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

Chapter 903 Human Local Area Network and the Power of the God Emperor

Since becoming the demon prince of Slaanesh, Forgrim had never felt such regret and rage.

In his plan, he would toy with these clones, and after he had his fill of playing with them, he would capture them all and bring them back to the Dark Prince to claim credit and demand more blessings.

The clones are just clones; they only resemble the originals in appearance, and in terms of actual power, they are not on the same level at all.

The Ascended Forgrim was 100% confident that he could successfully complete this mission and bring a perfect end to his past.

But to his utter surprise, this damned clone suddenly unleashed its power and killed him just when it was about to be killed.

He even used that damned flaming sword to carve "fake" on his own heart.

As the demon prince of Slaanesh, Forgrim sensed a profound change the moment those two words were inscribed.

He tried his best to use his psychic powers to erase the "fake," but even after he extinguished the golden flames, those two words remained unshaken.

He had a strong premonition that even if he destroyed his own body and was reborn, those two words, which symbolized infinite shame, would not disappear.

He's been branded with this damn mark, it's utterly absurd!
For Fugrim, who strives for absolute perfection, this was worse than death.

Even more fatally, as the concept of "pseudo" was inscribed on the Ascended Forgrim, the cloned Forgrim had implicitly become the source of the concept represented by the name "Forgrim".

After the original Forgrim ascended to demonhood, his essence was essentially sacrificed to Slaanesh, and the demonic principality itself was reduced to an empty shell.

The essence of a primordial is the most precious and important thing.

Although Pheroth's physical body is dead, as long as his essence remains, the Emperor can recreate him through a curse.

Those like Forgrim who sided with the Primarch of Chaos were the most foolish of all.

They offered their most precious possessions to the evil god, who then gave them a blessing that could be taken back at any time and sent them away.

It's like a startup with unlimited potential suddenly having a brain fart and selling itself entirely to a Fortune 500 company, only to receive a branch of that Fortune 500 company as a reward.

Once the Primarch was labeled as a fake, even compared to the clone Forgrim, it was a fake among fakes.

"No, this can't be?"

"Why? What makes you think you can do that?"

Although the clone Forgrim suddenly unleashed his power and killed the demonic Primarch before him, there was still a huge gap in their strength.

Cloned Fugrim felt that the mysterious power surging within him had been greatly weakened after reversing the concept of "true" and "false," making it impossible to completely kill the demonic progenitor.

He suddenly flipped over and kicked the Primarch, then landed back among his other clone brothers.

At this moment, even those loyal Primarchs who were hostile and dissatisfied with the rebellious Primarchs couldn't help but look at Forgrim with new respect.

Compared to the Primarch who was gradually losing his human form, the creature before him, engulfed in golden flames, was more befitting of the name Phoenix Lord.

"Is this your psionic power? I've never seen you use psionic power before?"

Clone Horus was slightly surprised to find that he didn't seem to know as much about Forgrim as he had imagined.

"No, this is not my ability."

In fact, not only Horus, but even Forgrim himself felt that this power was coming from too strangely.

He was indeed about to be burned to ashes by the Primarch's psionic fire, but at the last moment, a very familiar call suddenly appeared in his mind.

It was as if... he had seen it somewhere before.

"This is a divine power, and its source must be a sublime and great god who is worthy of worship by all."

Luo Jia, who had been casting buffs on the Primals from behind, suddenly spoke up.

He stretched out his finger and dipped it into the flames on Forgrim's body, finding that the golden flames did not seem to burn them.

"I felt courage, justice, holiness, and compassion from it, which is undoubtedly completely different from the warp gods I knew!"

Although the clone Luo Jia's memories are stuck in the period of the Battle of Kaus, at this stage, Luo Jia's understanding of chaos was not as deep as it would be in the future, and his faith was not as firm.

Just like when he elevated Angron to the status of a demon prince of the Blood God in Nukelia, it was because if he hadn't done so, Angron would have truly been tortured to death by the Butcher's Nails, and he had no other choice.

His understanding of chaotic deities like the Blood God was also very superficial, limited to the fact that they were even more powerful and elusive beings in the subspace than the Emperor.

If he truly understood the essence of the Blood God and knew the tragic fate of Angron after his ascension to demonhood, Luo Jia would most likely not have allowed Angron to become a demon, or perhaps he would have allowed Angron to ascend to the status of a demon prince without division of chaos.

Although his ascension ritual truly harmed Angron, causing him to remain trapped in the enslavement of the Blood God, from the perspective of his starting point, Luo Jia genuinely wanted to save Angron.

There was a deep brotherhood between Luo Jia and Anglong, but after Anglong was tricked into becoming a demon, this bond had long since turned into a deep-seated hatred, the kind that is irreconcilable.

After learning about the inner workings of Chaos from his brothers and witnessing firsthand the ugliness of the Ascended Forgrim, Loka's devotion to Chaos began to waver.

After all, he was disappointed by the Emperor's deception and concealment of the truth about the Warp, and then, under the guidance of Arebas, he transferred his faith to the more mysterious and unpredictable Chaos.

From the very beginning, he held too many idealistic views about chaos, believing that chaos was the ultimate answer and the only savior that could save humanity, a race struggling in the dark universe.

However, now that Luo Jia knows the outcome, she has not plunged headlong into the trap of chaos, but has maintained a relatively objective attitude.

"Never mind that!"

Lemanrus's sharp roar rang out, exploding in the Primarch's ears as his attention was diverted.

"That pervert who sided with Slaanesh has completely gone mad; he's going to fight us to the death!"

The clone Forgrim's sudden burst of energy, though it inscribed words on the demon's heart, did not kill or banish it.

The Demon Primarch's eyes no longer held any mockery or sarcasm; all that remained was naked killing intent and indescribable brutality.

"Use your... that move that makes you burst into flames!"

Lemanrus was blasted away by the Primarch, and he felt that this abnormal power seemed even stronger than before, making it difficult for them to resist.

Magnus and Luo Jia were also filled with hope, seemingly waiting for Fugrim to unleash that magical power once again.

They could see clearly that, blessed by that power, Forgrim could even unleash a force powerful enough to reverse the opponent's fate when he was on the verge of death.

However, only Fugrim knew how weak he was at that moment. Every blood vessel and every muscle in his body was twitching and burning, and he felt weak and powerless.

The scalding touch even made his nerves tremble. If his will hadn't been strong enough, he might have collapsed to the ground unconscious by now.

The death of the ancient sage Rellano is not merely proof of the bravery and loyalty of the true son of the emperor.

It also had a more profound impact—it inspired and reshaped Vograim's thinking and ideas.

The original clone, after learning of the crimes committed by his original self, was consumed by thoughts of killing the original and washing away those sins.

However, the other Primarchs could see very clearly that there was no fundamental difference in mindset between the cloned Forgrim and the Forgrim before his fall.

In fact, compared to his original self, the clone Forgrim might go to an even more extreme path, which would be another road leading to an endless abyss.

Now, at least, Fogrem understands what true perfection and true loyalty are. Whenever he starts to go to extremes, the image of the ancient sage appears in his mind.

When there is no point of reference, the pride and arrogance of self-proclaimed perfection begin to erode the mind.

But Rellano's death etched a benchmark in Forgrim's heart, a benchmark to measure himself and to see himself clearly.

Fugrim closed his eyes and began to seek answers from within himself.

"This power..."

"Where does this power of belief come from...?"

He gripped the hilt of the sword tightly with both hands, held the power sword upright in front of him, and calmed his mind completely.

Strangely, as he focused his will and questioned his inner self, the golden flames around him, which had been flickering, became stable and vigorous once again, as if echoing his exploration.

Suddenly, he felt as if he had passed through an invisible veil, and the surrounding noise of battle quickly faded away.

Suddenly, his vision cleared, and Fugrim found himself standing in a vast, indescribably sacred place.

The space is filled with a warm, peaceful, and reassuring golden glow, which does not originate from any specific light source but permeates every corner of the entire space.

Countless countless points of soul light, like stars, are scattered throughout this space. They are interconnected, forming an incredibly vast, complex, and orderly network of light.

Each point of light pulsates slightly, conveying prayer, hope, courage, sacrifice, and the purest power of faith.

These forces of faith converged into a vast golden ocean, gently yet firmly resisting the mad, filthy, and malicious warp currents from the outside world.

This network is self-contained, standing tall in the raging sea of ​​warp space, and is slowly but steadily growing and expanding, becoming more solid and powerful.

“This is…” Fugrim’s soul was shaken.

He had never seen such a sight before; it was like a "paradise" for mankind, as depicted in mythology!
He instantly realized that this was the source of that powerful force, the one that had answered his call!
His gaze involuntarily fell upon the very center of this network of faith, the area where the light was most intense and the most sacred.

There, he saw a majestic and dignified figure, radiating boundless light, yet imbued with endless compassion.

The figure's appearance was difficult to describe clearly, as if it were composed of pure light and faith, and everyone could see in it the image they most admired, trusted, and longed for protection.

He is the divine aspect of the emperor, the ultimate manifestation of humanity's collective faith and will in the subspace.

He merged with a portion of the terrifying authority representing the collective will of the human race from the power of the "Dark Lord," ultimately solidifying into the supreme being—the God-Emperor.

In the eyes of the clone Forgrim, the image of the God-Emperor presents a unique combination of gentleness and majesty, with feminine tenderness and resilience, which is a projection of his deepest perception of the "Perfect Guardian" and the "Source of Compassion".

The instant his eyes met those of the God Emperor, a deluge of information and insights flooded into his soul:
He understood that as long as one held a devout faith and prayed to the God-Emperor, this god of the subspace belonging to humanity could transcend the vast distance between reality and illusion and infuse his followers with power.

This power not only strengthens the physical body but also protects the soul, shielding it from the pervasive whispers and erosion of the Chaos God.

Without hesitation or doubt, the clone of Forgrim's soul opened its heart completely at this moment.

He transformed all his will, all his beliefs, all his hopes, and his grief over the death of Rellano and the enlightenment that followed, into the most devout prayer, which he offered to the majestic being at the center of the network.

"In the name of Rellano, in the name of true perfection and loyalty, O God-King, grant me the power to purify evil and protect my brothers!"

boom--

The God-Emperor granted the desire to clone Forgrim.

In the real world, the golden flames around the clone, which had been waning, suddenly erupted again.

This time, the flames were no longer flickering, but rather solidified and intensely hot, like real gold.

A divine pressure emanated from him, even causing the frenzied demon Fugrim to pause in his movements!
"Brothers!" Clone Forgrim opened his eyes, which were now completely filled with golden light. His voice was loud and infectious. "Pray to the divine realm I see in my heart, pray to the God-Emperor who belongs to us humans, cast aside all distractions, and hold fast to your faith! He can hear us, He can answer us, He can grant us the power to fight against Chaos!"

He didn't have time to explain in detail what a "human local area network" was, but the steadfastness and sense of sacredness he conveyed instantly infected all the clones.

Lemanrus was the first to react. He howled like a wolf, stopped thinking, and followed his battle instincts and trust in Forgrim's current condition, roaring gruffly.

"Hahaha! I told you long ago that the power of the Father far exceeds our imagination."

"You hideous monster, do you think you're the only one with powerful backers?"

"Taste the wrath of the God-Emperor, you idiot!"

Saint Gilles felt the holy aura that resonated with him faintly within the golden flames. Without hesitation, he spread his wings, lowered his head, and adopted the most devout prayer posture.

"God-King above, please guide us and grant us the light to purify evil!"

As a psionic master, Magnus could clearly sense an immense, divinely ordered force, entirely different from the warp energy he was familiar with, converging through some kind of network.

Shocked, he immediately released his psionic defenses and tried to connect with and accept this great being.

Luo Jia's feelings were the most complex, but the pure and bright power perfectly matched his deep longing for the "true god." He was so excited that he almost trembled and knelt down to pray.

“The true gods are far more powerful than the chaotic false gods. The holy gods do indeed exist, and they have already bestowed their own gospel.”

Clone Horus, Lane, Guilliman, Peturabo, Chagatai, Corax, Mortarion, Angron...

All the Primarch clones, regardless of their previous attitudes toward the Emperor, were now, driven by their survival instincts and inspired by the miraculous power displayed by the clone Vorgrim, more or less trying to open their hearts and pray to that mysterious being.

A miracle happened.

One after another, golden beams of light, varying in thickness but equally pure and dazzling, seemed to break through the limitations of space, suddenly descending from the sky and enveloping each of the devoutly praying Primarchs.

Lemanrus felt an immense power coursing through his body, and his power sword was covered with a golden light that could pierce through illusions.

Saint Gilles's wings became even more radiant and dazzling, as if he had truly transformed into a noble angel from mythology.

Magnus was surrounded by golden psionic lightning, which amplified his power and eliminated any worries about being harmed by the backlash of warp energy.

Luo Jia's buffing psionic effects were greatly enhanced, and golden radiance enveloped all his brothers like a shield.

Even Clone Horus, Angron, and Mortarion felt a warm power soothe their inner anxiety and pain.

Their weapons also blazed with dazzling golden flames, though not as intense as those of the Loyal Primarchs, but still enough to inflict effective damage on the demons.

At this moment, all the clones temporarily received the blessing of the God-Emperor's power.

"This...this is impossible?! Are you kidding me?"

The ascended demon Forgrim was horrified to see what was happening before him. The clones, who had previously been nothing more than lambs to the slaughter in his eyes, were now all surging with power, surrounded by holy flames that he loathed and even feared instinctively.

The golden flames burning on their weapons, in particular, reminded him of the excruciating pain he had just experienced.

With numerical superiority and the sudden blessing of divine power, the tide of battle was turned in an instant.

"For the Emperor! For the God-Emperor! For humanity!" Clone Forgrim raised his burning power sword and roared in victory.

"For humanity!"

All the Primarch clones roared in unison, like a golden torrent, and launched a siege against the demon Forgrim.

This time, their attacks were imbued with divine power; every slash and every shot effectively tore through the demonic Primarch's blasphemous armor and burned away his corrupt nature.

The demon Fugrim's painful howls grew more frequent as he frantically swung his broken sword and serpent tail, but he could no longer easily repel the crowd as before.

The golden flames continued to leave new scorch marks on his body, and even began to suppress his terrifying regenerative abilities.

For the first time, fear gripped the demon prince of Slaanesh.

He realized that if things continued like this, he might really be worn down to death here by these clones who were empowered by strange forces, not just banished back to the warp, but permanently lose something, or even his own life.

That divine power could destroy the very essence of warp demons, reducing everything to nothingness.

Even if Slaanesh manages to bring him back from the dead, the reconstructed "Forgione" will likely just be a substitute with the same name but fundamentally different.

"Enough! You damned thieves, liars!"

He let out a scream mixed with pain and panic, and suddenly unleashed a powerful psionic shock that temporarily repelled the siege. He then tried with all his might to tear apart the veil of the real universe and open an escape route to the warp.

"I will return! Once I have informed the Dark Prince, I will lead my army to wipe you all out..."

However, just as the space in front of him began to distort and a pinkish-purple crack was about to appear.

A larger, more solid golden beam of light, exuding an aura of endless antiquity and majesty, suddenly descended without warning, striking precisely the subspace rift that was about to form on his part.

"boom!!!"

The rift melted and closed instantly, like ice and snow thrown into the blazing sun. The terrifying energy backlash blasted the demon Fugrim away, sending him crashing to the ground in a sorry state.

A tall figure appeared silently between the Primarch and the clone Primarchs.

He wore a seemingly simple gray robe that contained endless spiritual energy fluctuations. The hood covered most of his face, revealing only his distinct jawline and a strand of crimson hair that looked like a burning flame.

His figure was extremely tall, even taller than all the Primarchs present, and he held a huge, strange staff inlaid with intricate crystals and runes.

The demon Fugrim struggled to lift his head and look at the uninvited guest who had interrupted his escape.

When his gaze fell upon that strand of crimson hair and he sensed the unfathomable yet strangely familiar spiritual energy fluctuation emanating from the other person, an extremely complex expression instantly appeared on his face.

A hint of unbelievable surprise? But more than that, it was a terrifying shock, like seeing a ghost!

“You…you are…” The demon Fugrim’s voice was distorted with fear.

The tall, robed giant remained silent, but slowly raised one hand.

In his palm, a dazzling, liquid gold-like divine energy began to gather, its intensity far exceeding that of clone Magnus, even causing the Primarch clones shrouded in the radiance of the God-Emperor to feel a tremor in their hearts.

That was no longer psionic energy; it was more like… the embodiment of the wrath of God.

"No...no!!!" the demon Fugrim screamed in despair as he struggled, begged for mercy, and tried to reopen the rift.

But it was too late.

The golden light in the giant's hand had reached its peak, then transformed into a pure torrent of psionic energy containing the concepts of absolute "purification" and "negation," instantly engulfing the demon Fugrim who had fallen to the ground.

There was no explosion, no screams.

In that holy stream of light, the Primarch's body, the nearly immortal body blessed by Slaanesh, began to rapidly melt and vaporize like dewdrops in the sunlight.

His armor, his flesh and blood, his Ral's Blade, even his heart engraved with "Imitation"—every trace of his existence was being erased and purified at a visible speed.

In just a few seconds, the light dissipated.

The place was completely empty.

There were no remains, not a trace of ash, as if the Ascended Forgrim had never existed.

Only a lingering trace of supreme holiness in the air, and the slowly dissipating golden particles of light, testify to what had just happened.

The entire battlefield was now deathly silent.

All the Primarch clones stared in disbelief at this sudden and shocking scene.

The formidable enemy that all of them could not defeat despite their desperate efforts, and the opponent that even required the divine emperor's power to suppress, was so easily annihilated in front of this giant.

At this moment, the robed giant slowly turned around and faced the group of Primarch clones.

He raised his hand and gently lifted the hood.

A familiar yet unfamiliar face appeared; it was Magnus's face, but much older, radiating a powerful majesty.

For a considerable period of time, the Crimson King was depicted as a one-eyed being.

Only a very few people know that Magnus's missing right eye was actually the result of a deal he made with a being in the warp to resolve the flesh mutations of the Thousand Sons.

And this "generous" being is none other than the omnipresent God of Fun, Tzeentch. From the moment he acquired one of Magnus's eyes, the Lord of Change gradually began to hold this powerful psionic Primarch in his grasp.

However, when Lemanrus later plunged the Spear of Dionysus into Magnus's body, the purifying power of this artifact interrupted the ascension process, thus keeping Magnus in a human state.

Now, a tangible golden flame burns in Magnus’s vanished right eye, filled with boundless wisdom and compassion, yet also carrying a hint of inhuman indifference.

His skin was a deep red, and his signature red hair danced like flames.

"Magnus?!"

The Primarch clones, especially Magnus clone, gasped in shock.

"It is me, but not the me you know."

Magnus, the apostle of the God-Emperor, spoke slowly, his voice gentle yet exuding an irresistible majesty.

"I am now an extension of the God-Emperor's will, a guardian of the Holy Terra Web, and one of the guides of human faith."

“I have atoned for my sins on the golden throne for a hundred years, but my mistakes have not been washed away and I still need to pay more.”

His gaze swept over the crowd, finally landing on the clone Forgrim. He nodded slightly, revealing a hint of approval.

"When you cried out in despair, when your faith resonated with the God-Emperor's human local area network, I received the message and was able to arrive here in time through the relay of the faith channel and the Terra network."

He paused, looked at the spot where the demon Fugrim had disappeared, and said in a calm tone.

"The corrupt and twisted thing, the one who tarnished the Primarch's honor, I have shattered his soul and cast it into the boundless sea of ​​the warp, so that even the Slaanesh cannot easily piece it back together."

"This is the God-Emperor's punishment. If he had remained holed up in Slaanesh's palace, I might not have had a good opportunity. But he was blinded by pride and even dared to linger in the real universe."

"Speaking of which, I should thank you all. You did me a huge favor by helping me catch this despicable traitor."

The Primarch clones were still in a state of profound shock and remained speechless for a long time.

Magnus, unimaginably powerful… the God-Emperor… the human local area network…

These clones, who should not have existed in the first place, seem to have inadvertently traversed the dark ages of humanity's arduous progress and entered a bright new era.

(End of this chapter)