Chapter 393: The Savior — Do We Have a Spy Among Us?

Eden followed the sound and saw a rather seductive figure.

It was the Governor of Galium, the Black Mechanica Empress, Karashia. Her upper half was that of a graceful goddess with fair skin, while her lower half was a massive scorpion body of black iron and brass.

The Black Mechanica Empress clasped her hands gently at her abdomen and gave a noble, slight curtsy.

Judging by the reactions of the surrounding high-ranking Dark Mechanicum adepts, she was clearly a respected ruler.

Her gaze lingered lightly on the Devourer, carrying an ambiguous undertone.

"Honored guest," she said softly, "please, come with me. We have all been awaiting your arrival..."

Eden gave a small nod and walked with her toward the mechanical palace.

His tall, dark figure strode forward, while the Empress kept pace beside him, her enormous scorpion lower body even trotting lightly to maintain an elegant demeanor.

"Why did you invite me here?" Eden asked curiously, his voice hoarse and fearsome from beneath his twisted helm. "Aren't you wary of me, the enemy of Chaos?"

The Black Mechanica Empress shook her head. "Galium is an autonomous colony of the Adeptus Mechanicus—a neutral zone. We do not make enemies, nor do we wish to be embroiled in war.

"To be frank, we loathe war. But ironically, it is also the key to maintaining peace here.

"The warbands battle endlessly in the Eye of Terror, but it is precisely because of our irreplaceable role that we've survived and even thrived…"

She went on to share her views on the war.

In her eyes, the infighting among the Traitor Legions and their attacks on the Imperium would only lead to self-destruction.

The Horus Heresy was long over. No matter how much they fought among themselves or struck at the Imperium, the Imperium still stood strong.

The galaxy no longer belonged to the traitor warbands—or to the Imperium. Continuing the bloodshed would only bring mutual annihilation.

"The traitor legions are still clinging to their defeat from ten millennia ago," she said. "It's a foolish and unwise obsession."

Her meaning was clear: the traitors had lost, and they ought to just settle in the Eye of Terror and live out their existence.

Eden made no comment.

He, too, desired peace—but such a thing was impossible.

With tens or hundreds of thousands of Space Marines retreating into the Eye of Terror, endless war was inevitable.

It wasn't merely the influence of Chaos—it was in their nature. Space Marines were born for war. Combat was their purpose.

What else could these warriors do? Lay down their weapons and take up farming?

The war between the traitor legions and the Imperium would only end with the total destruction of one side.

And even then, it would only mark the end of that war.

Even if humanity triumphed over Chaos and xenos, it would not stop expanding. It would reach beyond the galaxy—and there, more enemies and wars awaited.

Beyond the galaxy, the Tyranids loomed, ever watchful.

Some powerful psykers had briefly glimpsed the horrors outside the Milky Way: eternal wars, stars consumed by Tyranids, and more alien species locked in endless conflict.

If those creatures discovered the Milky Way, they would never spare it.

The universe was a dark forest. Every civilization was either predator or prey.

No one could be sure whether a weak race today wouldn't become a titanic empire in ten millennia and turn their weapons back on humanity.

This was true for mankind—and for the T'au Empire as well.

During the Great Crusade, the T'au were nothing but fire-wielding blue-skinned apes. Now they were a growing empire that threatened Imperial regions.

And further back in time, when the ancient Aeldari empire flourished, humanity was little more than primitive monkeys.

Had the Aeldari foreseen the rise of mankind, would they have snuffed it out before it began?

Only by eliminating all potential threats could true peace be assured.

At least, that was how many Imperium rulers viewed xenos.

Eden didn't fully agree.

Logically, any life form in the galaxy could rise to power. Were they supposed to exterminate all of them?

And every civilization eventually declined.

Even if one conquered every external threat, there was always the risk of civil war or of comfort breeding new threats and eventual collapse.

Just look at mankind in its Golden Age—or the ancient Aeldari empire.

Eden couldn't worry about such distant matters. His focus was on the here and now.

After a few more words, the Black Mechanica Empress shifted the topic.

"In any case, all we want is the right to freely pursue knowledge…"

"Free pursuit of knowledge?" Eden frowned slightly. "That's no easy feat. It often comes hand-in-hand with suffering and torment."

Even in the Savior's own territory, the pursuit of knowledge was fraught with danger—especially in the Eye of Terror.

Misjudgment, corruption, madness, and death were far more prevalent here.

The Empress looked at him sincerely.

"That's why we invited you.

"You are a visionary without prejudice. Your renown echoes across the stars. I believe you'll help us—give us a safer platform for research, and grant us the Omnissiah's blessing…"

Eden immediately understood.

These people were coveting the Mechanicum Forum and the Machine God's technological and data support.

The Mechanicum Forum had become the largest—and only—knowledge-sharing platform among the Mechanicus.

It provided access to cutting-edge ideas and protected its users with offerings of Cogcoins for the Machine God's blessing.

The divine processing power available there filtered out countless corrupt and false data streams.

Without access to the Mechanicum Forum, these Dark Mechanicum adepts were essentially cut off from scientific progress. Even working on the same projects, their progress lagged far behind.

And the taint of Chaos often brought false information, leading them astray.

It meant wasted time, resources—and sometimes, catastrophe.

No Mechanicum adept could truly resist the lure of the Forum.

Just then, a blood-curdling scream rang out from a nearby research building.

"No!

"By the Machine God, I only logged in to check a post! I didn't spread any forbidden knowledge, I swear—please spare this lowly servant!"

The desperate voice sobbed. "I still had dozens of Cogcoins left for compute access! My precious Cogcoins!"

…???

Eden was baffled.

This couldn't be right.

The Forum's services weren't supposed to be accessible here. How had they logged in?

"Machine God… are we already banning accounts again?"

Around him, the other high-ranking Dark Mechanicum adepts looked on with a hint of fear and sympathy.

Despite their wicked appearance and terrifying implants, they quickly pulled out their data-slates to check.

When they saw their accounts were safe, they breathed a sigh of relief.

But then they noticed Eden's gaze—and immediately hid their slates like guilty schoolchildren.

They stood as stiff as quails.

After all, the man before them was the true master of the Mechanicum Forum—and they were unauthorized users.

Caught red-handed, what if he banned their accounts out of spite?

"…Perhaps I need some clarification," Eden said, turning to the now-nervous Empress.

"As you wish," she said, doing her best to sound composed, though her previous grace had faded and she was clearly rattled.

She began explaining.

Since the rise of the Mechanicum Forum, the Dark Mechanicum had become increasingly restless.

They envied the Imperial Mechanicus—bitterly so—and longed for what the Forum offered.

Many of them had betrayed the Imperium and left the Cult Mechanicus behind to flee to the galactic fringes or the Eye of Terror, all in the name of academic freedom.

But in exchange, they had paid a terrible price.

They were corrupted by Chaos, forced to toil for dark gods and warlords, crafting weapons and daemon engines in return for the resources to continue their research.

Meanwhile, the loyal Mechanicus adepts needed to do none of this.

They enjoyed true freedom of research, access to vast knowledge, and safe working environments.

It was unbearable.

The Forum's massive knowledge base and divine processing power called to them constantly.

They were willing to do anything to gain access.

And it might just be possible.

As the Forum expanded, methods for manufacturing compatible data-slates and accessing the network had begun to leak…

Some Dark Mechanicum adepts had managed to temporarily log into the forum using backdoor data techniques.

What they saw shocked them.

They discovered that some of the research projects on the forum were even more heretical and taboo than their own tech-heresies.

It completely broke their mental defenses.

They realized how ridiculous their defection had been. They had become the clowns of the galaxy.

This led to a surge in underground logins using unregistered accounts, giving rise to a massive gray market.

Many adepts began selling custom-modified data-slates and Cogcoins, though their accounts couldn't post and were easily banned.

But the adepts on Galium were different.

They had the backing of a certain data master and acquired a batch of special accounts. As long as they didn't post forbidden topics, they were free to speak.

They could even upload knowledge and earn Cogcoins.

This transformed Galium's adepts into heavy users of the psynet, and they gradually began worshiping the Machine God.

They hoped to gain more influence on the forum.

Eden frowned.

"Hmm… only a few tech-scholars in the galaxy should be able to bypass the Machine God's surveillance…"

The forum's rapid expansion had made oversight more difficult, but that didn't mean just anyone could sneak past its safeguards.

As far as Eden knew, only a handful of individuals had that kind of skill.

Could it be that cloning lunatic Fabius Bile?

He'd definitely be interested in the forum—such innovation and rebellion would be right up his alley.

Eden turned his gaze toward the Iron Warriors in the distance and thought of another candidate.

The father of the Iron Warriors—Primarch Perturabo, the Iron Lord.

That one loved nothing more than locking himself in a dark room to tinker with machines and chase his dream of a perfectly constructed civilization.

Perturabo's technical prowess had once left the Mechanicus in awe.

His understanding of binary code was incredible. He could not only comprehend and calculate in binary but also write entirely new Titan software from scratch.

He was a top-tier engineer and data scholar with maxed-out skill trees.

After the Heresy, Perturabo had vanished into the Eye of Terror.

Now free from serving the Emperor, he could pursue his technological ambitions unhindered.

A Primarch with a long lifespan and a brilliant mind—after ten thousand years, who could guess how far his tech had advanced?

Eden felt a chill of unease.

Perhaps Fabius and Perturabo were among the posters on his forum—using throwaway accounts to casually reply to his posts.

Worse still, the forum was a public platform. Completely banning such users was nearly impossible.

The only option was to tighten supervision.

He'd need to have Webby enhance the forum's surveillance systems—to at least detect them if they appeared again.

Still, maybe it wasn't them.

His expression darkened.

Because there was one more possibility: that the spy was someone within the forum's own management.

The Devourer—the guardian of the Machine God—stood grim-faced, causing the surrounding high-ranking Dark Mechanicum adepts to grow anxious.

"What's wrong?" the Black Mechanica Empress asked, stepping closer instinctively, trying to win Eden's favor.

She didn't know why… but she was drawn to him. Ever since learning of his exploits, she had been fascinated.

This region of the Eye of Terror was filled with tales and images of him.

Eden didn't notice any of this. He was focused on the possibility of a mole.

Suddenly, a familiar voice boomed through the atmosphere:

"Rejoice, loyal fans of Galium! The dark product you've all been waiting for has been updated!"

A massive figure in black robes floated in the sky, mechanical limbs spraying dark, glossy fluids into the air. The scent of fuel hung faintly.

He continued, "This latest product was brewed in the deepest vortex of the Eye of Terror—its flavor explosive and guaranteed to ignite your creativity!"

At his arrival, countless adepts surged toward him as if attending a sermon.

The Empress added at the perfect moment:

"Our neutral zone welcomes all traders. That figure is one of the revered High Sages of the Dark Mechanicum. His products are extremely popular…"

She clearly knew who it was but didn't name him outright.

Eden glared at the figure, grinding his teeth.

"Great. Found our mole!"

For years, Kaul had claimed to be testing weapons in remote sectors. But apparently, he'd been hawking his fuel-drinks here in the Eye of Terror instead.

This was exactly the sort of shady business that oily mech-scholar would pull.

He raised his hand, unleashing a wave of psychic force toward the figure in the air.

At that moment—

Kaul was enthusiastically introducing his authentic formula of fuel-drink, brimming with pride.

Competition between the original and the "refined" versions of the drink had gotten fierce.

But Kaul —the great genius—had the edge, having already cornered the Dark Mechanicum market.

As the High Sage and supplier of the authentic formula, he had won over many loyal followers.

Once he fully controlled this massive underground market…

How would Mos and his bootleg formula even compete?

While announcing his new product, his mech-brain was already planning his route to the next dark Forge World.

But then, he felt a familiar psychic force.

Turning his head, he locked eyes with Eden.

Panic instantly overtook him.

"Th-the Savior!?"

Too late.

The force seized him and slammed him into the ground like a withered eggplant.

"I-I was just passing through! Just selling a few fuel drinks…" he muttered as Eden dragged him with psychic might.

Eden was so mad he laughed.

He didn't even care about the drinks. Instead, he barked, "So you're the mole. Fess up—those unauthorized accounts on the forum, are they from you?"

"What? No way!"

Kaul looked utterly wronged and rushed to explain.

"I'm just here peddling beverages! Actually, I've been investigating those accounts myself! They're incredibly well hidden!"

Eden froze.

If it wasn't Kaul… then things were far worse.

It might really be Fabius or Perturabo.

This problem needed to be contained—fast.

He let it go for now. Kaul's ties to the Dark Mechanicum weren't necessarily a bad thing.

In fact, they could prove useful for some upcoming plans.

A happy accident.

Afterward, Eden and Kaul attended the Black Mechanica Empress' banquet and reached a satisfactory agreement for all sides.

He allowed Galium's adepts to connect to the Mechanicum Forum.

They would build their own isolated sub-community with minimal contact with the Imperial Mechanicus.

Even when they visited public posting zones, their accounts would be marked as "Dark Mechanicum."

They would also be subject to heightened surveillance and strictly forbidden from sharing forbidden technologies—unless approved by the platform.

Eden had considered this carefully.

Since policing blacklisted users was proving difficult, it made sense to loosen restrictions on the Dark Mechanicum slightly.

With real-name registration, it would be easier to monitor them.

These adepts claimed neutrality and independent research, but the moment they got hooked on the forum, they'd start relying on it—and slowly shift their faith.

More toward the Machine God.

He even noticed some of them already wearing its sigil. Seemed like even corrupted adepts weren't that different.

And that influence might just pull some of them back from Chaos.

More importantly, the Savior's domain needed more knowledge about Chaos and the Warp.

Once these adepts connected, their research data would become his—free labor to deepen his understanding of the Eye and its dangers.

This was just the beginning. How to integrate them, manage risks, and design safeguards would all be tasks for specialized departments.

But one thing was certain—the forum was about to get a lot more lively.

Especially the public posting zones where casual discussions happened.

Aside from that—

Eden had a private meeting with the Black Mechanica Empress, agreeing to several points of cooperation.

He also discovered that she was far more passionate than expected… and still retained a fully human body.

Time passed quickly.

And as he left Galium, the Empress watched him go, reluctant and full of longing.

He returned to join the marching coalition fleet…

——

Dreamweaver, Savior's Sanctum.

Eden tossed a document to the Dark Mechanicum High Sage, Kaul.

"This is your assignment. Keep it confidential…"

He wasn't letting Kaul slip away.

The oily genius would accompany him to storm Abaddon's lair and help form a new Chaos faction—building outposts and recruiting Dark Mechanicum adepts as tech staff.

This would give the new faction a major edge.

On the way—

Eden ordered the coalition fleet to speed up. He issued a raiding decree: Chaos-controlled planets along the way were to prepare tribute in advance or face annihilation.

Most refused such an insulting demand and chose to resist.

But some complied, offering their spoils in exchange for mercy.

This greatly accelerated the advance.

Months later—

The fleet arrived at its target: Savagar.

Amidst the stardust-covered terrain, Eden saw massive shipyards and fortress hulks in the distance—countless Arks of Omen hulls looming in construction.

The fleet launched its assault immediately.

But Eden didn't yet know…

A Chaos armada had already set sail—to hunt him.

(End of Chapter)

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