Chapter 131 Outsiders...

The Koronus Expanse was located in the Halo Stars on the fringes of the Imperium, connected to the Calixis Sector via the Maw.

The Imperium of Man had yet to establish dominance over the Koronus Expanse. As a result, it was a classic lawless frontier—utterly chaotic and rife with ancient, terrifying legends.

The Tyrant Star was the most horrifying of them all. This mysterious celestial body radiated sinister energy, and its trajectory was completely unpredictable. It could randomly appear anywhere across the Koronus Expanse and the Calixis Sector.

Whenever it manifested in realspace, it brought unimaginable catastrophe. Masses of people would descend into collective madness, biological life would die off in droves, and the Warp would violently fluctuate.

Its presence acted as a magnet for doomsday preppers and spawned countless fanatical cults. These cultists viewed the star as some sort of divine revelation, firmly believing that once the Tyrant Star fully manifested, it would drag every civilization in the galaxy into ruin and usher in an eternal apocalypse.

Operating on a “we’re already here anyway” mindset, Vane figured he might as well take out the Tyrant Star while he was at it. It would finally give the Imperial citizens of the Calixis Sector and the Koronus Expanse a break.

“Whatever you say.” The Emperor was also a bit curious about what the Tyrant Star actually was.

When he had first read the Inquisition’s reports on the damn thing, he briefly suspected they were describing his own ascended godhood.

“Let’s head out, then. A new adventure awaits us.” Vane pulled out his linking book. Upon activation, the book erupted with a brilliant flash of light, enveloping Vane, the Emperor, and the rest of their crew, instantly teleporting them back to their warship.

—

For ordinary mortals, the Tyrant Star’s spawn location was completely random. But for Vane’s squad? Not so much. After all, his team composition was absolutely busted.

He had the Master of Mankind, who could go toe-to-toe with the Four Chaos Gods; Eldrad, the Aeldari Farseer packing boundless arcane knowledge; and the backing of the Necrons, the absolute pinnacle of technological supremacy. With a roster like that, forget a measly Tyrant Star—they could probably run a full background check on the Dark Gods themselves.

Leveraging Necron tech, Vane and his crew quickly pinpointed the Tyrant Star’s location. This time, it had popped up right next to Scintilla, the capital world of the Calixis Sector.

Scintilla was an incredibly prosperous hub and the most densely populated planet in the sector. Naturally, it was also rotten to the core. Moral decay festered among the noble houses, leaving the general populace to scrape by in thankless, miserable lives.

The aristocrats were obsessed with their own power and privilege, utterly ruthless toward the lowborn masses. They’d even hunt innocent civilians for sport just to satisfy their twisted urges. Slaaneshi cults had dug their roots deep into the hearts of these corrupt nobles. They’d chant their undying loyalty to the Emperor, but in reality, they had sold their souls to the Dark Gods a long time ago.

The Imperial citizens living on Scintilla had long since been conditioned to obey. In this hopeless world, ignorance was a virtue, and death was the only reward for a lifetime of loyal servitude. The pollution spewing from the manufactorums poisoned everyone, gang violence was everywhere, and human life was as cheap as dirt.

So when the Tyrant Star finally showed up, all that pent-up resentment and frustration exploded. Frenzied mobs flooded the streets, burning down countless manufactorums. The local defense forces, crippled by years of systemic corruption, were completely useless. Not only did they get routed by the bloodshot rioters, but they also abandoned their weapons and gear, tossing fuel on the fire and escalating the rebellion.

The nobles cowered in their fortified manors, praying for the Emperor’s mercy. They hoped the Inquisition would get their distress signals and show up in time to deal with the Tyrant Star—and maybe wipe out the peasant rabble while they were at it.

If they dare rebel against their noble lords today, they’ll rebel against the Emperor tomorrow. They need to be put down hard.

“This planet is a literal cesspool.”

Arriving via the Webway right outside Scintilla’s orbit, the fleet intercepted the nobles’ distress calls. Realizing just how disgustingly corrupt the capital of the Calixis Sector was, the Emperor felt a flare of genuine anger.

He hadn’t launched the Great Crusade and forged the Imperium of Man just to see humanity suffer. These bastards had completely twisted his vision and will. They were exploiting and crushing the ignorant masses in his name, and the second anyone pushed back, it was branded as “heresy against the Emperor.”

“Don’t feel too bad about it,” Vane teased. “Look on the bright side. Sure, they act like absolute monsters, but whenever they do something terrible, they’re doing it in your name!”

Vane’s teasing only pissed the Emperor off more. Once they dealt with the Tyrant Star, he was going to send every single one of those corrupt nobles straight to the afterlife. He’d show them exactly what the Emperor’s wrath looked like.

“Hey Big E, pop a portal open. We’re heading straight into the belly of the Tyrant Star.” Vane strolled over to the viewport and pointed at the pitch-black sphere hanging in the void.

“Traveler, are you just treating me like a glorified tool?” The Emperor seriously suspected that the only reason the Traveler had brought him along was because he was a convenient utility item.

Vane shook his head. “No way. I’m strictly treating you like a workhorse.”

The Emperor: “…”

Good news: He guessed wrong; he wasn’t a tool.

Bad news: The truth hurt a hell of a lot more.

“I quit,” the Emperor snapped, looking genuinely annoyed. “You’re just humiliating me at this point.”

“Being a workhorse pays off your debt. Just clock in for another ten thousand years, and I’ll wipe the slate clean.”

Thinking about his crippling debt of five hundred billion star systems, and then reflecting on what he’d actually accomplished over the last forty millennia, the Emperor took a deep breath. He forced an incredibly sycophantic smile.

“Esteemed Traveler, I was merely joking. Please, humiliate me as much as you’d like. I will open the portal for you right away.”

Standing off to the side, Trajann and the rest of the Custodes watched the exchange play out, all of them collectively rubbing their temples in exasperation.

It’s ruined. Everything is completely ruined!

It didn’t matter who met the Forefather—eventually, they all turned into an unserious mess. When the Emperor had first awakened, he was so solemn and majestic. Now? Look at what he had been conditioned into!

—

Stepping through the portal the Emperor had opened, Vane set foot inside an ancient city.

“The inside of the Tyrant Star is a city?”

Vane looked around, taking in the sight of an archaic, stone-built metropolis. The architectural style looked like something straight out of the Middle Ages. The sky was choked with rust-red clouds, swirling with freezing winds and violent sandstorms.

It was a magnificent but entirely desolate place. Statues and buildings towered like mountains, while the streets carved through the urban landscape like deep, shadowy canyons. Rubble and shattered bones littered the ground. Collapsed spires and crumbled masonry choked the thoroughfares, with skeletal remains piling up beneath blankets of ash.

Battlements and massive domes pierced the sky, while the raging sandstorms half-buried a series of grandiose monuments.

The Emperor stared at the ruined, sweeping cityscape, his brow furrowing slightly.

“There’s an intense energy fluctuation over there,” Eldrad said, pointing toward the center of the city.

“Let’s go check it out.” Vane activated his Void Ring, utilizing short-range teleports to blitz through the air.

The Emperor, Eldrad, and the accompanying Custodes trailed right behind him.

They tore through the desolate streets and arrived at the heart of the city, which was dominated by a colossal, awe-inspiring temple.

Upon entering the sanctum and looking up, they immediately spotted a towering throne. Sitting squarely upon it was a pitch-black figure.

The entity was completely enshrouded in dark mist; the only thing visible was the vague outline of a human.

Suddenly, a pair of crimson eyes snapped open within the darkness, locking onto Vane and his party of intruders.

“Outsiders. You have trespassed where you do not belong.”

—

OR