"Farewell, you worthless scum!" Axis gathered a high-density energy sphere in his palm before hurling it into the air.
The sphere split into hundreds of thin beams of light that rained down, each one striking a remaining enemy stronghold with pinpoint precision.
These devastating ki blasts avoided every Adeptus Mechanicus Skitarii defender and Imperial soldier, striking only the Rangda infesting the planet.
Explosions bloomed across the surface like bursts of fireworks, a grand finale to the battle.
From the moment he had arrived in this system to the final annihilation of the enemy, Axis had spent less than six hours.
It was nothing short of godlike speed.
In fact, the Imperial drop pods were only just now touching down when the fighting had already ended.
"I am Axis, messenger of the Emperor! I have come to save you! All the xenos have been destroyed. This planet is safe!" Axis bellowed, amplifying his voice with ki until it roared across the skies.
He soared through the air, carrying his proclamation across every corner of the world, ensuring every human heard the declaration of victory.
The Imperial defenders below erupted in cheers.
They did not know who Axis was, only that he claimed to be the Emperor's envoy, and that he had brought them victory. That alone was enough.
"Long live the Imperium!"
"Long live the Emperor!"
"Long live the Emperor's messenger!"
"All hail Lord Axis!"
When Axis landed before the Forge World's Mechanicus temple, the local Archmagos knelt with his entire retinue. "Praise the Omnissiah! We thank you for coming to our aid, Wolf Lord Axis."
"Rise. This world is safe now. The rest of the clean-up will be yours to handle. I must head for the next battlefield," Axis said, letting his golden-haired form fade, returning to black hair.
"Lord Axis, if I may—what special equipment were you using?" a Tech-Priest asked. "We observed your battle in orbit, and your bombardment from the skies just now. It was… beyond comprehension."
To see someone fight using such strange power without being shaken would have been unnatural.
One man had defeated an entire planetary invasion force. One man had broken an entire enemy fleet. One man had reshaped the tide of battle, his body wreathed in golden radiance.
Were it not for the wrong height and armor, they might have truly believed the Emperor Himself had descended. To claim the title of the Emperor's envoy hardly seemed inappropriate, after all, gold was the Emperor's color.
Yet the power Axis had used was not psychic in nature.
It was something entirely different, leading the Mechanicus to suspect some unknown artifact or device.
"Hahaha! This is the Emperor's blessing.
"I used no special equipment—this is my own power," Axis said with a grin, tapping the ceramite of his power armor. "This is just a standard issue suit, not even Terminator plate."
"Incredible… Lord Axis, is your hair truly black, or golden?" the Archmagos asked, "I recall that moments ago, it was gold, and your whole body shone like the sun."
"It is a miraculous force, indeed. When I use it, my strength increases by more than fiftyfold. My hair turns gold, my body emits a golden aura, and I can even survive briefly in the void of space," Axis replied vaguely.
Let them imagine whatever they liked.
What they pictured in their minds was none of his concern.
The Mechanicus priests stood dumbstruck.
This defied every law of physics they knew.
Some even believed it was divine intervention, that the Emperor had bestowed His own power upon Lord Axis, granting him unmatched strength, golden light, and hair to match.
Before they could ask more, Axis had already taken flight, heading to the ranks of ordinary soldiers.
Activating only part of his Super Saiyan strength, his body shone once again.
Imperial Guardsmen dropped to their knees as he passed, hailing the Emperor's messenger and bowing to Lord Axis.
"You have won this war, warriors!" Axis called out, "The Imperium is proud of you. You have fulfilled your duty with courage, defending Imperial assets with your very lives. The Emperor watches over you."
In recent weeks, he had learned a few tricks from a certain preacher in the Monarchia. How to inspire the masses, how to display a 'miracle' at just the right moment were skills the man had indeed perfected.
The Lion was not here, so Axis saw no harm in putting on a show.
Every surviving Imperial soldier knelt. In that instant, they truly believed they were in the presence of a living god.
This was the Emperor's incarnation.
Lord Axis had to be the Emperor's incarnation.
"Lord Axis, great messenger of the God-Emperor, please let us follow you! Let us fight at your side!" one Guardsman cried out.
"Yes, Lord Axis! Let us join you in purging the xenos!" countless voices roared.
"I do need soldiers," Axis admitted, "But you have a more important duty, and it is to guard this world. The Rangdan threat is not fully defeated."
A mortal auxilia force at his side would be good for little more than clearing the battlefield afterward.
Even Space Marines with him would hardly do more than that when Axis fought personally.
"Lord Axis, as the Emperor's envoy, you have the authority to call for a special muster," an officer said, stepping forward. "This world is no longer in danger. Please, allow us to march with you!"
Under Imperial law, even though Lord Axis was only a Space Marine Captain, his authority in wartime allowed him to requisition any planetary defense force he saw fit.
"You do have that authority. You can take half of them with you, after all, the Gloriana-class battleship is still short on ground forces,"
A familiar voice rang out beside Axis. Without him even noticing, Kasha had appeared next to him.
Axis nodded after thinking.
"Alright then! Half of you will come with me to hunt down the vile xenos. The rest will stay and guard this planet," Axis declared loudly.
"Thank you, Lord Axis! You are the Emperor's incarnation! You will lead us to defeat every enemy of the Imperium!"
"Lord Axis! Great incarnation of the Emperor, it is our honor to follow you!"
Smiling at their words, Axis let golden light blaze from his body once more.
With his ki, he wove a warm current that drifted over the assembled soldiers like a gentle breeze.
Faint traces of ki seeped into their bodies, washing away fatigue.
Instantly, every Guardsman felt warmth flood through them.
The exhaustion from battling the xenos vanished, leaving them sharp-eyed and brimming with energy, ready to fight the Rangda for another three hundred rounds if they could.
For the truth of the Imperium! For the destruction of every damned xenos!
Axis rose into the sky, golden light cascading from him in glittering motes.
Every soldier touched by those motes felt their fatigue vanish. Even the grievously wounded improved slightly, giving medics better odds of saving them.
To the auxiliaries and the Forge World's civilians alike, it was a miracle of the God-Emperor Himself.
Only a god could do such a thing. This was beyond the reach of science.
Now, alongside their prayers to the Emperor, the humans of this world had a second figure to kneel to, Axis himself.
Axis was very pleased with the surge in reputation.
The Emperor's incarnation? I'm not—but…
When humans prayed with genuine faith, Axis could clearly feel a faint increase in his psychic strength.
The hive worlds and agri-worlds he had taken earlier had already been visited by his personal preacher, spreading the gospel of his deeds.
By now, there should be quite a few praying to him.
The psychic force born of human hope was potent indeed, not something to be ignored. But it had to be done discreetly.
It must all seem like the people's own idea, with no coercion.
The mopping-up lasted an entire day, handled mostly by Kasha and a few of Axis's officers.
In the end, they selected over half of the planet's elite Imperial Guard, over five hundred thousand soldiers, to bring aboard the Gloriana-class battleship.
The Adeptus Mechanicus had no objection; wartime law gave Axis the authority, and besides, the Mechanicus relied more on their Skitarii and Legio Cybernetica.
When Axis returned to the ship, Kasha was waiting with a sly grin.
"Axis! So, have you had your fun? How does it feel to play at being my father's incarnation?"
Her man had clearly been enjoyed himself, glowing gold, flying circles over the planet.
At this point, the Forge World's citizens probably no longer worshipped the Omnissiah.
Still, once Axis left, the Mechanicus would bring them back under control.
Trying to seize the Imperium's faith this way wasn't realistic. It would take far more time.
"Honestly it wasn't that bad," Axis replied taking off his power armour, "This was just an experiment, but I can feel the slightest increase in my psychic strength, alongside a spark of divinity? born from human hope."
He demonstrated, and in the heart of his psychic aura shimmered a faint golden radiance.
Winning the faith of every human in the Imperium was no short task.
This was merely a first trial. For now, he needed to finish defeating the Rangda, claim his recognition as a Primarch, and move to the next stage of his plan.
"Father, if you truly wish to control this planet, I might have a way," came the voice of the Solus Prime over the comms.
"Oh? And what way is that?"
"These Adeptus Mechanicus personnel have undergone extreme cybernetic augmentation. Even a low-ranking Tech-Priest is more than seventy percent machine.
"The Archmagos here is over ninety-five percent cybernetic. His brain has been largely replaced, and all his memories are stored on a datachip.
"I possess certain control systems created by the Rangda Galactic Empire. If you order it, I can use them to take control of this world's Archmagos.
"From there, we could quietly infiltrate the Forge World's hierarchy. Each Forge World operates autonomously, so long as it supplies arms to the Imperium. No one would notice anything amiss.
"Furthermore, I have discovered that all of these Tech-Priests are grown in simulated artificial wombs rather than being naturally born. I could use the same control devices the Rangda employ to command them.
"If we did this, the entire planet would be yours to command."
Axis was stunned.
The Rangda's methods truly were insidious.
But this was a direct violation of the Emperor's Imperial Truth. If such a thing were discovered, the Emperor would purge him without hesitation.
Even before that, the mere thought of using such means to control humans was repulsive to him.
"Denied!" Kasha's voice cut in sharply, "Axis, you must never use such methods! This is one of Father's deepest hatreds. Such foul technology must be sealed away permanently.
"Remember, Axis, you are human. They are your kin, not your slaves. If you use such methods, you are no different from the barbaric tech-worshippers or the Rangda themselves."
Kasha could support Axis's pursuit of power and status.
But enslaving humans through technology? She had Zero tolerance for that. And she was determined to fight fiercely against it.
The Rangdan's techniques could never be allowed to spread, not among the imperium.
"You're right. Solus Prime, permanently seal away every scrap of technology in your databanks that could be used to control humans," Axis ordered.
Using xenos methods to enslave humanity was unthinkable.
If he was to become a god, it would not be as a dark one.
..
..
..
Can we get some powerstones!!
It's a bonus chapter every 200 powerstones!