Warhammer: Don't Call Me the God of All Machines

Chapter 797 Loken's Dream (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"I was there the day Horus killed the Emperor."

“I saw with my own eyes my father plunge the Claw of Betrayal into his father’s chest, the Worldbreaker’s warhammer roared, and the armor and bones of the Lord of Man shattered.”

“I saw a father weeping. His most beloved son had been vilely murdered, and even his body had been stolen by an evil will, destroying the son’s most cherished career.”

"I saw a child crying, his soul breaking apart again and again, piecing itself back together into a completely unrecognizable self, and the last remaining consciousness witnessing himself killing his father after waking up."

"This is the cruelest tragedy in the world, and also the most wonderful and delightful game in the eyes of the chaotic gods—human joys and sorrows are nothing more than playthings for them to please themselves."

"The only thing to be thankful for is that I was not just a spectator. My existence helped the Emperor seize that glimmer of hope and ultimately turn the tables on Horus."

"When Horus faced me, his remaining humanity began to falter, giving the Emperor the opportunity to deceive him."

"Of course, these are all experiences I have told others, but there is one thing I have not told anyone."

"There were more than two people involved in that father-son battle."

"Behind the emperor, I saw a shadow."

"A shadow formed by the convergence of endless darkness, death, pain, and the end."

Gavial Locken awoke from his meditation with his eyes closed, silently recalling his dream.

He had experienced this dream many times, and whenever he closed his eyes to meditate, the past memories would flood back into his mind like a tide.

This might be a dream, but it might not be.

After all, in theory, the Astartes, as the Emperor's proud weapons of war, have been stripped of all complex emotions and abilities beyond war and loyalty.

Emotions can be a source of strength at times, but most of the time they can become an individual's weakness and Achilles' heel.

And dreaming is an extremely rare thing.

Space Marines' dreams are generally regarded as some kind of revelation and guidance.

The research scope of Astartes think tanks includes the study and analysis of dreams, which can help them better cope with potential crises and challenges.

Loken took off his helmet and gently placed it on the table beside him.

His short, light black hair was now covered in sticky, wet sweat, and as he sat there, the rising steam even condensed into a layer of mist on his head.

These are all consequences of experiencing that unforgettable dream.

"Stuck on dreams again, brother?"

Galo asked with concern, skillfully handing the other person a glass of water fortified with nutrients.

Galo sat down next to Loken and gently placed his left hand on his brother's shoulder armor, indicating that he would always be there for him through thick and thin.

The relationship between the two of them goes without saying, but it's a pity that the Legion's Glory, Captain Sol Taviz, is missing.

Gavial Loken of Shadowmoon Wolves, Nathaniel Garro of Deathguard, and Thor Tavitz, the son of the Emperor, are all sworn brothers.

To commemorate their friendship, Garo and Taviz used the tips of their swords to carve the image of an Imperial Eagle onto each other's arm armor.

When they shake hands or hug each other warmly, they combine to form the shape of the Imperial Double-Headed Eagle.

They were all mobilized to this planet on the eve of the massacre at Istvan III.

If it weren't for the experienced Taviz who was the first to sense the eeriness of this military operation and thus hijacked a gunboat to warn the loyalists who were about to be purged,

If it weren't for Galo, who remained on orbit, choosing to trust his blood brother and ordering the gunboats to be fired upon and destroyed, the pursuing warships that were intercepting Taviz's gunboats would have been destroyed.

If it weren't for Loken trusting Taviz's warning and immediately evacuating the other Astartes and taking them into the underground fortifications...

It is likely that the loyalists on Istvan III will be completely wiped out by the Warmaster from the very beginning.

They fought against the viral bombs dropped by their own genetic father, and engaged in a life-or-death struggle with their comrades who came to cleanse them.

These loyalists endured three long months on the scorched, unsupplied planet, buying precious time for Company Commander Garo to deliver the message.

Ultimately, Taviz disappeared during the orbital bombardment, but the two of them supported each other all the way and have survived to this day.

Loken downed his water glass in one gulp and then let out a long sigh of relief.

He looked extremely tired, with dense red blood vessels imprinted in his pupils, which made Jialuo very worried.

Grey Knights' missions often involve enormous risks, and this unstable mental state amplifies the dangers infinitely.

"Yeah, it's that damn dream again."

"I dream of the battle aboard the Soul of Vengeance again and again, of Horus falling before my eyes, of the Emperor weeping while holding Horus's body."

"what is this?"

"What is the Emperor trying to tell me? Is it that my comprehension is too low to understand his revelation?"

Loken, somewhat dejected, propped his face up with his hands and sat hunched over his room's lounge chair.

"Don't rush, take your time," Gara comforted her.

"If this is truly the Emperor's guidance, then your current lack of understanding is simply due to the time not being right. You will understand eventually; we still have time."

"You must trust the Emperor. If he has truly chosen you, then his judgment will not be wrong. Even if you don't trust yourself, you should still trust the Emperor."

Galo's personality is more optimistic and carefree than Loken's.

When Makado sent them to investigate the situation on the Istvan III, Garo encountered Loken, who had lost his mind due to the harsh reality and turned into a wandering beast.

It was only after Galo and Loken fought that this brother regained his senses.

"Dong dong."

There was a knock on Locken's bedroom door, and before they could reply, Qi Le pushed the door open and walked in.

"Gentlemen, I think you wouldn't mind having one more listener, would you?"

"I just listened at the door for a while."

Qi Le said in a light tone, and then sat down on the other side of Locke without any hesitation.

In front of her two old friends, Qi Le appeared very relaxed and let down her guard.

After Inquisitor Carter and the Grey Knights intercepted the Mammoth, which was carrying Qile, in the warp and persuaded the living saint to join them, they returned to the Grey Knights' warship.

As for the merchant ronin fleet, the judge originally intended to destroy it entirely to eliminate all traces and kill all witnesses to prevent future troubles.

Their contact with Euphrates Kilar had to be kept strictly confidential; any leak of information would provoke a furious reprisal from the state church.

Judges, naturally, act without restraint.

To achieve their goals, they were even willing to issue an extinction order to an entire inhabited planet, let alone the mortals of this merchant fleet.

However, Qi Le was ultimately merciful. She stopped the judge from silencing them and instead used her spiritual power to brainwash and erase the memories of all the crew members on the Elephant.

They then quickly departed, returning to the Grey Knights' strike cruiser, leaving behind the merchant ronin fleet, their memories erased and now utterly bewildered.

“Of course I don’t mind. Perhaps you, the Pope of the State Church, can explain Loken’s dream to him,” Gara said with a smile.

"After all, it was you who performed a psychic reading for Sigismund and explained what was troubling him."

"Speaking of which, I heard that Sigismund, along with his Black Templar, followed Lord Lothie to the Ghoul Stars to fight against the Ork."

"Perhaps we will run into this old friend again on our trip to the Far East."

With a touch of melancholy, Galo said that most of the people from his memories would never return.

Taviz, Togaton, Company Commander Erlen, Solomon—they have all vanished.

“So what if we see him? Sigismund is no longer the same person he used to be,” Loken sighed.

"He has fully embraced his Space Marine nature; he has lost his emotions and completely merged himself with the Emperor's will."

“He was braver than us; at least he accepted his fate without fear.”

Loken cast his gaze out the porthole. The tides of the warp seemed never to subside, forever surging and ebbing.

"Then let me analyze your dream."

"I don't think I need to repeat how to use the Emperor Tarot, right?"

Qi Le reached into her person and pulled out a set of liquid crystal sheets with psionic activity from somewhere.

The Emperor Tarot deck has a total of 78 cards. Legend has it that these cards are connected to the will of the Emperor, and by using the Tarot cards for divination, one can receive the Emperor's revelation.

Of course, this is just a legend, since tarot cards are still very popular in the human empire.

From judges and Space Marine think tank members to ordinary citizens, most people have some understanding of the Emperor Tarot.

With so many people using the Emperor Tarot to ask the Emperor for divination, even if the Lord of Humanity were a supercomputer, he would be overwhelmed and paralyzed by the endless requests.

However, when the person using tarot cards becomes a living saint recognized by the emperor, like Qi Le, then the situation is naturally completely different.

Qi Le shuffled all the tarot cards in her hand, then slightly swung her hands over them, stacking them one on top of the other, and then flipped them over.

Loken stood up, closed his eyes, and chose the tarot cards entirely based on his intuition.

It is worth mentioning that the symbolism of the second and fourth cards in these stacked tarot cards can bring clear results.

However, if the card drawing is reversed, the meaning of the card will change significantly, completely opposite to its original positive meaning.

Loken closed his eyes, and memories of the past flooded back.

Dark fires raged, and a fierce wind seemed to be blowing, stirring up waves in the sea of ​​his soul.

In the dim light, Loken seemed to hear a ghostly whisper, extremely familiar yet extremely distant, as if it came from the ends of the earth.

Loken ignored all of this and drew several cards from the 78 Emperor Tarot cards.

The Lost Child

Lone Wolf

The Great Raiders

【demon】

The Golden Throne

【God Emperor】

The three of them immediately leaned closer, with Loken's head even touching Gara's bald head, which made Qi Le cover her mouth and laugh.

Although the good old days are gone forever, reminiscing about them occasionally is still a precious pleasure.

"Let me take a look, there's something strange about your deck..."

Qi Le looked at the deck of cards and murmured to herself.

Although Loken and Garo are both Grey Knights and they can use the Emperor Tarot, they are, after all, testers.

Testing your own tarot readings often results in unusual errors and can be misleading due to subjective biases.

"Let's go through them one by one. The first card, The Lost Child, seems to correspond to your past experience of amnesia."

"Back then, you were severely injured on Istvan III and lost your memory, turning into a dazed and confused beast."

Without the help of the chivalrous knight, he might have wandered that land of suffering forever, until death.

Loken nodded in agreement, showing strong support for the interpretation of the card.

"The second one, [Lone Wolf]."

"Shadow Moon Wolf?" Gara blurted out.

“Loken was never the son of Horus; he was the Shadowmoon Wolf, the last Shadowmoon Wolf.”

"His existence is the lingering shadow of the once glorious Sixteenth Legion, and an epitome of the most climax of the Great Human Expedition."

The fact that the Emperor Tarot matched Loken's twice in a row immediately raised everyone's interest.

But by the third and fourth cards, Qi Le's smile had faded.

From any perspective, neither of these cards is a good hand.

The card "The Great Raider" depicts a figure clad in ancient armor, surrounded by countless screaming souls like a mist.

In his right hand, which held a strange longsword, the sacred Terra was shattered, and crimson blood slowly dripped from beneath the enormous demonic claw in his left hand.

The Great Raiders meant inevitable bloodshed and death, a huge catastrophe even for the Empire.

"This card signifies war and death. Could it be hinting that our upcoming journey and plans will face a tremendous test?"

Qi Le was puzzled, and Loken and Garo were also clueless.

“I’ve seen the intelligence data on the Eye of Fear. It turns out that Abaddon, a company commander of the Sons of Horus, seems to have declared himself the Chaos Warmaster and calls himself the Great Raider.”

"Could this be related to Abaddon?" Garo asked suspiciously, resting his chin on his finger.

A complex emotion flashed in Gavial Locken's eyes.

Abaddon was his brother.

He still remembered how this reckless brother had stood up for him.

A year after the victory at Ulanor, Sejanus visited planet 63-19 as a diplomatic envoy, but was ordered to be killed by the mad ruler. Loken then entered the Shadowmoon Council as a replacement.

Abaddon, Torgadon, Eichmann, and Loken were inseparable during the glorious years of the Great Crusade. Although they had their share of quarrels, they were ultimately blood-related brothers.

But that's all in the past. Abaddon followed Horus to the bitter end and has now become the second Chaos Warmaster, continuing to be an enemy of the Empire.

“I once had a dream that I would settle things once and for all with Abaddon on the Soul of Vengeance.”

“But I didn’t die from the vengeful spirit. It seems that this dream may be a premonition of my future.” Loken gripped his power sword, his mind filled with memories of sparring and training with Abaddon.

Perhaps the next time they meet, he will have to fight his former brother to the death.

Qi Le noticed that Loken was feeling a bit down, so she skipped the topic.

"demon?"

"This is a bad card, but you're a Grey Knight, so dealing with demons is perfectly normal for you."

Qi Le smiled and teased.

Loken focused intently, examining the card closely.

On the shimmering LCD card, countless dark currents of energy swirled faintly.

When he looked directly at it, the whispers and calls in Loken's mind seemed to be activated, growing louder and louder.

“Samus…”

“SamusSamus…”

Loken listened to the voice in his mind and couldn't help but utter that name.

"Sams?"

Loken recalled with confusion the Great Demon who called himself the Destruction Storm, who was also an old acquaintance to him.

Towards the end of the Great Crusade, the Shadowmoon Wolves' company arrived in a region called Whispering Mountains, where they encountered many temples and shrines, all of which enshrined a non-material being called [Samus].

At that time, the Empire still believed in Imperial Truth, so the Shadowmoon Wolves did not hesitate to destroy these heretical temples, and Samus appeared.

After killing more than a dozen Astartes and their accompanying narrators, Samus was killed by Lorken and Sergeant Nelo Wips with explosives and banished to the warp.

According to the Empire's historical records, Samus reappeared in Kos.

It was summoned by Captain Kersir of the Word Bearers at the cost of his life, and after killing several Ultramarines, it was banished by Captain Ventanus using a ritual dagger.

Loken visited Makurag once forty-two years ago.

While on a mission, he unexpectedly uncovered an unknown deal between the Ultramarines and the Warp Demons, so he went to Macragge to find out more.

However, when he arrived, he was taken to the Black Rock Fortress on the moon by the curator of the Ultramarines's Titus Institute, where he witnessed the great achievements of the Sons of Guilliman.

Countless warp demons, numbering at least a thousand, are all imprisoned in Blackrock Fortress.

The Titans think tank claims this is how Ultramarines obtain intelligence in the subspace.

Relying on these enslaved demons, they have carried out countless strategic strikes against warp enemies.

Loken was greatly shocked by this, but not because the Ultramarines were cooperating with demons, but because they had such a well-established and streamlined process.

The Grey Knights also do things like summoning demons, imprisoning demons, and enslaving demons.

They even had a complete list of demon names, which recorded information about most of the warp creatures they had encountered.

Whenever the Grey Knights encounter enemies from the warp, they consult this encyclopedia in search of possible solutions.

However, this relatively primitive method, when compared to the standardized deception-capture-enslavement model of Ultra Warriors, is like a primitive workshop colliding with a standardized mass production factory.

Loken, who originally intended to confront the Ultramarines, changed his mind after witnessing their astonishing feats.

The contents of his secret talks with the Titans' strategist remain unknown, but since then, Blackrock Fortress has also been built in the Titan Monastery of the Grey Knights.

"I first met Samus in Macurag when he was imprisoned. He was the first warp demon to be captured."

In an effort to secure better treatment for himself, Samus summoned all the warp creatures he was connected with.

"To recognize its contributions, the Ultramarines would even feed it some captured alien creatures, so it lived a fairly comfortable life."

As Loken listened to the constant whisper of "Samus" in his mind, he began to tell Garo and Qile about Samus.

"No wonder Lord Guilliman has always been criticized for establishing the Second Reich, capturing and enslaving Chaos Demons, and it is rumored that the Ultramarines also have connections with various Xenomorphs."

"If the Crimson Accord hadn't been lifted, this would probably have been compounded by the unbridled abuse of Abomination AI."

Euphrates Kira spoke slowly in a teasing tone.

“Once we turn to Guilliman and seek his help, we’ll probably find another way to split the state religion and create religious conflict.”

"But wasn't Samus supposed to have disappeared within Blackrock Fortress, vanishing without a trace?"

Loken felt bewildered, wondering why he suddenly sensed Samus again.

When this warp demon went missing, it put the Ultramarines on high alert, as it was the first out-of-control demon since the construction of Blackrock Fortress.

However, after careful investigation, the Ultramarines think tank confirmed that Samus did not escape from prison, but rather disappeared literally.

It vanished completely, as if it had never existed.

"Have you encountered a chaotic curse?"

"The corrupting forces of the warp may entangle your soul."

"I'm serious," Gara said, raising his right hand to help his brother check the situation.

However, after a thorough examination, the Grey Knights confirmed that Loken was in good condition and showed no signs of being corrupted by Chaos.

"That's strange indeed," Gara muttered to herself.

Qi Le spread out the last two tarot cards that Loken had drawn and began the final analysis.

The Golden Throne

【God Emperor】

The meaning of these two tarot cards is quite clear: the Grey Knight is the Emperor's last gift to mankind, to continue to cleanse the demons and destroy the monsters in his place.

"Is this a sign that I will soon return to the Golden Throne and be embraced by the Emperor?"

Following the meaning of the tarot cards, Loken began his logical reasoning.

"It's not that simple. Tarot cards never directly tell the reader what's going on. If you can tell the meaning of a revelation at a glance, then it's definitely wrong."

Qi Le interrupted her directly.

The Emperor Tarot card depicts a massive throne made of gold, steel, and brass, upon which a human body is placed.

Since the Emperor ascended the Golden Throne, the High Lords have never had the chance to see this Lord of Mankind in person.

Even the Pope of the state religion was kept outside the palace by the Imperial Guards, and no one was allowed to enter.

They can only depict the God Emperor Tarot based on their own conjectures and artistic interpretations.

“That’s definitely wrong,” Gara asserted.

"Because when Loken drew this card, he drew it from the bottom up, facing the opposite direction."

The order in which tarot cards are drawn is very important, especially the distinction between heads and tails, which foreshadows completely contradictory results.

The three looked at each other in bewilderment. If the God Emperor card was drawn face up, it meant that the emperor, who was suffering on the Golden Throne, was protecting humanity with his sacrifice and power.

But if it really is being drawn backwards, what does that mean?
The two present were the Grey Knights and the Pope of the State Church, the Emperor's living saint.

They all bore the mark of the emperor and were absolute loyalists, yet when they pondered this question, they suddenly felt a strong sense of blasphemy emanating from within them.

"I think there's something wrong with the tarot cards you drew," Gara said, trying to smooth things over.

With a cold expression, Qi Le collected all the cards on the table and shuffled them again.

Loken immediately turned his head and continued to choose according to his feelings.

When the three of them saw Loken's tarot cards again, they were immediately stunned.

[Shattered World]

Space Marine

[Traitor to the Warp]

The Eye of Horus

The Golden Throne

【God Emperor】

Although the other four tarot cards are different, the last two cards were still the two ambiguous tarot cards that Loken chose.

"You pulled out the [God Emperor] backwards again, brother."

"If you didn't do this on purpose, then this truly is a revelation from the Emperor."

Galo didn't know how to answer this time either, and could only look helplessly at Qile.

The living saint looked at the cards, then looked up at the ceiling, and seemed to understand something vaguely.

"Tarot cards are just divination, and divination is never absolutely accurate."

"If everything could be known through divination, prophecy, and calculation, the world would have long been a desolate place."

Gavial Locken extended his palm, gathered the 78 Emperor Tarot cards together, and then returned them to Qile's hand.

“I am not the son of Horus, I am the last Shadowmoon Wolf, I was, I am, and I will be.”

"I am the pride of Krzunia, the Emperor's most loyal warrior, and the Grey Knight who protects humanity and vanquishes all demons."

"I don't believe in fate; my fate is in my own hands."

……

"Have we forgotten something?"

"Why are all our ships docked here, and the engines have been shut down, with only the Geller field generator and basic systems still running?"

Thomas Ally felt an unusual discomfort in his head, as if an invisible hand was stirring up his brain and making everything fall apart.

Even in his confusion, a strong sense of crisis welled up within him.

At this moment, his merchant fleet is still in the warp, and the current situation is most likely related to the warp.

However, the most urgent task now is not to figure out what happened, but to quickly restart the warship's engines, gain power, and leave this place of trouble.

"How much longer will it take to restart the engine? Can you speed things up a bit?"

Thomas questioned Hollen E6 Ferguson, the most authoritative mechanical priest in the fleet, hoping to get some satisfactory answers.

The priest, whose entire body was shrouded in a Martian red robe, with half of his exposed head replaced by mechanical parts, had only red light flashing in his eyes.

"Based on objective assessments, it is estimated that restoring the engine will take 3.46 Terran days."

"It will take 5.53 Terra Days to restore the engine to high speed and warp back to the physical universe."

"The assessment time is affected by the availability of slave workers and machine souls, and the expected fluctuation range is no more than 3 Terra days."

The binary language spoken by this guy was transcoded by the speaker he carried, and then into High Gothic language that Thomas could understand.

Even though he already knew this would be the outcome, Thomas still looked displeased.

"Hurry, Father, for our safety."

"I feel really bad right now. We may have encountered some incredible subspace force or natural phenomenon. Leaving this place is the best option."

"Your Majesty, bless your devout people. I have worked diligently to transport supplies to the front lines and maintain the lifeline. I may not have achieved anything great, but I have certainly put in the hard work."

“I did my best, Captain,” the mechanical priest replied, then, with the help of his lower body, which had been modified into mechanical tentacles, he returned to the warship’s engine room.

He wanted to recite the prayers more devoutly, hoping that the warship's mechanical spirit would show some mercy and allow the large ship to move as soon as possible.

However, after he finished reciting the prayer praising Om Messiah, the warship's engines actually started running at speeds far exceeding their design limits.

Inside the massive engine room, the heart-pounding roar of the engine filled the air, and the mechanical priest even felt his own heart, which had been transformed into a machine, resonate and vibrate in response.

"This...is this?"

The reactor gradually changed from its original stable, bright blue color to an unsettling deep red, as if it were about to overload and collapse at any moment.

The mechanical priest stared in horror at the crimson data screens.

"God of all machines, even if you're going to show your power, can't you be a little less powerful?"

"I wanted to get the warship's engines up and running quickly, but I never intended for them to start to the point of almost self-destructing!"

However, no matter how hard he tried, the trend of warship engine overload could not be stopped.

Knowing that things would be completely destroyed if things continued this way, the mechanical priest gritted his teeth and immediately connected his mind processor to the warship's Thinker system.

His crazy behavior was solely for the purpose of gaining a deeper connection with the Machine Soul. He needed to control the rampaging Machine Soul in order to save the lives of all the humans on board.

However, when he entered the warship's mental space, he was immediately stunned by what he saw.

Countless chaotic junk code was spreading its writhing tentacles, constantly polluting and corrupting other normal code data.

The warship's machine spirit was almost powerless to resist, and its originally bright green consciousness was turning into darkness at a visible speed.

"So the warship's reactor was overloaded because the machine spirit was about to be corrupted and killed!"

"Who, who is it?!" the mechanical priest screamed. "Why didn't I notice anything?"

However, his insignificant consciousness was quickly submerged by the vessels of those eightfold paths, as if it had never existed.

After the Mammoth's machine spirit let out its final mournful cry, the entire warship finally sank completely into darkness.

(End of this chapter)