Chapter 498: The Cult Mechanicus

Withing the Warp

"Damn it… damn it… damn it!"

Arik Taranis glared toward Terra, visible only as a distant glimmer in the material universe—yet utterly unreachable.

His rage was boundless.

After being forced out of realspace, returning would require a summoning ritual.

And opportunities for such rituals were rare—certainly none likely to occur in the coming years.

His fury was entirely justified.

Once adored, now betrayed.

Love turned into hatred.

The Emperor had not only shattered the Thunder Warriors' faith—

he had ground their dignity into the dirt, trampling it again and again.

Even after they had given everything—loyalty, dedication, their lives—

their reward had been deception and annihilation.

Such hatred demanded vengeance.

Without revenge, he would never rest—even in death.

As he had vowed—

No matter how long it takes, he will not abandon revenge upon the Emperor.

Thus, Arik began drifting tirelessly through the Warp near humanity's domain, searching desperately for any chance—any opening—that might let him reenter the material universe.

---

The Crimson Heaven

Orsaga watched Arik's mindless wandering, and also the coronation ceremony unfolding on Terra—where the Emperor declared the official founding of the Imperium of Man.

He yawned lazily.

"Perfect. A ready-made pawn…"

Strictly speaking, Orsaga cared nothing for the Emperor or humanity.

Even at their peak, they were merely a trivial fragment of the material cosmos.

He did not need to concern himself with them.

But he did need the Emperor to perform a certain task for him—

something akin to "opening the door" for him, as the Emperor once had in the distant past.

And therefore, he couldn't allow the Emperor's reign to proceed too smoothly.

A life too stable creates fewer needs.

Fewer needs create fewer vulnerabilities.

And fewer vulnerabilities give Orsaga less leverage.

Only those who lack everything—those who are desperate enough to gamble their own lives—

are truly easy to control.

Arik Taranis, then, was ideal:

A man carrying his own hatred as fuel, unbribable, unyielding, and obsessively focused on destroying the Emperor.

Someone who would never stop, never compromise, never sleep—

always waiting for the slightest chance to strike.

That was why Orsaga had intervened at the final moment and completed Arik's Daemonic Ascension.

But perhaps one pawn is not enough…

Another thought entered his mind.

Maybe he should gather several beings who shared deep grudges against the Emperor—

form a specialized team of Daemon Princes dedicated solely to hunting the Emperor down.

Orsaga concluded that providing the Emperor with "a little more trouble" was a very good idea.

---

Time Passed

As Terra unified, nearby planets turned their attention toward it—

especially Mars.

Compared to Terra, Mars had achieved planetary unity earlier.

However, unlike Terra's imperial government, Mars followed a more religious structure.

Its rulers belonged to the faction known as the Cult Mechanicus.

They worshipped, revered, and obsessively pursued technological knowledge.

To them, technology was the ultimate truth of the universe.

Anything that preserved knowledge—devices, archives, machinery—was sacred.

They believed every machine functioned because it housed a spirit—

the Machine Spirit.

And every Machine Spirit, in turn, worshipped a great deity known as the Omnissiah—

the God of All Machines.

Thus, before operating any machine, they would recite long prayer-rites, attempting to soothe or appease the Machine Spirit.

If the device worked, they believed they had succeeded in pleasing it.

If not, they assumed the Machine Spirit was displeased and needed further offerings.

With such beliefs, it was no surprise that the remnants of Golden Age technology on Terra were objects of intense desire for them.

If Terra had not been consumed by chaos and war, Mars would have approached them long ago.

Now that Terra was unified, they could no longer hold back.

A delegation boarded a ship—smearing sacred oils on the controls, chanting benedictions—and managed to start the engines to great celebration.

They flew straight to Terra's not-yet-constructed Imperial Palace, where they met the Emperor and began surprisingly cordial negotiations.

Cooperation was promptly agreed upon.

---

Half a Year Later

A strange dream began plaguing the senior members of the Cult Mechanicus.

At the same time, a prophecy spread among them—

foretelling that the Avatar of the Omnissiah would soon descend upon Mars.

A decade later, when the Emperor visited Mars to formalize deeper cooperation, he stepped off his ship—

And at that moment, countless Tech-Priests recognized him instantly as the prophesied incarnation of the Omnissiah.

Driven by awe and terror, they fell to their knees in worship.

And just like that, with almost no effort—

Mars and the Cult Mechanicus seamlessly integrated into the Imperium, assuming responsibility for manufacturing and maintaining the Empire's machinery.

In return, the Imperium respected their beliefs and pledged to gather lost technologies from across the galaxy for their study.

The Imperial aquila, previously a single-headed eagle, now bore two heads—

symbolizing the spiritual partnership between Terra and Mars, and the Imperium's unique dual-authority structure.

Everything proceeded smoothly—almost unnaturally so.

Even though the Emperor despised religion, he made no attempt to eliminate the Mechanicus' peculiar practices.

After all—the "God of All Machines" they worshipped was merely himself, as he had appeared millennia ago.

During the collapse of the old civilization, the Emperor had spent tremendous effort preserving Mars' industrial base.

He had also engineered a belief system to keep them focused and disciplined through the dark ages.

Now, the Mechanicus was deeply rooted.

To dismantle their faith would be time-consuming and unnecessary.

He would correct them—eventually.

But not yet.

---

Thus, even without FTL travel, the Imperium began reclaiming the Solar System with the aid of Mechanicus technology.

Imperial banners were raised on every world.

Rogue factions and wandering warbands—even the stubborn ones—were beaten into submission and absorbed into the Imperium.

The Emperor's vision was taking shape.

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