"Ugh.. My head…" A man said as he brought his hand up to his head. This is Alexander, he is just an average guy, well that's what he likes to call himself. He looked around and noticed the room he was in. It resembled that of a hospital room. He got off the bed. He glanced at his reflection in a mirror that was in the room.
He was still wearing the casual clothes that he remembered putting on this morning before he left the house. Though now his clothes looked ruined and torn.
He monitored the room before he started hearing a voice.
"Hey you, you're finally awake."
"What?" He looked around but saw no one. "Who's there?"
A blue portal appeared in the room, and a woman emerged. Long red fiery hair with two black horns sprouting from her head and wore a gothic black and white dress. She had a threatening aura around her, but that didn't faze Alexander as he was more focused on something else.
'She's so short…'
Alexander had to look down at the woman who he guessed was around 4'11.
"I am Bellona, a goddess of war! Feel free to bow before me mortal! OH, HOHOHOHO!" She laughed like some Ojou-sama.
'A goddess!' He didn't really believe it, but decided to trust her word. After all he saw her appear from a strange portal and she had that aura around her that he couldn't really describe. Either that or he had truly gone insane and everything was just his imagination in the form of hallucinations, but even then, could hallucinations be this realistic?
"I, Bellona have decided to grant you a second chance at life! Be thankful mortal!"
"Second chance? Did I die?!"
"Yes, you were killed by a truck whose brakes failed. I have reincarnated you because I see you have great potential! Potential you would never realize because of your peaceful world and boring life!"
Alexander listened carefully to her words, he was internally shocked that he had died and regretful. He had a little sister that he took care of by himself, now she was left all alone since their parents had passed away. He decided to ask questions after she is done talking, he wouldn't want to offend this self-proclaimed goddess and get banished to the shadow realm.
"I have bound your soul to me and so you shall receive my blessing when I send you to the next universe!"
"What?" This conversation was moving too fast for him!
"It is as I said! And I have chosen the perfect universe for your potential to shine brightly!"
A chill went down his spine, he had a very bad feeling on where she would send him.
"My blessing will be in the form of a system! I've heard it's all the rage these days amongst the divine! So I have crafted my own system, which is of course is superior to all the ones made by those loser gods! Once you awaken again, you will be in the next universe and the system will be accessible to you"
"Now then!" The goddess spoke once more. "My time here is short but the system will be your guide! This is my order to you, my devoted believer!"
'Since when did I become a believer!?' Alexander shouted internally.
"Build a grand army, capable of conquering worlds and the stars themselves!"
A bright blue portal opened behind the goddess, ready to engulf her.
"Wait! C-can I make a request?"
"Hmmm… Sure! Why not! I am a benevolent goddess to my most devoted believers! Tell me, what is your request, though I can't promise I will fulfill it"
"Umm… I had a little sister who I took care of. Since I died, she's all alone now… Can you… check on her? And make sure she's not in trouble?"
The goddess eagerly nodded her head. "Umu! I shall fulfil your request and also grant your sister a small blessing of fortune!" The goddess then disappeared into the portal which closed behind her. Alexander sat in silence for a few minutes as he began to process everything, that was until a strong sudden urge to sleep took over him.
He tried to fight it but it quickly took over, he collapsed on the floor and went into a deep sleep.
…
…
[AUTO-SENSE SYSTEM ONLINE]
[VITAL SIGNS: STABLE]
[POWER ARMOR INTEGRITY: 100%]
[START UP: COMPLETE]
"What the hell…"
The voice that came from his mouth was not the one he remembered having. It was low and very sexy, he had to admit. It was also loud, as if spoken through a loudspeaker. His breath echoed inside a helmet that wrapped tightly around his head, like a second skull.
He stood up. His entire body responded with extreme precision. His armored fingers clenched and released with a hiss of hydraulics. He moved around to get used to the new feeling of his body, wondering what the goddess did to him. He felt like a walking tank.
Alexander took in his surroundings. The sky was overcast, casting a pale light over a landscape that looked medieval. Small villages in the distance, simple farmlands, and thick forests surrounding them. The architecture of these villages was nothing like buildings in modern day, he guessed that this area was maybe in the medieval era.
It was primitive to what he was used to.
And then her voice returned.
"MUWAHAHAHA! Oh, you're awake! Took you long enough!"
Alexander flinched. It was definitely Bellona. The sound entered directly into his mind. He looked around for her but found nothing.
"I must say, you look divine! A towering mountain of steel and gene-forged muscle—my Astartes. I even made sure you got one of the fancier models of power armor. Custom-painted, too! I considered pink, but that felt… disrespectful."
He said nothing, just stood there, stunned as she kept going. She probably wouldn't give him a chance to speak and if he did, she would just ignore it and talk over him.
"I love this universe, Alex! It's horrible! It's violent! It's perfect! So, I figured—why not send you here to start my own warband? You know, like those other loser gods here who make cults or planets full of zealots. But I have taste. I have style. I'm sure you can recognize where you are by the armor you wear and the words I speak. This is Warhammer 40k, a setting you seem to be interested in since from your memories I see you collected a few figures."
Then she paused for a moment, her voice softened just a tiny bit.
"I've also taken the liberty of hiding this little backwater world from the Imperium and the other big players. You've got time to grow and build up your strength. But I won't keep everything away. That'd be boring and such a waste of your potential.
Another peal of maniacal laughter.
"Oh! One more thing. I left you a little gift to get started. You'll find it shortly. Now go forth, my Champion! Build me an empire worthy of my name! A legacy that will shake this rotting galaxy!~"
There was a kiss sound. Then silence.
[SYSTEM OVERVIEW BEGINNING…]
A second voice started talking, more calm and synthetic compared to the goddess.
[SYSTEM: INTERFACE ONLINE]
[Welcome, Commander. You have been selected as the prime vector of Goddess Bellona's will]
[PRIMARY FUNCTIONS:]
[STAT SCREEN – View current strength and power metrics]
[OBJECTIVES – missions and tasks issued by Bellona or the system]
[SHOP – Acquire resources, troops, upgrades using Bellona points]
[INITIAL REWARD: BEGINNER WAR PACKAGE]
[Redeem now?]
[ Y/N]
"Might as well…" He muttered as he clicked on the Yes option.
The ground ahead of him shimmered. Energy surged as glowing blue rifts opened one by one. From within them, figures emerged—marching in perfect formation.
Ten Astartes wearing red armor with golden engravings and on the helmets were long black dragon horns of differing styles, similar to his own, they stepped forward first. Behind them came two more, clad in modified armor, their shoulder pads marked with the caduceus of the Apothecaries.
Lastly, a smaller group of tech-clad figures marched out—red-robed and mechanical limbed.
As the last of them stepped through, the portals winked out. One of the Astartes approached and knelt on one knee.
"Commander. Apothecary Veran, reporting. We are yours to command, by the will of the goddess."
The others followed, kneeling without hesitation.
Alexander stood there in silence, to anyone looking at him, he was giving off a commanding aura, the helmet masking his face, but internally…
'What the fuck am I supposed to do?!'