Bell! Bell!
Sharp knocks echoed in the dim corridor. The dead energy facility changed as Datch kept knocking. The metal rings binding the artificial star slowly then quickly spun, forming a containment field. Dazzling light shone from the matrix, colossal pistons moved again, swaying back and forth with a thunderous roar.
As the artificial sun reappeared within the massive metal rings, the energy pipelines lit up, and every connected machine activated in turn. With power restored, lumen lights along the corridors flickered on, banishing the darkness and bringing back light. Machine indicator lamps lit up, operation screens rebooted, codes scrolled, and everything resumed functioning.
Ancient equipment dating back to the Great Crusade guided energy from the Golden Throne, attempting to restart the Chamber of the Astronomican. But the main structure was too badly damaged—the reboot failed. Still, Datch had succeeded in restarting the energy stack, marking the side quest complete—he received 1000 XP, 1000 points, and 100 reputation.
Opening the task interface and selecting the main quest, the minimap updated, displaying multiple red dots. Touching a red dot revealed the mission prompt: the device at these coordinates could only be repaired and activated. If Datch hadn't accepted Saisa's side quest, he'd have to go to the Torch Hall first to receive the follow-up quest prompt. Now, he'd inadvertently solved a major problem ahead of time.
"There's something special about the way this quest process is designed," Datch thought, praising the developers in his heart.
The main quest time had been shortened, allowing players to better understand the Warhammer background and encouraging completion of more side quests. Truly, the game was made with heart.
After choosing the optimal route, Datch continued deeper with Skarbrand. Saisa led a group of survivors outside the energy hall, initially too afraid of cultists to enter. Only when they heard the machines running and saw the lights return did they gather in the halls and rooms.
At first sight, they screamed in terror at the corpses and stacked skulls. But when they saw the new energy piles and machinery, their fear turned to awe. A few tech-priests, clad in dirty red robes, helped maintain the Chamber of the Astronomican Court's equipment, bringing out censers and chanting binaric prayers, prostrating themselves before the machines and praising the Omnissiah.
All this was the Emperor's power—only he could bring such joy to the machine spirits.
Saisa quickly scanned her surroundings, searching for the mysterious Astartes. She caught sight of his silhouette leaping deeper into the Chamber of the Astronomican Court.
"We must help that mysterious warrior," Saisa told the survivors. "He is the embodiment of the Emperor's will—an angel who saved us. He's heading for the Chamber of the Astronomican's main structure, likely to restart the Emperor's light."
The crowd murmured, until someone stepped forward, volunteering to fight with Saisa. Soon, more stood up—their bodies frail, but their eyes burned with loyalty and courage.
"I know where the weapons are," said a tech-priest. "The gears and wrenches are upstairs—they're not ruined yet."
"Guarding the Chamber of the Astronomican is our duty—now is the time to fulfill it!" Saisa shouted, rallying the others.
They rushed to arm themselves and formed a team to help the nameless Astartes penetrate deep into the Chamber of the Astronomican Court.
…
When disaster struck, a massacre swept the Chamber of the Astronomican Court. Corpses littered the ground, blood ran like rivers, yet many survived. Most succumbed to Chaos, becoming corrupted and hunting any survivor who refused to bow. Some of the fallen gained strange psychic powers, posing a grave threat to ordinary people.
But Datch had both the Changeling and Skarbrand. The former helped monitor the number and movement of the dead; the latter massacred all threats with brutal force. The fallen psykers were powerful and cunning, but Skarbrand was stronger—and hated sorcerers. Whenever he encountered a fallen psyker, he charged relentlessly, tearing them apart without pause.
Datch followed the minimap's instructions, repairing broken machinery and restoring most areas to normal operation. Saisa and others assisted—organizing, maintaining, and guarding equipment to prevent further destruction by the fallen after Datch left.
After fixing the last amplifier, Datch headed for the Chamber of the Astronomican's core. He passed through a portal, entering the oldest area of the Chamber of the Astronomican Court. Along the way, he saw emblems and gear from the Chamber of the Astronomican Court—growing ever older the deeper he went.
Eventually, Datch arrived at an ancient gate bearing the eagle's head and lightning bolt used by the Emperor during the Great Crusade. Back then, before alliance with Mars, there was only a single eagle's head.
Prompted to open the final door, Datch stepped into a long, smooth tunnel. With every step, the psychic pressure grew stronger. In the end, even Skarbrand and the Changeling couldn't bear it—he recalled them into their Poke Balls.
Whispers filled Datch's ears, as though thousands were praying and chanting—a ghostly chorus. At the end of the tunnel lay a vast platform, the surface embedded with countless thick cables stretching into the abyss below. The platform itself sat within a massive sphere—stone-carved below, unique crystal above.
Datch glanced around and found an iron seat. The sphere's size was overwhelming, making him feel as small as an insect. The entire chamber echoed with whispers, shouts, and chants—like hundreds of millions of voices intertwined in resonance.
On one side of the platform were tightly packed, cocoon-like pods, each containing the corpse of a man or woman. They were bound in iron rings, their skin pierced with control plugs, their temples suppressed by psychic crowns—these were the fuel of the Chamber of the Astronomican, aiding the Emperor's will to enter the Warp.
In the Chamber of the Astronomican's early days, it didn't require psykers as fuel. During the Horus Heresy, the Chamber of the Astronomican was destroyed by traitors. The Emperor, gravely wounded, took the Golden Throne and fell silent. The Chamber of the Astronomican also used many technologies not of human origin, and the survivors couldn't fully repair these creations. Over ten thousand years, the Chamber of the Astronomican devoured its helpers' lives. After millennia of operation, the equipment reached its limits, efficiency fell, and the Imperium had to increase sacrifices.
Datch walked to the platform's edge and looked down into the dark abyss where vast, icy machinery slumbered, awaiting awakening. He raised the golden hammer, its sound echoing off the stone walls.
"The Emperor said there should be light on Terra."
As the words fell, Datch slammed the golden hammer onto the platform.
Bell~
Golden radiance spread from the point of impact, making the battered machinery look new, broken cables extended and rejoined like living things. Rumbling sounded from beneath, and light leaked from carved stone blocks in the walls. At first, it flickered—wandering sparks and bursts of light. Gradually, neon dots outlined the cracks and textures, turning into beams, then soft white light. The light intensified, soon making the stone surfaces glow from within like lightning.
Then, a mighty chant echoed, reverberating through the Warp, reaching all who could hear.
...
Bonus chapter at 300 PS
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