This is the bonus chapter for reaching 1700 Powerstones.
--
Within the Warp, in a hidden corner on the fringes of Terra's Astronomican.
Lucian Sanctus lounged on a luxurious bed, his right hand tapping the empty air.
When he saw the torrent of red and silver moonlight scour over Aetaos'rau'keres's descended vessel, Lucian smiled.
"Now."
With a thought, he used physical essence to purchase items.
Magic Crystal Vial ×12
Magical Floral Tea Bag ×36
Magic Cushion ×3
Magic Teleportation Bookmark ×2
The instant Lucian issued the command, all the items materialized before him out of thin air.
The surfaces of these items rippled with energy fluctuations entirely distinct from the Warhammer universe, carrying a dreamy, fairy-tale-like hue.
With a casual flick of his wrist, seven solidified crystals of Hope emotion appeared in his hand.
"The Warp essence of a Greater Daemon of Nurgle... plus these gifts... and seven authority crystals of Hope emotion."
Lucian squeezed his left hand into a loose fist, and a sphere of light trapping yellow-green energy emerged.
With a wave of his right hand, all the purchased items flew automatically toward the light sphere, hovering and spinning three centimeters from its surface.
"Pioneering authority, directional teleportation coordinates locked."
An azure light suddenly flared deep within his pupils.
It was the power of the universe's fundamental rules.
Under the effect of the Pioneering authority, the spatial structure between the light sphere and all the surrounding items began to distort and fold.
"Target: Unnamed domain."
"Teleport."
In the blink of an eye, the light sphere and the items vanished silently from Lucian's domain!
A second later, a thousand Warp units away, right outside that slumbering domain encased in a shell of flame and lightning.
That outer shell, rippling with flames, lightning, frost, earth, and various other elements, faintly fluctuated.
A light sphere encapsulating numerous items silently phased through the shell; the shell didn't trigger any defensive reaction.
This was because the light sphere was wrapped in the three authorities of Hope, Compassion, and Wisdom.
The Hope authority granted these items the possibility of passing through the shell.
The Compassion authority firmly protected these items from being destroyed by the shell's violent energies.
The Wisdom authority misled any information that would detect the entry of these items.
The light sphere smoothly bypassed the shell and slowly descended into the core region of violent energy within the domain.
"Little Blue Bird, you'd better search hard."
"Mr. Grandfather, you must do your best too!"
Lucian grinned, his smile brimming with the joy of a successful scheme.
He immediately canceled all his previous setups, erasing every trace, and stopped paying attention to that domain.
"Consuming one billion units of physical essence."
"Initiating domain concealment."
Following the command, the outer layer of the tiny domain Lucian occupied—a shell of Undivided Chaos originally formed from countless mixed emotions—began to undergo an eerie transformation.
Hum!
The entire domain vibrated faintly.
The outer shell of mixed emotional Undivided Chaos began to proliferate wildly.
Like cell division: one layer, two layers, three layers...
The newly formed shells were no longer a mix of emotions, but were forcefully altered by energy into the shape of the Warp's background.
It looked exactly like the omnipresent turbulent energy currents of the Warp, its psychic fluctuation frequency adjusted to match its surroundings perfectly.
At this moment, within the perception of the Warp, Lucian's domain had become just one among billions of similar energy fluctuations.
It was so ordinary that even a Daemon of Tzeentch—the best trackers in existence—wouldn't spare it a second glance if it passed by.
"Phew..."
Having finished all this, Lucian let out a long breath and lay back down on the bed.
He reached out and grasped at empty air, and dozens of small orbs of various colors materialized, slowly orbiting him like planets.
The brightest was the faint golden orb of the Hope authority, followed by Wisdom, Compassion, Resolve, and Pioneering, and then the others...
These were formed from the emotions Lucian had collected from the players and the Kent Hive over this period.
"Aurelian IV..."
Lucian watched the phantom projection of a planet reflected within one of the orbs, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"The Crimson Dawn has firmly established its foothold, the four major factions have been entirely wiped out, and the daemons have been banished..."
"Once the Crimson Dawn successfully takes over the entirety of Aurelian IV, my growth speed will advance by leaps and bounds."
"At that time, I can consider starting a version update, bringing more of the Fourth Scourge to this world and letting them enjoy its blessings."
"The Emperor's loyal warriors will surely desire this opportunity to be loyal to Him!"
"After all, what happens next is the Horus Heresy—an event that influences the trajectory of the entire Warhammer universe—where the righteous and just Warmaster raises his army to crusade against the Fifth Chaos God."
"Will you defend Holy Terra, or let the galaxy burn?"
"Or perhaps join the Crimson Dawn and walk the path of steel and dawn."
"...I'm really looking forward to it!"
--
The upper hive of the City of the Holy Anthem, battlefield ruins.
The silver-red torrent of moonlight slowly dissipated, leaving behind the residual aura of clashing energies in the air.
Helovia slowly drifted down from mid-air. The moment her feet touched the ground, her legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed.
Paul reacted instantly, arriving at her side in a flash and supporting the little girl.
Helovia looked up, her small face pale but her eyes shining bright.
"I did it."
"Mm, you did very well," Paul's voice echoed out. Though it still carried the icy tone unique to Custodians, a hint of approval laced his words.
By now, Paul's throat had been completely repaired by the psychic energy of Compassion.
In the distance, Sanguinius sheathed the Blade Encarmine, his pure white wings flapping gently as he descended from the sky, arriving at the scene in an instant.
"Tribune Titus." Sanguinius stepped closer, his voice gentle. "Are you alright?" (TL/N: Decided to change Praetor to Tribune)
"Unharmed." Paul let go of Helovia and straightened his spine.
His three-and-a-half-meter-tall golden frame stood like a titan against the backdrop of the ruins.
The Watcher's Axe pointed diagonally at the ground, fresh daemonic blood still dripping from its blade.
"Minor damage, insufficient to affect the mission."
His answer was short, icy, and completely devoid of emotional fluctuation, perfectly fitting the persona of a Custodian Tribune.
A flawless creation of the Emperor, an emotionless killing machine existing only to complete its mission.
Sanguinius nodded, asking no further questions.
His gaze shifted to the surrounding battlefield.
With Aetaos'rau'keres's sacrifice and the purification of its descended vessel, the density of Warp corruption permeating the City of the Holy Anthem Hive was dropping at a visible rate.
The Corrupted and the Daemons of Tzeentch became sluggish and dull, like toys drained of their batteries.
Horrors of Tzeentch that previously took two or three bolter rounds to kill were now having their heads blown off with a single shot from the Blood Angels.
While there were still a large number of surviving Corrupted in the upper hive ruins, they posed nowhere near the threat of their previous eerie coordination.
Toward the middle hive, the Crimson Dawn's mixed forces, led by Tax Bro, were coordinating with the Blood Angels' 5th Company for the final sweep.
With the anti-psychic fields of the Brothers of Silence running at maximum output, the Corrupted fell in droves wherever they passed.
"The energy supply from the Warp rift is starting to diminish."
Sanguinius extended his psychic perception into the depths of the underhive.
The blue-purple light at the edges of the Tzeentch rift—which had expanded to a hundred and seventy meters in diameter—was currently fluctuating violently, flickering between bright and dim.
"Lord Sanguinius."
Paul's voice snapped Sanguinius back from his thoughts.
The golden Tribune raised his right hand, forming a fist over his chest in a crisp, standard Imperial Aquila salute.
Though the movement was slightly stiff due to the bulk of the Custodian Terminator armor, its solemnity and devotion were flawless.
"The mission bestowed upon me by His Majesty the Emperor is complete."
"The purification of the Alar bloodline is complete."
"The primary Warp threats within the City of the Holy Anthem Hive have been eradicated."
He paused and turned to Sanguinius.
"I, Imperial Custodian Covert Inquisitor-Tribune, Demetrian Titus, will now lead my forces back to Holy Terra to report."