Chapter 01: Nathan Loses His Toaster (Patreon)

In the endless expanse of the starry sky, upon the Hyperion's spacious bridge, there were a few unusual objects.

A fleshy orb with tentacles, a figure clad in red and white armor with a black raven emblem on the shoulder, and a massive, similarly-colored hunk of metal.

"A gene-seed, what Mark is it, even? And this Dreadnought... there's no wetware inside, it's purely AI-controlled. So that huge warship that just passed me... was that a Blood Ravens' battle barge? So..."

Staring at the three objects before him, Nathan spoke with a trembling hand, addressing the green, cabbage-headed figure beside him: "Weren't you supposed to send me to the Honkai universe with the Herrscher of Finality's template? Why, WHY am I in this cesspool that is Warhammer!!!"

"Didn't you say the Milky Way? And you are the Herrscher of Finality now..."

"Screw you! I wanted the girls! Kiana, Raiden Mei, hell, I'd even take Acheron or March 7th! I'd rather transmigrate into a Star than come to this giant dung heap! And if I'm not mistaken... you didn't even give me a Gellar Field! What am I supposed to do?!"

Nathan couldn't help but curse. Although the Honkai: Star Rail universe was also cruel, compared to this hellish galaxy, it seemed so beautiful and harmless.

Even though the Hyperion was no small vessel, it was a mere speck of dust compared to the colossal battle barge that had just passed.

However, as the two ships crossed paths, Nathan was surprised to see a group of small figures in red armor with white shoulder pads somehow board his ship. He hadn't activated the energy shields, but it was still incredibly bizarre.

Of course, Nathan wasn't idle in return. He, as the Herrscher of the Void, performed a spatial jump to that warship...

Eventually, as the two ships passed each other and continued on their separate ways...

Nathan lost his toaster and coffee machine, while the Blood Ravens lost a gene-seed, a suit of power armor, and an AI-controlled Dreadnought.

"At least you were somewhat useful, managing to create an identification code so we didn't end up fighting. And those Blood Ravens, though they're insane, surprisingly didn't touch my fuel or food reserves."

Looking at the green, cabbage-headed figure, Nathan couldn't help but complain.

His current situation, to put it mildly, wasn't great.

He possessed the authority of a Herrscher, the Herrscher of Finality having almost all the previous authorities. But authority alone wasn't enough; he also needed sufficient Honkai energy. The Herrscher of Finality's Honkai energy came directly from the Imaginary Space, but the problem was, this world didn't have an Imaginary Space.

There was only the Warp, filled with all sorts of filth. Although he possessed a terrifyingly large amount of Imaginary energy within him, the problem was that he was like a rootless plant.

He could still feel a connection to the source, but if Kiana's Honkai energy intake was like the flow of the Yangtze or Yellow River, his was like a capillary.

Forget comparing himself to the Herrscher of Finality; he couldn't even match the newly awakened, feathered Herrschers.

"The good news is, Herrscher abilities are fundamentally physical. So, they're different from Warp entities, more akin to the Aeons of this world. And my soul is strongly bound to the Imaginary Space, so I shouldn't have any projection in the Warp. That's probably why I'm not hearing whispers or turning into a Chaos Spawn..."

Examining his body, Nathan quickly analyzed his situation.

"Of course, my current energy is finite, use it and it's gone. Unless I draw energy directly from the Warp like other psykers. But doing so might create a projection or ripples in the Warp, and that would be... problematic."

"But this can't go on forever. I need to find a way to replenish my energy and see if I can return to the Honkai: Star Rail universe."

Feeling the changes within his body, Nathan began to ponder.

This connection was like a beacon. If he accumulated enough energy, he might be able to return directly.

But it had to be Imaginary energy, not Honkai energy...

"The First Herrscher of Reason could instantly construct technological objects upon contact. The Second Herrscher of the Void needed to learn and understand. But the Herrscher of Truth is more like 'I think, therefore it is'."

"If that's the case..."

Thinking of this, Nathan looked at the gene-seed in front of him with a strange expression. He had already extracted the information within and had Ai-chan store it. He didn't know if this gene-seed was from the Blood Ravens or somewhere else. But he had roughly confirmed its origin: the Ultramarines.

With the authorities of the Herrscher of Reason and the Herrscher of Death within him, he could create a gene-seed from scratch.

So...

"I'm thinking this world has a law of conservation of energy, so I'm thinking other things can be converted into Imaginary energy. I just need a device, a device that can collect, digest, and convert Honkai energy, so..."

Bang!

With a muffled sound, a conversion device was created by Nathan. A slight look of surprise appeared on his face; it actually worked.

"Excellent, now let's see how effective it is."

Although it was only a temporary construct manifested by his authority, as long as he had the resources, he could create a proper one.

So, Nathan grabbed the gene-seed and tossed it in.

Hum...

With a simple hum, Nathan felt a surge of unique energy.

"It actually worked?"

Feeling the changes within his body, Nathan's face lit up with joy. Great, it seemed he wouldn't have to eat the Warp's... output.

But...

Looking at the endless starry sky outside, Nathan fell into a brief moment of confusion.

"Did you install a Gellar Field?"

Looking at Ai-chan beside him, she, or rather, the entire Hyperion, was similar to him. Strictly speaking, they were creations of the Imaginary, so there was no need to worry about corruption, but there were still many troublesome aspects.

"What's that...?"

"Where are we going next? I remember you can't fly faster than light, and we can't travel through the Warp."

"Please be seated, passenger. The jump is about to begin. The path of the Trailblaze is opening here."

"Wait, aren't you the Hyperion? Why are you the Astral Express?!"

"I think, therefore I am..."

Hum!

The next moment, Nathan saw a flash of light before his eyes. The dark starry sky disappeared, replaced by a scene of vibrant, flowing colors. But soon, the flowing light vanished, and when he regained his senses, he saw a planet appear before him.