Chapter 1: Awakening of the Tombslayer
The stars over Vrynn-9 were cold, distant, indifferent. Below, the planet burned. Cities that had stood for millennia were reduced to ash. Rivers boiled, forests smoldered, and the screams of the dying carried far across the plains.
Yash Gounden's consciousness returned slowly, a haze of pain and confusion. One moment, he had been a man in a world that barely noticed his existence. The next, he opened his eyes to see himself clad in ceremonial Imperial Guard armor, standing atop a ridge that overlooked a battlefield of horror.
"This… is not my life," he thought, gripping the butt of a standard-issue lasgun that felt impossibly heavy in his hands. Yet the moment his mind adjusted, a voice spoke—not aloud, but deep inside, resonant and absolute.
"System online. Designation: Tombslayer. Template integration available. Threat level: Maximum."
Yash froze. A system? Template integration? Maximum threat? None of it made sense—until the ground shook with a roar like the planet itself was being torn apart. A gaping rift opened in the sky, roiling with fire and shadow. From it, claws, wings, and eyes of creatures too terrible to comprehend spilled into the world. Demons. The Warp incarnate.
The soldiers around him screamed. Entire regiments fell in moments, swallowed by claws and flame. And yet, Yash felt… nothing. Not fear, not hesitation. Only a deep, instinctual awareness, a calling from something primal within him.
"Tombslayer template: Engage. Power allocation: Full. Armament deployment: Demon Slayer Armor online."
The armor enveloped him in a flash of light and energy. Plates of blackened ceramite etched with glowing runes fused to his body. Energy fields hummed over the surface, absorbing fire and claw alike. The lasgun in his hands transformed, reshaping into a massive daemon-forged greatsword in one hand, a twin energy pistol in the other. A shield of layered, translucent energy formed across his forearm, shimmering like liquid light.
And then, Yash understood: this was no ordinary battlefield. He was no ordinary soldier. He was the Emperor's weapon incarnate.
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The first wave struck like a storm. Demons of fire and shadow, their forms twisting and impossible to categorize, poured from the rift. Yash did not think. He moved. The sword sang through the air, severing claws, tearing limbs, disintegrating unholy flesh in sparks of energy. Each shot from his twin pistols reduced demons to ash.
"Follower recruitment protocol: Active. Identify loyal combatants. Enhance and bind to template."
The soldiers who had not fled or been killed froze in awe as Yash fought. He did not merely kill—he commanded the battlefield. Shadows recoiled from him. Fire bowed before him. Those who saw him could not help but follow.
By the end of the first engagement, dozens of soldiers had knelt, offering their fealty. The system recognized them, weaving enhancements into their bodies. Muscles strengthened, reflexes sharpened, senses expanded. Weapons appeared in their hands, adapted to their skills. They were no longer mere men—they were extensions of the Tombslayer.
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Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years. Yash fought relentlessly. Entire armies of demons poured through the rift, and yet he never wavered. Cities were reduced to skeletal remains of stone and steel, but he built anew. His followers became a disciplined legion. They trained, fought, and died at his side, then returned stronger through the system's enhancements.
The system's voice became a constant presence, not cold or mechanical, but companionable, guiding him, teaching him.
"Energy manipulation optimized for subspace phasing. Tactical knowledge integration complete. Subspace god ascension protocol: available."
Yash did not fully understand the last words yet. He only knew that with every demon slain, with every follower sworn, he grew. The armor evolved. The weapons grew sharper, deadlier. His greatsword could cleave the essence of a daemon, his pistols fire bullets that tore through dimensions.
And somewhere in the void, the forces of subspace began to take notice.
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The Imperium sent scouts, then armies, then nothing could compare to what they found. A single man, a legion of followers, holding back horrors that should have consumed planets. Vrynn-9 became a legend whispered across the stars. Yash Gounden, the Tombslayer, the Emperor's personal protector, a god in the making, stood alone against the apocalypse.
He had been reborn to this world for one purpose: to be its shield, its sword, and its savior.
And the real war was just beginning.
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This chapter sets up:
His rebirth and awakening as an Imperial Guardsman.
The activation of the Tombslayer system.
The Demon Slayer Armor and weaponry.
His first battles and follower recruitment.
The start of his transformation into a subspace god.