Warhammer 40K in a box

Chapter 565 Aversion to Intelligence
"Why?" Judge Warren's voice rang out on the channel, filled with vigilance and deep disgust.

Each breakthrough was accompanied by Allegana's death knell-like readings: "Energy levels continue to decline... Core defense system effectiveness has decreased to 12.7% of its historical peak... Spatial stability has further deteriorated..."

The ruins themselves resemble a giant on its deathbed; the once impregnable walls are now riddled with cracks, and the deadly traps have been greatly weakened by insufficient blood supply.

And the faint consciousness that guided them seemed to be consciously shutting down or weakening some of the remaining defenses, opening a path to the dying heart of this uninvited group.

Finally, they passed through a massive, twisted archway that resembled some kind of living alloy, its shape a visually unstable geometric superposition, and arrived at the core chamber.

The sight before them made even the battle-hardened Deathwatchers and fanatical Inquisition members hold their breath.

This is a magnificent but structurally unusual space.

Walls, floors, domes—all boundaries present a fluid, non-standard combination of curved surfaces and sharp angles, as if space had been distorted by a powerful force field.

The main body is made of cold, dark composite material, covered with scale/honeycomb structural units that glow with an extremely faint violet light, outlining complex circuit etching patterns.

The space itself exudes a strong sense of dimensional distortion, making it difficult for people to grasp their sense of direction and distance.

In the center of the sealed room, a huge spherical cabin made of the same dark composite material floats.

It was not still, but was rotating and pulsating very slowly and irregularly, like a dying heart.

The surface of the sphere is covered with complex energy conduction patterns that also shimmer with a faint light.

At the core of the sphere is a huge crystal.

It should have been dazzling, but now only a faint, eerie blue light flowed within it, like a candle flickering in the wind. Most of the area was dark and dull, even covered with spiderweb-like black cracks.

It was the faint energy fluctuations emitted by this crystal that maintained the last bit of activity in the sphere and prevented the core of the entire ruin from collapsing immediately.

Just as all eyes were focused on the dim crystal, another unexpected event occurred.

The energy patterns on the surface of the sphere suddenly brightened, no longer a faint pulsation, but bursting out with a dazzling blue-white light like a final burst of light!

The light flows and converges at high speed along specific energy paths.

hum-

A holographic projection composed of pure light slowly coalesces and takes shape in front of the sphere.

Its form is neither biological nor mechanical, but a light and shadow composed of countless fine, constantly flowing, splitting, and recombining geometric lines—fragments of complex polyhedra, spirals, and topological structures intertwine in a cold, constantly subtly changing way, forming a projection that is constantly deconstructing and reconstructing itself.

Its very existence exudes a strong sense of inhumanity and subversion of imperial technological aesthetics.

"Life form detected... conforming to... minimum privilege... access protocol..."

A voice resounded directly in everyone's minds.

The voice was not transmitted through the air, nor was it a psionic whisper; it was a pure flow of information, cold, logically clear, and devoid of any emotional fluctuation, yet it exuded a deep-seated weakness and... an unmasked weariness.

Each "word" is accompanied by complex geometric shapes that flash synchronously in the shadows, as if the language itself has been deconstructed into data symbols.

“Identification… Database… Severely damaged… Matching failed… Classified as:… Outsider…” The core beam of the projection—corresponding to the location of the crystal inside the sphere—flickered violently a few times, as if the system was overloaded.

"Warning: ...Energy Core...'Heart of Eternity'...Status: Nearing Depletion...Energy Level: 0.7%...Critical Threshold: 0.5%..."

The shape of the projection experienced a violent and unstable fluctuation, with the geometric lines that make it up twisting, breaking, and then barely reassembling.

"The core...energy depletion...will lead to...the complete collapse of the sustained spacetime stasis field..."

"Consequences: ...the subspace energy sealed within the core...reverses...explodes..."

"Power...model calculations: ...enough to...destroy...this galaxy...and...three neighboring star systems..."

The chilling declaration of death, accompanied by a countdown precise to the hour, was imprinted directly into the depths of everyone's consciousness. The image of galactic destruction instantly took shape in the terrifying imagination.

The projection, or rather, the consciousness controlling it, seemed to stabilize for a moment, and the core light refocused.

"This...unit...'Watchman'...logic core...still exists...capable of responding...limited technology...query..."

"Exchange...conditions:..."

“Provide… stable… high-purity energy… input… access point… identified…” A beam of light from the projection points to a relatively intact, structurally complex energy interface at the bottom of the sphere.

"Objective: ...maintain...the lowest...dormant state...avoid...catastrophic...energy...retrogression..."

"Warning: ...energy input...interruption...or...below the sustainment threshold...will...immediately...trigger...final...annihilation protocol..."

silence.

A deathly silence enveloped the core chamber.

Only a low, rumbling sound emanated from the depths of the distant ruins, like a death knell tolling for the countdown.

That cold, logical statement linked the alluring technological treasures with the imminent galactic-level destruction, presenting them to everyone.

The air seemed to freeze, the smells of engine oil, blood, and ancient dust mingling with a heavy sense of despair.

Judge Warren's face contorted beneath his helmet, the words of hatred for intelligence seeping into his ears like venom.

Ferrus's silver-grey eyes were fixed on the projection and the interface it pointed to, while the Primarch's brain was rapidly calculating all possibilities and costs.

Guterres gripped the explosive gun tightly. The energy indicator on the Maria Knight mech's molten cannon muzzle glowed faintly. Olegana's servo arm silently aimed at the energy interface and the projection itself, performing the highest level of scanning analysis.

Liz's "emptiness" field stubbornly held on, but her body swayed slightly, clearly indicating that she was pushing herself to the limit by resisting the heavy pressure from the subspace sealing the entire core space.

The light and shadow of the "Watcher" floated silently, its inhuman geometric shape shifting unpredictably under the faint core light, awaiting the intruder's choice.

It appears weak and its conditions are straightforward, but is there a deeper trap hidden behind this exchange?
What key information was erased from its "severely damaged" database?
The 117-hour countdown hung over everyone's heads like the Sword of Damocles.

(End of this chapter)