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

Chapter 978 Beyond the Universe
Upon hearing Rosie's completely genuine statement, Kua's lingering regret seemed to freeze in mid-air. Then, a smile emanating from the depths of his soul, filled with relief and contentment, spread through his mind.

"It seems... handing our inheritance over to you was indeed the right choice."

His gaze seemed to glance, intentionally or unintentionally, at Xi Gaoqi, who was pretending to be nonchalant in the distance.

"At least you have a greater awareness of this than the Elven race we created. Now that I think about it, perhaps we should have added more elements about responsibility and morality to their genetic sequence when we created them?"

Higoki, who was pretending to communicate with Tarasin in the distance, stiffened almost imperceptibly from the moment he touched him.

Clearly, this understated praise precisely hit the weak spot and sore point of this Eldar god.

Rose naturally understood the meaning behind the praise.

At the end of the War of Heaven, when the defeated Old Holy Alliance attempted to retreat back to the Web to regroup, they were turned away by the Ancient Elven race, who were then working on the development and repair of the Web.

Perhaps it was because they resented the ancient saints for making them endlessly build the network, or perhaps it was because the continuous wars caused a large number of casualties among the ancient spirit race, that they made this act, which can be defined as betrayal.

This is why Hiccupy has always deliberately avoided direct contact with Gu Shengkua.

As a member of the Spirit Clan Pantheon, He cannot escape responsibility for the dark history of the Ancient Spirit Clan.

Even if Kua has a gentle personality, how could he not harbor resentment towards the race that once cruelly harmed his own people?

Not wanting the atmosphere to become too awkward, Losi immediately steered the conversation to a more practical strategic level.

"With the Eye of Fear closed, our foundation in this universe has finally been stabilized." He looked intently at Kua, recounting humanity's achievements.

"Next, our strategic focus will shift beyond the universe. We are already planning to assemble an unprecedentedly large expeditionary force to go to other universes that have been corrupted by chaos and sweep away the tentacles and pollution originating from the warp."

"We cannot remain passively defensive forever. The more chaotic and polluted the universe becomes, the more enemies we may face in the future. The only way out is to take the initiative and continuously carve out strategic space."

"Therefore, I hope to obtain some more detailed information from you about the universe beyond."

Although I have traveled to other universes through inter-universe channels, I still lack mature experience and guidance.

As far as I know, before the War of Heaven began, some of the ancient saints who were passionate about exploring the unknown had already left this universe.

You must possess far more comprehensive information about all aspects of the multiverse, right?

Gussenqua clearly hadn't expected Roche to raise such a profound question.

The strategic vision and unwavering will of these people truly exceeded his expectations.

They were not blinded by the enormous treasure before them, nor did they become arrogant or complacent because of their temporary victory.

It has to be said that Kua prefers this younger race even more.

Kua fell into deep thought, his remaining thoughts seemingly searching for relevant fragments in an immeasurably long history.

A moment later, his thoughts, imbued with an endless sense of vicissitude, faintly resonated:
"Regarding the situation outside this universe, I think you humans have already touched upon some of the truth."

The sea of ​​subspace, the highest heavens, or what some cosmic civilizations call the void, is not a product unique to any one universe.

The subspace is like a boundless, turbulent ocean, and each universe is an island, large or small, floating on it.

Kua's voice became even more deep and slow, as if he were digging for relevant information in his own memory.

"Based on our ancient sage race's long experience of observation and exploration, each universe has its own unique 'rule system,' and these rule systems originate from the vast differences in the strength of the 'veil of reality' in each universe."

This veil, like the shell of an egg, is a crucial barrier protecting the real universe from the infiltration and erosion of subspace energy.

“Some universes,” Quah continued, his mind conveying a clear contrast, “have a reality veil that is more resilient than imagined, where the laws of physics are absolutely dominant, precise and stable, and almost unbreakable.”

"The power of the subspace is greatly suppressed and isolated. To try to leverage psionic energy within it and unleash power that transcends the laws of physics is no less difficult than trying to shake a star with flesh and blood."

"In such a universe, life tends to focus more on developing pure technology and material civilization. They may be completely unaware of the existence of the subspace, or regard it as pure legend or superstition."

Their world was therefore relatively peaceful, at least until the massive invasion of Chaos shattered their veil of reality.

“And in other universes…” Quah continued.

"Their veil of reality is exceptionally thin, like an eggshell riddled with cracks, allowing subspace energy to penetrate relatively easily and intertwine with and merge with material reality."

"In such a universe, the power of psychic energy is more easily perceived and utilized, and it is not uncommon for individuals or groups to possess powerful supernatural abilities."

What we call psychic energy in our universe might be called 'superpowers,' 'spells,' 'magic,' 'witchcraft,' etc., in other universes, but in essence, they are all different applications of chaotic energy.

Loshi nodded slightly upon hearing this. He had also been deeply surprised when he first encountered that group of incredible mutants in the X-Men universe.

Because of the X-gene, they have an extremely high degree of control over dangerous warp energy, at least unlike the psykers in the Warhammer universe, who are easily affected and become walking psyker bombs.

When the topic turned to the different life forms and psionic systems of the multiverse, Kua clearly became quite talkative.

After all, the most common hobby of the ancient saints is creation and discovery, and every life form born from an independent universe has its own unique characteristics.

"Due to the differences in the universe, the races that are able to use the power of the warp are at different stages."

"Some civilizations are still in the initial exploratory stage, while others have already entered the mature stage and have even begun to explore the source of their own power."

"Countless civilizations have pursued and worshipped this supernatural power with fervor, and endowed it with all sorts of wonderful imaginations and expectations. However, what they did not know was that the subspace has a dark side in addition to its beautiful side."

The memory of the human past that the Chief had just described flashed through Rosie's mind.

Thanks to the advent of the warp drive, humanity has truly grown from a fledgling civilization into a great being capable of colonizing the galaxy and establishing a vast human alliance.

But it was precisely because of the influence of the subspace that humanity quickly rose to its peak and then declined.

"Objectively speaking, the subspace is a collection of complex emotions formed by countless intelligent life forms. Countless universes and countless life forms have jointly given birth to the subspace."

"The subspace is a convergence of both positive and negative emotions of life. If the two forces remain in balance, then the subspace is naturally neutral and peaceful, just like the concept of chaos, which should originally represent all-encompassing things."

He sighed deeply: "However, reality is not ideal. Based on our experience, the negative emotions generated by intelligent life often outweigh the positive emotions in both quality and quantity."

Hatred, loathing, and jealousy are far more widespread and intense than pure goodwill, just as a drop of dark ink will eventually stain an entire vat of clear water.

Over time, the warp gradually became dominated by negative emotions, and the four Chaos Gods we face are among the most powerful of these evil gods.

Of course, other powerful chaotic deities exist in the infinitely vast subspace, but they each have their own spheres of influence, and our universe typically only intersects with the four main chaotic deities.

When Kua recounted the experiences summarized by the ancient saints, everyone—Loxi, the Emperor, Makado, the Laughing God, and Xi Gaoqi—listened attentively.

Without the direct transmission of experience from ancient sages, they might have to pay an unimaginable price to obtain this information.

This information is comparable to the treasures of the ancient saints.

Loshi kept comparing what Kua described with what he had summarized in his mind, and replaced the vague or incomplete parts.

“And you,” Qua’s gaze focused on the Emperor, with a deep sense of awe, “your essence in the Warp is inextricably linked to a powerful Chaos God known as the Dark Lord.”

However, the fact that you suppressed this deity before it even awakened is something we have never seen or imagined before.

The Emperor remained calm. It was no secret that he and the Dark Lord were two sides of the same coin; any being of a high level was well aware of this fact.

Now that the Dark Lord has been suppressed by the Trinity System, he no longer needs to be as secretive as before.

"In our time, the four Chaos Gods did not actually extend their tentacles extensively into our universe."

"After all, there are many, many independent universes in the subspace. No matter how strong the power of chaos is, it is impossible to attack a large number of universes at the same time."

"The flames of the war in Heaven caused a large number of deaths and negative emotions to flood into the subspace where our universe is located. It's like a small island floating on the ocean suddenly being flooded, washing a large amount of organic matter into the sea, which naturally attracts a large number of creatures that feed on it."

"The Chaos Gods sensed the opportunity and began to forcibly intervene in the timeline of our universe. By using their ability to crawl along the timeline, they were able to modify the past and the future."

"At that crucial juncture of the War of Heaven, the Chaos Gods came to our universe, but they were not yet awakened. They altered the timeline and created the fact that they had existed since ancient times."

"This is really unreasonable," Makado couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

“Indeed,” Kua patiently replied, “for the idealistic subspace, ‘reason’ often depends on the belief itself.”

"Do you know the nature of these four gods, or rather, their origins?" Talassin was quite curious about the history of the four gods, as these Chaos Gods were not originally native to the Warhammer universe.

“The four gods are the embodiment of four extreme emotions, the concrete manifestation of four concepts,” Kua described. “They have joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, likes and dislikes, but they do not possess an independent ‘self’ like ordinary intelligent life.”

"One point is worth noting: although we often mention the four Chaos Gods together, they must have had different origins in the distant past. It's just that in our universe, they are like players matched together, always intertwined, while in other universes, perhaps only one of them coexists with the other Chaos Gods."

"One more thing, although the origin of the Four Gods may not be our universe, after merging with a large amount of soul and emotional power belonging to our universe, the Four Gods have also become localized. If we see the Four Gods in other universes, the specific situation may be quite different," Kua instructed.

"Are the Four Gods omnipresent and all-pervasive?" Tarasin continued to press.

In the perception of the Necromancers of Space, the four Chaos Gods are actually not much different from the Star Gods.

Because they lack souls, the four gods can hardly exert much influence on the space undead who stand at the pinnacle of physical technology within the universe.

However, it now seems that the four gods are of a much higher status than the rule-based gods born from an independent universe.

At least the Star Gods cannot roam freely across different universes like these Warp Gods, immediately beginning their erosion whenever an opportunity arises.

"Yes, based on our observations, that is indeed the case," Qua said with a hint of regret.

"In fact, not all Chaos Gods are so keen on invading and expanding their influence everywhere."

“We have encountered some powerful warp gods who are very reluctant to move and simply remain in their own divine realms. Almost no one knows of their existence.”

Luo Xi was speechless. So there were still otaku evil gods. He wondered how many more turbulent evil gods like the Four Gods were among the Chaos Gods.

If there were more quiet and reserved evil gods in the warp, perhaps humanity would face far fewer troubles.

The appearance of even one evil god like Tzeentch, Khorne, Slaanesh, or Nurgle, who is keen on acting as a troublemaker, would be a huge disaster in any universe, but the Warhammer universe has a total of four.

"Kwa, we have a preliminary understanding of the overall structure of the subspace, but what we want to know more about is the situation in the universe closer to us."

Loshi subtly reminded him that if he didn't say that, Qua might have to recount the entire pioneering history of the ancient saints.

"I'm sorry, I've been silent for too long. Here, I don't even have anyone to talk to."

"And the little guy stuck outside the door doesn't have the key and can't get in."

His tone was slightly apologetic, and even Loxi felt that this ancient saint had an exceptionally good temper.

"Time and space in the subspace are also chaotic, but the positional relationships between those universes usually don't change much." Kua returned to the main point.

“Near our universe, there are some relatively small universes whose rule systems are mostly weakly veiled.”

"The intelligent life they nurture is far inferior to that of our universe, whether in terms of quantity, scale, or technological or psionic level; it can even be said to be quite primitive or fragile."

"Some of our explorers, in keeping with the habits or responsibilities of the Creator, have sown the seeds of life in several universes or guided the direction of those nascent civilizations."

“Even if these universes still exist now, their value is very limited, and I’m not sure if they’re still around. After all, even our universe has been eroded into this state by chaos. I’m pessimistic about their fate.”

Loshi understood perfectly. Given the greedy and competitive nature of the four Chaos Gods, since they had already attacked the Warhammer universe, they certainly wouldn't let go of the weaker universes that were closer to them.

Perhaps they have already succumbed and become a breeding ground for the power of chaos.

“There are universes that are much larger and have more complex and powerful systems of rules in more distant parts of our universe.”

Losi keenly grasped this crucial information and immediately responded.

"I once had the opportunity to step into a special universe called the 'Celestial Universe'."

That place is ruled by a powerful being called the Celestials, whose power is astounding, and who possess extremely advanced physical technology and profound psychic abilities.

Kua's lingering regret seemed to flicker, carrying a hint of understanding.

"The Celestial Universe, yes, I remember now. It was a highly unified and powerful universe."

The gods you encountered are the ruling race of that universe. They are extremely ancient, and their development path is completely different from ours, yet they have all reached a very high level.

Their mastery of physics and technology allows them to shape and control matter like celestial gods, while their exquisite manipulation of warp forces on the psionic level does indeed bear some resemblance to the golden age of our ancient saints.

"It was precisely because we sensed the existence of a powerful and unified local force in that universe that we ultimately chose to cautiously avoid it."

Rushing into a powerful and exclusive cosmic system could easily trigger unpredictable conflicts, which is contrary to our original intention of exploring the unknown and seeking harmonious coexistence.

We have only conducted limited observations and records at the very edge of their universe, without delving into their core territories.

Loshi nodded and added, "When I entered the Celestial Universe, things seemed to be more complicated. The Celestials had divided the entire universe and woven it into countless parallel branches of reality."

“In these independent ‘small ponds,’ they meticulously arrange different environmental parameters: subtle differences in the laws of physics, even the strength of psionic power… in order to cultivate or rather select various combat races with distinct characteristics.”

"The mutant group I encountered was one of those that were 'sowed' and 'observed'."

A rare hint of confusion flickered in Gu Shengkua's mind.

"A parallel universe branch? Used to cultivate combat races? This... is far removed from what we initially observed."

During the period we visited, the Celestial Universe was a stable and unified whole, and did not exhibit these characteristics of self-division and internal experimentation.

This change is imbued with a strong sense of purpose and crisis; it seems to be preparing for an unprecedented war, frantically tapping into the war potential of its own universe.

“That’s right,” Losi said, his expression hardening. “I obtained some key information from the memories of a failed individual called ‘Broken God’.”

"The Celestial Universe appears to be at war with a powerful enemy from beyond the universe, and the war has been raging for so long that it has forced them to resort to such extreme measures."

Kua fell into a brief silence, seemingly analyzing this astonishing information.

“An enemy from beyond the universe…” he murmured.

"This explains the dramatic change in their strategy; they must have encountered a huge crisis in the long years after we left."

"For a god to resort to such a near-self-destructive method, the enemy must be no ordinary foe. Could it be the power of chaos? Or some other equally powerful alien force that we have never encountered before?" His tone was filled with uncertain worry.

"Whichever it is, it means that the environment of our nearby universe is more dangerous than we thought."

“Whether it’s Chaos or other forces,” Losi’s voice was resolute, “it proves that our strategy of taking the initiative and expanding our living space is correct; passive defense will only lead to repeating the same mistakes.”

“That is indeed the case,” Quai agreed. “Given the current strength of humanity after integrating the Empire, some of the Necromancers, and Eldar, there is no longer any real threat within the Milky Way.”

"Looking at the multiverse, most of the independent cosmic bubbles have extremely limited civilizations and powers within them, with low levels of technology, primitive use of psionic energy, and even less potential for warfare."

They might serve as resource points or outposts for your expansion, but they are insufficient to constitute a strategic obstacle, nor can they provide crucial assistance in the war against chaos.

Kua's tone turned serious; he didn't want the young humans to become complacent and think that other universes were nothing special.

Every universe has its own unique characteristics, just like the original humans, whose hard power was not particularly outstanding.

However, there are abnormal beings among humans, such as the Emperor. He and the Dark Lord are two sides of the same coin. If the Emperor so desires, he can become a terrifying chaotic god like the Four Gods.

"However, within the subspace difference range close to our own universe, besides the Celestial Universe, there are a few other universes that require high vigilance and attention."

One of them, which we visited briefly, left a very deep impression on me with its power system and unique cosmic rules.

Everyone's attention was instantly drawn, even the emperor, who had been silent all along, focused his gaze on the lingering phantom of Kua.

“That universe,” Kua described, his tone heavy with the weight of facing a powerful being, “is characterized by the fact that its veil of reality is…controlled.”

“Under control?” Rose and Makado spoke almost simultaneously.

A veil of reality controlling the universe? This seems to be beyond their current understanding.

“Yes, it is under control,” Quah affirmed. “The entire universe is artificially regulated and controlled by a powerful, incomprehensible system of native will or force.”

"That veil can 'breathe' like a living thing, thickening and solidifying when it's necessary to isolate the subspace and strengthen the laws of physics; and selectively weakening it in specific areas when it's necessary to absorb subspace energy and unleash large-scale psionic power..."

"The entire universe has reached a level of maturity, stability and efficiency in the use of subspace power that we have never seen before, and its overall strength is... unfathomable."

"When we were just conducting the most basic scans and observations outside its veil and barrier, we felt an overwhelming and irresistible pressure."

To avoid unnecessary conflict and misunderstanding, we chose to record the coordinates and leave quickly, without attempting to establish any form of in-depth contact.

Kua's thoughts flickered: "Based on what we observed at the time, there seemed to be five supreme beings in that universe... We can only understand their existence as creator gods."

(End of this chapter)