn't know, and that is neither your nor his concern," Wayne replied. "Tell me how much you really know about me?"
"Oh~ Too many to count, dear Wayne. Like, do you remember your real name? Or this one. Besides your parents, who else died in that alley? Does anyone else know it?"
The casual mention hung in the air like a blade. Wayne's parents were murdered in the streets when he was a child. It was the kind of tragedy Tzeentch would find amusing to weaponize.
Wayne's jaw tightened. "I would advise you to choose your next word very carefully."
"Oh please~, After all," Helena continued, her tone theatrical and cruel, "six legs went in, and only two came out. White pearls were scattered across the ground. How many holes did your father have in his body when he died?"
Wayne frowned at the cruelty masquerading as humor. He didn't enjoy such jests, but he remained calm before Tzeentch.
"Is this all you have?"
Helena slowly walked around Wayne, genuinely interested despite her mocking demeanor. Although he seemed unremarkable on the surface, his soul burned with something fascinating, a kind of self-aware madness.
"Well," she said, "I am the most mischievous of gods. I must tell jokes. Do you desire a miracle to bring your parents back to life? How fortunate—I happen to possess resurrection methods just for you."
Wayen tilted his head. "Heh, Oh, really, how kind of you. You know what, I also have a secret method, a staff repair manual, just~ for you."
Tzeentch's expression darkened for just a moment. This damned human.
In the past, Tzeentch had controlled the entire Warp through his omniscient staff, until the other Chaos Gods forced him to destroy it. Now Wayne dared to mock him with that very loss?
Helena's eyes flashed with barely contained fury. "Haha, good one, Wayne. You are truly beyond redemption. What a pity the offer for your parents' resurrection just expired."
"Oh?" Wayne's tone remained light. "Your staff is shattered on the ground too, isn't it?"
"Ha..Ha," Helena replied, her voice taking on a razor's edge, "at least mine is more complete than your parents."
Konrad was sweating profusely. Gulp. Though he couldn't understand the exchange, the old references, the layered insults, he sensed clearly their mutual desire to kill one another had just increased by 100 times.
Are they even telling jokes anymore, or just... exchanging threats disguised as humor?
Helena's smile turned cold and calculating. "Wayne, do you truly believe I have no contingency for an artificial intelligence capable of purifying and analyzing the Warp? A psionic barrier already blankets the entire Wayne Tomb. It will require an hour for him to excavate through it, more than enough time to end you."
Wayne, clad in black and red battle-suit armor, gazed at her from behind his massive mech. "Do you believe I have no backup plan for you? Failure Security possesses weapons forged from Pariah ashes, weapons capable of tearing through any barrier."
Helena retorted, " But do you know that the moment the psionic barrier manifests, a material barrier shall appear simultaneously. They will reinforce each other. Your ash weapons are useless."
"I am prepared to equip the entire Scavenger Force with high-caliber weapons. Fun Fact all of them are Untouchables."
"My Cult of Tzeentch has accumulated power for hundreds of years. My followers would gladly die for me. Can your ten-thousand Cleaners truly defeat them in the time allotted?"
"11 artificial intelligences far smarter than your clowns will be assisting scavengers. Every piece of 'Cleaner' equipment would be enhanced by AI integration."
"You are an expert in artificial intelligence, yes? I have prepared for the corruption of artificial intelligence itself. If you wish I would gladly show you some examples of corrupted intelligences standing right now ."
Wayne showed no surprise. "Hmph, Cheap trick I already anticipated that. That's exactly why I prepared an anti-warp artificial intelligence safeguard. 'Zero."
"Do you really believe your AIs and Scavengers cannot be corrupted by daemons? I have my ways Wayne, I have observed Untouchables fall to corruption before."
"I am issuing an early warning: the Wayne battleship is prepared for dimensional teleportation."
Konrad's eyes widened at the revelation. Did his father possess such capabilities? Remarkable.
Helena smiled coldly. "Dimensional teleportation? I have delayed time itself, What is space. Even your long-distance friend will require nine hours to arrive. You will have no reinforcements."
"What of dual-overlay teleportation through superimposed dimensional space? Subspace cannot shield subspace from itself."
"I have arranged for daemons to intercept any teleported artificial intelligence or Vessel. Unexpected, isn't it?"
Wayne's expression remained unmoved. "I deduced that already. The superimposed dimensional warp is designed to funnel the materials that constitute Blank's into the Warp. Daemons cannot detect artificial intelligence built from Untouchable remains."
"I anticipated that and prepared corrupted Blank's in advance. A daemon will forcibly inhabits the Untouchable flesh, rendering artificial intelligence observable."
"Corrupted Untouchables are fundamentally psionic weapons. Artificial intelligence is not."
Konrad watched Wayne and Helena trade strategies back and forth, their exchanges flowing with unsettling ease. They moved like confidants, not enemies, sharing and countering moves as though playing an incomprehensibly complex game.
The next second, both Wayne and Helena met each other's eyes and smiled. Then they both burst into laughter, genuine, escalating, uncontrollable laughter.
Helena's maniacal laugh rang out across the chamber. "Over the years, apart from that idiot Khirne, you're the only one who makes me laugh the most.Do you really not want to join me? As you can see my Embrace is still empty for you Dear Wayne"
Wayne replied with dark amusement, "I must admit, you're interesting, Helena. How did you acquire such a skill of Bullshitting?"
[End of Chapter]