Those heavily armored Genestealers were tightly linked to the hive network, fully under the little sun's mind control. Thus, they didn't need a separate ritual—Eden could bless them directly. On scanning, Eden noted with a frown:
"Blessing non-human life requires double the normal energy?"
Well, let's give it a shot anyway.
Though he was reluctant to burn so much hope-power, curiosity won. He had hundreds of millions of points in reserve—no harm in spending so to see what happened.
Pshhhhh—
A chanical hiss, and more Genestealers erged from the shadows, lining up in a vast corridor.
"You, you, you... and you."
Eden picked out five of the strongest first-generation heavily armored Genestealers, each around three or four ters tall with a truly imposing presence.
Still, their performance in combat was overshadowed by the Space Marines, so they mostly did cleanup tasks in contaminated areas.
So with higher intelligence worked as ship repair crews, equipped with dozens of built-in tools—constantly turning wrenches in the bowels of the ship, never needing rest or pay. Thoroughly expendable labor.
Eden locked onto their soul signatures in the hive network.
"Alright, ti to splurge."
He poured ten million hope-points into the Genestealers's soul-lights. Instantly, the five chosen Genestealers flared with a black-and-gold aura. Their eyes bulged as they tried to adjust to the surging power.
At the sa mont, in a shared hallucination, they beheld a vision: a golden sun overhead, and a majestic figure with four arms—a four-ard Savior. Because Eden's form isn't fixed, every believer perceives him differently. To these Genestealers, he looked brawny, tusked, with four razor-sharp claws.
Roaargh!
They dropped to all six limbs, bowing low to their four-ard "Savior," offering total devotion. The Genestealers not receiving blessings simply followed suit, trembling. After all, that energy was terrifying.
Then, swirling around the five chosen Genestealers were stripes of yellowish-black light. They howled and began to transform. In the shadows, monstrous changes took hold:
One sprouted curved demonic horns that glinted ominously. Another grew slimy tentacles writhing in the air. A third's claws mutated into razor-sharp pincers. One had a massive black pair of demon wings that thumped the air, whipping up gusts of wind.
Their minds changed as well, savage and bloodthirsty, reminiscent of Chaos daemons. It was the predatory glare of a hunter eyeing its prey. The rest of the Genestealers shrank back in terror.
Gasp.
Eden inhaled sharply, dumbfounded.
"Wow, this blessing is...borderline evil. This is exactly what the Ruinous Powers do."
Am I basically an Evil God now?
No matter how prepared he was, seeing them mutate so drastically was shocking. He probed the source of it—yep, the unknown Warp energies in the little sun. At least it only affected non-human recipients, apparently.
Indeed, it turned them basically into Chaos daemons. Good thing humans were unaffected...
Wait, were these energies from the four Dark Gods themselves? Tzeentch, Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh?
That would explain it. Well, at least he could use that energy. The biggest worry was that it might accumulate and corrupt the little sun.
But he realized the little sun could disperse that malevolence by using it in blessings. So the more he blessed non-humans with large amounts of "chaos power," the more he could bleed off that contamination.
Expensive, but extrely potent.
Once the swirling light faded, the newly created "daemon Genestealers" were revealed. Only four had survived. The fifth had silently died during the transformation. These four radiated a dense aura of Chaos, fundantally transmuted into daemons:
One with bull hooves and huge horns, wreathed in blood-red energy (Khorne-like). One with ropy tentacles and cunning eyes (Tzeentch-like). One with a grossly distended belly, covered in festering sores (Nurgle-like). One pinkish with fleshy pincers, exuding carnal desire (Slaanesh-like).
All four flavors of Chaos in one go!
"Yeesh," Eden muttered. "We got the whole set."
Each was on a higher rung of existence, not just warped but literally turned into a daemon. The codic possibility of "Chaos Genestealers" was overshadowed by their new, horrifying reality.
Before Eden could do more, the pinkish Slaanesh Genestealers started gyrating provocatively, releasing puffs of pink mist. The row of normal Genestealers behind it began drooling, getting restless.
The vibe was...indescribable.
Cue the nature docuntary music:
"It's springti. All things revive. Now is the season when Genestealers gather to mate..."
Watching them get worked up, Eden's eyes went wide. They were about to...do it right here!
"Guys, calm down—you're all male!"
He tried sending a direct psychic order telling them to chill, that the pink demon was basically a cross-dressing boy.
But influenced by Slaanesh's aura, it only inflad them further. Finally, Eden forcibly overrode them via the hive network, commanding them to stand down. He also demanded the pink Genestealers rein in its seductive aura.
Thank the Emperor, the imdiate crisis was averted.
Eden wiped cold sweat from his brow. "Damn, Slaanesh is a real headache...one slip, and it's an orgy out here."
He double-checked the "evil energy" levels in the little sun, concluding the blessings had only used up a small fraction. Still about 80% remained. He'd have to keep on blessing to fully purge that chaos essence.
But now that he had Second Blessings, those would devour far more "evil energy," so maybe that'd work. Unfortunately, second blessings for non-humans cost 20 million hope-points each. Eden balked at the thought.
After so hesitation, he decided, "Let's do it—better to pay up than risk corruption."
He poured a total of 80 million hope-points, setting off second blessings on the four new daemon Genestealers. A massive surge of many-hued "Warp smoke" engulfed them, faint voices whispering madness.
The Genestealers roared in euphoria, welcoming the deluge of power. But only one survived in the end.
When the light faded, that lone survivor was hunched over the other three corpses, voraciously devouring their flesh. Crunching sounds echoed in the gloom. Eden watched, unsettled but not intervening. The survivor was absorbing the lingering energy of its fallen brethren.
Finally, the newly empowered beast stood. Towering nearly five ters, with massive curling horns and a red, iron-like hide exuding black flas. A formidable demon, complete with huge scaled wings. No doubt aligned with Khorne's essence. Its re presence radiated mindless violence. The lesser Genestealers cowered in fear.
This monstrous Genestealers approached Eden, kneeled, and lowered its head. Then, to his astonishnt, it spoke in a gravelly voice:
"My master, great Four-Ard Savior. I thank you for this gift..."
Clearly, it had ascended to a far higher tier of daemonhood, akin to a true Warp entity. Possibly unkillable in the material realm—if destroyed physically, it could still regenerate in the Warp. With room to grow stronger.
Huh. Eden realized, though, it was oozing so much chaotic corruption that it was warping the surrounding environnt. Even the heavy armor plating was being corroded and was sprouting demonic spikes and runes. Non-ideal to keep around in realspace.
But then it struck Eden—a dedicated demon champion might be useful if stationed in the Warp. Summoned only when needed!
Summoning daemons to fight is frowned on, but not unheard of. The Imperium's librarians sotis do it in dire cases, letting the daemon fight a mutual foe.
The Blood Angels' Chapter Master Dante once deliberately lured Ka'bandha to fight the Tyranids at Baal.
So yeah, having a loyal demon under your control might co in handy. If it falls, it can resurrect in the Warp. Even better, it might one day take on the Ruinous Powers themselves.
Eden looked at the demon-chicken. "You...uh..." He realized it needed a na. "From now on, you're Baal."
A fierce na from ancient demon-lore, signifying destruction. The beast seed delighted, bowing again. "I shall fight for you under this na."
Eden gave it a new mission: "I want you to establish a powerful legion of daemons in the Warp."
Yes, sending Baal to roam the Warp might be a great infiltration strategy—like an undercover agent in Chaos's domain. If Baal succeeded, Eden would have a secret daemon army at his disposal. Aces in the hole for defending or intelligence-gathering. The Warp was huge, but Baal had all the ti in the world.
"I will," Baal promised. "I will build a formidable army in your na."
...
Two days later...
Eden saw Baal off. Baal stepped through a Warp portal, carrying an alloy sword and shield that Eden had given as "starting gear."
...
The Warp
Baal soared on demonic wings through the emptiness, feeling more alive than ever. No longer constrained by realspace, he was in his elent.
At once, he sensed multiple "summons" from various entities—mostly from the four Chaos Gods or lesser warp powers.
Typically, a daemon in the Warp ends up in one of those factions, but Baal paused, then flew toward Khorne's domain, where there would be fewer restrictions and more potential for him to hone his thirst for battle.
In Eden's words, "go fleece the Chaos gods."
...
The Dreamweaver, Savior's Office
Relaxing at his desk, Eden closed the datafeed from Baal. Good. The plan was in motion. Next, he opened a simpler briefing from Bayev regarding the managent of Matila, plus a resource plan for the entire sector...
(End of Chapter)
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