Inside a grey stone abbey in the wilderness, Sister Siddhga knelt by her simple bed, meticulously organizing her belongings.
The lingering glow of the sunset streamed through the stained-glass window, casting dappled light upon her black nun's habit.
She neatly folded a few worn changes of clothes, her fingers gently smoothing out every crease, a secret anticipation filling her for the journey about to begin.
She was a special Sister—though she also wore a simple black nun's habit and a silver Imperial Aquila hung at her chest, her pale purple eyes and the faint Void Field around her body proclaimed her status as an Untouchable.
And the heavy black iron gates and perpetually silent corridors of Landon Abbey, where she resided, hinted that this was no ordinary Ecclesiarchy sanctuary.
As the Star District's only Sisters of Silence outpost, Landon Abbey sat atop a cliff deep in the barren lands, like a silent sentinel.
Sister Siddhga was the newest member to complete her training here, having just, three days prior, in a ceremony before the silent gazes of her Sisters, pricked her fingertip with a silver needle and left her blood-red Silent Vow on a parchment scroll.
Before becoming a Sisters of Silence, Siddhga possessed a voice that the elder Sisters praised as "a gift from the angels."
She always loved to hum softly while cleaning the cloisters in the morning, her singing as clear and moving as a mountain stream.
But the ancient precepts of the Sisters of Silences required them to sever all speech, which, for a girl who had just turned Seventeen, was like a lark with broken wings.
However, Siddhga did not remain despondent for long.
Years of abbey life had already accustomed her to communicating with glances and gestures; the Silent Vow merely made that silence more absolute.
The only thing she regretted was no longer being able to lead the hymns during morning prayers.
So, on the last evening before taking her vow, she used three months of saved pocket money to bring back a palm-sized phonograph device from the market.
That night, she hid in the side chapel of the main hall, recording her favorite hymns, one after another, into the small copper-plated box.
The crude device even captured her nervous breathing and occasional off-key endings, but this was all the sound she could preserve.
Now, this phonograph device, wrapped in red silk, lay quietly at the bottom of her luggage.
Siddhga placed two wool shirts on top of it, ensuring it wouldn't be bumped during the journey.
Besides these, she also had to bring her recently acquired Vartine Armor, Executioner Greatsword, and a slightly old large electromagnetic accelerator crossbow.
This Vartine Armor was not an ancient relic treasured by the abbey, but a gift from a mysterious benefactor.
The new ceramite plates still carried the scent of incense from the Tech-Priest's blessing, and each piece of armor shimmered with a dark, matte finish.
The accompanying Executioner Greatsword was equally extraordinary; short prayers were newly carved into its sharp blade, and its hilt was wrapped with unworn non-slip fabric strips.
The arrival of these two pieces of equipment invigorated the entire Landon Abbey.
In contrast, the electromagnetic accelerator crossbow seemed particularly humble—its casing was covered in scratches from use, its exposed coils were slightly blackened from long-term use, and its trigger guard was even somewhat deformed.
But Siddhga wiped it with extraordinary gentleness, because every abrasion recorded the traces of her personal adjustments.
Although Landon Abbey still maintained the basic operations of a religious order, ten thousand years had severely diminished this branch of the Sisters of Silences.
The once glorious halls now housed only a handful of Sisters, and the ancient traditions and equipment they inherited had gradually been lost over the long passage of time.
Most of the precious armor and weapons from ten thousand years ago in the abbey were already damaged beyond repair, and the few remaining pieces were considered holy relics, only to be activated in the most critical moments.
To survive, the Sisters of Silences of Landon Abbey had to maintain operations through various means.
They occasionally performed secret missions for the Inquisition or were hired by the Planetary Governor in exchange for necessary supplies and funds.
They even tried growing their own wheat and baking bread, just to reduce expenses.
But even so, their equipment's quality was already vastly different from what it had been ten thousand years ago.
Today's Sisters of Silences no longer wore Vartine Armor—they neither had enough in stock nor could they afford the cost of maintaining these ancient pieces of equipment.
Most of the time, they could only wear their self-modified bulletproof vests or piece together rudimentary armor from fragmented ceramite plates.
Their weapons were no longer masterfully forged holy artifacts, but ordinary metal greatswords, or even crude weapons crafted by hand.
Once, a Tech-Priest received their help during a mission, and in return, he taught them some techniques for making simple weapons.
It was this knowledge that allowed Landon Abbey to barely sustain itself to this day.
Although their equipment could only be considered barely functional, at least they didn't have to rely entirely on external supplies.
Siddhga's electromagnetic crossbow was born under these circumstances.
Under her mentor's guidance, she spent three full years collecting parts, adjusting coils, and calibrating the sight, finally completing this weapon.
Although it couldn't compare to those ancient artifacts, for her, this was already the most reliable companion she could have.
Although it couldn't compare to Imperial standard issue weapons, overall, it was still quite usable.
After all, as Sisters of Silences, their core value lay in their innate Void Field, rather than mere combat skills.
This rare talent made them natural bane to Psykers, capable of effectively suppressing enemy psychic abilities on the battlefield.
When serving an Inquisitor, they were often deployed in key positions, acting as mobile anti-Psyker barriers.
When Psykers attempted to use their abilities, they only needed to stand nearby to instantly nullify those bizarre energies.
As for actual combat missions, these were usually left to the Inquisitor's Stormtroopers or other combat personnel.
However, such job opportunities were incredibly scarce.
Most of the time, Inquisitors preferred to use other means to deal with psychic threats, as no one wanted to coexist with an Untouchable for long periods.
Although professionally trained Sisters of Silences could control their Void Field to a minimum, causing ordinary people to feel only slight discomfort rather than strong repulsion, day-in and day-out interaction would still make those around them feel suppressed and irritable.
This natural repulsion made it difficult for Sisters of Silences to obtain stable employment opportunities.
Typically, only when a Planetary Governor needed to capture awakened Psykers, or when the Inquisition had to encircle heretic sorcerers, would they remember their existence.
Even so, these missions were temporary, and the remuneration was often very meager.
The turning point came a few years ago when Landon Abbey finally established contact with another surviving Sisters of Silence order.
Although life remained difficult, at least they were no longer completely isolated from the world.
------------------------
I've posted 70+ chapters in advance on Patreon.
Webnovel updates will still be daily, as usual.
It might not seem tempting right nobut who knows what the future holds?
[email protected]/TripleCrown
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"