Datch's actions shocked Cypher, Sylandri, and the other Fallen Angels and Aeldari.
With just a tap of that golden hammer, a ruined machine had been restored to working order, even playing a message stored millennia ago.
It was so absurd it made them question reality itself.
"Ra Endymion!!"
Datch murmured, opening his encyclopedia panel.
Typing in the name, a detailed character entry appeared.
The protagonist was clad in Custodian armor, wielding a power spear at full charge, a twisted daemon sword embedded in his chest, blood dripping down the blade.
"Looks quite tragic."
Datch scrolled down to the introduction:
Born during Terra's Unification Wars, only son of Koga Zu, provincial minister of the Anuatan Steppes.
At four, his mother Koga Zu was executed by Constantin Valdor for stealing Terra's last ocean.
Ra Endymion was taken to the Custodian Guard, raised as one of their own.
By the time of the Webway War, he was a tribune, leader of a dynasty squad.
Members of the dynasty squad were all heirs of warlords and rulers defeated by the Emperor during the Unification Wars, raised to be utterly loyal to Him. All ultimately died in battle.
After the deaths of Tribune Kadai Vilaccan and Jasaric, Ra Endymion became the highest commander in the Webway War.
When the Webway War failed, the Emperor ordered the Sisters of Silence to sacrifice a thousand psykers, gaining the chance to briefly leave the Throne.
During this time, the Emperor rescued the forces trapped by the Warp in the webway and fought a daemon symbolizing the "Echo of the First Murder" and the "End of Empires"—Drach'nyen.
The Emperor was gravely wounded by Drach'nyen, but He succeeded in sealing the daemon within a sword and stabbed it into Ra Endymion's chest.
This was done because Drach'nyen could not be killed, only sealed. Keeping it away from the Emperor allowed the Imperium to struggle on.
"Run."
The Emperor gave Ra Endymion a command meant solely for him.
The son of the water thief, for the last time, obeyed his master and charged into the depths of the webway with the daemon sword.
"So he's a story NPC, huh? That ties things together."
When fleeing from Ice Moon Klaisus, Datch had been killed several times by Abaddon wielding this daemon sword.
Unfortunately, Drach'nyen had a special effect against the Emperor, but was useless against players, not even able to absorb their souls.
This had once made Abaddon lose his cool and spiral into self-doubt.
"Guess it's a hidden story event—there must be more follow-up."
From Ra Endymion fleeing into the webway with the daemon sword, to it falling into the hands of the Great Despoiler, there was a huge time gap.
What happened in between, for the Despoiler to acquire the sword?
Players would need to piece together these plot points themselves to complete this Easter egg and unlock an exploration achievement.
Thinking this, Datch gave the devs a big thumbs-up.
You have to hand it to them—the attention to detail is incredible, telling Warhammer's history to players in such a unique way. It really boosts immersion.
No wonder the game felt so real—every detail was so perfectly crafted.
Guilliman, Celestine, Greyfax, and other Imperial leaders were drawn by the broadcasted message and gathered around.
Archmagos Cawl extended a mechadendrite, interfacing with the device Datch had repaired.
He quickly decoded and organized the jumbled timestamps and encryption layers in the storage module, adjusted playback order, and replayed it,
Allowing that heavy, dust-laden history to unfold linearly,
So all could learn what had truly happened.
…
["The expansion works are going smoothly—we've established three more outposts."]
["The Synod's report is all normal. The Sages are truly amazing! Praise the Omnissiah—the Gates of Truth are open to us."]
["Praise the Emperor! We are winning the future! Once the webway is finished, humanity will break free of the Warp, and stride into a glorious new era!"]
"—"
["Damn it! Enemy attack! Enemy attack! The barrier is breached! I repeat, this is not a drill—this is a real attack!"]
["Diocletian is leading reinforcements. Hold your ground at all costs."]
["Magnus's folly is spreading! Warp incursions are multiplying exponentially! Identification—Emperor, help us! The signal of the World Eaters' armor, together with daemons!"]
["The City of Calastar is under total siege, the outer defense lines have collapsed. All units abandon fixed positions, fall back to the inner ring, and resist building by building!"]
["The City of Calastar… has fallen. All remaining units, abandon the webway, withdraw to the catacombs. I repeat, withdraw to the catacombs."]
["The Mechanicus forces under Hieromaster Hieronoma have unilaterally cut comms and deviated from the evacuation route. We are surrounded—likely we will not reach the catacombs. Brothers, for the Emperor, let us face our final battle."]
"—"
…
The device played all the webway war directives it had received, then shut down with a hum.
Even without a single image, the listeners could feel the harshness and despair of the webway war from those orders.
From the initial hope and confidence at the start of the webway project,
To Magnus's sabotage, the Warp incursion, the outbreak of war, and the helpless, spiraling loss of control,
To the bloody webway battles, Custodians worn down to death, Sisters of Silence torn apart by the Warp, even though they were supposed to be the ultimate daemon-killers.
Finally, the collapse of the defense lines, Imperial forces forced to retreat to the Palace, and betrayal by Mechanicus troops—assailed from all sides.
Everyone's faces showed sorrow.
They could truly feel the utter despair that followed the shattering of hope.
What should have been the salvation of human civilization instead became an endless abyss.
And the turning point of it all—was Magnus.
Cypher and the Fallen Angels looked grim.
As veterans of the Horus Heresy, they could deeply feel the emotion in those messages.
Only Sylandri remained calm as ever.
To the Aeldari, the webway war was just another disaster caused by humans blundering into their ancestors' legacy.
Her gaze lingered on the mysterious Datch, wanting to ask how he had restored the ruined device with a single blow.
Datch ignored the Aeldari's shock, listening to the comms for a while before being distracted by his minimap.
A golden question mark appeared, indicating a main quest.
"A main quest in the webway? Are there still Imperial forces here?"
Datch zoomed in on the map, sounding surprised.
The quest location was a bit far, but still within the webway.
….
Bonus chapter at 100 PS