Cisrain: This Isn't Me Showing Off—It's Chasing Me

Two Salamander Shield Guards pushed a Drop Pod weighing dozens of tons while a Salamander Techmarine recited prayers praising The Emperor and Omnissiah, awakening the machine spirit that might not even exist.

"Praise Omnissiah, praise the Machine God!"

He branded Purity Seals onto the equipment.

The soldiers nearby tried to lift one of the shields used by the Salamanders, only to discover that it was heavier than their loyalty to Gamma World.

"Anyone who can fight with that is practically superhuman."

As the soldier marveled, he caught sight of a shadow falling over him.

He raised his head and looked into the sky.

The star directly overhead was slowly being obscured by Gamma World's moon.

The world's light was fading.

Gamma World was sinking into gray silence.

Yalta, surrounded by children, and the Salamanders stopped what they were doing and instinctively looked toward the obscured star. The noisy children and passersby also fell silent, stopped walking, and looked up at the sky.

The shadow was swallowing the earth.

The star directly overhead was disappearing.

The sky began to darken, like some ominous omen.

Citizens by the roadside also raised their heads to watch the "vanishing star" in the sky.

Its blinding radiance could now be looked at directly because of the darkness.

A solar eclipse.

On the former Gamma World, it had merely been a rare but normal astronomical phenomenon.

But for Gamma World, which had only just learned of Chaos and had poured everything it had into launching the Great Crusade, it felt like an ominous sign.

"Marshal Koro, it's getting dark."

"..."

"I see it. It's just the weather."

Koro looked at the star being swallowed in the sky. Though he claimed not to care, the expression on his face showed that he was not entirely unconcerned.

"Miss Mina, the weather's changing."

"..."

"I know."

Mina, leaning against the window, coolly indicated that she knew, with no further reaction.

Inside the Governor's Mansion.

The star's light was slowly covered by the moon. Even the scattered light that had originally filtered through the windows vanished completely from the room, making Cisrain frown.

Nothing was more taboo in war than wavering morale.

The battle had not even begun yet.

And this had to happen first.

He would have someone push the moon away later.

Cisrain, seated in the Governor's Mansion, reached out and pressed a red button. "Put me through to the person in charge of weather management in Utopia."

"Governor, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes. We're about to go to war, so why did you people create a solar eclipse? It's terribly inauspicious. Find a way to change it."

"..."

"Is that difficult?"

"Not difficult, not difficult! We'll change it right away, right away!!!"

The scientist on the other end wiped the sweat from his brow.

Sweat from his forehead splashed all over the floor.

He looked up at the moon outside the Research Station.

How was he supposed to change that?

The moon was blocking the star, sure, but they had not installed thrusters on it.

But the Governor had given an order. Even if it truly could not be changed, they had to find a way to change it.

Since they could not change the moon, they could only change something else. If one sun was not enough, then they would add a few more. That would do, right?

They were all natural phenomena anyway.

The Governor just wanted something auspicious, a good omen.

There was a corresponding phenomenon for a solar eclipse.

For instance, a Sun Dog.

It was also an astronomical phenomenon. Similar in formation to a rainbow, it was a type of ice halo atmospheric structure. By changing the climate and temperature, they could fill airborne water droplets with hexagonal crystals and use regular refraction to make several more suns appear in the sky.

Cisrain headed outside.

He was preparing to check on the soldiers' condition.

Before a battle, morale came first.

No matter how formidable an army was, once it lost the will to fight, even the greatest advantage could be buried.

Governor Cisrain stepped out of the Governor's Mansion.

People on the roadside saw him and hurriedly cried out.

"The Governor! It's the Governor!"

"Governor Cisrain has come out!"

"Did the darkness alarm the Governor?"

"I hope everything goes smoothly. This expeditionary force has used far too many resources!"

"Yeah, my family member has even become a reservist. If we fail..."

"Pah, pah, pah! How could Governor Cisrain possibly fail? Don't say such discouraging things. Don't forget, the Governor's decisions have never failed. So what if it gets dark? We lived through the darkest age, and the Governor still led us out of it! Even if we fail, so what? We'll just do it again. We will restore the glory of the Golden Age—the entire universe will be ours."

"That's right!"

"I'm a scientist. You should trust Governor Cisrain, not some random astronomical phenomenon."

Amid the negativity of some people.

Others indulged in boundless hopes.

And those with boundless hearts did not know whether it was an illusion.

After they expressed their absolute trust in the Governor.

The sky no longer seemed so dim.

Beside the obscured sun, there seemed to be a single ray of light within the darkness.

As Cisrain descended the steps of the Governor's Mansion and walked toward his subjects.

The faint star above Governor Cisrain rapidly grew larger, brighter, and more dazzling.

With every step Cisrain took toward them, the newborn star became incomparably brighter.

A new radiance.

Was replacing the light cast by the old star.

Soldiers and subjects walking outside Cisrain's Governor's Mansion looked at the newborn star that had appeared alongside Governor Cisrain!

They began to boil over with excitement.

"Wow!!! Look, the Governor stopped walking!"

"There are two suns in the sky."

"The moment the Governor came out, the second sun appeared. What does that mean? It means that as long as the Governor is here, Gamma World's skies will never change!"

"I understand now! Governor Cisrain is Gamma World's second sun!"

"I'm a scientist. We cannot completely deny the appearance of certain astronomical phenomena. Some astronomical phenomena really do represent omens of the future."

Golden light began to spill across the land.

Driving away the shadow shrouding Gamma World.

It also dispersed the gloom hanging over these people's hearts.

The soldiers were invigorated by the sun above them.

The subjects were thrilled by the sun above them.

Even the pets being fed could feel the Governor's benevolence.

"Two stars."

"Captain, those mortals are happily shouting that the Governor came, so the sky cleared."

"..."

Military Administration Department.

Koro wore a gray-green military greatcoat, with a medal personally awarded by the Governor pinned to his chest. He had also just received word from below: it was something the scientists had arranged, and the Governor merely happened to come out at that time.

But everyone was excited, so there was no need for him to dampen their spirits.

A good omen mattered far more for raising morale than the truth.

The news spread.

All those people who had been shrouded in gloom were reinvigorated.

"Marshal!"

"Marshal!"

The head of the Military Administration Department, Koro, had been appointed by Cisrain as marshal of the First Expeditionary Force.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he gazed impassively toward the end of the horizon.

"Marshal Koro, the First Fleet's supplies have been assembled and its personnel are ready!"

"Marshal Koro, the Second Auxiliary Fleet has departed Ozrax!"

"Marshal Koro, the Third Auxiliary Fleet is ready in Tangle!"

The Tau Empire sent envoys to learn from the Empire.

"We hope to learn how you govern your people."

"Which method?"

"How to exploit them to the fullest while still making them happy."

"There's no such thing! Our Emperor is sacred and—"

"Yes, yes, yes, that's exactly what we want!"