All According to Plan!

Machine God

The term echoed through the wills of all Necrons and carried into the Warp, where the beings within it heard it.

Within the Soul Forge,

Vash'tor's hands suddenly froze as he assembled Dragonwood Star's fingers, sparks of electricity surging through the fog of his thoughts.

A god.

A terrifying speculation instantly arose in Vash'tor's mind.

Was Zhou Yun trying to become a god, to compete with him for the Warp's sixth great throne—the Malefic Art Position?

But what reason did he have to do that?

Did he not understand that becoming a god was no good thing? Why would he place himself upon the altar of Vicious Artistry?

Vash'tor looked toward the floating screens before him, each one displaying a span of time within the realm of reality.

For an existence like Vash'tor, everything occurring at any point in reality happened simultaneously. The past, present, and future all lay before him at once.

He saw the past. The Zhou Yun of the past had always rejected being called a god, rejected the faith of countless beings, and repeatedly spoken bluntly of the dangers of godhood.

Zhou Yun knew what godhood would bring him. He understood its price.

And what good would becoming a god do for humanity? It would bring no benefit even to the entire galaxy, or the Warp itself.

The gods would be born one after another, unstoppable and irresistible.

The Dark King was destined to be the fifth to be born.

Once the sixth Divine Seat—the complete Machine God, master of the Domains of Vicious Artistry—began to emerge, the Dark King's rate of manifestation would at least double. The pressure on The Emperor would double as well, equivalent to The Emperor alone having to prevent the birth of two divine beings.

If The Emperor could