Chapter 220 – Whoa, Second Blessing?

The Warp reflects all living minds. Every bit of faith emerges there like shining motes of starlight, merging into a cosmic sea.

Now these myriad starlights flowed into the little sun, crowning it with a faint corona. Buoyed by this surge of hope, the little sun swelled yet again.

Far off, the tidal energies of the Emperor's golden sun trembled slightly, radiating a hint of satisfaction. Eden noticed that under this fresh wave of hope, the little sun was further refining some aspects of its recent Warp-induced mutation—specifically its blessing power.

But it seemed to incorporate some non-human factor…

"Oh no, is my blessing getting corrupted?"

He tensed. As a godlike figure, Eden's power to bestow blessings was a core pillar of his rule—he couldn't afford any bizarre changes. After all, the little sun's prior mutation had been triggered by unknown Warp energies. Now it was affecting the blessing skill as well, which probably meant trouble.

He had visions of bestowing "blessings" that grew tentacles, horns, or pincers on recipients—a Chaos God fiasco. Even if they sprouted "angel wings," that could still be socially catastrophic in the rigid, quasi-medieval Imperium environment…unless they were Sanguinius.

Quickly scanning the new status of his blessing ability, Eden was momentarily terrified.

Bad news:

Yes, the blessing power had changed—now if he blessed non-humans, they would sprout strange, mutated body parts.

Good news:

He could now bless beings that weren't human at all! The weird changes only applied to those non-human creatures.

In short, humans still got a straightforward blessing. Only non-humans risked Chaos-like mutations. That was definitely something. In fact, it brought Eden's blessing closer to the Chaos Gods' version—"complete" in scope. Although that might be of limited immediate use, the capability was there.

Of course, there's a catch: blessing requires that the target's body and mind be "open" to acceptance.

As of now, the only creatures that unwaveringly recognized Eden's power in the lower depths of the hive were some free-range "chickens".

Still, who knows? Maybe eventually he'd create a legion of demon-winged superchickens. That might be useful on the home planet. Just…not good if the Inquisition found out.

The bigger perk was that the human blessing had actually been optimized. He now had the ability to bestow a "Second Blessing."

The first blessing cost the same as before—1 million hope-points. The difference lay in its safety: the first blessing was now almost risk-free, whereas earlier it had about a 20% failure rate.

Failing not only wasted energy but could kill the recipient in a messy explosion if their will faltered. This new version was drastically safer. The trade-off? About half the prior "boost" in direct power. But the subtle mind-shaping effect that nurtured loyalty stayed intact.

More importantly, the second blessing let him pump in more hope-power to significantly boost the subject's combat strength, granting a far higher growth ceiling.

This was the perfect fix for Eden's shortage of high-level warriors. It would mean less personal risk for him in the future. If multiple areas of his domain came under attack, the newly strengthened protectors could manage without him.

Eden almost couldn't wait to try out the new second blessing.

"For the Savior!"

Deafening cheers jolted him back to reality—he was still standing on the ceremony platform. Eden refocused and continued the speech, going through the formalities to declare Matila's reclamation. Now as official Sector Governor, he assured the people of a better life.

The crowd roared enthusiastically, fully supporting him. Tyrant Harris's cruelty had only magnified their longing for a true savior, making it easy for Eden to rule.

On a peaceful planet, ironically, it would have been harder to convert people. But in this tortured galaxy, such stable planets are rare—maybe Guilliman's Five Hundred Worlds at best.

Most places are in dire straits; telling folks "Work hard, and in the afterlife, you'll get a 9-to-9 shift in paradise" would have them zealously working themselves to death.

Glancing at the ceremony's final lines, Eden raised both hands, palms upward:

"Let our Matila shine forever!"

At that instant, he burned a portion of faith-energy, radiating golden brilliance. Floating into the air, he manifested a golden sun above his head, with an angelic silhouette of shining wings that gently enfolded him.

This spectacle took a lot of energy, but for such a historic moment, how could he not dazzle everyone? And since his rule was a fusion of state and church, revealing a "miracle" here was perfectly appropriate.

The crowd went berserk, cheering so loudly it shook the entire plaza—wave after wave, echoing out across the planet.

...

Temporary Command Center, Office

"Savior…"

Bayev walked in, looking sprightly. He gazed at Eden—who sat at his desk—and teared up slightly. He had watched Eden grow up.

After that cataclysm all those years ago, he'd assumed the Grant Family and himself were doomed. Who could have guessed the last surviving heir not only resurrected the family but extended its power across an entire sector?

Although Bayev now had even more responsibilities, he felt more energized, his motivation soaring as the Grant Family and its Savior flourished.

"Take a seat," Eden said, smiling warmly at his most faithful steward.

With the festival over, Eden had formally assumed rule of the planet—and soon, of the sector. Now came the question of how best to govern. Eden mused briefly, then told Bayev:

"I've decided to strip Matila of its status as sector capital. From now on, Urth will serve as capital of the Goli Sector, receiving the sector's resource supply. I'll leave the details of how to dismantle and reassign responsibilities to you and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Just bring me a proposal later."

Since he'd invested so much in Urth, he wasn't about to uproot himself and start over on Matila. Bayev wasn't surprised—he'd already guessed as much. "Understood."

Eden concluded the conversation and exited the command center, taking a dropship back to the Dreamweaver, which waited in low orbit.

With nearly a million administrative personnel in the Ministries, governance tasks no longer needed personal micromanagement.

Back aboard, Eden headed straight to the med-bay to check on Carter, Captain of his Thunder Guardians. Eden was eager to test his new Second Blessing on him…

(End of Chapter)

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