Dungeon monitoring room.
Hades sat in silence, the sound from the monitor coming from the headphones, and he slowly, slowly covered his eyes.
On the other side of the room were the Death Guard's undertakers and Astropaths. The undertakers were still able to stand at attention, while several old Astropaths huddled against the wall, seemingly screaming silently.
Had looked at Ugo hesitantly, and the Undertaker's lamplighter gave the new recruit a glare, telling him not to be overly curious.
But even though Hader was an apprentice undertaker, he could feel the flickering psychic atmosphere in the entire room.
The source of all this is -
Had glanced at Commander Hades in the center of the room. The commander's strong anti-psychic pollution was too conspicuous.
And the commander seems a little out of control
Had swallowed his saliva. Just now when the commander went to find them, Had could still realize that this adult's ability was not as unstable as it is now. So what happened
Hades was like a sculpture, covering his eyes, as if unwilling to accept reality.
Hades remained in that position until the faint crackling sound of the radio waves disappeared. After a long moment, he let out a long, silent sigh.
Had waited nervously. Something serious must have happened, otherwise the commander would not have acted so serious.
For the first time, Hades felt an embarrassment that even he could not handle.
He locked the two people together and put surveillance cameras on them just to find out what they were thinking in private.
But now, he regrets it.
[He needs believers], [His way is not alone], [That is His will]—
Countless words, the sword was unsheathed, accurately striking Hades' pitiful, weak and helpless heart.
They have even thought of the preliminary organizational structure. Who gives them the confidence
What the hell is this? ? ? Such a ridiculous statement!
A mouthful of old blood stuck in his throat, and complex and subtle emotions buzzed around Hades like flies.
To use an inappropriate analogy, it's like having someone else frame the booger they picked out and praise it.
He hasn't been this embarrassed yet.
No, Hades needed to calm down, he couldn't waste too much time on his emotions.
Hades took out his command board and glanced at the tasks on it.
Good, he calmed down.
Hades began to review the matter.
Based on the gravekeeper's report, the information found from Kirkland, and the confessions of the two, Hades could understand the matter of [being regarded as a god].
First is Sage Kirkland. As a sage from Mars, he naturally has a natural inclination towards religion.
In addition, Hades actually took two bites of the Void Dragon, so he could understand the Sage's fanaticism.
In fact, there had already been signs in Graeae before, but this only started after they witnessed the void dragon lightning released by Hades.
After all, in a sense, the Void Dragon is the god of all things, so it cannot be said that they are wrong.
The Empire is also very tolerant of the Mechanicus. As long as they don't cross the line, these guys can argue however they want about their beliefs.
After all, the structure of the Mechanicus itself is loose, and Mars does not have that much control over other Forge Worlds. Everyone acts under the identity of believers of the God of All Machines.
There was even a case where Mars wanted to contribute machinery to the forging world, but the forging world refused.
But the doctrines of each forging world can only be described as diverse.
Therefore, as long as you don’t cross the red line of scientific research, generally no one will care about these things.
Therefore, Hades only warned them not to go too far and not to say it directly, and at the same time placed the gravekeeper as a supervisor.
The prayers of the Graeae were not received by Hades himself—
Before meeting Margot, Hades didn't think he could receive or even respond to so-called "prayers."
Because the oil man had been praying there for a long time, but Hades didn't hear a single sound.
So apart from keeping an eye on the Mechanicus and preventing them from being defeated by the Empire, Hades doesn't care that much about the matter itself.
But now it's different, Hades realizes that prayers can really be received.
The nature of the whole thing changed immediately.
It involves the subspace, so Hades cannot be careless about it.
Now, the first thing Hades wants to confirm is what these [prayer] are. Why did he not receive the [prayer] from the Graeae Mechanicus, but received the [prayer] from Margo
Secondly, Hades needs to impose restraints on these two fanatics, although the matter can be ended with two gunshots.
But Hades knew that it was better to guide than to block, and even without Kirkland and Margot, as long as Hades' black domain was still there and the characteristic of [Response] was still there, such things would happen sooner or later.
If Hades doesn't care about this, these rumors circulating in private will sooner or later explode. He still has the energy to take care of it now, but what if there is a big rebellion
Rather than letting it grow wildly, it is better to gather it together, regulate it and curb it, and then make plans when the time is right.
After all, the initial understanding of [prayer] is that it can remove debuffs. Although Hades himself is quite disgusted, if there is really such a beneficial and harmless behavior
Alas, even if you pray for the other party, you won’t lose any flesh.
Finally, Hades needs to be clear about the boundaries and consequences of his current actions. After all, the current version of the Son is still the Imperial Truth.
The original intention of the Imperial Truth was to protect ignorant humans from the pollution of the Warp, while also playing a certain role in curbing the source of power in the Warp.
The Emperor banned religion because if too many people prayed to it, they would really create a god in the warp.
Or it could be the forced deification of an already existing thing.
When more people believe it, it will become true.
If a believer thinks that God is a tyrant, then even if he is not a tyrant at first, under the power of faith, he will eventually move towards that direction.
Hades is also afraid of this, but according to his own subspace projection, the power of believers is unlikely to shape him and can only be swallowed by Hades.
At most, he had to worry about not letting the power of faith become too much, otherwise he would grow too fast and be trapped without restraints.
There is no need to worry about this in the short term. There are only two of them. If we count the hellhounds conservatively, there may be a hundred or eighty of them. That's still not as much as the spiritual energy Hades consumes from Lord Randan.
Therefore, the influence of faith itself on the subspace is relatively small, and we only need to consider the attitude of the Empire.
Of course, Hades was referring to what would happen if he was discovered.
Hades knew that as long as he didn't do anything too miraculous, both the Empire and the Emperor would turn a blind eye to such behavior.
From the Mechanicus of Mars, to the God-Emperor of Lorgar, the Baal faith of the angel Sanguinius, and the All-Father of the Wolf King Russ.
Only the Word Bearers jumped too fast and were hammered.
The empire does not care about other religious beliefs as long as they are within a reasonable range.
Hades thought about it and realized that he was playing house to such an extent and scale.
Uh, I guess no one would like it.
Hades slowly figured out a solution during brainstorming.
He sighed and stood up, naturally ignoring the group of Astropaths who looked like they were about to collapse.
"Press those two over here."
Hades once again blocked out the strange words that popped up in his mind, [His path is not alone], [That is Him].
In the interrogation room, Hades sat silently in the main seat. The dividing line between light and darkness was so clear that the commander was in complete darkness, with only the dazzling red light of his left eye.
Margo and Kirkland sat meekly in the interrogation chairs, waiting for Hades to speak.
Cold, emotionless words rang out.
".I want to make it clear for the last time that I am not God, no matter what you think."
"but-"
"If you swear to be completely loyal to me, to keep nothing from me, and to carry out the orders I give you without misinterpretation."
"Then I can let you keep your opinions and assign you some specific tasks."
Hades looked at the two men expressionlessly as they stared at each other, both of them unable to hide their excitement.
"Lord Hades, I will do as you wish."
Margot swallowed and recited her vows solemnly, though her words felt a little empty without any actions to embellish them.
She subconsciously felt that this place was too simple, everything was too simple, but her reason told her that it should be this way, and Pluto was not a person who liked heavy luxury.
Kirkland repeated it, completely mechanically, without any emotion.
Pluto in the darkness was motionless,
"I hope you can fulfill your oath. If you betray, the Scythe's judgment will never be absent."
"It is our honor to have never been absent from the punishment, sir."
After listening to the believers' words, the gods did not express any opinions.
"Okay, now, I need you to pray."
!
These words surprised Margot and Kirkland, who thought they had accepted everything.
Hades handed over a piece of paper, which seemed to be a piece of parchment torn from the foundry, and was stained with engine oil.
The two of them looked over and spoke a few words, all of which were prayers.
[For Pluto.]
[For Ohm Messiah.]
[For the Death Guard.]
[For death.]
[In the name of Hades, the king of death.]
[In the name of Pluto Om Messiah.]
[.]
Margot blinked in surprise.
"My Lord, what is this?"
Hades looked at her.
"At least for me, religion doesn't need to be shrouded in mystery."
"How about it?"
Hades looked at Ugo. The Lantern Bearer had his eyes closed, feeling the fluctuations of the warp. Sparks of psychic energy were jumping around him. Hades stood by, assisting in this psychic dive.
"Commander, please wait a moment."
Hades acquiesced to the lamplighter's request. He turned around and looked through the single glass window at the two people who were praying in the room.
A quiet prayer came from the headphones, and no one except Hades could hear the sounds in the interrogation room.
In fact, it is not necessary to use a psychic. Hades himself can feel that the prayers are directed at him.
As for why there was only the Lantern Bearer, it was because the Astropaths were so scared that they begged Hades to let them go back.
These people, who were tortured to death by their own jobs, could no longer accept the painful task of standing beside Hades.
Am I really that scary
Hades thought helplessly.
"My Lord, our senses are completely immersed in the subspace. Your projection is too..."
The Astropath fell silent, cowering with his head down.
What could Hades do? Knowing that his subspace projection was so shabby, he could only let them go.
According to Ugo's explanation, Hades' own warp projection was indeed a blurry, deep black, with a hazy golden light surrounding him.
"Isn't that less scary?" Hades asked.
"But it's more than that,"
"Vision is only the most superficial metaphor. Psykers immersed in the warp possess senses that are far richer and more acute than the five senses."
And on these senses, Hades has projections that no psychic would like to look directly at.
Hades could sense that Ugo was also trying hard to suppress his disgust, because Ugo and Hades were originally viewing the scene together, but Hades directly... Well, he swallowed it back.
Hades pretended he saw nothing.
As if sensing something, Hades turned around and continued to wait for Ugo.
Ugo opened his eyes. The sudden change from the subspace to the physical world made him feel a little uncomfortable, and Hades was obviously waiting patiently for the lamplighter to adapt to here again.
"How about it?"
Ugo's eyes flashed in his sunken eye sockets. He was afraid of Hades, but he cleverly controlled his fear.
Hades knew he was choosing the right words.
"Lord Hades, there were indeed faint sparks of Mars approaching you, on the first, fifth, and sixth occasions."
Hades nodded and asked him to see which
[For Pluto.]
[In the name of Hades, the king of death.]
[In the name of Pluto Om Messiah.]
They all contain prayers to Pluto, or Hades.
Hades blinked, it was almost in line with his speculation.
Because he himself does not possess the so-called [authority], other than his own [Hades], no other words or emotions can reach him.
In other words, it must be named and it must be [Pluto], otherwise it will not work.
When people are thinking, if he thinks about killing and blood, it is Khorne who will get the power, or he feels angry. In short, it is not necessary to name names.
And most of the time, the power of faith obtained by the Four Gods of the Warp is not named, and only a vague emotion and concept is needed.
Like the God-Emperor in the original work, as long as the believers meet conditions such as "humanity" and "for humanity" in their minds, they can provide the God-Emperor with the power of faith.
From this point of view, Hades is different from these subspace entities.
The previous prayers of the Mechanicus failed, most likely because they did not shout "Pluto" (of course, Hades would never let them shout that), but instead shouted "Om Messiah", so naturally Hades could not sense it.
Hades thought, now he knew he had to name names.
According to the experiment, if other concepts and emotions are added while naming the person, it seems that they are also directed towards him.
"Ugo, can you describe it more precisely? Are there any differences in the performance of these sparks?"
Hugo recalled for a moment and then spoke:
"The first psychic fire was thrown directly into your black domain, but the fifth and sixth ones were a little slower, and it was more like you swallowed them."
Hades thought, that is to say, the power of faith with other concepts. Maybe it would resist coming to him because of the concepts it carries
Doesn’t this depend on the devotion of the believers’ faith and the extent of their understanding of this concept
Of course, Hades doesn't need this for the time being. It is enough to know that you must pray to his name.
Hades spoke again.
"Ugo, can you cast some psychic control spells on those two people?"
The lamplighter looked at Hades in surprise.
"Lord Hades, what do you want?"
Hades smiled.
"It's just an experiment."
I'll update once today. I won't update tomorrow, for the same old reason: I have exams to send in. I also want to write a lot to speed up the pace, but I just can't type it out!!! Uh ah ah, uh ah ah ah ah ah!!! Uh ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!
(End of this chapter)