Warhammer 40k Origins Stellaris Civilization Simulator

"Now, before you, the descendants of despair, lie three different paths of destiny."

……

The first path: If you don’t cultivate immortality, you will be destroyed.

"First, I would like to provide you with a method of cultivation."

Ruoken's gaze swept over the crowd, as if examining their souls.

"This is adapted from your Eldar's 'Path,' a more universal cultivation theory applicable to all psychic species, used to strengthen willpower and enhance spiritual power. Its development is thanks to the active cooperation of the Ark Eldar."

"Through this method, you may be able to completely break free from the curse of Slaanesh, break free from the control of the Warp, and truly achieve spiritual transcendence. However, this path is extremely difficult. Going against the will of heaven means there is no turning back. Those who fail will exhaust all their potential and their lifespan will be shortened. For those with great ambitions, this is even more terrifying than direct death."

Hearing this, many Eldar expressed hesitation. They seemed to be full of distrust towards the technology of the "Mon-Kei," or "Ape-men." They all said it was dangerous, and from the Eldar's refined perspective, it was probably too dangerous to accept.

But some people still ignited the flame of hope.

“What if we succeed?”

An Eldar wizard stood up, his eyes burning with the desire to survive. He was originally a member of the Ark Eldar, and this "Path" with enhanced difficulty and rewards was acceptable to him.

Ruoken smiled faintly. "Then you will become a truly free soul. As the saying goes, the most perfect person has no self, the divine is without merit, and the sage is without name. When you reach this state, you will be free and unfettered. The so-called shackles of the fate of the spirit race and the nature of indulgence will become less important."

This is called being independent from the world and ascending to heaven.

……

The second way: bring new life.

"The second path is to enter the great vortex of living star psychic energy and start a new life."

Ruoken said slowly, "Your body, consciousness, memories, and most of your soul will dissipate within this. However, the imprint of your life will not be extinguished. Instead, it will be stripped of all external objects and integrated into a new life form. You may never remember who you are, but in some way, you will still be connected to your past life."

"How is this different from Necrontyr?"

Some of the Elder Eldar believe this is, like the Necrons, effectively destruction.

"Permanence and impermanence, twin trees wither and flourish, north and south, east and west, neither false nor empty. You think there is no difference between you and the Necrons, but then there is none, because this is your koan."

Ruoken was witty and did not answer the question directly.

If we are to proceed down the path of synthetic evolution, this problem may one day be ours too.

This path represents a complete denial of everything about their past as an Eldar, but it also symbolizes a new possibility.

The souls of the Eldar will not be devoured by Chaos, but will become the material for the birth of new life.

One day in the future, they may return to this universe again, but they will no longer be their original selves.

Some of the Eldar discussed in low voices, some of them felt that the past was too heavy and longed to be free of themselves.

Some Eldar, however, are afraid of losing their own existence, and believe that this is no different from the fate of the Necrontyr, as they are no longer themselves.

Yet, at least this path is far better than being tortured forever by Slaanesh.

……

The third path: Zelo Dust.

"The third path is to accept the Federation's protection, absorb Zero, enjoy life, and then at the end of life, be completely shattered into Zero dust."

Ruoken's voice didn't waver at all.

"Direct ingestion of unrefined primordial Zelo will result in a destructive chain reaction that no psionic species can reverse."

"Your souls and bodies will slowly decompose into the purest Zelo Dust. After approximately three to four centuries, you will completely disintegrate, returning to purity, becoming part of pure psychic energy. There will be no more pain, and no future."

This is the safest path, but also the most passive. Eldar who choose this path can live freely under the protection of the Federation until they perish in the Zero chain reaction, their end being sealed.

After hearing the three options, the Eldar prisoners fell silent.

Some people chose Zelo without hesitation. They were tired of the constraints of the Tao and the torture of indulgence and depravity. They only hoped to have a happy old age and a clean ending.

Some people have ignited new hope and are willing to challenge the path of cultivation. Even if there is only a glimmer of hope, it is better than disappearing directly.

There are also some people who choose the vortex, hoping to return in another way at some point in the future, and the authenticity of this will be proven later.

On this day, the history of the Federation recorded an unprecedented psychic experiment and witnessed the struggle and choices of a race on the brink of destruction.

And the Zero Dust, the final remnant of the soul, has also become a precious resource for the Federation's psychic research.

The fate of the Eldar is divided here, either destroyed or reborn.

As time passed, the Federation gradually forgot about the conflict with the Eldar. However, during the colonization and creation enlightenment in the sacred lands of Poseidon Pastoral: Wildfather and Tal, the research team discovered a strange new creature that had never been recorded before.

These creatures dwell in the depths of the ocean, possessing slender, muscular bodies and scaly skin that reflects a faint psychic glow in the water.

Their lower bodies consist of powerful serpent tails, their arms have webbed claws, and they have crystal-like growths on their foreheads that appear to be some kind of psychic sensory organs.

They were named Naga.

Initially, researchers believed that the Naga were simply a new intelligent species, perhaps a marine species that evolved spontaneously from the ecosystem of a living planet.

However, after further observation and analysis, they gradually discovered some surprising connections.

The Naga's mental fluctuation pattern has some subtle connection with the Eldar who originally chose the path of "rebirth", although it is so weak that it seems just an illusion.

Their memories are completely gone, and their personalities bear no resemblance to those of the previous Eldar. However, in certain tests, they have demonstrated psychic affinity, an inexplicable familiarity with certain situations, and even an unconscious resonance with certain rhythms.

This all points to a possibility, that these Nagas might be the new life form reincarnated from the Eldar who chose rebirth.

This discovery sparked a heated debate within the Federation. Scientists, psionicists, sociologists, and even philosophers grappled with the significance of this phenomenon: Did the emergence of the Naga prove the immortality of the soul? Did they retain some "life imprint" of their past lives? Or were they simply a completely new species, born from a living planet, fused with tiny fragments of the Eldar's soul?

Even more bizarre is the performance of a few individuals among the Naga. A very few of them will briefly show a strange trance state when entering certain scenes related to the Eldar or facing specific situations.

They may murmur strange tongues or reveal extremely complex emotional fluctuations, which are the result of their spiritual resonance with the psychic energy displayed by the Eldar in their lifetime.

During one experiment, a Naga individual was brought to an untouched Eldar soulstone.

At that moment, the Naga showed an expression of extreme shock. It stroked the soul stone, as if it saw something very familiar and yet difficult to understand.

Yet, a moment later, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

But the Federation's psychic detector clearly recorded that at that moment, the frequency of its soul fluctuations was completely consistent with that of a certain Eldar prisoner of war who had been recorded.

All this points to one fact: these Nagas do have some kind of connection with the Eldar. Although it is impossible to determine what this connection is, it is "healthy" enough and even surpasses Slaanesh's greedy demands.

Perhaps they no longer remember their past lives, but their existence proves that their initial "rebirth" was not in vain. They will never be "Ada people" again, but they are still alive.

The study of these Naga creatures has enabled the Federation to make great progress in the study of consciousness modification, replication and expansion. We are one step closer to understanding the nature of the soul.

……

After this series of experiments achieved good results, the issue regarding the Eldar finally came to an end within the Federation.

The debate about psychic power, curse and reincarnation finally found a poetic answer in the deep blue sea of Poseidon Pastoral.

The Federation no longer interfered with the Naga. They were allowed to survive in their own way, develop their own civilization, and be enlightened to join the Federation when appropriate.

Even though those Eldar who chose rebirth no longer remembered, they had realized their wish in a sense. They broke free from the curse of Slaanesh and continued to exist in the universe with a new attitude.

Perhaps, in a distant future, a Naga will see a strange planet in a dream, hear an incomprehensible ancient music, and feel an inexplicable sadness and nostalgia.

But by then, he was already a different person, a new life no longer bound by the past. And this was exactly the freedom they longed for.

This is our final way of repaying this species that has caused us so much pain and worry. From now on, we will no longer be entangled, and this issue will no longer need to be discussed.

You owe us a lot, and we owe you nothing.

107

Chapter 107: Replace the space caste system with Warhammer Char and then talk to us about superiority.

When peace was restored and the discordant ripples brought by the Eldar subsided, everyone was satisfied.

Grandmaster Ruoken then returned to his secluded place and established an organization called the "Sect". The Sect was responsible for recruiting people with psychic potential who were willing to devote themselves to the path of "cultivation" and then training them to improve their strength.

The sect's address is located on a floating continent suspended in the gravitational orbit of the planet Helka.

It was lifted from the earth's surface by Ruoken with his psychic power. He also bound the atmosphere and other substances above it to establish a small ecosystem.

His psychic powers reach a level that is unimaginable to us. He is perhaps the most powerful psychic among us, and even the Eldar are amazed by his strength.

In this universe, there are psychic powers that can shake an entire continent or even an entire planet, but those usually require tedious preparations and complex environmental coordination. Ruoken can create such an effect with just a wave of his hand.

Now even Ada is convinced by him.

He teaches everyone, even those spirits who choose the path of cultivation. Since he is willing to give these spirits a chance to reform, we are willing to accommodate him.

The punishment we give to those bean sprouts, except for the war of revenge for themselves, is just to make everything, even the Eldar species, better.

As for the freebies that come with beating the Eldar, those Kriegs...

No matter how crazy humans get, it's actually just that. In essence, aren't they just quick-made giant babies who haven't received a good education and have been driven crazy by state religion since birth?

Their madness was nothing compared to the Eldar's; they would be docile after a few days of mining on the exile planet. Of course, they could also try to resist, giving the Psionic Corps responsible for guarding them more opportunities to experiment with thought-stamping technology.

The other colonized worlds have basically been pacified. With the assistance of a highly automated advanced colony construction system, only a few people are needed to build an advanced colony full of efficient zoning within a year.

This new world where production capacity has turned from negative to positive is bringing a steady stream of resources to the Federation.

The focus of the federal consul team now is to reduce administrative delays again by further optimizing the empire's scale settings.

But before that, there is the issue of external forces waiting for us.

……

Since the formal establishment of diplomatic relations between the Helka Federation and the Tau Empire, there has actually not been any deep contact. The two sides have only a limited number of trade activities. Although they are neighbors, they cannot be said to understand each other.

Therefore, at the suggestion of the Supreme Ether Anwa, the two sides began to send representatives to visit each other, on the one hand to enhance relations, and on the other hand to spy on each other.

Therefore, after the two delegations made some bland compliments about each other's similar artistic aesthetics and pursuit of materialism, they immediately handed over the collection of internal negative information they had collected to the relevant secret departments.

……

In official communications, representatives of the Tau Empire spoke highly of the Federation: "The happiness of Federation citizens is impressive, their social operating system demonstrates scientific and rational management concepts, and their ideals are consistent with the Greater Good."

But privately, the delegation's assessment report noted: "The social discipline of Federation citizens is worrying. They tend to be more individualistic in their lifestyle and do not understand the importance of a high degree of order and collective dedication. Moreover, they are too concerned with the so-called free development of each individual. This has led to the uncontrolled use of genetic modification technology, with everyone doing their own thing, and the government showing great indulgence in this."

……

The Federation's assessment of the Tau was also spot-on.

In the summary report, the Interstellar Federation delegation gave positive comments on the Tau Empire, including: a highly ordered social system, excellent urban planning, efficient administrative management, a model of multi-racial coexistence, a living standard that is quite good compared to the Empire, and rapid development in science and technology and military strength.

However, they also pointed out the dark side of the Tau Empire: "The Tau's Greater Good is not a truly free system, but a hierarchy and caste system with clear power differences between classes and even species, and a way of ruling in which a group of people are always at the top."

The Tau Empire's propaganda of "equality" was superficial. While the Tau Empire allowed all races the opportunity to participate in Imperial affairs, core power remained in the hands of the Tau, who were bound by a strict caste system, with the Ethereal Clan as the natural, unquestionable rulers.

The delegation discovered that the Tau Empire was extremely secretive in its handling of dissidents of the Greater Good. While there were no records of any overt repression or large-scale purges, individuals unwilling to follow the Greater Good were eventually "reformed," reeducated, or even disappeared.

Although the Tau live in a clean and tidy manner and have ample consumer goods, questioning the perfection of the Ethereal Rule, the Hierarchy, and the Greater Good is strictly prohibited.

Moreover, many races accepted by the Tau Empire did not join completely voluntarily, but were forced to accept the Tau Empire's "benevolent conquest."

In many cases, the Tau used diplomacy, economic inducements, and even military threats to force weaker races to "opt in" to join, as was the case with the hapless Wild Eldar.

Finally, before returning to the Federation, the Blue Dragon Emissary Indigo Azul made a profound statement at an informal meeting: "It must be said that in our view, the Tau can also be called the light of the galaxy, but there are many shadows beneath their light."

But we have enough wisdom and strength to ensure that their shadow will not be cast upon us, and may even be gradually eliminated by the transformation of the Federation.

……

It is obvious that the Tau people are not content with the ambiguous relationship with the Federation. In order to explore the true strength of the Federation and try to gain an advantage, they launched a series of actions to exert influence.

The first is to agree with the Federation to eliminate the "evil forces in the universe", that is, to jointly send troops to eliminate other galactic hostile forces and show off each other's military power.

After the Tau Empire proposed a joint request to eliminate the green-skinned technological overlords on the border between the two countries, the Federation responded quickly.

A large fleet consisting of about a thousand warships leaped into the war zone with the power of mass warfare.

The size and strength of this fleet far exceeded the Tau Empire's expectations, so much so that when the Federation warships began to form a battle line, the Tau Air Fleet Commander was forced to reassess the Federation's true military strength.

The fleet sent by the Tau Empire consisted of only two hundred warships, and there were not many truly large warships among them.

However, the Federation's fleet presented a completely different appearance. Countless giant cruisers with heavy armor were lined up in the starry sky, their energy shields flickering like stars, and the cold efficiency of mechanization permeated every inch of the ship's hull.

"This fleet... is probably only one-tenth of their total strength."

The Tau Empire diplomat whispered to his military observer, his tone unable to conceal the solemnity.

Obviously, the fact that such a large number of fleets can be mobilized for a picnic-level military operation itself shows an attitude.

The Greenskins' world was reduced to ruins in a matter of days. The Federation's fleet demonstrated astonishing military efficiency. Their tactical system was flawless, with every volley of fire accurately covering the target area and every assault coordinated seamlessly.

The commanders of the Tau Empire often acted as bystanders during the battle. Although their troops also launched a certain degree of offensive, the Federation's tactics overwhelmingly dominated the battle.