Unlike the Primarchs headed to the Academy of Sciences and the Valkyrie Legion, Iglanias, the Void Dragon, the Outsider Sara Noga, Shalish, and Khorne—five gods of vastly different natures—were personally led by Luke to a place with an entirely different atmosphere: the "Judgment Ring" world under the Judgment Mechanism.
The passage through the portal was uneventful, but the moment they set foot upon this land, even as gods, they felt an omnipresent pressure of cold, absolute order.
There were no blue skies or white clouds here, nor any stars, sun, or moon.
The sky was an eternally unchanging dark-gold dome, radiating a constant, emotionless glow.
The ground was made of some unidentifiable black material, smooth as a mirror, reflecting the cold dome overhead.
Countless metal rings engraved with profound runes slowly rotated at the edge of sight, forming this world's boundaries and framework, like an unimaginably vast Inquisition.
A peculiar law permeated the air, stilling energy and rendering authorities inert.
Here, any power not belonging to the Hilling system was suppressed to the utmost extreme.
Luke brought them before a majestic building of extreme simplicity, built entirely from dark metal.
He completed a brief handover with two Inquisitors dressed in pitch-black uniforms and sharp-eyed expressions, as well as a clerk holding a data slate.
"Lord Luke, thank you for your efforts." The lead Inquisitor spoke in a low voice devoid of emotion.
"It is my duty." Luke nodded slightly, then turned to the five gods, each wearing a different expression. "No need to be nervous. This is merely the standard procedure for joining the Imperium. My task ends here; I must return to the Senate to report. I wish you all the best." With that, he turned decisively, boarded a shuttle, and departed.
The five gods exchanged glances, each seeing