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

Chapter 963 The Second Complete Star God

Upon hearing Taraxin's audacious proposal, the Burner's light flickered violently a few times, as if expressing some emotion—perhaps surprise, or perhaps mockery.

Cooperation? You insignificant undead, do you know to what kind of being you are inviting?
I am a Star God, the embodiment of the fundamental forces of the universe. Even in fragments, I am far beyond the comprehension of you mere metallic remnants who eke out a living by stealing technology.

[The cooperation you're referring to is probably an attempt to enslave my power again and use it for your own purposes, isn't it?]

I have long seen through your despicable race. We bestowed upon you eternal life and immortal bodies, yet you showed no gratitude, betraying us after the War of Heaven.

Yes, we have taken your souls, but everything comes at a price. You have gained physical immortality, so naturally you must pay a price.

The Burner's response was a scathing critique of the Necromancer's vulnerabilities, showing absolutely no mercy.

General Dai Guan had no intention of refuting him. At this moment, the alarm bells in his mind were ringing wildly. He even wanted to bypass Tarasin's authority and directly order the fleet to attack this damned fragment of Catan.

Facing the undead fleet with the World Engine at its back, Claudius believed that as long as they were willing to suffer some casualties, they would definitely be able to trap this Burner fragment inside the Hypercube Labyrinth.

Moreover, protected by the rebirth protocol, even if their living metal bodies are destroyed in the war, they can be resurrected through data transfer.

However, after much deliberation, Claudius decided to hold back for the time being.

The words Taracin had spoken to him earlier had deeply affected General Dai Guan, and he realized that he might not be aware of the true intentions of the French Emperor and Taracin.

But his patience had its limits. He couldn't risk Nishirak's legacy, and he accepted the punishment from the French emperor afterward.

When the Burner saw that Tarachin didn't react much when he was hurling insults at the Necromancer in front of him, the intense aura he was releasing gradually subsided.

You are indeed different from those undead who only follow orders and have no thoughts of their own. Do you have the courage to speak with me face to face?

"Tarasin! Reject it, it's a trap!"

Claudius could no longer contain himself, and his voice cut directly into Tarasin's private channel.

"It is tempting you to lower your guard. Any close contact with the Star God is suicide! Our history, the eternal curse we bear, all stem from our gullibility towards these despicable beings!"

“Tell me you wouldn’t do something so stupid, wouldn’t trust a damned star god!”

However, Tarasin seemed not to hear Claudius's warning. He faced the burning eternal fire and gave a clear and firm response, even with a hint of eagerness.

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Tarasin replied.

Before he could finish speaking, the massive fragment of the Burner suddenly shrank under Claudius's horrified gaze.

Its brilliance and heat, like that of a small star, were forcibly suppressed and contained in an instant, condensing from a destructive ocean of energy into a humanoid silhouette that was only slightly taller than Taracin, radiating a dark red light, and whose shape was constantly twisting and changing slightly.

The next moment, space seemed to be folded by an invisible force.

This Burner avatar pierced directly through the flagship's layers of phase field, ignoring the thick living metal armor, and abruptly appeared on the command platform where Tarasin was, standing less than fifty meters away from him.

The Burner completely restrained its power; otherwise, the endless heat radiation emanating from its body would have been enough to melt and destroy Tarasin and the metal of the warship.

Claudius felt his core logic was about to overload and shut down. He stared intently at the dark red humanoid figure, then looked at Tarasin, who seemed completely unprepared.

A mixture of fear, anger, absurdity, and a hint of admiration that he himself was unwilling to admit churned in his mind.

"He's gone mad...this guy has completely gone mad..." Claudius muttered to himself.

"How dare he get so close to a fragment of a Burner without any forced containment measures?! Even if the Hierophant himself were here, he would never dare to be so presumptuous!"

The Necromancers of Space and the Star Gods are undoubtedly mortal enemies.

The hatred between these two beings transcends time and space. This ancient hatred, brewing for millions of years, has not only failed to dissolve but has intensified as more and more space undead descend into madness.

If completely killing the Star Gods hadn't caused certain rules of the real universe to completely spiral out of control and break down, the Necromancers of the space would have long ago simply thrown those deeply vengeful fragments of the Star Gods into the warp to fend for themselves.

Even now, they are still closely guarding the Star God fragments. As soon as they discover any uncontrolled Star God fragments, they will immediately dispatch a containment force to cross the entire galaxy to contain them.

Kotalasin not only extended a cooperation invitation to the Burner Fragment, but even allowed them to board the ship.

When did this guy become so brave?!
General Dai Guan searched his memory and realized he had never seen Tarasin so brave.

It's worth noting that Tarasin's infamous title of "Endless One" stemmed from his exceptional skill in using clones and hacking into the bodies of low-level undead to plunder and steal from the treasuries of various dynasties.

This guy's fear of death is exceptionally well-known, even among the many space necromantic dynasties.

The Burner fragments themselves were equally astonished.

[You do have some courage; you're more daring than the undead warrior beside you.]

Look at him, all he can think about in his logic matrix is ​​how to kill me with your god-slaying weapons.

I advise you to abandon those thoughts. I am right in front of you now, and I could easily eliminate you before the god-slaying weapon even touches me.

Tarachin remained calm and unfazed by the Burner's threat.

His confidence stemmed from his trust in Roche and his assessment of the current situation.

He had meticulously unraveled the Burners' behavioral logic. The reason why the Star God before him did not immediately launch an attack, and was even willing to restrain his power and communicate, was not because of them, but because of Loxi.

Back in Fenris, Lothie made a deal with this fragment, promising to help it become more complete in the future if it helped to disrupt the situation and hand over another fragment of the Void Dragon.

The Burner's inability to become whole again hinges on the Silent King Szalak.

This leader of the Triune Council crafted the Star God skin of the Burner into his cloak, while the largest Star God fragment powered his throne of domination.

It is impossible for a single, crippled Burner to reclaim its essence from Szalak; therefore, it needs a powerful and reliable ally.

Having mastered all the essence of the Void Dragon, Lothie has, in the eyes of the Burners, become the most powerful Star God in existence.

Most importantly, according to the Burner's observation, this human named Loxi possesses a rare and precious quality that is extremely rare for the Star Gods.

Integrity.

Through the mediation of this human named Loshi, the human empire, the Aedalin, and the space undead were able to unite, a bizarre event that even the Burners found hard to believe.

This is why, after escaping from the Golden Mandela, the Burner chooses to continue to Kadia to find Loshi and fulfill his promise.

Before achieving its ultimate goal of reclaiming the Star God Fragment from the Silent King, it will never easily turn against Tarasin, who has a close relationship with Lothie, and the undead fleet that went to Kadia to support humanity.

Once it goes to war with the undead fleet that is acting as human reinforcements, it will undoubtedly be standing on the opposite side of Roshi, which is tantamount to directly abandoning Roshi's promise.

After all, no matter what the promise is, it will never be fulfilled for the enemy.

"It seems we've reached a preliminary consensus; at least for now, none of us want war," Tarasin said in as calm a tone as possible.

"So, can we continue sailing? The situation in Cardia is tense, and we probably can't afford to waste too much time."

But what the Burner wants is more than just a truce with the Necromancers. If that were all it wanted, it wouldn't need to intercept the Necromancer fleet at all, since Tarasin and the others didn't even notice it when it was secretly observing them.

As the Star God who has the deepest understanding of the Web, the Burner can freely hide within the Web without being detected, even by the Aidalings.

You are truly intelligent, Necromancer. Maintaining rationality and restraint is the best option for both of us.

Perhaps some of you feel confident of victory, believing that I am not fully recovered and am in a weakened state, so even if war breaks out, I will not be able to put up much of a fight. But I want to tell you that I do not rely solely on my own strength...

The Burner wants to travel with the Necromancers so that it has a chance to obtain its own Stargod fragment from the Necromancer fleet. Therefore, it must enhance its deterrent power and cooperative value.

After breaking free from the prison of the Sotek dynasty, I did not wander aimlessly, for a being as ancient as myself had made contact with me.

His name is Salanoga the Outer One.

“The outsider… Salanoga…”

The name was like a bolt that instantly pierced through the core of Tarachin's logic, causing his body, made of living metal, to freeze for a moment.

Even with his tens of millions of years of experience, upon hearing this name, he could not completely suppress the emotions of "shock" and "fear" that surged from the depths of his heart.

Beside him, the crowned general Claudius reacted even more violently, his whole body tensing up as if he had seen some terrifying natural enemy.

The outermost one is not one of those fragments that have been split and imprisoned, with only a fraction of their power remaining, but rather the only star god in the galaxy that remains intact.

“This is impossible…” Claudius’s voice carried an almost distorted electronic noise.

"According to our last records, Salanoga went completely insane after being deceived by the Laughing God and devouring many of his fellow Star Gods. His consciousness fell into irreversible chaos and self-destructive tendencies after consuming too many of his kind."

"It should have left the Milky Way long ago, lost in the endless void... How could it... how could it still maintain some degree of consciousness, and even be able to contact you?!"

Tarachin quickly adjusted his state, staring intently at the Burner, trying to glean more useful information from the other's constantly shifting expression.

"As far as we know, the Outer One, Salanoga, has long been driven into eternal madness by devouring its own kind. Any being that attempts to communicate with it will have its reason torn apart by its chaotic and superimposed storm of consciousness."

Even its very existence is a catastrophe that lower life forms cannot bear to face. How...did you establish a connection with such an existence?

The Burner seemed quite pleased with Tarasin and Claudius's reactions, a sense of superiority stemming from possessing valuable information unknown to the other.

It was once a god fervently worshipped by countless space undead during the War of Heaven, but later became a prisoner even lower than the Scarab Beetle of the Underworld. This immense contrast makes the current Burner yearn for the past. [Madness? Yes, it truly did languish for a long time in the chaotic sea of ​​consciousness.]

The Burner's voice carried a complex meaning, containing both a degree of understanding of the plight of his kind and a hint of condescending schadenfreude.

[The claim that devouring other star gods makes the devourer stronger is a lie told by that damned god of trickery, Higoki, and Salanoga actually believed it.]

Forcibly fusing different essences and different wills does not bring about sublimation, but rather pollution and chaos. Salanoga, the first and most greedy of them all, bore this curse.

The Burner paused, seemingly recalling the scene.

After I broke free from the suffocating cage of the Sotek dynasty, I felt a faint call on the southern edge of the galaxy.

It was a resonance originating between the star gods, extremely faint yet bridging an unimaginable distance; I could recognize it as belonging to Salanoga.

Driven by curiosity about the plight of others like myself, I followed the call and found Salanoga in the far south of the Milky Way, a desolate star system where even starlight seemed to withhold its light.

The Burner's ability made it seem as if Tarasin and Claudius could "see" that bizarre scene before their eyes.

It is no longer the form we remember; the long years and the eternal struggle within it seem to have transformed it into a new form.

It completely merged its immense energy and essential core with a barren planet, transforming itself into that planet.

"Transform into a planet?!"

Claudius couldn't help but gasp; this was completely beyond his understanding of the Star God's behavior patterns.

Star Gods are the embodiment of the rules of the universe and are aggregates of energy. In the long years before encountering the Necromancers of space, Star Gods were a special existence similar to an energy state, parasitizing stars and drawing energy from them.

After encountering the Necromancers of space, the Star Gods acquired living metallic skins capable of supporting their true forms, which led to the Star God entities as commonly understood.

If Salanoga has truly disguised itself as a planet, then the chances of discovering it are indeed extremely low.

"Surprised, necromancer?" The Burner's voice carried a hint of mockery.

Compared to eternal madness, perhaps this stable state is a temporary form of clarity.

Salanoga told me that after countless chaotic times, it was occasionally able to briefly suppress the wailing and conflicting consciousness within it and gain a moment of clarity.

It finally realized what a foolish mistake it had made to devour its own kind. Its power might have increased, but the price was eternal self-torture and a fragmented consciousness. It desperately longed to escape this state.

Tarachin astutely grasped the key point.

"It wants to separate itself from the essence of the other star gods it has devoured? But... that's almost impossible. The fusion of star gods is an intertwining at the essence level, and the consequence of forcibly separating them is likely to be mutual destruction."

"That's true in theory," the Burner admitted. "But it's not absolute, especially... in cases where exceptions occur."

Its gaze seemed to pierce through the warship's armor, landing in the direction of Cardia.

Just recently, during its brief period of lucidity, Salanoga experienced an unprecedented sense of complete resonance.

That was the essential fluctuation of the Void Dragon Magladros; a complete, conscious Star God had reappeared in the galaxy.

Tarasin's flame trembled violently. He knew, of course, about Lothie's control over the Void Dragon Essence. Lothie's mastery of the Void Dragon Essence was able to become complete thanks in large part to his and Orikan's help.

Salanoga believes that perhaps only a Void Dragon, who is also a complete Star God and equally proficient in controlling the rules of the material universe, could find a way to safely extract the chaotic fragments belonging to other Star Gods from its body without causing mutual destruction.

It desperately longed to regain its independent consciousness; it wanted to silence the star gods who wailed and cursed within it, even at the cost of some of its power.

The Burner's crimson avatar moved forward slightly, getting closer to Tarasin and the Crowned General. The invisible pressure made the surrounding atmosphere seem to freeze.

So, you insignificant undead, do you understand now?

Going to Cardia is not only your wish, but also my and Salanoga's wish.

Tarasin fell silent; the amount of information was too much for him to process.

A complete outsider, though insane, but occasionally lucid, and desperately seeking help...

This variable is so great that even the Nihirak dynasty might not be able to completely handle this enormous problem.

Before agreeing to the other party's request, he needs to obtain more useful information to support his subsequent decision-making.

He looked at the Burner and slowly asked, "So, where is Salanoga now? Has it already set off for Cardia?"

Are you afraid?

Are you worried that the emergence of a complete Star God will completely shatter your control over the situation?

Rest assured, you insignificant undead, I am now just a fragment, far from having recovered my full power, so naturally I cannot force the will of the outsider, Salanoga.

He is a complete star god, an ancient being that even the vast cosmos itself cannot confine.

[He may still be entrenched in that forgotten wasteland at the far south of the galaxy, struggling in the raging tides, or He may already be traversing the boundless sea of ​​stars, heading towards Kadia.]

As expected, this information about Salanoga's movements directly disrupted Tarasin and Claudius's plans.

Even if an enemy is powerful and its location is clearly defined, a plan can be devised to deal with it and avoid it.

However, the threat level of an unpredictable being possessing the full power of a star god will increase exponentially.

It can appear anywhere, and may intervene in the battle at the most unexpected moment, turning upside down all the carefully calculated deployments.

However, the connection between the celestial beings is far greater than you can imagine. If Salanoga is indeed approaching me, I will certainly be able to sense His presence.

I can also actively call out to those on the outside, guiding them towards me.

At this moment, the Burner finally revealed its true purpose: to bind itself tightly to the Outer One, Salanoga, and use this to deter the Necromancer from making any moves.

The Burner was well aware of its current disadvantages. It was just a fragment of a Star God, with very limited power for both humans and space necromancers, and its importance was negligible.

However, if it can operate under the banner of an outsider, its value and the threat it poses are thus magnified infinitely.

Any hostile action against it could be seen as a provocation against Salanoga, thus igniting the wrath of a full-fledged star god.

General Dai Guan had to admit that the risks of taking any coercive measures against the Burners before fully understanding Salanoga’s intentions and movements were far too high.

The Burners' move truly hit their weak spot.

Tarachin took in the crowned general's reaction and made a swift decision.

“I understand.” Tarasin’s voice broke the brief silence. “Your value and the threat you pose certainly exceed our initial estimates.”

“In that case, Burner, let’s talk about cooperation more openly,” Tarasin said. “Let’s speak frankly.”

“I know you are wary of us, and we are wary of you. There is no point in us continuing this stalemate.”

“Since we all trust Lord Roxi, let him act as a mediator, and we will no longer need to suspect each other.”

"I think this is a good thing for you, for us, and for the future of the entire galaxy."

The Burner was very pleased with Talazin's attitude, and if it were during the War of Heaven, it would have been happy to have such a clever man as Talazin as its number one servant.

I simply want to become whole again, and Salanoga needs a powerful enough helper to restore calm from the chaos.

What you want is to completely shut down the Eye of Terror and get those damned warp creatures out of our universe. Our goals are not contradictory.

We can travel together to the Cardia star system. With my help, you can save a lot of time, and right now, time is everything.

Upon hearing the Burner's invitation, Tarasin did not hesitate for long before nodding in agreement.

"Alright, please lead the way, and we'll follow behind."

The Burner nodded slightly, then withdrew from the Necromancer warship. It illuminated the shimmering net like a fiery meteor, extremely conspicuous and eye-catching.

"Are we really going to follow the direction indicated by the Burner?" Claudius was already feeling a bit numb. He even wondered if his mind matrix was starting to break down, otherwise how could he have seen Tarasin and the Burner chatting so happily?

“Follow it. With the Burner leading the way, we can avoid many detours. After all, the network map we have isn’t very complete, and we’re probably not taking the shortest route.”

Tarasin replied dismissively.

General Dai Guan opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something more, but he couldn't speak.

Oh well, times are changing too fast. He might really be as rigid and conservative as Tarachin said.

Since that's the case, just like Tarachin said at the beginning, I'll just carry out the orders and leave the rest to him to decide.

Once he understood, General Dai Guan felt refreshed. Since agonizing over it was pointless anyway, he might as well let go. After all, if something went wrong, it would be Tarasin's fault.

The Necromancer fleet, tracking the Burner's movements, moved swiftly through the Infernal Web.

When they passed through the last fork in the network and saw a network gate, Tarasin knew that their destination, the Cardia Starfield, was already close at hand.

(End of this chapter)