Warhammer [434-436] (Patreon)

Chapter 434: AsanethAyu Is Already Dead! The Plan to Win Over the Necrons

Rhodes could already tell that AsanethAyu must have some confidence in what she was saying, which is why she had Balt help her speak to him.

Since that's the case, he might as well listen.

"Lord Rhodes, our entire Necron race has gone down the wrong path. The original Necrons weren't like this. Even though we waged war against the Old Ones, we were not evil invaders.

We interacted with many lesser civilizations. We were a peace-loving and friendly people, until we were transformed into Necrons. Only then did our entire race become insane and bloodthirsty.

Our race was once beyond saving!

No, I should say the original Necron race was already completely extinct. The Necrons are nothing more than a group of the dead!

But it wasn't until you appeared that I realized—there is someone in this dark universe who might be able to save our people," AsanethAyu said, visibly emotional.

Rhodes might be the only one in the universe capable of saving their people—not the Silent King, nor the so-called Crypteks, nor the so-called C'tan, but the man standing before her.

Rhodes possessed immense power, had the Eldar Goddess of Life as his companion, could freely manipulate the powers of life and death, and most importantly, could grant their race souls, allowing them to become Necrons once more.

Now that she had finally found a lifeline, how could she possibly let go?

She wanted to save the entire race, to accomplish something even greater than the Silent King.

"I understand. Since you've followed me, you've worked hard on my behalf—I've seen it all. So, I accept your request," Rhodes said.

Isn't this exactly what I was hoping for? I also want to reclaim the Necron race, and if someone with mastery over time magic can help, all the better.

"Thank you, Lord Rhodes! If you can cure the problems of our race, if you can restore our bodies, souls, and lives, then all of my people will willingly serve you," AsanethAyu said earnestly.

The Necrons actually have severe problems. They are cold, emotionless, and subject to a unique electronic virus.

This virus erodes their memories, drives them mad, and makes them crave the flesh and blood of living beings.

They will desire to kill these living beings, then strip their skin, flesh, and organs to drape over their own metal shells.

This unique virus is spreading among the Necrons, threatening their entire species and could one day truly destroy them.

The only likely cure for this virus is Rhodes's reincarnation ritual.

"There are actually quite a few Necron prisoners being held by the Imperial Inquisition—Crypteks, Lychguards, Deathmarks.

I'll bring them all here, grant them new souls and new lives," Rhodes said.

Any Necron captured alive by the Imperium is usually sealed away, not destroyed directly.

If destroyed, their resurrection protocols would trigger, allowing them to awaken in their tomb worlds—unless their dynasty has been completely wiped out, all Necrons can be resurrected with this protocol.

"Lord Rhodes! You are the savior of our race. Once my people regain their sanity and are freed from their cold Necron bodies, believe me—they will surely serve you," AsanethAyu declared.

"Right. By the way, AsanethAyu, do you think you would awaken in your own dynasty's tomb world?" Rhodes suddenly asked a philosophical question.

The female Necron before him froze, unable to understand why Rhodes would ask. Haven't I already been resurrected? I'm standing right in front of you alive—why ask if I would awaken in a tomb world?

"Lord Rhodes! I… I've already been resurrected!

I am right before you. How could I possibly awaken in the Necron tomb world?" AsanethAyu asked.

"Think carefully—are you really AsanethAyu?" Rhodes narrowed his eyes.

"I… Lord Rhodes, what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. AsanethAyu died a long time ago," Rhodes said, squatting to lift her chin.

The real AsanethAyu should have died completely, her soul devoured by the C'tan when she was first transformed into a Necron sixty million years ago.

The living Necron is just a piece of digital programming. Later, using the power of the Cosmic Beasts, I created a brand new soul and injected her memories, thus forming today's AsanethAyu.

Soon, Rhodes would join the Primarchs to hunt the shard of the Void Dragon on Mars, letting his Cosmic Beasts absorb more C'tan power.

With this power, Rhodes could mass-resurrect Necrons, creating new souls for them and giving them life.

But this is essentially creating a new Necron race—albeit with their previous memories—but new lives.

For the Necrons, though, this counts as true resurrection; after all, they are just programs now.

"L-Lord Rhodes! Please, don't joke with me like this!" AsanethAyu knelt, sweating and trembling in fear.

"Haven't you already guessed the truth? Why deny it?

See yourself clearly, accept your new self, accept your true self—isn't that a good thing?" Rhodes said.

"No! This… this can't be… I'm… I'm already dead! This can't be…"

As a Cryptek and Chronomancer, her wisdom was unmatched in the galaxy, but Rhodes's words made everything clear—and left her shaken.

"You've never died. Only the AsanethAyu from sixty million years ago died, at the moment your kind completed the transformation.

All Necrons died then, and the Necron race was born.

Why do you think you're dead? You were only born a little over a year ago!

Your body is AsanethAyu's, but your soul is brand new—created by me," Rhodes said.

Previously, it was necessary to use Tartarus's temporal reversal to recreate a Necron body.

Because by now, there was not a single living Necron cell left anywhere in the galaxy.

Sixty million years had erased all traces of Necron flesh.

So, Tartarus had to use time reversal to obtain a body, then blood could be extracted and used for cloning.

In the future, as Rhodes captures more Necrons, he can upload their consciousness data into cloned bodies, then use the Cosmic Beasts' power to give them a soul—essentially rebirth.

The Cosmic Beasts' power, combined with some super-beast technology, could extend the race's lifespan, not just a few decades.

"So, Lord Rhodes, you're like my father! Am I your daughter, then?" AsanethAyu asked.

By her logic, that's what she was—her soul was a gift from Rhodes.

Rhodes nodded. If he didn't give her something to hold on to, she'd fall apart emotionally.

And as his adopted daughter, she would be absolutely loyal, and in the future, the reborn Necron race would worship him too.

"Father! I understand! According to you, as a Necron, there's a high chance I've already awakened in the tomb world.

But even if I did, I wouldn't have these memories—not even of being captured," AsanethAyu said after a pause.

When a Necron body is destroyed, the tomb world senses it and begins resurrection—provided the consciousness is transmitted back.

If not, a memory backup is restored and a new body is made according to the resurrection protocol.

Only high-ranking Necrons with preserved will and intellect have access to the resurrection protocol.

Ordinary Necrons, if not approved by a Phaeron, Overlord, or Cryptek, cannot be revived.

Because her body wasn't destroyed but reversed in time, her history data wouldn't be sent back.

Even if resurrected in the tomb world, she'd have no memory of meeting Rhodes.

As long as that key memory is missing, there's no problem.

"Right. If you perform well in the future, I'll let you become a super lifeform.

I'll perform super-beast modifications so you can live for tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years," Rhodes said.

With this promise, Rhodes felt relieved. Necron tech is truly overpowered.

He'd worried that his unique secrets might leak to the Necrons and cause them to attack him.

If they ever put aside their differences and attacked him with everything, even Rhodes would be in trouble.

Necron combat strength isn't to be underestimated.

But AsanethAyu had followed him for a year, and the Necrons hadn't made a move—clearly, he hadn't been exposed yet.

"Thank you, Father!

I will give my all for you. I must become a super lifeform and make you proud," AsanethAyu said, kneeling excitedly.

After a year with Rhodes, she knew what being a super lifeform meant: becoming gigantic, sailing through space freely, destroying whole civilizations.

She would become the strongest, most perfect Necron.

"Father! When do we start saving more of our people?" AsanethAyu asked.

"No rush. Wait a bit longer. I'll order the Inquisition to bring all captive Necrons here, and we'll screen them one by one," Rhodes said.

To revive Necrons, he needed more power from the Cosmic Beasts—by absorbing more C'tan shards.

After chatting a bit more with his scientists, Rhodes left the secret lab.

Back at his palace, he separated from the Cosmic Fire Phoenix Baton, then fused with the Cosmic Vermilion Bird.

This fusion made him even stronger—the Vermilion Bird was far more powerful than Baton, and even had resurrection power.

Even if Rhodes was killed, with the Vermilion Bird's help he could return—so long as his soul survived.

Back in the Imperial Palace on Terra, Rhodes summoned the Life Goddess Isha and brought the cloned Sanguinius body.

Sanguinius was already waiting, greeted Rhodes, and eagerly entered his new cloned body.

Isha infused the body with life energy, helping Sanguinius merge with it.

In moments, the process was complete. Sanguinius stood up, now with a golden pair of wings.

"Incredible! I've really been resurrected!" Sanguinius exclaimed.

"Your body can barely contain your soul for now. Next, you'll need to fuse with a Cosmic Beast to fully upgrade it," Rhodes said.

Chapter 435: Solving the Red Thirst and Black Rage; Sanguinius Wants to Duel the Void Dragon

Sanguinius's soul was the strongest among all Primarchs. Even this new body could only barely contain it, so he needed to quickly fuse with a Cosmic Beast to become a super lifeform.

"No problem, Rhodes. Let's begin the final step."

Rhodes nodded, released the Cosmic Fire Phoenix Baton, and had him merge with Sanguinius.

Baton turned into a crimson energy stream and entered Sanguinius's body, transforming every cell with cosmic order energy, uplifting his soul.

Unlike Guilliman and Lion El'Jonson, who awakened their god-souls after fusing with beasts, Sanguinius had already awakened his divine powers due to the faith of Baal's people.

The Emperor could deploy the Sisters of Silence and Living Saints within the Imperium; Sanguinius could, wherever Blood Angels fought, summon mini-Sanguinors.

If faith in him deepened, he might even create more such beings—turning all his best genetic traits into living saints. In the original timeline, after Baal, Dante was supposed to die, but Sanguinius extended his life.

So, fusing with the Cosmic Beast only upgraded Sanguinius's body to super lifeform status, letting his soul fully wield its divine power.

Now, fully resurrected, Sanguinius became a 70-meter giant, with massive golden wings wreathed in red flame.

Baton's power manifested as crimson power armor and a golden power greatsword.

Sanguinius swung the sword, tested his new strength, and nodded in satisfaction.

He then shrank back to about 2 meters tall; now, all Primarchs could freely adjust their size.

With this, Primarchs no longer stood out in crowds, but could still grow to over 4 meters to boost morale if needed.

"Thank you, Rhodes. I don't know what to say! Here's my promise: if you ever need anything I can do for you, I'll help—so long as it's not a betrayal of the Emperor or humanity," Sanguinius said.

He was now truly alive again—a living god among men.

Unlike other Primarchs, his soul had ascended to an order god. Once tainted by Chaos, now he was wholly pure.

"Just fight bravely on the battlefield and kill more enemies to repay me," Rhodes said.

Reviving Sanguinius and giving him a Cosmic Beast meant he'd have to earn his keep—killing enemies to earn Rhodes more system credits.

Unlike Guilliman or Magnus, Sanguinius and the Lion were the type to fight on the front lines. Thanks to their fusions, every kill would credit Rhodes's system.

With a demon hunting ground on one side, and orks in Octarius bringing in credits, Rhodes's system balance grew daily.

"I'll do just that—together we'll finish the Great Crusade!" Sanguinius said.

"Sanguinius, maybe you can extract your current gene-seed and transplant it into the Blood Angels, curing them of the thirst," Horus suggested.

The Blood Angels' thirst was due to a flaw in Sanguinius's gene-seed.

Now that he was a super lifeform and his soul an order god, extracting new gene-seed would eliminate the flaw.

Horus had promised to help Sanguinius with this during the Crusade. Now, thanks to Rhodes, the Blood Angels' curse could finally end.

"I'll not only cure the Red Thirst, but also eliminate the Black Rage—it's no longer needed," Sanguinius replied.

The Black Rage was a warp-borne disease born from his hatred of Horus.

Now revived and without hatred, the curse faded.

The Blood Angels' curse of over ten thousand years was finally gone.

"I suppose you can't wait to return to Baal?" Rhodes asked.

"Yes. I've said goodbye to Father. I'll return to Baal, rebuild the Blood Angels, and resume command. When the Crusade begins, I'll join you," Sanguinius said.

As a warp god, he could now navigate the warp with ease, speeding imperial travel and even ensuring safe routes—a gift of his new divinity.

"You may not be able to go yet—there's still a war to fight. Rhodes, are you ready?" the Emperor asked.

The Imperium was now at its peak strength. With his sons, Rhodes, and their companions, they could easily hunt the Void Dragon.

"Right. I'll help Rhodes hunt the Void Dragon. Why not set out now? Or let me solo it!" Sanguinius said, brandishing his sword eagerly.

Just revived, granted unimaginable power, he was eager to test himself against a worthy foe.

Guilliman smiled wryly.

His brother was still the most belligerent of all Primarchs—even more than the Lion or Wolf Lord.

Who else would regularly spar with Emperor-class Titans—and win?

"Haha, good idea, Sanguinius! But let me go first against the Void Dragon," the Lion said, joining in.

He, too, wanted to test himself against the foe the Emperor had once defeated on Mars.

With Cosmic Beast power, he wanted to see how he now compared to his father.

"Don't underestimate the Void Dragon—it's stronger than you can imagine. I only won back then with powerful psyker support and help from other Perpetuals. Alone, I might not have made it," the Emperor warned.

Back then, he was only a bit stronger than Magnus in psychic power, and physically nowhere near a super lifeform.

He'd had several Perpetuals and Malcador's support to seal the shard.

"Father, I'm now stronger than you were then. If I can't win, the other Primarchs can step in," Sanguinius insisted.

The Emperor thought for a moment and nodded.

Sanguinius was now as strong—or stronger—than himself ten thousand years ago.

"If everyone's so eager, let's go now and destroy the Void Dragon," Rhodes said.

He'd have Tartarus summon Huron and Ahriman, both of whom had Cosmic Beasts and could benefit from absorbing C'tan fragments.

Chapter 436: The Cancer of Mars Mechanicum, Using Others' Hands

"Since that's settled, prepare for war," the Emperor said.

If his son was so confident, a little trial by fire wouldn't hurt. By his calculations, Sanguinius probably couldn't defeat the Void Dragon alone, but could hold out and survive, then the others could join in. With Rhodes as the ace, and that golden being as backup, there'd be no problem.

The Emperor was confident in Tartarus's power—even more so than when he walked among mortals. If he stood up from the Golden Throne, even then he might not defeat Tartarus; at best, they'd fight to a draw.

With Tartarus, the Void Dragon could be destroyed, eliminating Terra's greatest threat.

"Father, Sanguinius, Lion, Rhodes—please, don't be so reckless. This battle is not as simple as you think.

To destroy the Void Dragon, we have to unseal it from Mars—humanity's most critical forge world.

There are countless Mechanicum personnel there, vast industrial facilities, even the Imperial battle barge yards.

If we fight recklessly, the Imperium would suffer massive losses. We need at least a month to evacuate Mars and its starports," Guilliman interjected.

Since the Emperor resolved to deal with the Void Dragon, Guilliman had been preparing: calculating the number of Mechanicum to be moved, the time required, and making plans to minimize Imperial losses. The Mechanicum was vital to humanity—new Titans, Knight suits, even FTL engines were under construction. Any mishap would be disastrous.

Hearing this, Sanguinius and the Lion's enthusiasm faded. Guilliman was right—if they rushed in, the loss to the Mechanicum would be a huge blow to the Imperium.

"I was too hasty, Guilliman. Let's take the time to evacuate the Mechanicum and clear a battleground," Sanguinius said.

Another month's wait would let him get used to his new body and train with his brothers, even spar with Rhodes—whose strength he greatly anticipated.

"In fact, I already knew this. I agreed for another reason.

Guilliman, Rhodes, I trust you've guessed my intentions," the Emperor said.

He'd long wanted to reform the Mechanicum; most had stopped doing real science, relying on archeotech, and suppressing innovation, even stifling geniuses like Belisarius Cawl.

They chanted and worshipped the Omnissiah, turning science into theology, and even made a Machine God. psychic strength was less than the Eldar's, but their numbers were overwhelming—so their worship could easily create a warp god.

This was a serious problem. Humanity's blind worship of the Machine God had already spawned Vashtorr, perhaps even older than the Necron and Old One era.

During the Eldar's 60-million-year dominance, he was powerless, but with humanity's rise, he grew strong again.

So the Emperor wanted to clean house. Science should not become religion; curiosity strengthens Vashtorr, but worship breeds greater evils.

Now, with Rhodes's people introducing new technologies, the Mechanicum felt pressure.

With Salome as the new Fabricator-General, supported by the Emperor and Cawl, many of Mars's factions were suppressed.

The Emperor planned to reform the Mechanicum, making it a true scientific and industrial powerhouse.

This battle was the perfect excuse—an accident releasing the Void Dragon, causing the deaths of many Archmagi and weakening the Mechanicum. Perfect.

"Father, but if we do this, what about the Crusade? Without the Mechanicum, we can't field enough war machines," Guilliman objected.

"Guilliman, humanity has never depended solely on the Mechanicum. We're not destroying them all—just as we replaced the Thunder Warriors.

With Salome's new tech, Cawl's training, and Balt and Yapool's advances, we can raise a new generation of human scientists.

Some sacrifice is needed for the long-term future. The Mechanicum must change," the Emperor said.

He was determined. Now was the time; losses could be quickly replaced. Salome and Cawl would take over, overthrowing the old ways and advancing new tech for human greatness.

The Primarchs fell silent—this was very much like the Emperor.

After taking Terra, he'd purged the Thunder Warriors, then planned to eliminate the Navigator houses. With Rhodes's FTL engines, the Mechanicum was already trying to replicate them.

While not a full substitute for warp travel, within hundreds of light-years, these engines were safer.

If the Emperor's webway plan succeeded, the Navigators would be rendered obsolete.

But this was harsh—the Navigators had served faithfully for over ten thousand years.

The Mechanicum's contribution to humanity was even greater; without them, the Crusade would have failed.

"I oppose this, Father. The Mechanicum is conservative, but we can reform them gradually.

Rhodes's scientists and Salome's apprentices are already making progress," Vulkan objected.

He knew his father loved purges, but this was too extreme.

"You're too kind, Vulkan. I've given them ten thousand years. They haven't changed. No need to hope for more. Just eliminate them—the losses can be quickly replaced," the Emperor replied.

His son just didn't understand—sometimes necessary things must be done.

"I support Father. The Mechanicum hasn't advanced in ten thousand years. Without Rhodes's tech, they wouldn't have made a new Titan in all that time," Guilliman said.

As Regent, he knew the Empire's problems—reforming the Mechanicum was essential, and after that, other conservative factions would need cleansing too.