Reality Ascension

As Rowan finished speaking, everyone reacted differently.

Lucia believed him almost immediately, unable to suppress the delight on her face.

As if she had expected this, Sibyl showed no particular reaction.

As for Leonardo, when he heard this seemingly unbelievable news, his first reaction was disbelief.

If the Warp's horrors could really be dealt with so easily—and eradicated root and branch—why would they still plague the Imperium of Man so terribly?

But soon, Leonardo seemed to recall something. The doubt on his face gradually faded, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

The Warp Demon that had possessed the Chaos Space Marine earlier had reacted violently when faced with the prospect of dying to Plasma.

And just moments ago, that Slaaneshi Daemon Prince had even tried to kill himself rather than die at Rowan's hands.

In that case... perhaps there was evidence to support the claim after all.

"You have the ability to completely destroy Demons?"

Leonardo spoke with difficulty, coughing several times as he did.

Although Slaanesh's poison still ravaged his body, and was almost unbearable even for an Inquisitor's will, he still managed to force out the question.

"Of course. I think that's obvious."

Rowan glanced at Leonardo and Lucia, then gave a slight thought.

The next moment, their wounds and the corrosive curse-poison on their bodies vanished, as if time had reversed.

Freed from the burden of their injuries and exhaustion, Leonardo's superhuman mind sprang into action. The many details he had previously overlooked gathered once more and resurfaced in his thoughts.

"Lord Rowan, judging from the battle earlier, would it be fair to say..."

He chose his words carefully, speaking slowly and cautiously. "Do you need to obtain souls by killing in order to increase your power?"

"That's right."

After what he had just demonstrated, it was impossible to keep this secret. Rowan had been prepared for that, and admitted it frankly.

Since advancing to Tier 3 Reality Warper, he had felt much more confident.

At Rowan's answer, the other three exchanged glances, a strange feeling welling up in all their hearts.

He needed a vast number of souls... Wasn't that just like the Chaos Gods?

The moment the thought occurred to them, the three, all highly experienced in fighting Chaos, immediately imagined all sorts of alarming possibilities—blasphemous things like "Blood for the Blood God, skulls for the Skull Throne."

But those thoughts did not linger for long before they quickly drove them away.

"The Divine Emperor/Emperor/our Lord has His reasons. There must be a deeper meaning behind it. We need only obey."

After a while, Sibyl spoke up this time, asking an important question:

"Have you reached the limit of your growth?"

Rowan shook his head. "No. I've only just met the requirements for an advancement once, but the next stage will be much more demanding than the last."

"How many souls do you need?"

"...About a billion."

Rowan focused his senses for a moment, then answered seriously. "The equivalent of ten billion human souls."

He noticed the subtle, strange expressions on their faces and immediately clarified, "That's right, I mean the equivalent of ten billion ordinary human souls. There are no other special requirements. And they don't have to be human; the souls of other Xenos or Demons will do just as well."

"T-That's such a simple requirement?"

Even Sibyl, who called herself a Puritan Inquisitor, was greatly tempted by the prospect. She pressed him: "Are you saying that if we offer ten billion souls, you, whose combat power is already close to that of a Primarch, can become even stronger?"

It was like having a red button sitting right in front of them.

Press it, and ten billion Imperial citizens disappeared; in return, they got a loyalist Primarch back.

Any Imperial, whether an Astartes, Battle Sister, or Inquisitor, would undoubtedly think, I'll smash that button right now.

Anyone who wouldn't press it could hardly call themselves an Imperial.

"No, don't get ahead of yourselves."

Rowan shook his head, dousing their excitement with a bucket of cold water. "To complete the next stage of my advancement, I need more than just souls. There's another very troublesome condition, and it's giving me a bit of a headache."

"What condition?"

Everyone tensed.

"Ten billion souls really isn't that hard to get."

Rowan explained, "Completely ending that Slaaneshi Daemon Prince just now gave me the equivalent of a hundred million human souls all at once. If I go support a few larger battlefields, gathering the rest shouldn't be too difficult."

"But the other requirement isn't so simple."

He changed tack. "For my next advancement, I also need to obtain something called a 'power.'"

Sibyl and the others exchanged glances, clearly not understanding what he meant.

What was a power?

"Never mind. I'll figure this out myself. You don't need to worry about it."

Rowan sighed.

If the process of raising his Reality Warping Ability from Tier 1 to Tier 3 could be considered a kind of [Completion], then the path ahead could be called [Reality Ascension].

In Foundation terminology, [Ascension] meant the transition from the mortal realm to divinity. If Rowan wanted to reach the level of a Tier 4 Reality Warper, equal to a living god, he had to obtain a [power]—an ability associated with the divine. (Note)

Of course, in the Warhammer world, a place rich in heroes and wonders, Rowan could draw on his knowledge and experience to figure out two possible avenues:

The first was the Warp; the second, the material world.

Warp Minor Gods, including the Warp essence of the Primarchs, or gods of the material world—C'tan Shards—all fell within the realm of possibility. If he could obtain even one of them, the path to advancement would be wide open.

As Rowan saw it, if he were really in a hurry to advance, the simplest and most brutal option would be to head straight to Macragge in the Ultima Segmentum, visit its famous tourist attraction, and stab to death the blue man who had been sleeping quietly in a stasis field for ten thousand years: Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Thirteenth Legion.

Of course, that was the worst option of all. Rowan would almost certainly never choose it.

After thinking it over briefly, he soon recalled a war that would take place in the future, between the Imperium of Man and the Necrons.

925.M41, the World Engine War.

A C'tan Shard, the World Sculptor, "Yggra'nya."