Information Exchange

Ah, this...

Rowan stared at Inquisitor Sibyl, whose attitude was now extremely deferential, as a galaxy seemed to bloom in his mind, leaving him lost in a daze.

Wait, wasn't it that, in his impression, all Inquisitors were a bunch of lunatics?

How had she flipped her stance so quickly?

Wasn't she going to keep doubting him?

He had thought that, as an Inquisitor, after waking up to see the scene before her and all the previous anomalies, Sibyl would likely regard the mysterious Rowan as a potential heretic, inevitably leading to a classic Imperial tradition—internal conflict.

Don't think Inquisitors wouldn't do something like that; the famous Living Saint Celestine had suffered at the hands of these madmen more than once.

For that reason, Rowan had even prepared a contingency plan.

A Reality Warper's conversion ability creates an extremely strong and distinct hierarchical relationship between the converter and the converted.

After all, the converted's Reality Strength is merely a part of the Reality Warper's, a complete derivative of their power.

Just like earlier, when the cultists and heretics killed by the Living Saint Lucia were directly attributed to Rowan by the anomaly on him, their souls still couldn't escape Rowan's devouring.

If a Reality Warper wanted to act against a converted Reality Warper, their warping ability could ignore spatial barriers and affect the target with extreme efficiency.

This was also the confidence Rowan had in converting the Inquisitor without hesitation.

But now...

How come, before I even made a move, you just surrendered?

That's not how the script goes.jpg

At the same time, realizing the contrast between Sibyl's actions and her identity, Leonardo, whose attitude toward Rowan had completely changed since witnessing the Emperor's Manifestation, spoke up:

"Explain yourself, Inquisitor. Why do you call Lord Rowan 'the hope of humanity and the Imperium'? And where did you learn this?"

"As I said, before I arrived on this cruiser, I had already received a portent from the Emperor."

Sibyl immediately explained, "He told me that new hope would appear on this vessel, capable of changing this rotten state of affairs. And after seeing you and your deeds, I have fully understood."

"Because your appearance is a miracle that cannot be replicated."

"A miracle that cannot be replicated?"

Hearing this, Rowan was a bit puzzled.

He knew, of course, that he was unique, a visitor from an alien universe, but how could Sibyl tell?

"Because you have no Warp presence."

Sibyl explained patiently, "I can sense the existence of your soul, but it has no connection to the Warp whatsoever. If one were to perceive it through the Warp, they wouldn't even detect it."

Hearing this from a certified Inquisition psyker master, even the Custodes Leonardo and the Living Saint Lucia showed expressions of confusion, both turning to look at Rowan, clearly not expecting such a person to exist in this universe.

The Warp and the material universe are completely inseparable, tightly bound. Even a Blank, who can suppress psychic powers, still has a Warp presence like a black hole. A person without a Warp presence—wouldn't that be no different from a walking corpse?

How could they still function normally?

As for Rowan himself, he wasn't surprised by this.

In this universe, all souls are directly connected to the Warp, forming projections within it.

But this rule simply didn't apply to Rowan, who wasn't born in this universe at all.

This had both advantages and disadvantages.

The downside was that Rowan couldn't directly sense the tides of the Warp like a psyker, nor could he harness the Warp's power into boundless might.

As for the upside...

Rowan estimated that his resistance to Chaos Corruption would probably be absurdly high.

"Just now, when I fell into psychic frenzy, I vaguely saw the Emperor's portent again."

Sibyl continued, "I believe you are the one I have been searching for, the one who can bring renewal to this decaying Imperium."

Hearing something off in her words, Rowan paused slightly: "Are you an Inquisitor of the Horus Heresy faction?"

The Horus Heresy faction was a branch within the Inquisition. They believed that the Chaos power displayed by the traitor Warmaster, the Arch-Heretic Horus, could be used to create a holy avatar of the Emperor, leading humanity to greatness once more.

Just hearing that, it was clearly a group of utter madmen.

"No, you cannot insult my honor like that!"

Sibyl frowned deeply, immediately making a face as if she had eaten a fly, "I am a Puritan Inquisitor. Do not lump me together with those heretics."

"If I had to name a faction... I personally find the Anomarian Observer faction somewhat acceptable. Of course, only somewhat acceptable."

She emphasized heavily.

Alright then...

Rowan looked around.

He had realized that this was likely the arrangement and protection the Emperor had prepared for him, a Reality Warper whose physical body was as fragile as any mortal's.

A Living Saint, a Black Robe Custodes and former Blade Champion (Rowan had just learned that), plus an Alpha-level Psyker... this team was undeniably powerful in the current galaxy, more than enough to keep Rowan safe.

After all, this was still before the Great Rift had opened, before the era when, with a single "The age of the Primarchs is over!" from Lord Perturabo, every race (even the Tau!) had unanimously pulled out their own Primarch-level combatants, backed by armies of a scale previously unimaginable, all duking it out and brawling with each other.

The profound anticipation and eagerness to clock out early practically radiated off a certain Big Gold One.

Rowan took a deep breath.

The burning gazes of the three people around him put him under slight pressure.

They were all waiting for Rowan's declaration, placing extreme trust and hope in him, even though the Rowan before them, aside from a few peculiarities, appeared no different from an ordinary mortal.

Ten thousand years of faith in and blind obedience to the Emperor allowed them to fully trust the Emperor's directive, though naturally, a sliver of doubt lingered in their minds.

Even if this man was indeed somewhat extraordinary, he still seemed far too insignificant compared to the Imperium of Man—a behemoth whose territory spanned nearly the entire galaxy, whose sheer scale could simultaneously drive both those who wished to save it and those who wished to destroy it to despair.

"My name is Rowan. I am a Reality Warper, and also the Contractor of the Emperor, who brought me here. From now on, we will act together according to the Emperor's will and embark on a glorious journey."

Rowan spoke solemnly to the three before him. "If you have any questions about the current situation or about me personally, I am happy to answer them. Proper communication will also benefit our actions going forward."