Warhammer: Starting as a Planetary Governor

Chapter 245 - 246 – Eden: Sorry, Emperor, I Can’t Keep Squatting Here with You

[Bonus Chapter]

The real body...

Eden let out a long sigh. "I almost forgot—I'm still stuck here on this Blackstone 'toilet.'"

All this time, he had been controlling a clone body to move around outside.

Meanwhile, his true self remained trapped in the Blackstone Throne.

Now that the daemons had been cleared away, the throne's pressure was greatly reduced, and he could technically get up anytime he wanted.

But there was a problem. If Eden left the throne, the Blackstone Gate would shut down, or worse, it might spiral out of control.

On the other hand, if he never got off it, how was he supposed to go to Macragge?

Actually, if he stepped away, there'd be no one to control the Blackstone Gate, meaning there'd be no way to reach Macragge anyway.

"Great... That's a real deadlock!"

Eden felt a little annoyed. One troublesome matter after another.

If only this world were peaceful, without all this random Chaos nonsense—that would be ideal. Then he could just be some carefree local ruler, partying his life away.

He glanced at the progress files for improving the Blackstone Throne and saw the slow, disheartening updates. They'd been stuck on media technology for nearly half a year now.

At this rate, he might miss Guilliman's resurrection battle, letting everything spiral out of control. Worse yet, he'd have to stay on this throne forever, working as a glorified traffic control system for the Blackstone Gate.

He had to admit, the Emperor had really sacrificed everything back in the day. Instead of staying out in public as Lord of Humanity, He handed all political power and command of the Legions to His subordinates, secluded Himself underground to build the Golden Throne, and willingly turned Himself into humanity's ultimate warp-navigation nexus.

He was basically the galaxy's greatest saint.

Eden couldn't do that. The two years he'd spent confined to the Blackstone Throne had made him intensely crave sunlight and freedom—a good chance to cut loose for once.

After all, no matter how great the clone bodies were, they still weren't his real, physical self. Controlling a clone was much like piloting a remote robot.

"Time doesn't wait. I have to speed up the research for the upgrade project!"

Eden issued orders at once. All relevant research institutes were told to put other projects on hold and devote everything to the Blackstone Throne improvement plan.

Yet right at this critical moment, the person in charge of the project was missing.

Grabbing a tech-priest by the collar, Eden ground his teeth: "Where is he? That black-hearted gearhead—where did he run off to?"

The balding tech-priest stammered: "S-sage Kaul...He went off looking for inspiration with those greenskin xenos..."

Turns out that Kaul, that greasy old mechman, had been palling around with some Ork Mekboyz, and for some reason had vanished deep into the Webway.

Fortunately, Eden held sway over the Ork network. He could simply order them from a distance. Otherwise, given the Webway's complexity and the massive interference with communications, it would be nearly impossible to find Kaul anytime soon.

Sure enough, the Orks quickly brought Kaul back. Apparently, he and the Ork Mekboyz had been fiddling around on some Webway ruins, intending to set up a "fuel-drink" brewing base because the environment there, apparently, was better for its fermentation.

That wasn't all. They also did a bunch of other outlandish stuff that drove the local Chaos monstrosities into a depression, sending them fleeing in droves and causing general chaos for Eden's ongoing expansion.

When Eden got that report, he was so furious he almost laughed. He ordered Kaul and his rowdy Ork buddies—those Mekboyz—locked up in a "mechanical time-out cell." They weren't allowed out until the Throne improvement plan was complete.

After that, he asked his people to do an assessment of the Mekboyz' behavioral patterns and psychology. Eden didn't really distrust the Orks; he was more worried Kaul's black-hearted ways might rub off on them.

...

In the Warp...

Chaos energies churned in tempestuous waves. The radiant light of a golden sun still shone here, comforting all who came under its glow.

"Gotta admit, it's nice having a big shot's thigh to cling to."

Eden's consciousness was tethered to that small sun, and he couldn't help sighing as he beheld the scene.

Crack—

The space in front of the little sun twisted and split. Several mechanized conduits sprang out, greedily siphoning energy.

By now, both the little sun and the area around the golden sun had about a dozen mechanical conduits. One particularly massive conduit was connected to the secret base, gulping down the Emperor's energy to manufacture more Holy Ash Shells.

Whenever those mechanical conduits rumbled, the small sun began to shake violently, bouncing from side to side like it was struggling.

The golden sun sensed something unusual. Its psychic ripples flared stronger, releasing a wave of radiant energy. It sent a telepathic inquiry—what was happening?

A response soon came from the little sun: "Sorry, Emperor, sir—I can't keep squatting here with you..."

...???

The golden sun quivered, as though it were building up a surge.

"Oh no, massive psychic backlash incoming!"

Seeing the golden sun react, Eden immediately regretted his playful remark. Hastily, he made the little sun apologize and surrender, explaining the entire situation with the Blackstone Gate in detail.

Currently, Eden had wrested control of the Webway entrance, stepping up exploration and construction efforts. Progress had also been made on the Blackstone Throne improvement plan. Kaul and the Ork Mekboyz had spent months locked in that mechanical cell, tackling the crucial "media" aspect of the technology. They were now attempting to separate Eden's real body from the Blackstone Throne. If successful, it would free him from that accursed Blackstone "toilet!"

He'd just about gotten carried away—nearly landing himself in trouble.

Boom—

A tidal wave of the golden sun's energy erupted like a volcano, unleashing a terrifying power that shook the surrounding space. The shockwave spread so far that even distant, hidden reaches of the Warp felt its tremors.

Sensing this, certain Chaos entities grew alarmed. They put certain schemes on hold. Anything involving "the Cursed One" had to be approached with caution. Better to watch how things played out first.

"Hiss—"Observing the golden sun's awesome eruption, Eden was stunned."Is the Emperor that excited?"

Sure, reclaiming the Webway was indeed exciting, but was it really worth going this crazy? He seemed more fired up about it than Eden himself did.

Then again, maybe it was the throne-improvement plan that made Him see a glimmer of hope for escaping His predicament?

Just moments ago, Eden had delivered all the plan's data to the Emperor by psychic message and had sworn that if he ever got the chance, he would help free Him too—let the old man retire.

Of course, that plan was still pretty rough around the edges, and it would first require clearing out the endless daemonic tide assaulting the Golden Throne. Eden wasn't strong enough to handle that right now.

Soon, the golden sun fell silent, no longer moving at all.

Eden, controlling the little sun, tried to ask a few more questions, but got no response.

"What? Now He's ignoring me? I have no clue what's going on..."

"Never mind. I'll see if I can talk to Him next time."

Adjusting the little sun's position closer to the mechanical conduits, Eden disconnected from it and returned to reality.

Shortly after Eden left, the golden sun awakened again, giving off energy fluctuations that revealed a trace of joy.

What Eden didn't realize was that the Emperor, once the surge of emotion subsided, had gone momentarily silent out of a sort of self-doubt.

So that kid took over the Webway so effortlessly, and now he's about to be free...

It made the ancient Emperor muse over His own abilities. Before long, the golden sun calmed itself, gazing across a certain star system, as if planning something.

...

The Blackstone Throne...

Violent arcs of electricity flashed, echoing like thunder. A figure strained and thrashed, wreathed in thick crackling arcs that lashed the metal walls like raging beasts.

"I've finally..."

A hoarse snarl echoed. Eden tore himself from the throne's confinement:

"...finally attained my freedom!"

He yanked loose the last psychic coil and stood up completely.

Rumble—

The moment Eden broke away from the throne, the Blackstone Gate shuddered violently. At the same time, due to that gate's sudden instability, the psychic barrier around the Webway grew dim.

In the Warp, countless malicious, frenzied shadows seemed drawn by a summons. They converged in large numbers, howling and hammering at the barrier—filling every corner with their presence.

Before long, some of the shadows broke through, surging toward the Webway exit.

Waaagh—

Only the Ork forces there stood in their way, and though the Orks slowed them down, it was only a matter of time before more Warp horrors poured through. The greenskins alone wouldn't hold indefinitely.

"What the... This is huge!"

Inside the Blackstone Throne hall, Eden felt the flood of evil energies. In mere seconds, the Webway had come under countless hostile gazes and assaults. The scale was terrifying—like an apocalypse in the making.

He nearly flopped back down onto the throne just to seal it all away again.

Luckily, he already had a replacement setup.

"Hurry!" Eden urged. "The Orks can't hold out much longer—install that thing now!"

"Stop rushing me! If I get nervous and mix up the wiring, we're all doomed!"

Kaul frantically guided dozens of mechanical arms, assembling and calibrating something. Beads of machine oil trickled down his metal forehead. The pressure was immense. One mistake here, and Eden might have to sit right back down on that throne, and that would definitely not improve the Savior's mood.

Kaul could easily picture being locked up yet again in that mechanical time-out cell with his Ork buddies. He prayed silently in binary:

"O Omnissiah, all-knowing and all-powerful, please watch over your loyal servant. I must succeed here!"

At last, Kaul slotted the final cable into the Blackstone Throne and carefully toggled a switch. He had already made big party plans with his Ork pals once this was over. No way he was going back in the cell now!

Buzz—The Blackstone Throne gave a faint vibration, crackling with arcs of current, only for black smoke to puff out the next second.

Then...it went completely dark.

"What the—?!"

Eden almost fainted on the spot. He and Kaul stared at one another in horror, certain they were on the brink of catastrophe.

Swallowing nervously, Eden spoke, his voice shaky: "You think...it's broken?"

Kaul was equally stunned, like someone had just poured used engine oil over his head:

"It...it shouldn't be broken. There's no reason it would be—?"

"So...maybe give it a knock?"

"Huh?"

Kaul didn't follow at first. But Eden didn't hesitate; he clenched a fist like a hammer, whack-whack, thumping it twice.

This time, he used humanity's revered ancient repair technique from the Dark Age of Technology.

Zzzzzt—

As if awakened by the hits, the Blackstone Throne flickered back to life. Power surged through it, arcs of energy dancing once more.

Eden finally let out a sigh of relief. He patted Kaul on the shoulder with a grin. "All right, calm down. And wipe off that machine oil—you've dripped it everywhere."

"How is this even possible...?" Kaul murmured. He wiped the oil off his head and bent down to inspect the throne. Turned out Eden's two punches had jostled the misaligned wiring back into place, even correcting a few poorly fitted parts. At this point, Kaul couldn't help feeling awed:

"The Savior really does know a trick or two..."

Bzzz bzzz—The Blackstone Throne continued drawing psychic power. Lightning arced around as a surge of psychic energy was channeled into it.

Those lines were connected to a coffin-like mechanical structure beside the throne. Inside that vat of fluid, a new clone body of Eden's was immersed. Specially tuned for strong warp conductivity, it served as a psychic conduit.

Above that "black coffin," thick golden energy tubes ran from the "little sun," channeling raw power. The small sun's energy would first flow into the coffin, saturate the clone, and then get siphoned by the throne—keeping the Blackstone Gate stable.

That was Kaul's plan: use a clone to mimic Eden's psychic signature so the throne could be "fed" safely without needing the true body seated on it.

"Not bad, it's stabilized."

Eden could sense the Blackstone Gate steadying itself again, the warp barrier around the Webway returning to normal. All those nightmares pressing in from the Warp were forced back, just like before.

Which meant the throne-improvement plan had succeeded in its initial stage!

Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Eden looked at Kaul.

"Let Webby take over the Blackstone Throne."

That coffin had a signal link prepared for "Webby" (an AI mind) so she could handle the Webway's operations. The plan was for her to manage the complicated traffic of the Webway in the future. And once they placed sufficient relay stations and monitoring systems, she could also keep watch throughout the entire Webway realm.

Before long, Webby assumed full control of the throne, shifting all the operational modes online. In short, they had set up a brand-new system. From now on, travelers who wanted to use the Webway would go through the network's interface, request clearance, and she would open or close portals as needed to block intruders.

All in all, Eden was truly free at last!

Stepping away from the Blackstone Throne, Eden raised his arms, basking in the sunlight and savoring the fresh air. On the platform, mechanical fans whirred lightly, blowing across his tattered robes and revealing his gaunt, skeletal frame.

"Savior!" Linda, his chief handmaiden, arrived to greet him. She nearly fainted at his appearance.

"Yeah...I've lost a bit of weight."

After two years stuck on that "Blackstone toilet," Eden's eyes were sunken, his flesh practically mummified, just skin stretched over large bones—a rather grim sight. Still, it was better than ending up like the Emperor, reduced to an actual skeleton. Besides, thanks to his partial command over the domain of life, these injuries wouldn't be too big an issue. He'd fully recover soon.

...

Half a Year Later...

At the Blackstone Gate...

Countless ships traversed its glowing portal. On the outer ring platforms, people bustled around—some were warriors heading off to distant civilized worlds, others were workers loading and unloading cargo. Here and there, you'd spot well-dressed visitors from faraway planets in the Sector: nobles who had come to this "holy land" to pay respects to their ruler—the great Savior.

By now, the expedition teams had gradually discovered paths through the Webway leading to various civilized worlds within the sector. Fleet after fleet set out under the sector governor's banner to save and reclaim those worlds threatened by the encroaching darkness, slowly reorganizing them under the Savior's guiding light.

So far, Eden's forces had not reached beyond the sector. According to the Interior Department's plan, they intended to unify the sector completely before turning their attention outward.

...

Urth's Holy Sanctuary – The Grand Hall...

A vast, resplendent banquet hall filled with the rarest decorative materials from across the sector. At its center stood a towering statue of the Savior, soaring some ten meters high.

"Finally over!"

Eden, robed in regal finery, slumped listlessly on a throne at the center of the grand hall. A half-year-long reception had just concluded. Nobles from dozens of worlds had come one after another to swear their allegiance to the great Savior.

All of which left Eden quite drained. Worse, no one had yet found a portal leading to Macragge...though it was understandable. In a galaxy of billions of worlds, trying to locate a portal to a single planet was incredibly difficult. Eden worried he might miss his window entirely.

All of a sudden, his dataslate chimed. Snatching it up and reading the report, a smile spread across his face: "They found it!"

(End of Chapter)

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