The loyal heretic

When Liu Zhipeng regained consciousness, the first thing he smelled was a mixture of disinfectant, old parchment, and expensive incense.

He felt his body. It was no longer the springy, shapeless mass of a Nurgling, nor the agile, mutated shell of a Genestealer. This was... the body of an ordinary human infant. Fragile, soft, and full of boundless possibilities.

He opened his eyes to an ornately decorated Gothic ceiling, covered in murals of the Aquila and various Imperial saints. Gentle light streamed through stained-glass windows, bathing the entire room in a solemn, reverent glow.

A woman in a luxurious silk gown held him in her arms. Her face was slightly weary, but her eyes were tender as she hummed a lullaby praising the Emperor. Beside her, a man wearing the uniform of an Imperial noble, his beard neatly trimmed, gazed at him with a mixture of pride and anticipation.

"Look, darling, he's looking at me," the woman said excitedly. "His eyes... how devout they are."

Liu Zhipeng blinked. In this life, his eyes were a pale gold.

[Third life: begun]

[Current identity: Imperium of Man - Gothic Subsector - Taranis Prime - son of Baron von Lawrence]

[Current location: Taranis Prime - Lawrence Estate]

A noble-born start? A ripple stirred deep within Liu Zhipeng's soul. This was far better than being a "Chaos bean" or an "underground Genestealer" in his previous two lives. At last, he had a chance to experience the Imperium of Man from within-a realm both familiar and foreign to him.

The system's icy notification chime sounded immediately afterward, bringing the "legacy" of his previous two lives.

[Permanent passive ability activated: Grandfather's Watch and Love][Ability description: in any life form, you instinctively exude a peculiar affinity that inspires inexplicable trust and affection in creatures who are weak, lowly, abandoned, or filled with despair. They will see you as a symbol of hope and a chance for change, and willingly follow you. You also possess exceptional environmental adaptability. No matter how harsh or filthy your surroundings, they cannot cause you any meaningful harm and may instead become an asset.]

[Permanent passive ability activated: Heretical Leader][Ability description: your words and thoughts possess an innate power to sway intelligent beings. You can easily identify and exploit the internal conflicts and desires of a group or civilization, implanting your ideas and allowing them to take root until they ultimately become part of its beliefs. Your followers will display extraordinary fanaticism and willingness to sacrifice themselves for you.]

Feeling that familiar "affinity" deep within his soul, which represented Nurgle, and the far more dangerous "power to incite" that came from the Four Gods United cult, Liu Zhipeng-or rather, "Alexander von Lawrence" in this life-gave the pure, innocent smile of an infant.

Time passed slowly beneath the eternally unchanging gray skies of Taranis Prime.

Alexander von Lawrence grew at a pace that astonished everyone. He displayed intelligence far beyond that of his peers, along with... "devotion."

While other noble children still cried and fought over toys, he could already recite the Ecclesiarchy's various prayers and saints' biographies word for word. With a childlike approach that nevertheless cut straight to the heart of the matter, he always managed to ask his tutor "thought-provoking" questions.

"Teacher," said Alexander, only five years old, pointing to an illustrated edition of Love of the Imperium, "the book says the Emperor's light shines on every human subject. Then why don't the children in the lower levels of the Hive City even have a light bulb that works?"

His tutor, an elderly scholar whose knowledge was extensive but whose thinking was rigid, was momentarily at a loss for words. He could only fob him off with tired platitudes about "the Emperor's trials."

But Alexander tilted his head and looked at his teacher with those clear golden eyes, saying earnestly, "I understand. We have to light the Emperor's light ourselves. We're the Emperor's light bulbs!"

"..."

The old scholar was left speechless by this "light bulb theory," yet he felt that these words... seemed to contain a simple but profound philosophy of faith.

The ability "Grandfather's Watch and Love" made him naturally likable. The estate's servants all adored their young master, for he never ordered them about. He remembered everyone's name, and on cold winter nights, he secretly shared his hot soup with the guards on night watch. His innate warmth allowed these people at the bottom of society to experience a long-forgotten sense of kindness and respect in his presence.

Meanwhile, "Heretical Leader" gave his ideas a peculiar infectious power. He reinterpreted dry doctrines in his own way, making them vivid and passionate. He explained the grand concept of "sacrificing oneself for the Emperor" as "protecting everyone you love," and defined "loyalty" as "never abandoning your comrades or family."

This way of making grand narratives "personal" inspired something close to worshipful trust among his companions, children who likewise came from minor noble families. They felt that the "Emperor" Alexander spoke of was no longer a distant, cold deity upon the Golden Throne, but a great "leader" and "family member" who was with them and understood their joys and sorrows.

Yet fate would not grant him smooth sailing simply because he was the "model child" other parents held up as an example.

When he was ten, a sudden orbital bombardment struck Taranis Prime. Backed by the forces of Chaos, a band of Space Pirates launched a lightning raid on the poorly defended planet.

The Lawrence Estate became a sea of flames in the very first barrage.

Alexander's parents died beneath a Chaos Space Marine's bolter fire while trying to protect him. What he saw in the final moment of life was the gentle yet resolute smile on his mother's face, and his father's back as he stood before him-not particularly imposing, but refusing to retreat.

He survived. An Astra Militarum unit that had come to the rescue pulled him from the rubble.

He became an orphan.

Under Imperial law, the only path for noble offspring like him, who had lost both parents in war, was to be sent to the "Schola Progenium."

It was an institution dedicated to training the Imperium's elite. The vast majority of the Ecclesiarchy's Sisters of Battle, the Inquisition's Inquisitors, and... the Astra Militarum's Commissars came from there.