On Avarax, the originally tightly closed office door was pushed open with a "bang."
Alexia, dressed in work clothes, rushed in impatiently.
"Bam!!!"
She slammed a stack of reports onto the desk with one hand.
The force was so great that the entire tabletop was dented inward.
"What's wrong?"
Marcus, sitting in his chair, turned around.
"I've never seen you like this before."
"Two Wormholes on Vegast have gone missing!!!"
Alexia's tone was agitated; she had just received the news and rushed over immediately.
Hearing this, Marcus, who had been relaxed, immediately sat up straight and quickly flipped through the reports on the desk.
"Half an hour ago, two of the three Wormholes on Vegast vanished instantly, along with all the supporting power equipment and maintenance personnel!"
"What about the remaining Wormhole?"
Marcus asked quickly.
"The local garrison has assembled and is defending it with all their might."
"That's not enough. Send more personnel; I will have the Space Sharks go and stand guard as well."
To be able to make two Wormholes and all maintenance personnel disappear without a trace, the perpetrator's strength must be terrifying.
Marcus already had a vague suspicion in his mind, and a silver, hunched figure appeared in his thoughts.
"Also, place the remaining Wormhole under martial law and forbid all military personnel from entering."
Marcus stood up and walked out of the office.
"I'm going to Vegast personally."
"Won't that be too dangerous?"
Alexia also stood up.
"We haven't even figured out the situation yet."
"It's fine. You stay on Avarax and take over my duties."
Marcus didn't stop, soon boarding a small spacecraft and flying toward one of the Wormholes on Avarax.
On the way, he also contacted the Space Sharks who were resting in orbit above Avarax and summoned a company of troops led by Second Company Captain Akamu.
The Union inherited the Wormhole technology of the Precursor Civilization from the "Pacific Rim" world, which still had some flaws.
For example, Wormholes can only make fixed connections and cannot be linked together at will like a true network.
In other words, for every Wormhole established on a planet, there is another fixed corresponding exit.
At this time, the corresponding Wormholes on Avarax connected to the three Wormholes on Vegast were all urgently blockaded.
The blue rippling light of two of the Wormholes had already vanished.
However, there was some good news: once a Wormhole is established, its position cannot be moved.
Therefore, rather than saying the Wormholes disappeared, it was more accurate to say that the facilities maintaining them had vanished, causing the Wormholes to fail and shut down permanently.
Passing through the remaining Wormhole, Marcus and the Space Sharks instantly arrived at the distant Vegast and met with the Union officials there.
Listening to the other party's incessant reporting, Marcus reached out and signaled for them to shut up.
"Cut the nonsense and take me to the location where the Wormholes disappeared."
"Uh, yes, I'll deploy personnel right away."
Marcus looked at Second Company Captain Akamu, who was leading a hundred Mako Shark warriors.
"Leave half of the Space Sharks to guard this place; you take the other half and follow me."
"As you wish."
Akamu nodded in response.
There were two Hive Cities on Vegast, and the three Wormholes established by the Union were evenly distributed around them.
"The disappearance of the two Wormholes happened almost simultaneously; we didn't have time to react at all."
After such a major incident, the Union officials stationed on Vegast felt as if the sky were falling, and they crowded around Marcus, trying to explain themselves.
"Enough, stop bothering me."
Marcus released his killing intent, suppressing the annoying officials.
"I will investigate the situation here. Don't show your faces before me until the results are out."
The officials scattered, not daring to provoke Marcus in the slightest.
Leaving only Marcus and dozens of Space Sharks standing at the original location of the Wormhole.
Not even a single screw was left here.
Only the indentations on the ground proved that not long ago, a Wormhole had stood here.
"Quite a clean theft."
Marcus stood in place, using Psychokinesis to grab a handful of dirt from the ground.
"There's no scent of Chaos corruption."
Those capable of stealing two Wormholes without anyone noticing are extremely rare in the entire galaxy.
It was either the supernatural power of Chaos or the individual Marcus had previously suspected.
"Trazyn—"
"The Auspex hasn't scanned any targets; there's nothing around."
Akamu, holding a powerful Auspex, came to Marcus to report.
"Prepare for battle."
Marcus did not lower his guard and instead gave the order.
He turned and used Psychokinesis to fly into the sky.
"Does the famous Overlord of the Nihilakh Dynasty, the Lord of Solemnace, enjoy such uninvited theft without regard for etiquette? If word gets out, I'm afraid you'll be mocked by the Overlords and Phaerons of other dynasties."
Through the expansion of Psychokinesis, Marcus's voice radiated across an area of several square kilometers.
The Space Sharks on the ground gripped their weapons tightly; they had also heard of Trazyn's great name.
"My Lord, please come down immediately; this is too dangerous!"
Akamu's voice sounded over the communication channel. To him, Marcus flying straight in the air like that was simply too dangerous.
The Necrons' various weapons were all immensely powerful; even Marcus, who had once defeated Warband Master Tyberos, could suffer a mishap if he were even slightly careless.
Marcus did not move, remaining suspended in the air.
Marcus knew Trazyn well; he was quite different from all other Necrons.
Although this fellow had sticky fingers and often stole things throughout the galaxy, he mostly used non-violent methods and didn't cause many casualties.
Trazyn had even conveniently had his troops fight off Orks on "Serenade," saving many local residents.
The rescued residents had even erected a statue for Trazyn because of it (though Trazyn later stole the statue himself).
Trazyn had thus earned the title of "Silver Skulls Chapter Master," using it to mock his traveling companion at the time, the Cryptek Astromancer Orikan.
In short, Marcus was confident that Trazyn was definitely still here, or at least had left a metal body hiding in Phase Space to observe the Union's actions.
"Not coming out? It seems our galaxy's greatest collector is going to miss out on many precious collectibles—"
Just as Marcus expected, Trazyn was indeed hiding in Phase Space, curiously watching Marcus, who clearly had no psychic power yet could float in the air.
This voice was like a demon's, constantly tempting Trazyn's desire to collect.
"Strange human."
Trazyn, hiding in phase space, looked up at Marcus.
His glowing green eyes, which were actually advanced scanning devices, scanned the latter up and down.
"No signs of psychic energy, no technological devices... how is this guy floating in the air?"
Trazyn's curiosity was piqued.
"Hmph, merely a primitive human."
The Technician beside him, also in phase space, said dismissively.
Trazyn ignored the fellow.
"The greatest collector in the galaxy? Heh."
Hearing the title the human above had bestowed upon him, Trazyn chuckled, quite enjoying it.
Trazyn felt that the human before him was very interesting and qualified to become part of his collection.
Thus, he decided to meet with him.
Deactivating his phase-shifter, Trazyn and the Technician were exposed to the barrels of the Space Sharks' Bolters.
"Xenos!"
Second Company Captain Akamu was the first to fire a series of Bolter rounds, ruthlessly striking at Trazyn.
"Oh, you humans are always so temperamental."
Trazyn complained, and with a wave of his hand, several Lychguard were released, raising their shields to block all the Bolter rounds.
Seeing this, the other Space Sharks raised their weapons to attack, but Marcus reached out to stop them.
"Do not attack our visitor without cause."
Slowly landing, Marcus looked at Trazyn before him.
"But, my Lord, these are evil Xenos!"
Akamu shouted.
Clearly, the Space Sharks were not in the habit of communicating with Xenos enemies.
"Not all Xenos are evil."
Marcus shook his head.
"The current Imperial Regent, the Avenging Son of the Emperor, was he not resurrected with the help of the Aeldari Ynnari?
Blood Angels Commander Dante once cooperated with the Necron Overlord, Anrakyr the Traveller, to repel the Tyranids.
Ultramarines Chapter Master Calgar also allied with the Aeldari on Vigilus, dealing a heavy blow to Abaddon's Black Legion.
The mysterious First Legion also has—"
At this point, Marcus stopped and did not continue.
"In any case, lower your weapons. That is an order."
Under his unquestionable tone, the Space Sharks reluctantly lowered their barrels, though they still gripped their weapons tightly.
"Ohoho, interesting human."
Trazyn leaned on his staff, letting out a laugh that sounded like metal scraping.
"These are not things an ordinary human from the Sabbath Star Cluster should know."
"But clearly, I am no ordinary human."
Trazyn was likely the third named legendary figure Marcus had seen with his own eyes.
The first two were Titus and Tyberos.
Thus, Marcus was actually quite interested in Trazyn as well.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the leader of the Union, the Governor of Avarax, Marcus."
Scanning the surroundings, which appeared empty and desolate due to Trazyn's theft, Marcus spoke.
"This is not a good place for conversation. Follow me; the Union has its own way of treating guests."
Trazyn gripped his staff and stepped forward toward Marcus.
The Space Sharks nearby were itching to raise their Bolters and blast Trazyn's body to pieces, but Marcus kept them in check.
"You don't seem afraid of me."
"Why should I be?"
Marcus boarded the aircraft he had arrived in, and at his gesture, Trazyn also sat down swaggeringly.
As for the Technician, he sat obediently on the opposite side, sandwiched between several burly Space Sharks.
The aircraft flew toward one of the Hive Cities on Vegast.
The atmosphere in the cabin was strange.
The Space Sharks had never imagined that they would one day share a cabin with a Necron.
"You might be one of the most interesting humans I've ever met."
2
Trazyn rested his chin on his hand, looking at Marcus beside him.
"You know, I'm quite tempted to add you to my museum collection right now."
As soon as these words were spoken, several Bolters were immediately pressed against Trazyn's metallic head.
"Perhaps I should say it's my honor?"
Marcus remained perfectly calm, showing no panic at being targeted by Trazyn, the Saint of Thieves.
"After all, to stand alongside the head of Living Saint Sebastian Thor, the World Spirit of Carnac, an Ancient Ork, an entire Harlequin troupe, and Lord Castellan Creed is indeed quite an honor."
Now it was Trazyn's turn to lose his composure.
This human before him had accurately named the precious collectibles in his museum.
He didn't recall ever revealing his collection to the outside world, especially not to humans.
"Psychic tricks? Or some advanced mind-invasion technology?"
Trazyn instantly dismissed both guesses.
There truly wasn't a shred of psychic energy on Marcus, and as for invading the memories of a Necron Overlord?
That was even more of a fantasy.
The thought matrix within Trazyn's metallic body was racing, though he still appeared quite calm on the surface.
"Have you seen that Diviner?"
Trazyn suspected Orikan, who had once broken into his museum; perhaps this human had learned about his collection from that guy.
"If I have the chance, I wouldn't mind meeting Master Orikan."
Marcus smiled.
Trazyn recalled some unpleasant memories and snorted coldly.
"You wouldn't want to meet that fellow."
Watching Marcus and Trazyn chatting and laughing.
Inside the cabin, the Mako Shark warriors led by Akamu had complex feelings; they now realized more deeply the difference between the Union and the Imperium.
The Imperium of Man indeed sometimes chooses to cooperate with Xenos due to emergencies.
But communication under normal circumstances like this was very, very rare, practiced only by some Inquisitors walking the edge of heresy.
The Space Sharks, in particular, had never passed up a chance to slaughter any Xenos creature.
"Perhaps this is just part of my Lord's plan."
Akamu could only think this to himself to calm his rage toward the Xenos.
"We've arrived."
The aircraft hovered above the top of one of Vegast's Hive Cities.
Below was originally a magnificent and extremely luxurious Planetary Governor's residence.
But now it had been converted by the Union into a more efficient administrative center.
Everyone, including Trazyn and the Technician, jumped down from the aircraft and walked toward the building.
"Hmm, the way this place looks reminds me of how you humans were twenty thousand years ago."
Looking at his surroundings, Trazyn remarked with emotion.
"Though you are much more interesting now than you were then."
Trazyn was among the first batch of Necrons to awaken; he had even witnessed the Golden Age of Humanity and everything that followed.
Along the way, the staff in the administrative center bowed and greeted them as they saw the group.
Some locals from the Warhammer World felt a bit of fear toward the two metal skeletons, but personnel from other worlds were merely curious.
Trazyn had, of course, keenly noticed this.
He was becoming increasingly interested in this 'Union'.
In the vast expanse of time past, few things had continuously provided him with amusement.
Pushing open the door and entering the largest office, Marcus sat down.
Trazyn also unceremoniously took a seat on a luxurious chair.
"Akamu, you all step out first."
Marcus looked at the several Space Sharks who had entered the room with him.
"But, my lord—"
"That is an order."
"—As you will."
The Space Sharks withdrew from the room.
As the thick door closed, even the superhuman hearing of the Space Sharks could hardly make out the sounds inside the room.
Only the signals on the Auspex still displayed Marcus's biological signature.
"You are the first human to dare face me alone."
This was already who-knows-how-many times Trazyn had said something like this.
Sitting in the chair, Marcus crossed his hands and rested his chin on them.
"I hope you can release those people who were taken along."
Marcus said calmly.
"As for those two Wormhole devices, consider them a gift to the Infinite One."
"Hahaha."
Trazyn let out a loud laugh.
This was the first human to demand something back from him.
Trazyn was a stingy fellow; things he took almost never returned to their original owners.
Clearly, Marcus couldn't just redeem those Union staff members stolen by Trazyn with a single sentence.
After Trazyn finished his unpleasant laughter.
Marcus then continued speaking.
"Those staff members are merely decorations prepared for your collection, aren't they?
I think I have some things here that should be of higher value."
Trazyn understood the meaning in Marcus's words.
This was a deal; this human before him wanted to exchange some things for the humans in his possession.
"Then let me see your sincerity."
Trazyn's eyes flickered, or more accurately, his two mechanical eyes emitted a green light outward. With a wave of his hand, a virtual list appeared in the center of the room.
Most of the things on it, even Trazyn, the most knowledgeable in the Galaxy, did not recognize.
This was enough to excite Trazyn.
He liked collecting artifacts with long histories and special significance.
But he certainly didn't mind using such novel things to enrich his museum.
"A Primal Zerg war hive, a living Predator, a living Facehugger, a Precursor corpse."
Marcus knew that only things from other worlds could attract Trazyn's collecting desire.
After all, looking solely at the Warhammer World, the Union really had nothing noteworthy to offer that Trazyn would deem worth collecting.
And as for secret technologies like the Jump Drive or Shockpoint Engine, the Union obviously couldn't bring them out to exchange with Trazyn either.
Therefore, those novel species from other worlds were the most suitable.
Beside the list, there were also introductions about the Primal Zerg, Predator Civilization, the Xenomorph species, and the Precursor Civilization.
Looking at these, Trazyn's collecting desire was burning fiercely.
"I agree to your request, but I want all of these!"
Trazyn immediately agreed to the deal.
In his view, this was simply too good a bargain.
Those humans he had casually captured had little value in themselves, mere decorations.
To exchange them for these novel things, why not?
"It seems my species collection vault can expand its collection again."
Trazyn thought to himself.
But then, Marcus's next words interrupted him.
"Additionally, I hope you can return the remains of the Space Sharks warriors, along with the gene-seeds within them."
Marcus looked at the Technician standing beside Trazyn, who hadn't spoken much.
He had seen this guy in the video records provided by the Space Sharks.
Although most humans couldn't distinguish between these metal skeletons of the Necrons.
Marcus's meticulous observation allowed him to recognize that the Technician before him was the one who had escaped from Nelvokov not long ago.
"What are you talking about? I don't know any Space Sharks."
Trazyn began playing dumb.
Marcus wasn't surprised by Trazyn's flat denial.
That's just how this guy was.
One sentence perfectly summarized Trazyn.
"An old rogue with kleptomania."
Don't underestimate Trazyn's shamelessness; the etiquette valued by conventional Necron nobles meant nothing to him.
"What a pity. I originally wanted to offer some interesting intelligence in exchange."
Shaking his head, Marcus said with a hint of regret.
"For example, the location of the last the crones sword sought by the Harlequins, or—"
Trazyn's mechanical eyes widened.
He certainly knew what the the crones sword was—it was an Eldar legendary artifact said to awaken the sleeping god of the dead!
Looking at Marcus's smiling face, Trazyn cursed inwardly at this human's cunning.
This guy had completely grasped that he couldn't refuse this intelligence.
"I agree!"
After some thought, Trazyn spoke.
The Technician beside him, however, was furious.
"Trazyn! You can't do this! Those are materials I collected! This is—"
Before he could finish, the Mind-Trap Scarab silenced the Technician.
"Quick, quick, quick! Tell me where the last the crones sword is!"
Trazyn rubbed his hands together, speaking urgently.
"I need to see those Space Sharks' remains and the gene-seeds first."
Marcus said calmly; going back on his word was something Trazyn was not above doing.
He wouldn't reveal any intelligence before receiving the items.
"Damn it! You're even stingier than I am!"
Trazyn grumbled, pulling a tesseract labyrinth from his chest.
He released all the Union staff members, Space Sharks remains, and gene-seeds that Marcus wanted.
The originally huge room was instantly crowded with people.
The released Union staff members were still in a state of panic, about to scream, when Trazyn used some method to knock them all unconscious.
Using the rig terminal to notify others in the Administrative Center to move all the people and Space Sharks remains out of the room, and after there were no others left in the room.
Marcus then slowly began to speak.
"Wait!"
Trazyn suddenly remembered something and, disregarding the Technician's strong objections beside him, threw him into another tesseract labyrinth.
Such precious intelligence, only he should know it!
That's just how Trazyn was.
"The fifth the crones sword, its name unknown, was taken at an unknown time by the Keeper of Secrets, Shalai Helbane,
and placed in her master's palace."
After speaking, Marcus looked at Trazyn with a smile, wanting to see the expression on this metal skeleton's face.
Trazyn's living metal face underwent a very fascinating transformation.
From confusion to sudden realization, then to full comprehension, and finally to an indignant outburst.
"You're playing me!?"
The chandelier on the ceiling shook precariously from the sound.
It was hard to imagine that such a small metallic skeleton body could erupt with such a loud voice.
Even the Space Sharks outside heard it clearly. With a loud "Bang!", they kicked open the door and rushed in, pressing their Bolters against Trazyn's head.
Trazyn forced himself to lower the Empathic Obliterator he had half-raised.
Trazyn now had the urge to bash in the head of the human before him who had played him.
But considering that the other party had indeed brought him many interesting collectibles, Trazyn ultimately restrained the impulse.
He waved for the Space Sharks to lower their weapons, signaling there was no need for tension.
Marcus spoke with a smile.
"I wasn't lying. The location of the crones sword is indeed as I said."
Since the Necrons are essentially a bunch of soulless robots, they have very little contact with the Warp, making interaction between the two difficult.
Daemons rarely harass Necrons, and the Necrons have few ways to access the bizarre wonders within the Warp.
It was like two worlds that never crossed paths.
This meant that even if Trazyn knew the whereabouts of the last crones sword, it would be nearly impossible for him to get his hands on it.
Not to mention that the thing was in the palace of the Prince of Pleasure!
No wonder Trazyn was so furious; Marcus had essentially used useless information to fleece him.
Trazyn could only accept the loss.
This was the first time Trazyn had suffered such a major setback at the hands of a human!
Looking at the exasperated Trazyn, Marcus was also contemplating how to deal with this guy.
Marcus actually found Trazyn to be quite a headache as well.
Once targeted by this fellow, the Union would have no peace.
The reason the Union could develop peacefully in a remote corner of the Pacific Segmentum for so long was that no one with ulterior motives had set their sights on it.
Clearly, Trazyn was someone who had both the motive and the power.
Furthermore, this metal skeleton here couldn't be his true body; it was merely a puppet carrying Trazyn's consciousness.
Even destroying it would be useless.
The only way was to imprison Trazyn's consciousness within this body, preventing it from escaping and returning to his true body elsewhere.
Much like the environment beneath Serenade.
"You all go out first."
Marcus instructed the Space Sharks, already having a plan to deal with Trazyn.
To prevent the Union from facing a threat from Trazyn, some price had to be paid.
The Space Sharks hesitated but eventually withdrew from the room.
The door was closed again.
Marcus waved his hand again, displaying some data.
It was worth mentioning that for security reasons, information regarding the Union's deepest secrets, such as the existence of other worlds, was not kept on non-core worlds like Vegast.
And those personnel who held such information in their minds would not reveal it through any means, thanks to the Psychic Contract.
This meant that Trazyn currently only viewed the Union as a newly rising power, similar to "Nova Terra" from thousands of years ago.
"There is such a thing in the universe, or rather, a creation of a certain advanced civilization."
As he spoke, image data regarding the "Black god seal" appeared on the virtual screen.
"These ancient creations, known as 'god seals', can Warp genes and flesh, influence minds and souls, and ultimately forge a sentient planet of flesh."
"No one knows who created these things. Perhaps they were once enemies of your Necron race?"
Marcus intentionally linked the god seal to the Old Ones, aiming to tempt Trazyn as much as possible.
"god seal?"
Trazyn looked at the data on the god seal, his internal logic matrix whirling at high speed.
"It does indeed look like something those reptilians would create."
During the War in Heaven, the Necrons and the C'tan who enslaved them used various terrifying weapons to battle the Old Ones and the various species they uplifted.
The Old Ones naturally used various means to resist, and even Trazyn didn't know all the strange things they had created back then.
"What do you mean by telling me all this?"
Trazyn looked at Marcus suspiciously.
He didn't think this human who had just played him was being so kind.
"To us humans, creatures of flesh and blood, a god seal often signifies disaster."
Marcus said slowly.
"And it could also attract the attention of those entities within the Immaterium. But for the Necrons, the situation is different."
The implication was that the Union wanted to get rid of the god seal.
Trazyn's eyes flickered; clearly, he was tempted.
A creation of the Old Ones!
Even in his Solemnace Museum, such things were extremely rare.
"Follow me."
Marcus stood up, pushed open the door, and walked out.
Trazyn didn't hesitate and followed immediately.
No matter what this interesting human was planning, as a dignified Necron Overlord, Trazyn certainly wouldn't be afraid.
After all, this wasn't his true body.
At the same time, Trazyn resolved that if the person before him dared to play him again, he would ensure this "Union" knew no peace.
Boarding the aircraft they arrived in, Marcus dismissed the pilot and refused any Space Sharks who wanted to accompany them, taking the pilot's seat himself.
Although this wasn't his true body, Trazyn still scanned the aircraft upon seeing this.
Only after confirming there were no issues did he board the craft.
"Interesting. Aren't you afraid that I, a xenos, might do something to you?"
Trazyn looked at Marcus, who was operating the aircraft.
At this moment, there were only the two of them on the aircraft—or rather, one human and one skeleton.
Before Trazyn could receive an answer from Marcus in the pilot's seat, white light flashed in the next instant.
Trazyn reacted instantly. Although he didn't know what trick this was, he immediately tried to transfer his consciousness out of the body.
But the speed at which the white light enveloped and then dissipated was so fast that Trazyn couldn't make a move. The aircraft, along with Marcus and Trazyn inside, had already vanished.
Somewhere in the silent space of the star system.
Aboard Trazyn's flagship, which was in a concealed state, the Tomb Technicians discovered they had lost their Overlord's signal.
However, no one cared.
Trazyn was always getting into bizarre situations. Signal loss was a common occurrence, and as his subordinates, they had long since become accustomed to it.
"Dead Space"
Ever since he first completed the task back then, making off with a red marker, an Ishimura, and its crew, Marcus had never returned.
It was all because of that damned title.
"Enemy of the Blood Moon"
Title Effect: Greatly increases the damage your attacks deal to the Blood Moon. Simultaneously, the Blood Moon faction will view you as a mortal enemy.
Anyway, the Union isn't short of universes to develop now, so "Dead Space" held little value for exploitation.
Therefore, not even a world gate had been placed here.
This made it the perfect place to exile that fellow Trazyn.
On the sandstorm-swept Aegis VII, within an extremely large and conspicuous crater.
An aircraft abruptly appeared out of thin air.
"Spatial teleportation?"
After his perception returned, Trazyn was no longer so panicked. Instead, he looked at the scenery outside, so different from Vegast.
"You————"
Trazyn was just about to start a conversation.
But then he found white light appearing again, and Marcus in the pilot's seat, along with the aircraft beneath him, had vanished without a trace once more.
Only a bewildered Trazyn was left, nearly falling flat on his backside.
His thought matrix operating at high speed, Trazyn, who had barely reacted, finally understood that he had been tricked again by that human named "Marcus"!
Cursing out loud, Trazyn immediately attempted to transfer his consciousness from this body.
But to his astonishment, he found that his once-stable connection to his flagship had vanished without a trace.
No matter how many times he tried, the consciousness in this body remained utterly immobile.
Trazyn had to admit he was starting to feel a bit panicked.
He had encountered this kind of situation before.
That was back in the depths of "Serenade Star," when he was tricked by that C'tan, the "Deceiver."
In this state, if this body died, his consciousness would vanish along with it.
That meant eternal death.
"Damn it! Damn it!!!"
Cursing, Trazyn began scanning the surroundings with his mechanical eye.
A mineral-rich rocky planet. The atmospheric environment was unsuitable for fleshy species to survive.
Simultaneously, Trazyn also discovered he was at the center of a massive impact crater.
He could calculate that this crater had formed roughly ten years ago.
He tossed out the tesseract labyrinth he carried with him.
After the black cube wobbled and flickered a few times, it released several Necron Constructs before Trazyn's gaze.
Trazyn breathed a sigh of relief.
Stepping onto the back of a Canoptek Spider, he ascended into the air.
Trazyn needed to first figure out exactly which planet he was on and find a way to contact his flagship.
However, even Trazyn hadn't yet realized the severity of the situation—he was no longer in his original world————
Aegis VI, this planet's history is quite complex.
It was originally used by the human regime in "Dead Space" for experiments related to replicating markers.
But in the end, it was abandoned due to the outbreak of the Necromorph disaster. Everything, including the replicated red marker, was buried beneath the surface of Aegis VII.
Later on, the Concordance Extraction Corporation (CEC) took an interest in Aegis VII, designating it as a mining planet and dispatching its planet-cracking ship, the Ishimura.
What happened next is well known. The Ishimura unearthed the red marker, and due to the actions of the Unitologists aboard, it led to the outbreak of the Necromorph disaster.
If things had followed this world's original storyline, the Ishimura and the shattered red marker would have been recovered and placed in a space station for research.
But due to the intervention of Marcus, an outsider, both the Ishimura and the red marker mysteriously vanished.
The rescue ships from CEC and the Earth Government Colonial Authority (EGCA) that arrived later found nothing.
Finally, after prolonged wrangling between CEC, EGCA, and the Unified Church, the disappearance of the Ishimura was classified as an accident.
Gradually, Aegis VII was forgotten by the world.
Only the Unified Church still maintained an outpost excavation base on the planet's surface, attempting to find more traces of the marker, even just some fragments.
Of course, they found nothing.
Gradually, only a small number of Unitologists remained stationed at the outpost excavation base.
In the base, a Unitologist who had been idly watching the monitor screen, which showed nothing as usual, suddenly widened his eyes.
A massive signal had appeared on the screen, right at the center of that crater!
But then, the signal vanished again.
Hurriedly rubbing his eyes and leaning closer to the screen, the Unitologist was delighted to find that although the previous large signal had disappeared, a small signal was now moving within the crater.
Connecting to the base's internal comms channel, this Unitologist quickly contacted the others in the base.
"Unidentified signal detected!"
White light flashed, and Marcus had already returned to the Warhammer World.
Turning his head to look, Trazyn was gone.
"Finally got rid of that guy."
Marcus breathed a sigh of relief.
"May that universe become the cage that binds you, Infinite One."
The aircraft returned to the administrative center.
The Space Sharks quickly gathered around, only to find Trazyn had vanished.
"My Lord, that alien————"
"Don't worry about Trazyn anymore. He's never coming back."
Marcus said briefly.
——
Although the Space Sharks had doubts in their hearts, they did not press further.
Back in his office, Marcus, having sat down again, inquired of Akamu.
"The remains of your battle-brothers?"
"I have already notified the Chapter's Apothecary to come retrieve the gene-seed."
Akamu's massive frame knelt on one knee.
Originally, they would have permanently lost those dozens of Space Sharks' remains and the precious gene-seed within them.
That would have been a significant blow to the already shorthanded Megalodon Warband due to prolonged combat.
But now, everything had returned.
"Rise."
Marcus said plainly.
The Space Sharks were a valuable force under his command, though these sharks essentially served him due to the Emperor's command.
But so far, the Space Sharks had indeed completed many arduous tasks. Helping the Space Sharks meant strengthening the Union's power.
"Trazyn's appearance means his ship is hidden within the Vegast star system. Your Space Sharks' next mission is to find that ship and either sink it or drive it out of this star system."
Marcus said to Akamu.
"I will deploy your Space Sharks fleet for this task. Do not disappoint me."
"Your will be done."
Akamu bowed his head in acknowledgment and then left the room.
"I hope you have fun in that world, Trazyn."
Marcus was rather looking forward to what kind of mess Trazyn would make of the "Dead Space" world.
"Strange, the physical constants of this planet seem slightly different."
Standing atop a Canoptek Spider, Trazyn muttered to himself.
Although his current metal body could still function normally, the readings from various instruments showed that some physical constants had changed.
Flying out of the massive crater, he looked around; the air was still filled with swirling sand.
"Where on earth did that human teleport me to?"
Trazyn commanded the remaining Necron Constructs to scatter in different directions to carry out reconnaissance missions.
Since his consciousness could not leave this body for now, Trazyn had to act cautiously for safety, relying more heavily on the limited number of Necron Constructs he had on hand.
Looking up, his mechanical eyes pierced through the wind, sand, and atmosphere.
Trazyn rapidly gathered information from the starry sky, hoping to deduce his current location.
But soon, he realized something was wrong.
"Where is the Great Rift!!!?"
Trazyn cried out in shock.
The infinite chaotic energy pouring out from the Eye of Terror had torn the entire galaxy apart, forming the "Great Rift."
As long as one was within The Galaxy, the existence of the Great Rift could be observed with the naked eye from any location on any world.
While the Great Rift wasn't as obvious during the day, it became clearly visible once night fell.
Therefore, observing the Great Rift was the best way to quickly determine one's position.
Yet now, no matter how Trazyn's mechanical eyes scanned the sky, he could not find any trace of the Great Rift.
"Time travel? Or a pocket dimension?"
Trazyn came up with these two conjectures.
The former wasn't impossible; some ships sailing through the Warp could potentially appear at a point in time before they even departed. Trazyn had similar collections in his museum.
Even Trazyn's rival, the famous Astromancer Orikan, was a Chronomancer capable of turning back time.
But one had to realize that decades had passed since the opening of the Great Rift; attempting to return to such a distant past through individual means was almost impossible.
"No, it shouldn't be time travel."
Trazyn ultimately dismissed his first conjecture.
Because even with time travel, his consciousness should still be able to return to his original body, unless he had returned to an even more distant past.
That left only the second conjecture.
"A pocket dimension."
The concept of "pocket dimensions" existed in the Warhammer World.
Sometimes, perhaps due to the influence of the Warp's great power or some other reason, a rift would be torn in the real world, leading to a smaller pocket dimension world available for exploration.
But such rifts were extremely unstable and could close at any moment.
The Necrons were masters of utilizing miniature pocket dimensions, and many of their weapons were related to this concept.
But a pocket dimension the size of an entire planet, even possessing a real starry sky—how massive would that be?
Danger came with rewards.
Trazyn could already envision how many incredible new collectibles he would find in this pocket dimension.
But the prerequisite was that he had to survive and return to his original world.
Opening another tesseract labyrinth he carried with him, Trazyn released the Technician he had previously forced inside.
In the current situation, he needed the assistance of this Tomb Technician.
"Trazyn, you motherf***er!"
The Technician cursed, but he soon noticed something was wrong as well.
"Where is this?"
Trazyn informed the Technician of his conjecture, though he omitted the fact that he had been tricked by a human and sent here.
"A pocket dimension this large?"
The Technician was somewhat skeptical.
He proposed another hypothesis.
"Perhaps we are not within The Galaxy right now, which is why we naturally cannot see the Great Rift."
"Regardless, let's determine our location first and then find a way back."
Trazyn said, about to release more Necron Constructs.
The previous Necron Constructs were still exploring further outward.
It seemed this planet was larger than Trazyn had initially imagined.
But in the next second, information transmitted by a Canoptek Wraith interrupted Trazyn's actions.
The image clearly showed a transport ship of a distinctly human style flying toward the giant crater where Trazyn was located.
"A spaceship?"
Trazyn blurted out in surprise.
"That's impossible!"
It was almost impossible for a pocket dimension to nurture life, let alone an intelligent species capable of building aircraft.
Had these fellows entered here just like he had?
With this question in mind, Trazyn ordered the Canoptek Wraith to enter a phased state and secretly infiltrate the ship belonging to the Unified Church, eventually discovering several Unitologists piloting the vessel.
"Humans?"
Furthermore, Trazyn noticed that the language used by the humans on this ship was not the Low Gothic or High Gothic widely used in the Imperium of Man.
Instead, it somewhat resembled the Ancient Terra languages recorded in Trazyn's own Ancient Terra collection.
For Trazyn, analyzing and understanding such a language was not difficult.
"The signal is still there, and it has stopped."
A Unitologist who had been staring intently at the screen reported.
Another person asked,
"What do you think that thing could be?"
The crowd began to discuss animatedly.
They had stayed on this remote planet for nearly ten years; from the initial bustling activity to the later period where nothing was found, the Church had even withdrawn most of the personnel.
Now, they finally had some kind of discovery.
"A small ship that strayed into Aegis VII?"
"Impossible, the orbital satellites didn't detect any atmospheric entry, and who would come to such a remote star system for no reason?"
"Perhaps it's an indigenous underground species of Aegis VII?"
"Are you stupid? If Aegis VII had indigenous species, how could we have not discovered them for so long?"
The Unitologists, of course, hoped the signal would be related to the god seal they desired.
In the teachings of the Unified Church, the Convergence brought by the god seal meant that everyone would merge into one and finally ascend to an eternal heaven, where they would be able to see their deceased relatives, lovers, and friends.
Continuing forward, the ship soon arrived near the location of the signal.
But within visual range, the cultists found nothing; only the sand continued to dance with the wind.
"Strange."
"Let's go down and take a look."
The ship landed on the edge of the giant crater.
Unitologists dressed in Engineer Protective Suits stepped out from the cabin.
Just as they were holding their instruments and approaching the signal's location,
A sudden anomaly occurred.
The Canoptek Wraith, in its phase-cloaked state, suddenly bared its fangs and blades.
A few moments later, blood and severed limbs splattered.
Before the Unitologists could even react, the Canoptek Wraith's slashes had completely incapacitated everyone.
"Ugh, ah—!"
Agonized wails erupted instantly.
The Unitologists, their legs sliced off, collapsed to the ground, able only to let out continuous, wretched screams.
Trazyn and the Technician revealed themselves, stepping before the crowd.
However, due to the intense physical pain, few people noticed them.
Opening a tesseract labyrinth, he released several Mind-Trap Scarabs.
After briefly entering a phased state, the Mind-Trap Scarabs entered the brains of the Unitologists.
The Mind-Trap Scarabs forcibly interfaced with their nervous systems; these Unitologists had now completely become Trazyn's puppets.
Even the wails brought on by physiological pain were forcibly silenced.
Now, Trazyn finally had a means to understand the intelligence of this "sub-dimension."
"Where is this? Human."
Trazyn asked aloud.
The controlled Unitologists responded in unison.
"Aegis VII—"
Trazyn searched through his own databases but found no information regarding this planet.
Next, Trazyn unhurriedly asked more questions.
The results yielded an answer that shocked even him, an Overlord.
This was not a sub-dimension, but a new universe!!!
Earth existed here, the Sol System existed here, and the Milky Way existed here.
But there were no various xenos species, nor those Chaos Enemies!
The Technician beside him was also so stunned that he was momentarily speechless.
The Warp is omnipresent; even outside the Milky Way, it is constantly being influenced by the Warp at all times.
Trazyn subconsciously denied this incredible truth, thinking it was merely the incorrect perception of the humans before him.
But upon accessing the database of the nearby spaceship and comparing it with the data from the starry sky overhead...
Trazyn realized that, it seemed, this was indeed a brand-new universe.
This fact struck the logic cores of the two metal skeletons.
Quickly organizing his thoughts, he looked at the Unitologists who were about to bleed to death.
Trazyn raised his hand and released an unexpected figure: a Tech-Priest who was also controlled by a Mind-Trap Scarab.
The Tech-Priest crudely fitted the Unitologists with mechanical prosthetics, allowing them to stand once more.
Boarding the ship and heading toward the Unitologists' base, Trazyn could not wait to learn more information about this universe.
Along the way, Trazyn continued to ask questions, like an apprentice curious about everything.
"Why are you on this planet?"
"For the god seal—"
Hearing this term, Trazyn instantly thought of the data that the human named "Marcus" had shown him before.
After releasing the information related to those god seals, the Unitologists knelt on the ground one after another, murmuring the word "Convergence."
"Convergence will bring us to the eternal kingdom of heaven—"
The only Unitologist who was still somewhat lucid said.
"Ignorant monkeys,"
the Technician said with disdain.
"The beliefs of intelligent species are part of their culture, worthy of observation and collection."
Trazyn's museum had many collections regarding "faith."
However, these low-level Unitologists before him did not know much more about the god seal.
But according to them, there was a high-ranking member of the Unified Church at their base.
Trazyn naturally set his sights on that person.
There were still many more things in this universe waiting for Trazyn to explore.
More unknowns, more collectibles—
After returning to Avarax, Marcus sought out his capable subordinate whom he hadn't seen for a long time, Isaac.
"I sent a Necron over to your hometown."
"Ah—?"
Hearing this, Isaac's first reaction was confusion, and only then did he manage to react.
"You mean the world codenamed 'Dead Space'?"
"Exactly."
Marcus explained the situation just now to Isaac in detail.
To this, Isaac had nothing much to say.
Having been in the Universal Union for so long, he had long since lost any special feelings for his home world.
—
Treating it as a prison to confine a Necron who was extremely threatening to the Universal Union was indeed the best way.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Isaac asked doubtfully, having a bad premonition.
"What else? Of course, I have a new mission to give you."
Marcus said as if it were a matter of course.
Isaac had an 'as expected' look on his face.
"Your hometown is a complete world after all. Although the Universal Union isn't short on worlds to develop right now, we can't completely abandon it just because of one Trazyn."
Marcus explained.
"So, I plan to send a team to the Dead Space world to secretly monitor the impact Trazyn will cause, especially his interactions with the god seals and the Brethren Moons. I believe you, a local, are the most suitable candidate for this mission."
Isaac nodded; what Marcus said was not wrong.
In the Universal Union, he was indeed one of the people who knew the Dead Space world best, and his combat power was also the strongest among them.
In the Universal Union, he was indeed one of the people who knew the Dead Space world best, and his combat power was also the strongest among them.
"Alright, go and prepare yourself. You can pick anyone you want for the team."
Marcus waved him away.
Isaac exited the room, looked up at the stars, and recalled everything he had experienced back then.
"god seal, Unified Church, Nicole—"
Although Isaac had long since let go of those painful memories, he was indeed curious about the future of his home world.
Opening his rig terminal, his eyes scanned the long contact list; Isaac already had candidates in mind for this mission.
This mission was not a combat mission, but rather more like a covert observation mission.
After all, no matter how strong an individual's power was, it was impossible to defeat the horde of Necrons and Necron Constructs under Trazyn's command.
Therefore, the candidates for the operation should ideally be good at stealth or, like Isaac, have some understanding of the 'Dead Space' world.
Isaac naturally thought of his old friends. After a moment's thought, he dialed the communications and contacted them one by one.
"Master still hasn't sent any signal. Perhaps we should try to search—"
"Negative. Based on past experience, this would interrupt Master's plans and result in punishment. We should continue to wait—"
In the Vegast system, inside Trazyn's flagship, the 'Lord of Artifacts,' the Tomb Technicians left behind were discussing whether they should try to find their unreliable Overlord.
The Tomb Technicians each held their own opinions, unable to form a unified plan.
If Trazyn knew his subordinates were still arguing over this, his engrammatic matrix would surely tremble with rage.
Of course, soon, the Tomb Technicians would no longer be discussing whether to find their Overlord.
Because they themselves had been targeted.
In front of the 'Lord of Artifacts,' the massive fleet of the Space Sharks was rapidly approaching—