Sisters of the Imperium

On the seventh day, Lin En discovered that other people had entered the Hive City.

He watched warily through the telescope he had found.

He spotted a Battle Sister.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to call her a former Battle Sister.

That day, he had been searching through the ruins as usual, examining traces left behind by the humans who had once lived there, when he suddenly sensed that something was wrong. He couldn't say exactly what, but he had the distinct feeling that someone was nearby.

Other people had entered this abandoned Hive City.

He immediately hid behind a barricade and peered out.

The Hive City was still silent.

Gray and hazy, with shadows mingling in the depths, crisscrossing pipes, and buildings scattered chaotically amid absolute silence.

There was no difference from the previous few days.

But Lin En still felt that something was wrong. It was the sensation of his living space having been invaded.

He asked the system, "Bro System, do you feel anything?"

[What?]

"It's just... the feeling that someone's here."

[...I don't.]

"Useless." Lin En looked down on it.

[Say that again?]

"You want me to say it, so I'll say it? I won't."

Lin En pulled his head back, then circled around to the left side of the barricade. He bent down and ran two steps to the left, finding a spot with a gap he could see through.

He had found a telescope in that storage room earlier. The lenses were somehow still intact, and after wiping them clean, it could still be used. Wasn't this exactly what it was meant for?

He pulled out the telescope, raised it to his eyes, adjusted the focus, and swept it across the distance.

The distant scenery drew closer, enlarged, and became clearer. He saw more pipes, more bridges, and more ruins.

It was still utterly silent.

He swept to the side again, slowly scanning the gaps.

Then he saw fire.

It wasn't like the dark-red torches carried by the cultists. This was a genuine orange-yellow flame.

Lin En aimed the telescope in that direction and adjusted the focus. Then he adjusted it again, and again.

The fire burned in the corner of an abandoned passageway, built from broken pieces of wood and some unknown flammable material.

Someone sat beside the fire.

Lin En's breath caught for a moment.

She wasn't wearing Power Armor, only ordinary clothes that looked like a military shirt, neat and orderly. Below that was a pair of black trousers, the legs tucked into her boots... She wasn't very clean, though. Her body was covered in dust.

She looked somewhat disheveled, but she was still a dashing older sister.

Her hair was silver-gray, tied behind her head and somewhat tousled. A few loose strands hung beside her face, illuminated by the firelight.

She had neither Power Armor nor a weapon.

Though she looked somewhat disheveled sitting beside the fire, her hands rested on her knees, and her back was ramrod straight.

Lin En lowered the telescope and rubbed his eyes before raising it again.

It wasn't an illusion.

There really was someone there—a woman, alone in the depths of the abandoned Hive City, sitting with her back straight as a spear.

"Bro System," Lin En said, his voice trembling slightly. "Did you see that?"

[My vision is linked to yours. I can see everything you see.]

"Is she alive?"

[Ghosts probably don't light fires, right?]

"That makes sense... Is she a Battle Sister?"

[Judging from her clothing and bearing, very likely.]

Adepta Sororitas, the Imperium's Sisters of Battle. An all-female organization under the Ecclesiarchy, they were among the Emperor's most loyal warriors.

Their faith was their weapon, and they were utterly devoted, willing to give everything for the Emperor without hesitation.

They had undergone brutal military training, donned holy Power Armor, and wielded Bolters. Their combat ability was no weaker than that of the Space Marines. On the battlefield, they were the most fanatical, fearless, and least likely to retreat of all forces.

But how could a Battle Sister appear alone in the ruins of this abandoned Hive City, carrying neither a weapon nor Power Armor, and not even wearing her holy robes?

He didn't know.

Something unexpected must have happened. Battle Sisters would never casually abandon their equipment. Given her current state, she must have endured some drastic upheaval.

Lin En raised the telescope again and carefully examined the woman.

Her face was half illuminated and half obscured by the firelight, but he could make out her distinct features, regular appearance, and an indescribable heroic air between her brows and eyes.

There was a faint scar on the side of her face, stretching from beneath her eye into her hair.

Her eyes...

Lin En fine-tuned the focus.

...Her eyes were vertical pupils.

Like those of some reptile, such as a lizard or snake, they were narrow and vertical, a yellowish-brown slit.

Lin En's hand trembled.

"Bro System, her eyes—"

[I saw them. Vertical pupils.]

Mutation.

This Battle Sister had undergone some kind of mutation. Her eyes had become vertical pupils.

It could have been Warp radiation, a genetic mutation, or contamination by some kind of psychic force.

When humans were affected, parts of their bodies might mutate. This could also be why she had appeared here.

However, upon seeing a mutation, the first suspicion had to be whether she had been corrupted.

The influence of Chaos forces was the primary cause of human mutations.

But she had lit a fire and sat beside it without displaying any signs of chaotic behavior. She seemed to have retained her human sanity.

"Are there examples of people with mutations who can remain normal?"

[In Warhammer 40,000, mutation doesn't necessarily equal Chaos Corruption. Some mutations are purely physical and don't affect the mind,] the system said.

In Warhammer 40,000, the Imperium's attitude toward mutants was to kill the wrong person rather than let one slip through.

The Inquisition's doctrine was that a mutation was a mutation, and all mutations had to be purged. They made no distinction between "good mutations" and "bad mutations." This probably explained why a Battle Sister had discarded her arms and appeared here alone.

Lin En looked at the woman again.

So she might be a former Battle Sister exiled by the Inquisition.

She lowered her head and stirred the fire lightly and steadily, just like a normal person. There wasn't the slightest sign of madness.

Then she clasped her hands together. Her hair fell forward, covering half her face, while her lips moved faintly in prayer:

"A spiritu dominatus, Domine, libra nos.

From the lightning and the tempest, Our Emperor, deliver us.

..."

Almighty Lord, protect us.

From lightning and storms, God-Emperor, deliver us.

From plague, temptation, and war, God-Emperor, deliver us...

She was praying to the Emperor.

A Battle Sister with mutated eyes, sitting alone in the depths of an abandoned Hive City without a weapon or Power Armor, was praying to the Emperor.

Lin En stared blankly for a long time.

Seeing this, he couldn't describe what he felt.

Yellow Pelt had become a withered skeleton seated upon a throne, half-dead and barely clinging to life.

The Emperor, who could barely look after himself, could he really still hear his people's prayers?

Lin En remained silent for a long time.

"Bro System."

[Hmm?]

"Do you think she could become our teammate?"

[Not sure. Battle Sisters are absolutely loyal to the Imperium, but her current condition is uncertain.]

Even if her mind was sound, she might be somewhat traumatized. If Lin En suddenly approached her, there was no telling whether her first reaction would be to attack.

Lin En didn't know whether she was friend or foe, and she didn't know whether Lin En was friend or foe.