(It was highly likely that Paradox Interactive paid homage to Warhammer when writing the Zroni's story.)
In Warhammer, human souls had reflections in Subspace, and their selfish desires indirectly led to the birth of the four Chaos Gods.
In the Stellaris universe, the same was true of the Zroni. Although we did not know the exact relationship between the gods of the Shroud and the Zroni, we could not deny that the Zroni's actions had profoundly affected the Shroud.
Judging by the archival records and the current state of the Shroud, what drove the Zroni into two opposing extremes was not merely their own selfish desires, but also the products that evolved from those desires coming together.
The collective consciousness linking the entire Zroni species discovered the Shroud's existence. When that link became extreme and deranged, certain energy entities emerged from it: the Shroud Entities within the Shroud.
These Shroud Entities embodied the negative emotions hidden deep within the Zroni's hearts. They lurked in the shadows, stirring up trouble, and ultimately pushed the Zroni into the abyss, becoming the spark that ignited the war.
This was very similar to the Four Ruinous Powers of Warhammer's Subspace.
In truth, however, there was no conclusive evidence that the birth of the Four Gods of the Shroud had anything to do with the Zroni. All that could be proven was that some psionic entities in the Shroud originated from the Zroni's vile thoughts.
War broke out between the Evangelicals and the Ascensionists. According to the archaeological texts from the Zroni colonies, most Zroni sided with the Evangelicals. Yet despite their vast number of supporters, the Evangelicals were in a deeply unfavorable position.
The Ascensionists completely disregarded the effects on the galaxy, allowing them to wield their psionic power without restraint, while the Evangelicals