Datch held the Heart of the Universe and stared at it for a long time.
This highest-grade artefact Marvel ever produced is only the size of a fist.
At a glance, it looks like a miniature nebula, as if time has stopped.
Countless tiny points of light slowly rotate deep in the core.
Each rotation leaves a very faint golden trail.
The trails intertwine and overlap.
From inside the crystal, flowing seven-coloured halos constantly spill outward.
Each ray holds ancient power; it is extremely mysterious.
The crystal itself keeps a constant warm temperature; when set on the palm, it feels like gripping a heart that is still faintly beating.
With this, challenging the four Chaos Gods and defeating the numerous powerful creatures lurking in the Warp will be a piece of cake.
After looking at it again and again, Datch at last added the Heart of the Universe to his game inventory with a satisfied expression.
The next step is to keep accepting quests and sweep away the Chaos Gods and daemons.
Heh heh heh. Foolish Warp creatures, taste the terror of the Player.
Datch cancelled the transformation; the giant-of-light body dissolved into countless tiny particles of light and returned to his original form.
Relying on the minimap, Datch rummaged through nearby rooms and carried off every precious artefact and gold coin.
These had all been specially prepared for the Nameless Ones by Imperial agents.
Though they could not understand that nameless man's eccentricities, they tacitly chose to respect him.
After the plunder, Datch used the Space Stone and opened a portal.
Ethereal blue light flared, opened a spatial passage on the void platform, and connected to Macragge, where Malcador was preparing for his return.
Macragge and Vigil Star are linked by orbit; message-transmission speed has improved dramatically.
Therefore, when the Nameless One began repairing the gigantic rift, Malcador immediately received the related information.
When he learned that the Nameless One had snapped his fingers, closed the gigantic rift spreading across the entire galaxy, and banished countless daemons into the Warp,
Malcador's eyes nearly popped out from the shock.
At first, he suspected he had misheard, or that the information-gatherer had lost his sanity.
He knew the Nameless One was powerful, yet the existence of the Great Rift was terrible, and by it the four gods' influence on the material world had reached an unprecedented level.
Now someone is actually telling him the Nameless One can solve everything with a snap of the fingers!
Is the Imperium of Man really that weak, or are the Nameless Ones simply outrageously strong?!
When Datch appeared before him, the news that the Great Rift had closed also arrived through official channels, confirming the report's credibility.
Malcador: ...
Don't you think the crack's repair speed is a little too fast?
Is there not enough strength?
Even if the repair takes several years, it should at least take several days.
The round trip might have taken at least an hour!
Is this the feeling of clinging to someone else's reflected glory?
No need to see anything. Just talking wins.
May I inquire after one Custodes who can speak with His Majesty the Emperor?
From now on I, Imperial Chancellor Malcador, will cooperate with the Nameless Ones.
I told him not to come looking for me except when absolutely necessary. A stranger might misunderstand.
(Emperor aside: It's fine. I intend to hang around with the Nameless Ones as well. We will all become their underlings.)
"Lord Malcador, is there any other mission you wish to give me?"
Datch ran up to Malcador and asked him directly.
Malcador took a deep breath and suppressed the shock and surprise in his heart.
He had long had a wild idea, yet had not had the courage to speak it.
Now, seeing the Nameless One snap his fingers and close the Great Rift, he realised that what he had thought was madness might, in the Nameless One's eyes, be a trivial matter.
"Do I have a mission?" Datch tilted his head, stared at Malcador before his eyes, and asked again.
Malcador swallowed, tried to produce a calm voice, and began to speak.
"You succeeded in repairing the Great Rift and returned the galaxy's physical laws to normal. However, the most powerful enemy has not yet been defeated, and our war is not yet over."
"The number of daemons lurking in the Warp is enormous; numerous terrible existences lurk there. With the Imperium of Man's present strength it is probably insufficient to oppose the Warp."
"I hope you will find a way to call back the lost heroes and have them fight for the Imperium again."
When Malcador finished speaking, he averted his gaze and did not try to meet the nameless man's eyes.
This idea is not the work of a sane mind!
If the Nameless One truly realises this, the four Chaos Gods and the daemons will lose their greatest advantage.
In the past, even if a Chaos daemon was defeated, it merely returned to the Warp and waited to revive.
Humans, however, cannot be resurrected and can only barely hold back daemonic invasion by continuing to pay sacrifice from generation to generation.
If humans can also be revived, Chaos daemons will lose their advantage.
Feeling uneasy, Malcador glanced sideways at the nameless man. He feared the man would not accept the request.
Datch did not reply at once. Not because he refused, but because he was checking the mission details.
[Mission: Return of the Heroes.]
[The closing of the Great Rift became for Malcador an opportunity to completely eradicate the threat the Chaos Gods bring.]
[However, the present power of the Imperium of Man cannot compare with the power of the dark gods and the countless daemons existing in another dimension.]
[Malcador hopes you will call back the ancient heroes and fight together with them in the war against Chaos.]
[Quest reward: 20,000 experience, 20,000 points, reputation +5,000, item: SCP-9999 · Omnipotent Chair ×1]
"The Foundation universe's Omnipotent Chair?" Seeing that item as the mission reward, Datch involuntarily held his breath.
This is one of the most powerful artefacts in the SCP universe; rumour has it that sitting upon it grants so-called omniscient-omnipotent vision.
He instantly understands everything he sees, receives every kind of wonderful blessing, and becomes a supreme divine existence.
Compared with this, the Golden Throne is a mere crude imitation.
"They're insane. The game developers who set the rewards must be out of their minds," Datch muttered.
This can be said to come equipped with several console-like functions.
On this matter, it is no longer a question of how to push it aside; what matters is thinking how to place it in a position from which the four Chaos Gods can be smashed more easily.
Invincible, completely invincible, completely mad.
However, Datch's happiness did not last long; his smile immediately vanished.
Unconsciously, he glanced at the Omnipotent Chair's usage cost and learned that using this item requires a large number of points.
His present score is only enough that the instant his backside touches the chair, he would immediately bounce off.
Wah.
He thought the manufacturer had changed its mind; the result was extremely disappointing.
The grand plan to smash Chaos without mercy seems to have to be abandoned due to insufficient points.
Datch cursed the manufacturer's entire family.
Yet he still accepted the mission.
Whether it can be purchased is not the issue. The most important thing is to obtain it first, even if it only sleeps in the warehouse.
Seeing the nameless man agree, Malcador's face immediately shone with joy; he could not stop smiling.
Having a powerful backer feels very good. Everything can be left to that person.
Datch wasted no time, immediately took out the Lost Fishing Rod, and set up the Lost Fishing Pond.
The loyal Primarchs who have returned so far are five: the Lion, Sanguinius, Corax, Guilliman, and Ferrus Manus.
The other four — Rogal Dorn, Jaghatai, Leman Russ, and Vulkan — have not returned.
Datch stretched his limbs, walked to the fishing pond, set the rod upright, and forcefully cast the hook into the pond. The float stood straight.
"What are you doing?" Malcador asked curiously. The nameless man had taken out several props and was about to start fishing in the study.
Accepting a mission and not leaving at once does not seem like the Nameless One's way.
He almost said nothing and merely turned and left.
Now he has time to go fishing? Something is odd. Something is odd.
The Nameless One before his eyes might not actually be the Nameless One but a blue-feathered bird from the Warp in disguise.
That cannot be! A blue-feathered bird could not have such courage! It would not fail to fear being beaten by the nameless bird, would it?!!
Just as Malcador was lost in thought trying to understand the nameless man's idea, he suddenly saw the buoy sink sharply, and the rod bend abruptly.
"Loading most of the truck."
"My air force's eighteen fishing techniques — Open the Heavenly Gate, stand up!"
Together with Datch's angry shout, a giant wearing golden armour with a power claw mounted on the left hand was hauled up from the pool.
This giant is none other than the Primarch of the Imperial Fists, Rogal Dorn.
"D… Dorn…" Malcador shouted.
"Regent Malcador?" Dorn's eyes widened in disbelief.
The next instant, Dorn looked around; an expression of doubt floated on his face. "Am I already dead?"
"Is this the land of the dead? I never thought it would resemble the Imperium so much."
"No. This is not the land of the dead. It is your home." Malcador's voice trembled with excitement. "I have been revived as well."
"Revived?" Dorn asked in surprise. He looked around, noticed many marks of the Thirteenth Legion, then peered through a porthole at the buildings and starry sky outside.
Are we on Macragge now?
Dorn guessed their present location at a glance.
A Primarch's memory and thought process were truly formidable.
"Yes. Revived. This is Macragge." Malcador nodded. "Several brothers have returned as well. You will be able to meet them soon."
"Who and who?" Dorn pressed.
"..."
Datch ignored the NPCs' conversation.
He moved Dorn aside so that he would not block the fishing pond's view.
Then he cast the rod again. The motion was smooth and unbroken.
The next one hauled up was the Primarch of the Salamanders Chapter, namely the Dragon King Vulkan.
This giant held an enormously large forging hammer. The hammer's head was several times the size of an average person's head.
Clearly, this man, before being lured into the Imperium, had been hiding somewhere forging iron.
Where is this?
"Lord Malcador, what are you doing here?"
From the start, Vulkan's muscles were tense; he held the hammer ready and was prepared to attack at any time.
Looking around, he saw Rogal Dorn and Malcador. Unable to understand what had happened, he immediately went blank.
Datch set Vulkan aside and waited for Malcador to explain at his own pace.
He continued casting the line and continued fishing.
This time, the one hauled up was Leman Russ swinging a greatsword.
"What is happening?"
Russ looked around, completely confused.
Until a few minutes ago, he had been fighting terrible monsters and fighting fiercely to protect the Fruit of Life that can heal the Emperor.
In a blink, the battlefield vanished, and he was taken to a completely unfamiliar place.
What… what on earth is happening?!
The last one Datch caught was Jaghatai.
This man races through the webway seeking various secret treasures left by ancient sages and searching for a way to defeat the great enemy Chaos.
He had only just finished exploring an abandoned network-city, yet for some reason was transferred here.
In a mere short time, Datch brought back every Primarch who had not yet returned.
At that efficiency, Malcador was so surprised he lost his words.
The overwhelming power of that nameless man's powerful backing is truly beyond imagination!
The news that four loyal Primarchs had returned all at once immediately caused a terrible media storm.
The message followed the star-paths, passed through various routes, reached every part of the Imperium, and shook countless forces.
They showed expressions of disbelief one after another.
Needless to say, the Chaos forces led by Abaddon fell into an increasingly desperate situation.
The age of forgotten Primarchs… put forth rich branches and fruit.
Five Primarchs alone were already troublesome enough; four more were added, making nine in total.
Just thinking of it brings a feeling of despair.
(Abaddon, in despair: I, Abaddon, from the day I was born — why did the Nameless One exist?!)
(Why does fate treat me so cruelly?)
Meanwhile, on the Imperial side, founding groups and successor organisations such as the Space Wolves, Salamanders, White Scars, and Imperial Fists were all extremely excited.
Glory to the nameless god. Their Primarchs have at last returned.
They immediately issued a summons, convened chapters and other units, prepared a pilgrimage to Macragge, and ordered them to meet their Primarchs.
After catching the four loyal Primarchs, Datch packed away the fishing rod and the Lost Fishing Pond.
These four Primarchs had only gone missing; the cost of finding them is not high.
However, heroes who participated in the Siege of Terra — Sigismund, Raldoron, Amit, Loken and the like — cannot use the Lost Fishing Rod.
Ordinarily, Datch would use the TARDIS telephone box to time-travel to the past, rescue these people, and bring them back to the present to complete the mission.
However, after the Horus Heresy anchor point was removed, the past timeline underwent a dramatic change, is gradually vanishing, and is fusing into an entirely new timeline.
If someone uses time travel rashly and arbitrarily, the possibility of causing an unpredictable storm is very high.
Using the ability of time travel to cheat and complete the Heroic Spirit Summoning mission is clearly impossible.
Left with no other choice, Datch used the Soul Stone to recover fragments of Imperial heroes' souls from the Warp and used Shatter the Hammer to repair them.
Then, using the Reality Stone, he gave them brand-new bodies stronger than the originals; souls dwelled in them, and the revival was completed.
Datch was swift. In an instant, he resurrected Imperial heroes including Sigismund, Loken, and Raldoron from eternal death.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side in the Warp,
the Emperor witnessed the commanders and captains of the damned Legion vanishing one after another.
Seeing the Nameless One resurrect Imperial heroes one after another, an expression of helplessness floated on his face.
It was already terrible when Ferrus was taken before; now even the soup and the pot are taken! Too much!
No matter how vigilant one is, it is hard to protect oneself from the anonymous person!
My curse binds the heroes' souls. I accumulated them over a long time with hardship!
All gone. Everything is already gone.
However, the Emperor was powerless. Unable to defeat or persuade the Nameless One, he could only endure in silence.
...
Not long after the news of the four Primarchs' return…
Gregor Dessian, current Chapter Master of the Imperial Fists, together with the Chapter Masters of the Imperial Fists' various successor chapters, arrived to meet Rogal Dorn.
High-ranking members of the Imperial Fists from the Great Crusade era, including Sigismund, resurrected by the Nameless One and Rann, also participated in the meeting.
Dorn was initially very satisfied.
For the past ten thousand years, his descendants had faithfully kept his teachings and continued to protect Terra and the Imperium.
Until a little girl in a yellow dress called him "Father," he knew nothing.
Upon interrogation, it was found that the girl in yellow clothes is the incarnate consciousness of the Phalanx. He nearly fainted; he could no longer endure it.
A gigantic ship like the Phalanx had been depicted not as a muscular, sturdy man but as an anthropomorphised existence.
Yet in fact she was a frail-looking little girl running about barefoot.
Ah, good heavens, how did the Phalanx's form become like this?!
....